VIC COUNTRY entered the 2026 AFL Women’s Under 18 Championships hoping to build on a one-win campaign from the year prior, and while the ladder position didn’t change dramatically, the manner of the finish told a different story. A courageous four-game campaign delivered just the solitary victory, but a final-day win against rivals Vic Metro ensured the carnival ended on the front foot rather than the back.

RESULTS

Vic Country finished the national carnival with a 1-3 record, the lone win arriving in the final round.

Round 1: Allies 8.8 (56) def. Vic Country 5.8 (38) – Blacktown International Sportspark

Down early in the final term, the Allies booted the last four goals of the match to snatch a come-from-behind 18-point win on the opening weekend of the carnival.

Round 3: Queensland 7.8 (50) def. Vic Country 5.6 (36) – Brighton Homes Arena

Queensland broke the game open with six second-term goals to secure a 14-point victory, with even contributions across the Maroons outfit proving the difference.

Round 4: Western Australia 6.4 (40) def. Vic Country 5.3 (33) – Kennedy Community Centre

Country led by 16 points at the final change but were run down late, with the Sandgropers piling on four unanswered goals in the last term to steal a seven-point win.

Round 5: Vic Country 11.4 (70) def. Vic Metro 9.6 (60) – Shepley Oval

Four fast goals into the breeze in the final term proved the difference in a genuine arm wrestle, with Country holding off a huge individual haul from Vic Metro’s Bailee Martin to salute by 10 points and avoid a winless carnival.

MVP

Ava Bilyk (Geelong Falcons)
Midfielder/Forward | 169cm | 07/07/2008

There was little argument to be had here. Bilyk averaged 23.8 disposals, 2.5 marks, 4.5 tackles, 5.8 clearances, 3.0 inside 50s, 1.8 rebound 50s and a goal a game across the carnival, and was best-on-ground in almost every appearance for a side that struggled for results until the final day. Already a Vic Country Under 16s MVP two years ago, the Geelong Falcons skipper did the double at this level, laying the first tackle of the carnival’s opening centre bounce and never letting up from there. Her release by hand in traffic, her ability to shrug tackles and burst clear, and her willingness to add defensive value on top of her attacking output made her the one certainty in an otherwise inconsistent line-up, capped by a 31-disposal, seven-clearance, two-goal send-off in the Round 5 win over Vic Metro.

KEY PLAYERS

Georgia Garlick (Bendigo Pioneers)
Defender/Midfielder | 170cm | 01/07/2008

Stats: 15.0 disposals, 3.2 marks, 3.8 tackles, 1.0 clearances, 1.0 inside 50s, 5.5 rebound 50s

A smooth-moving distributor who barely missed a beat across the carnival, Garlick posted a game-high 23 disposals, five marks and seven rebound 50s in the Round 3 loss to Queensland and was a fixture in Rookie Me Central’s weekly Team of the Week selections. Her damaging left foot and calm decision-making out of defensive 50 made her one of Country’s most reliable exports.

Scarlett Marsh (Dandenong Stingrays)
Defender | 162cm | 03/04/2008

Stats: 12.0 disposals, 2.0 marks, 5.0 tackles, 2.7 rebound 50s

Alongside Garlick, Marsh anchored a defensive unit that stood tall under sustained pressure. She ran at elite disposal efficiency across the carnival, was rarely rattled with ball in hand and did not shy away from a contest, laying telling tackles even when caught outnumbered.

Grace Dillow (Gippsland Power)
Forward | 164cm | 03/06/2008

Stats: 11.2 disposals, 2.2 marks, 3.2 tackles, 1.0 clearances, 2.8 inside 50s, 1.0 goals

The most consistent avenue to goal in the Country forwardline, Dillow slotted into a more permanent role inside 50 through the carnival and finished with multiple multi-goal games, including a two-major haul in the Round 5 win that helped ice the result.

Sophie White (Dandenong Stingrays)
Ruck | 184cm | 18/03/2008

Stats: 8.3 disposals, 0.3 marks, 3.3 tackles, 28.0 hitouts, 2.0 clearances, 1.3 inside 50s, 0.3 goals

A National Academy member, White dominated hitouts, and her decisive tap work regularly set Bilyk and the midfield brigade in motion. Her hitout average ranked second in the tournament behind only Western Australia’s Cara Dziegielewski, despite missing a match to injury.

Lily Milner (Gippsland Power)
Forward/Midfielder | 172cm | 25/01/2008

Stats: 11.7 disposals, 1.0 marks, 4.3 tackles, 1.3 clearances, 1.7 inside 50s, 1.7 rebound 50s, 1.0 goals

A livewire type capable of playing multiple roles, Milner produced a two-goal display against Vic Metro, adding to a carnival in which she consistently won the hard ball at ground level against bigger bodies.

Greea McKeegan (Geelong Falcons)
Forward/Wing | 176cm | 15/12/2008

Stats: 14.5 disposals, 2.8 marks, 4.5 tackles, 1.2 clearances, 2.5 inside 50s, 0.5 goals

A constant rotator between the forward line and the wing, McKeegan used her speed and evasion to create her own space throughout the carnival and set up scores as often as she found them herself.

Lacey Nihill (Bendigo Pioneers)
Midfielder | 172cm | 01/05/2008

Stats: 12.8 disposals, 2.8 marks, 3.5 tackles, 1.5 clearances, 1.2 inside 50s, 1.2 rebound 50s

A versatile wing who played every match of the carnival, Nihill offered clean hands and even production across the ground, rounding out a Country midfield that leaned heavily on its depth given the inconsistent scoreboard returns elsewhere.

Carmela Perri (Murray Bushrangers)
Midfielder | 168cm | 15/10/2008

Stats: 15.2 disposals, 6.2 tackles, 3.2 clearances, 2.2 inside 50s, 1.0 rebound 50s

Country’s hardest-nosed inside presence, Perri topped the squad’s tackle count for the carnival and paired that pressure with genuine ball-winning nous through the middle, giving Bilyk a reliable partner at the coalface across all four appearances.

FUTURE STARS

Vic Country’s bottom-age brigade was headlined by a trio of Gippsland and Dandenong-based prospects who will carry significant expectation into 2027.

Ella Bologa (Dandenong Stingrays)
Defender/Wing | 161cm | 10/09/2009

Stats: 8.7 disposals, 1.0 marks, 1.3 tackles, 0.7 clearances, 3.0 inside 50s, 0.7 rebound 50s

Tied to the Narre North Foxes, Bologa was named as the standout of the bottom-age crop heading into the carnival and backed that billing with composed performances out of defence and through the midfield across her appearances.

Lily Brittain (Dandenong Stingrays)
Forward/Wing | 161cm | 26/01/2009

Stats: 8.5 disposals, 1.0 marks, 2.0 tackles, 1.0 clearances, 2.0 inside 50s

Bologa’s Stingrays teammate rounded out a formidable bottom-age pairing, offering the same class in transition that has made Dandenong the dominant Talent League Girls program in 2026.

Olivia Holmes (Gippsland Power)
Midfielder/Forward | 170cm | 08/08/2009

Stats: 15.0 disposals, 1.7 marks, 5.0 tackles, 1.7 clearances, 3.0 inside 50s, 1.3 rebound 50s

The bolter from the bottom-age group given she was playing her debut Talent League Girls season, Holmes justified the tag with her role in the Round 5 win over Vic Metro, named among Country’s best on.