ACROSS the board the West Australian State Academy members largely impressed in Round 6 of the WAFL Women’s with the young guns well and truly adapted to life at state league level. Subiaco had the bye, but the eight other sides all had at least on Academy member in action.

All notes are the opinion of the individual author.

Peel Thunder:

#7 Heidi Ireland (Defender/Midfielder)
Stats: 14 disposals, 5 tackles, 1 inside 50

Has developed into a competitive and strong utility who can nullify an opposition forward or go into the midfield if required, as she did later in the game against the array of West Perth midfielders who had got on top of the Thunder. She uses her frame well and is clean by hand with the bottom-ager having further room for improvement going forward.

#8 Tiama Collard (Forward)
Stats: 4 disposals, 5 tackles

Had the returning Jess Roper for company for large portions of the day and was not given too much freedom. Though Collard did not win much of it – and that was also due to limited opportunity, the Peel Thunder Under 16s prospect did bring the heat, with a sensational defensive approach to the game.

#26 Charlie Fletcher (Wing)
Stats: 16 disposals, 3 marks, 6 tackles, 1 inside 50

Fletcher is such a wonderful talent who looms as a genuine excitement machine of the future. If she can get that bounce working when she streaks down the field with her explosive speed, then watch out. Occasionally can get caught ball-watching as she loves getting around the contest which leaves her exposed if the ball bobbles out to her opponent. Still, her speed and defensive pressure means she is afforded some liberties and she was one of the better Thunder players on the day.

West Perth:

#7 Mia Russo (Midfielder)
Stats: 21 disposals, 2 marks, 3 tackles, 5 inside 50s

Has strung together a number of good performances either side of captaining the National Academy in Melbourne. Russo is essentially a full-time midfielder who really only rests forward at this stage, and she has taken it upon herself to grab control of the midfield. She continually extracted the ball from the inside and tried to explode from the contest on multiple occasions, without too much attention until later in the match. By that stage the damage was done and she was among the best yet again.

#25 Lexi Strachan (Midfielder)
Stats: 19 disposals, 2 marks, 9 tackles, 4 inside 50s, 1 goal

Defensively in close, Strachan is as good as they come with a big frame that competes so well and matches it with most players even more experienced once. With time and space she can use the ball well, and while tidying up her composure a little bit will be good going forward, she has a lot of potential with her booming kick. Strachan will likely have the reigns to the midfield next season, so will benefit learning off Russo in 2025.

#31 Cara Dziegielewski (Ruck)
Stats: 13 disposals, 3 marks, 3 tackles, 30 hitouts, 3 inside 50s

It was the bottom-ager’s best game of the season, coming in and really working over her opponents. Too tall and athletic, Dziegielewski not only won around the stoppage, but presented well across the ground which was the noticeable difference compared to games earlier in the season. As she grows in confidence she will only get better, and she can compete at ground level too with nice follow-up work. Another one with a booming kick.

#48 Sophie Fisher (Defender/Ruck)
Stats: 4 disposals, 15 hitouts

Returning to the side, the tall utility chopped out for Dziegielewski in the ruck, and though Fisher has largely been a tall forward in the past when appearing at League level, was mostly behind the ball. She did not win a heap of it, but is a developing long-term type with room for growth.

South Fremantle:

#15 Renee Morgan (Midfielder)
Stats: 15 disposals, 2 marks, 9 tackles, 1 inside 50

Tried to assert herself on the contest each time she went near it with a typical Morgan-esque performance on the inside. She attacks it hard, gets low to win it cleanly and then is able to dish off to her teammates to run down the field. Her work under pressure is among the best from the State Academy members with the Bulldogs midfielder rarely panicked and her disposal does not differ much between the inside and outside use.

#20 Eva Flynn (Forward)
Stats: 7 disposals, 1 mark, 3 tackles, 1 behind

Returned to the side and had a little more of it than on debut in the opening round, Flynn applied some nice tackles early and had her little spouts of highlights. One such moment was five minutes into the fourth term where gathered, spun one way then the other before putting it on the left for a shot on goal. It unfortunately bounced through for a behind, but was an eye-catching moment.

#31 Marie Polimeno (Defender)
Stats: 9 disposals, 1 mark, 1 tackle

Playing deep in defence, Polimeno did not have a lot to do early with the ball pinging between the arcs and usually at best, high up in the 50s. When she did find it, she was neat and often cleared the ball down the ground, with a lot of her disposals coming in the last quarter. Her kick from the defensive side of midfield into the middle midway through the fourth was of particular note, and it led to a South Fremantle goal.

