LILY Moana has shown that her incredible Under 16 Championships campaign – where she won the best and fairest and All-Australian honours – was no flash in the pan, after adding another chapter to what is shaping as one of the most exciting long-term stories of the future. The Gold Coast Suns Academy ran out comfortable 15.13 (103) to 7.3 (45) winners over Northern Knights in Round 6 of the Talent League Girls at Austworld Centre Oval, and Moana was again central to everything with multiple direct goal assists from centre clearances and even hitting the scoreboard herself.

Lily Moana
Club: Gold Coast Suns Academy (Burleigh Bombers)
Height: 168cm
Date of Birth: 23/03/2010

STRENGTHS:

+ Stoppage craft
+ Explosiveness
+ Offensive hurt factor
+ Scoreboard impact
+ Tackle pressure
+ Footy IQ
+ Penetrating kick

IMPROVEMENTS:

– Endurance
– Strength

ROUND 6: vs. Northern Knights Statistics: 23 disposals, 2 marks, 8 tackles, 7 clearances, 10 inside 50s, 1 rebound 50, 1 goal

FIRST QUARTER

It took less than 30 seconds to understand what Lily Moana means to this Gold Coast Suns Academy side.

The opening centre bounce, Moana won the first handball clear, found it again and kicked deep inside 50 where Asia Single was on the end of it and the Suns were up before anyone had drawn breath. Moana set the tone and had no intention of letting it change. At the four-minute mark she ran onto the ruck tap from Sienna Clinch and got a handball forward as she was dragged to the ground in a tackle – still completing the disposal under maximum pressure.

She rotated off for a brief spell before coming straight back on-ball, and delivered her best two moments of the quarter in quick succession. At 17 minutes, a brilliant centre clearance off the tap – she took a bounce, then delivered a perfectly weighted kick to Tobi Skalij for a goal assist. Then straight back to the centre bounce, and she won the very next clearance too – the ball surged forward again, and Asia Single goaled again. Two consecutive centre clearances for two goals, all in the space of a minute.

SECOND QUARTER

Officially credited with just two disposals for the quarter, though the eye test suggested at least three kicks in the term. What was clear regardless of the official count was how damaging every possession was.

At the one-minute mark she gathered off the pack at half-forward and kicked deep where a teammate got a shot away narrowly missing. At 13 minutes came the moment of the half: she won the centre bounce, burst clear, took a bounce, and hit a target inside 50 with a ball that found Ella Ballantyne for a goal – the kind of direct, explosive play out of the middle that makes her so difficult to plan for. She had time with the ball and two players chasing her; she still delivered.

At the 19-minute mark she burst out of the middle again, looked over her shoulder as two Knights tried valiantly to chase to no avail, took a bounce and kicked deep inside 50 to a one-on-one. The Knights spoiled and rushed a behind, but the willingness to keep hunting and the ability to create at the top of the ground was on show in everything she did.

THIRD QUARTER

After setting up her teammates, the third term produced her goal for the game, getting just reward for her offensive pressure. She was on early and immediately applying pressure before rotating off for a rest at the five-minute mark. Midway through the term she was back on, marking on the wing, taking a bounce and kicking effectively to centre half-forward.

Then came the goal. At the 13-minute mark she intercepted off hands from the kickout, took a step, sidestepped, and slammed it home. It was the kind of goal that only certain players can manufacture – reading the play coming the other way, reacting faster than everyone else and finishing clinically. She had one more effective inside 50 from centre half-back in the final minute of the quarter to close out a term that was punctuated with a moment of class.

FOURTH QUARTER

Back on from the opening bounce and right back to the task. A handball receive at three minutes saw her burst forward and get a shot away that was rushed across the line – close, and a reflection of the danger she presents when she goes forward.

After her customary mid-quarter rotation she returned at the 11-minute mark directly to the centre bounce, won the first touch, kicked effectively inside 50, then showed the football intelligence that makes her exceptional: she held her line, moved to 45 metres out, took a mark, went back and kicked to the goalsquare.

The kick went off hands and rushed through, but the chain – winning it at the centre, recognising the opportunity, positioning to receive – was elite process from a player who has only just turned 16. A few minutes later, Moana gathered in attack, was wrapped up in a tackle and forced a stoppage, then got quick hands out at the resumption. Her final act was in the back half – gathering at half-back, zipping past a Knight with a neat sidestep and kicking effectively to a half-forward contest with time and space she had earned herself.

SUMMARY

There are players who accumulate. There are players who create. Lily Moana does both, but what makes her genuinely exceptional – and what stands out most clearly across four quarters – is how directly her involvement connects to scores. A total of inside 50s, seven clearances and a goal from 23 disposals is extraordinary output. The ratio of possessions to scoreboard impact – be it directly or indirectly is simply insane.

Moana still has growth in her profile, with her endurance an area to improve on for sustained impact, as well as her overall strength. She tackles consistently, but can still add extra strength to her frame to further enhance that element. Offensive players can tend to neglect the defensive elements of their game, and while Moana largely operates between the arcs and holds her width – thanks to her booming kick helping out – she has shown she is willing to get her hands dirty as well.

Her notes at the Under 16 Championships bear repeating here: she is a genuine superstar of the future. The caveat now is that the future keeps arriving sooner than expected. She made her Under 18s debut at 15, won the Under 16 Championship best and fairest, and is now consistently one of the best players on the ground in a competition built around top-age prospects who are two years her senior. Incredible to think she is still two years away from being drafted.