THREE fast goals to open the final term into the breeze helped ice Vic Country’s first win of the AFL Women’s Under 18 Championships, defeating arch-rivals Vic Metro by 10 points in the third and final game at Shepley Oval on Saturday. Despite a strong breeze blowing up the other end and an on-fire Bailee Martin, Country caused a boilover against the 2-1 Metro side to finally celebrate a victory at the national carnival.

Martin slammed home seven goals from 19 disposals and four marks to further strengthen her case as the best player in the AFLW Draft pool, with three of those goals coming in the last 10 minutes and two in the final 90 seconds. But while Martin was the dominant goalkicker, Vic Country had its own star with Ava Bilyk somehow going to another level on her way to another MVP with 31 disposals, five marks, seven clearances, four inside 50s, two rebound 50s and two goals.

Bilyk’s second goal sealed the game with thee minutes to play, pushing the lead out to 22 points before Martin’s pair of late majors. Prior to that it had been a contest of ebbs and flows, with the breeze naturally giving advantage to the side kicking with it. Country flew out of the blocks to boot four goals to one in the opening term, before Metro responded with the same scoreline to slash an 18-point quarter time deficit back to just one point at half-time.

By the main break, Martin already had four goals and was looming like the key to the victory as Sandringham bottom-ager Maya Duane‘s 50-metre bomb landing perfectly just two minutes into the second quarter. Lily Milner was also getting busy in front of goal with a couple of majors, while National Academy member Sophie White – who controlled the ruck battle – also hit the scoreboard.

Country had the breeze in the third term, and made more of limited chances, booting 2.1 to Metro’s 1.4, but it meant the lead only grew to four points. Most at the ground would have tipped Metro to run over the top of them given how the first half had panned out, but it could not be further from the case. Grace Dillow and Murray Bushrangers pair Skylah McPherson and Eliza Roche split the big sticks in just eight minutes and all of a sudden the lead was out to 22 points.

While Martin kicked number five – and six and seven – either side of Bilyk’s match-sealer – it would not be enough with Country celebrating on the final siren. The win was sweet after a series of tough losses – leading in the last term against both Allies and Western Australia but failing to capitalise. It was a different story in the final game though with the home side getting on the board.

Bilyk’s Vic Country teammate Greea McKeegan had the next most disposals with 17, as well as two marks, six tackles, three inside 50s and a goal, while the ever-consistent Georgia Garlick piled up six rebound 50s from 14 disposals. Dillow and Holmes were busy in the front half, and Milner’s two goals came with 11 touches and four tackles. Roche and Lacey Nihill were also busy throughout the contest.

For Metro, Martin was clearly best-on, while the ever reliable duo of Emily Rankin (21 disposals, four clearances) and Isabella Mazzei (18 disposals, five clearances and five tackles) were strong around the ball. Grace McIntyre finished with a team-high 22 disposals, as well as four marks and six inside 50s, while Alli Allen laid seven tackles from 13 disposals and earned Vic Metro’s MVP for her competitive nature throughout the carnival.

VIC COUNTRY 4.2 | 5.3 | 7.4 | 11.4 (70)
VIC METRO 1.2 | 5.2 | 6.6 | 9.6 (60)

GOALS:
Vic Country: A. Bilyk 2, L. Milner 2, G. McKeegan, G. Dillow, E. Roche, I. Boulton, S. McPherson, S. Little, S. White
Vic Metro: B. Martin 7, M. Duane, S. McCormack

RMC BEST:
Vic Country: A. Bilyk, G. McKeegan, G. Garlick, O. Holmes, L, Milner
Vic Metro: B. Martin, G. McIntyre, I. Mazzei, E. Rankin, A. Allen