DESPITE a host of State Academy members missing from Round 11 of the SANFL Women’s competition, there were still plenty of players who impressed. Youngsters stepped up and others took on new roles ahead of a league-wide bye. We took note of how each of the State Academy members performed.

>> ROUND 11: Match of the Round | Recap | Team of the Week

All notes are the opinion of the individual author.

CENTRAL DISTRICT:

#3 Miyu Endersby (Utility)

Stats: 5 disposals, 2 marks (1 contested), 7 tackles, 10 hitouts, 2 clearances, 1 rebound 50

Rotated between ruck and defence and though she did not have a lot of the ball, had a tough matchup against the experienced Leah Cutting. However one interesting tidbit that could be a look to the future was seeing the 179cm Endersby lineup as a midfielder on Freemantle at some stages. Took a couple of nice marks and was fierce at ground level.

#31 Tara Lord (Forward)

Stats: 4 disposals, 2 inside 50s

Lacked opportunities forward of centre, though did have a pinpoint pass to Katelyn Rosenzweig in the first half after bursting away from her opponent. Only had a couple of chances but still ran hard.

WOODVILLE-WEST TORRENS:

#4 Julia Faulkner (Midfielder)

Stats: 15 disposals, 2 marks, 7 tackles, 6 clearances, 1 inside 50

Started on-ball and eventually rotated forward, with Faulkner having a big first term. She was everywhere, winning it out of the stoppage and spreading, showing clean hands and fantastic defensive pressure. Her ability to evade would-be tacklers was great, and could have had a goal to her name in the third term had the siren not sounded as she was strolling in.

#7 Maia Freemantle (Midfielder)

Stats: 21 disposals, 8 tackles, 7 clearances, 2 inside 50s, 1 rebound 50

A big game playing on-ball once more and used her smarts and athleticism to trouble the Dogs’ midfield group. She worked well to get to the outside and win it after getting it at the stoppage too. A full throttle tackler that can give away the odd free kick, Freemantle gives as good as she gets, and with any time or space, can do damage. The bulk of her best work was done at the coalface.

#15 Lucy Moore (Midfielder)

Stats: 22 disposals, 9 tackles, 3 clearances, 2 inside 50s, 1 rebound 50

With Freemantle taking care of more inside work, it allowed the bottom-ager to use her pace to burn off opponents from a second or third possession out of the stoppage. She was effective by foot and had a couple of eye-catching moments including a pinpoint pass to Klaudia O’Neill midway through the last term at full tilt out of the half-forward stoppage. Did well to shake off being dumped in a tackle last in the third term and ended up as one of the Eagles’ best.

SOUTH ADELAIDE:

#3 Molly Jenkins (Defender)

Stats: 4 disposals, 2 inside 50s, 1 rebound 50

On a day where there were no real big ball-winners, it should come as no surprise that a negating defender only had a handful of touches in the wet. She worked hard up the ground as she does and made sure there were no easy avenues back to goal. Had a couple of inside 50s which showed proactivity.

#8 Hope Taylor (Forward/Wing)

Stats: 3 disposals, 1 rebound 50

There were only 29 inside 50s in total for the match and the bulk of the play was at the coalface, so Taylor, who played forward but worked up the ground and spent time on a wing did not see much of it. She had a snap during the third term that pushed across the 50 though mostly had a lot of unrewarded running.

#19 Taya Maxwell (Midfielder/Ruck)

Stats: 15 disposals, 2 marks, 4 tackles, 12 hitouts, 2 clearances, 5 inside 50s

One of the better Panthers on the day, Maxwell worked in tandem with Soriah Moon through the ruck, while also spending time on-ball. She used her frame well and did her best to extract it, though there were no easy disposals in the match. She was not afraid to get her hands dirty at ground level and sometimes even just tapped it to space or kept the ball moving without taking possession. Max well ahd a set shot on goal in the third term that pushed to the right for a behind.

#20 Layla Vizgaudis (Midfielder/Forward)

Stats: 13 disposals, 1 mark, 7 tackles, 4 clearances

Went head-to-head with Zoe Venning for a fair bit and in no mean feat won the battle. She has the speed and endurance to battle any opposition player, and while lighter, will be hard to shake off with a great tackling technique. She had a shot on goal that went out on the full in the third term, but otherwise was desperate and tenacious at ground level, and won her share of the ball on the inside.

#60 Marley Tape (Defender)

Stats: 6 disposals, 1 mark, 2 tackles

Like Jenkins did not have a lot to do in the back 50 but followed around fellow youngster Deed and kept her from creating too much. Worked up to half-back at times and was effective enough, laying a couple of strong tackles.

WEST ADELAIDE:

#4 Emily Mableson (Defender)

Stats: 19 disposals, 1 mark, 6 tackles, 2 clearances, 2 rebound 50s

Had a really strong came off half-back, not spending as much time on the inside as other games, with her run in the wet conditions preferred. She moved well, used it effectively and was clean all things considered, finishing as one of West Adelaide’s best in the loss. The Panthers setup down back made it hard to penetrate much movement forward, so Mableson was looking to break lines where feasible and maintain possession retention.

#52 Sarah Deed (Forward)

Stats: 6 disposals, 4 tackles

Had a couple of chances on goal at one stage what fell short on both occasions, though looked like she might threaten the scorers. A lively player with upside, she will continue to gain experience at the level with the double bottom-ager still very young.