#35 Shaya Yarran (Forward)
Stats: 6 disposals, 6 tackles, 1 inside 50, 1 behind

Another debutant in Round 6, Yarran played the role of pressure forward to a tee. She only had limited opportunities with plenty of other options inside 50, but did not let her teammates down, laying as many tackles as she had disposals. Yarran’s contest to contest work stood out and with more opportunity, she will

East Perth:

#20 Charli Bassett (Forward)
Stats: 11 disposals, 2 marks, 1 tackle, 3 inside 50s, 1 behind

Coming into the side, Bassett showed some nice work early, with a slick burst speed and a determination to take the opposition defence on. Playing high half-forward for the most part, she worked up the ground and late in the second term, burst down the win breaking a tackle along the way before delivering to centre half-forward. Is still working on a few fundamentals but her skills were technically sound and she looks one for the future.

East Fremantle:

#13 Maya Louvel-Finn (Defender)
Stats: 13 disposals, 4 marks, 4 tackles, 1 inside 50

Just keeps ticking boxes this season and in a tough loss, was a big component of a defence that had plenty of heat on it. Louvel-Finn provided immense defensive pressure, was accountable and then when given the opportunity, ran off and provided drive down the ground. She was forced to be a little deeper than in other games this season due to the way the game panned out, but as a whole she competed well and used the ball neatly.

#17 Alicia Blizard (Forward)
Stats: 7 disposals, 2 tackles, 3 inside 50s, 1 behind

Limited for opportunities, Blizard got her chance late in the game up the field, even seen running off half-back at one stage. She only finished with the one behind from a set shot, though had a few lively moments coming up from half-forward. Was not the day for marks in space despite Blizard working up to present.

Swan Districts:

#5 Carys D’Addario (Midfielder)
Stats: 20 disposals, 3 marks, 6 tackles, 5 inside 50s, 1 behind

Another game, another strong inside performance from the top-ager who hardly puts a foot wrong. She might not be the quickest player, but she has nice power and she breaks through tackles that way. Her hands in close are as good as anyone’s and covers the ground with ease. A midfielder who runs both ways and finds the ball in each third of the ground is valuable, and D’Addario does just that. Add in her defensive attributes and she will always provide 100 per cent effort.

#14 Ava Stewart (Forward)
Stats: 4 disposals, 1 tackle, 1 hitout, 2 goals

Really made the most of only a few looks, converting two goals during the third term. The first was from a clever and clean pick up then snap with a favourable bounce helping her out on the goalline. Just eight minutes later, Stewart was the beneficiary of a team play, winning the Joe the Goose handball in the goalsquare off the back of hard running to kick one of the the easiest goal she will have the opportunity for in her season.

#18 Sienna Gerardi (Forward)
Stats: 11 disposals, 5 marks, 4 tackles, 3 inside 50s

Her lightning hands match the speed of her legs which power down the ground at a rapid rate. She is becoming more well rounded this season with her ability to get up the ground and provide a marking target, getting out on the lead with that explosive speed. While crumbing and her ground level hands make her so dangerous, she does all the hard things as well such as defensive efforts and team plays, which is great to see.

Claremont:

#15 Hannah Seaborn (Forward)
Stats: 8 disposals, 3 marks, 2 tackles, 1 inside 50, 4 goals, 1 behind

It was a dream debut for the Under 16s talent who kicked off her League career with an huge clunk followed by a set shot. She looked a natural in front of goal despite the pressure of coming up to seniors, but within two minutes she had a second goal on the move. By the final siren she had four, with a soccer in the goalsquare in the third, complemented by another set shot goal – off the back of a tackle and holding the ball free kick – which made it a well rounded display of goalkicking.

#33 Juliet Kelly (Defender/Midfielder)
Stats: 22 disposals, 2 marks, 15 tackles

A defence-first player who can find the ball herself, Kelly is the ideal tagger at the next level. She has an elite tank, can play on all three lines and is ultra-accountable. While she can nullify opponents, Kelly does find her own ball and uses it well, transitioning it from the inside to outside. Along with being a tagger, Kelly could just as easily be a midfielder in her own right, or play as a defensive forward. Her 15 tackles were testament to her insane defensive pressure.

Perth:

#34 Addison Opalinski (Defender)
Stats: 14 disposals, 2 marks, 3 tackles, 1 inside 50

Had some big jobs in defence and pushed up to the wing at times, Opalinski has a few eye-catching traits. Her positioning behind the ball is sound, with the tall defender able to adjust based on the play, while remaining accountable to her direct opponent. She took some of the kick-ins and was generally able to clear the danger zone with a booming kick, and while some would end up going against her, she generally did a good job.

#37 Mia Carlshausen (Defender/Midfielder)
Stats: 15 disposals, 2 marks, 1 tackle

Returned to the side and played a key role coming out of defence then went up around the ball in the last term. She is so clean at ground level and very skillful with ball in hand. She uses her vision and smarts to hit targets that few others could, and also worked hard to save a goal with a smother in the last second before half-time. Her only mistake was trying to run around the ridiculously athletic Seaborn which resulted in a goal before a rare poor kick to the wing slightly after. Prior to that, Carlshausen’s performance had been among the best from the Demons with few mistake.