LAYLA Vizgaudis has been South Adelaide’s most consistent ball-winner through the opening rounds of the SANFLW season, and against Sturt in Round 4 she delivered arguably her best performance yet – finishing with 29 disposals, nine clearances and two goals in a tight 4.8 (32) to 4.2 (26) win at Magain Stadium that was settled only in the dying seconds.

Layla Vizgaudis
Club: South Adelaide
Height: 162cm
Date of Birth: 22/04/2008

STRENGTHS:

+ Composure under pressure
+ Clearance work
+ Kicking
+ Run and carry
+ Footy IQ
+ Improving scoreboard impact

IMPROVEMENTS:

– Tackling technique
– Contested marking

ROUND 4: vs. Sturt Statistics: 29 disposals, 2 marks, 2 tackles, 9 clearances, 2 inside 50s, 4 rebound 50s, 2 goals

FIRST QUARTER

Vizgaudis started on-ball and was immediately active – tracking the ball down at the opening centre bounce before the ball spilled, she tracked it and laid a tackle in the middle to win it back. The competitive edge that has defined her season was on show from the first bounce.

Her best moment of the quarter came at the three-minute mark. Pushing forward with purpose and spreading well on a Panthers transition, she found space on the turnover and took a clean mark. She went back, converted the set shot just past the last line of Sturt defence, and South Adelaide had the first of the game.

She was also making her presence felt inside 50 in the defensive sense – applying good pressure to keep the Double Blues’ forwards honest – before a composed moment at the nine-minute mark saw her take a mark just inside the defensive 50 and hit a target with a short, neat kick to half-back.

SECOND QUARTER

Back on-ball from the restart, Vizgaudis continued to be busy. At the three-minute mark she received a handball and snapped quickly – the attempt pushed across the face and fell for a behind, but the instinct to have a shot was exactly right.

Her best quality in the second quarter was in the way she tracked play – covering the ground to be in the right position even when it wasn’t coming to her directly. At the nine-minute mark she couldn’t quite gather on the defensive side of the wing, but had read the play to be there in the first place.

A slightly awkward moment in the 13th minute saw her attempt a tackle but land on her back – she had a good laugh about it – before recovering to provide a clean handball on the wing at the 13-minute mark that kept the Panthers moving. At half-time she had 11 disposals and was on top for her side.

THIRD QUARTER

The third quarter was Vizgaudis at her absolute best.

Back on-ball from the bounce, she showed her class immediately – receiving a tap from Soriah Moon while being held, she stayed composed and kicked forward to hit a target cleanly. Just an outstanding piece of contested football under maximum defensive pressure. She then stuck in the main corridor throughout the term, covering ground well while Emma Charlton tracked the play on the opposite side of the ground – the combination of the two is becoming one of the competition’s most threatening midfield pairings.

At the five-minute mark she gathered on the wing and got a clean handball off after reading off the hands brilliantly. Then came the moment of the game.

In the sixth minute, Vizgaudis pounced on a loose ball, ran to 35 metres and slammed home a goal with real authority – a classy, composed finish that pushed South Adelaide’s lead to 22-1 against a Sturt side that had been competitive all day. She went straight back into the middle after the celebration.

Her ability at the 10-minute mark to win her hands free from the middle while being tackled and produce a clean handball was another example of the composure and skill under pressure that makes her such a difficult player to stop. Three-quarter time and she was up to 17 disposals.

FOURTH QUARTER

With the game still in the balance, Vizgaudis started on-ball and remained the Panthers’ most reliable ball-mover in a tense final term, racking up a whopping 12 disposals in the last 20 minutes.

A quick handball receive and dish-off at the third minute mark kept the play moving, before she gathered off hands in defence and thumped the ball long down the wing to grass – a critical rebound moment that contributed to her four rebound 50s for the day.

At the eight-minute mark her kick inside 50 from half-forward was smothered, but she recovered quickly and fired out a handball well to keep South in possession. A short pass down the wing in the 11th minute mark was delightful – the sort of low-flight, precise kick she identified as one of her calling cards.

Then came the defining contribution. At the 18-minute mark, with the scores level and the game on the line, Vizgaudis won a critical clearance and drove it to half-forward. The ball found Laquoiya Cockatoo-Motlap, who hit it to Hope Taylor – and Taylor slotted the match-winner to seal a one-goal win in the dying seconds. It was Vizgaudis who started the chain.

SUMMARY

There is an argument that Layla Vizgaudis is one of the most consistent performer in the SANFLW this season, and games like this one make that argument easy to run. In every round she has been the Panthers’ go-to ball-winner, and through four games has built a body of work that should be commanding far more attention in draft circles than it currently does.

The elite kick is the headline trait – that low-flight, precise ball use in traffic is rare at any level – but what stands out just as much is the footy IQ. She reads play off hands better than almost anyone in the competition, gets to the right spots ahead of the contest, and makes good decisions under pressure at a consistent rate. The nine clearances against Sturt were a career-best in what has been a series of career-best outings.

Two goals, nine clearances and 29 disposals in a game decided by the last kick – and Vizgaudis was the one who started the chain that led to that last kick. That is what elite midfielders do.

Away from the individual brilliance, Round 4 also marked a family milestone, with younger sister Taryn Vizgaudis making her South Adelaide League debut. The Panthers have long been a club that develops talent from within, and having two sisters pulling on the same guernsey in the same SANFLW season is a reminder of just how much the club means to those involved.