GLENELG:

#6 Georgie Fielder (Midfielder)

Stats: 22 disposals, 1 mark, 6 tackles, 6 clearances, 3 inside 50s, 1 rebound 50

Is becoming a really consistent quality midfielder now after showing the potential and having the occasional big game. The bottom-age talent moves well through the stoppage, has great athletic traits and can use the ball as well, ticking plenty of boxes in her profile. Strong on the inside and balancing between her offensive and defensive impact, Fielder has “it” and each time she goes near it, you feel something special is about to happen. One to watch over the next 18 months.

#48 Charlotte O’Sullivan (Forward)

Stats: 5 disposals, 1 mark, 3 tackles, 2 inside 50s, 1 behind

Another young forward limited by opportunities across Round 11, O’Sullivan only had the five touches, but applied strong forward pressure inside 50. She used her clean hands to provide an assist to Asha Dufour for her team’s only goal of the day, bouncing back from a snap of her own being touched on the way through from 15m out. Possesses nice quick ball movement.

NORTH ADELAIDE:

#5 Polly Turner (Defender)

Stats: 21 disposals, 3 marks (1 contested), 5 tackles, 1 clearance, 3 inside 50s, 5 rebound 50s

Has found a home in defence and can both go toe-for-toe with an opposition forward, and also hurt them the other way with her rebound work. Despite being a bigger and stronger player, Turner is athletic with an outstanding sidestep to get herself out of trouble. She spent most of the day looking to nullify Cassie McWilliam and did a great job with her clean hands and defensive pressure both in the air and at ground level impressive. Earned a second straight Team of the Week nomination for her performance.

#11 Lucy Reddaway (Forward/Midfielder)

Stats: 14 disposals, 2 marks, 3 tackles, 1 hitout, 4 clearances, 1 inside 50, 2 rebound 50s

Returned to the side with Julia Clark being managed and got her chance through the middle after starting forward. Highly rated at the State Academy, Reddaway has clean hands and nice footy smarts that enable her to transition the ball from congestion going forward. She runs both ways and even had a hitout at one stage. Quickly rewarded her inclusion by setting up the opening goal of the game with a nice kick to debutant Abbie Player.

#54 Maya Fuller (Defender)

Stats: 4 disposals, 1 mark, 5 tackles, 1 rebound 50

Fuller was not required to do too much, with just four disposals in the game. She laid some great tackles to lock the ball up and thwart potential forward thrusts from the Bays, and while still developing her craft, did not look out of place.

STURT:

#4 Summer Ross (Wing)

Stats: 6 disposals, 2 tackles, 2 inside 50s, 1 rebound 50

Always has more impact than her stats suggest, and Ross is one of those hard-runners who tries to break the lines going forward. She was up against it with Norwood dominating front half possession, but she had some nice moments such as sharking the tap from Alexander at half-forward during the second term and kicking inside 50, and firing off a handball cleanly at half-forward during the third term.

#7 Lily Whiteman (Forward)

Stats: 7 disposals, 3 tackles, 1 inside 50, 1 rebound 50

Had to work right up the ground to get in the action with the Under 16s prospect starved of opportunity inside 50. She did what she could and laid some nice tackles, though also copped a really unlucky holding the ball free against when inside 50.

#17 Sophie Thredgold (Defender/Midfielder)

Stats: 9 disposals, 2 marks, 8 tackles, 3 clearances, 4 rebound 50s

Started fairly strongly out of defence with a number of spearing passes to repel Norwood’s attack’s then spent some minutes around the stoppages where she used her long kick to drive the ball forward and put pressure on the Norwood defence. Constantly spreading well, Thredgold had a fairly solid game, and was very good defensively.

#26 Lily Smart (Wing)

Stats: 10 disposals, 2 marks, 6 tackles, 3 clearances, 1 inside 50

Used her speed well up and down the wing and did what she could to make an impact. The conditions often saw her play closer to the stoppages and she even won a few clearances and broke away to get it forward. It was tough to get much space in the slog, but she was happy to even soccer it down field if need be to get it into open play. Smart can take the ball at full speed and was clean in the conditions which was quite impressive.

NORWOOD:

#14 Kate Alexander (Ruck/Forward)

Stats: 7 disposals, 2 marks, 4 tackles, 33 hitouts, 5 clearances, 1 inside 50, 1 rebound 50

Really took control in the hitouts around the ground, amassing 33 for the match. While Millie McCarthy fought back more as the game went on, Alexander set the tone early and produced some fantastic set plays with her midfield which enabled first hands on it. The likes of Isobel Kuiper and Georgia Swan got on top eventually and went to shark her, but as a whole Alexander did her best as a tall in challenging conditions, and even had a fair few clearances herself.

#18 Charlee Brooksby (Defender/Wing)

Stats: 15 disposals, 3 marks, 2 tackles, 1 clearance, 6 inside 50s, 1 behind

One of Norwood’s best players in the win, Brooksby found space where few others could and consistently put pressure on the Sturt defence. At times she made a few errors by foot that are uncharacteristic, but as a whole she made good decisions and looked for those short, sharp 45 passes to open up angles and then run down to try and gain another touch. In a low-disposal game, Brooksby had the most for her side with 15.

#54 Lottie Almond (Defender/Midfielder)

Stats: 8 disposals, 2 marks, 2 tackles, 2 clearances, 2 inside 50s

A real competitor and has found her home in defence with hard running and an ability to push up the ground and find a way to impact. She got her opportunity at the centre bounce in the fourth term and even won a great centre clearance going deep inside 50. Has the traits that allow her to be flexible in her role.