AN EXCITING bottom-age prospect, Claremont’s Eva O’Donnell produced her career-best game for the Tigers in Round 4 of the WAFL Women’s competition. Picking up 20 disposals as a half-forward/wing, O’Donnell also booted 3.2 to have a huge influence on the game. Claremont ran out 10-goal winners over Subiaco in what was an outstanding team performance.

ClaremontWing, Medium Forward

Eva O'Donnell

Height: 167cm

Weight: -

DOB: 28-12-2005

2023 WAFL Women’s: Round 4
Claremont 10.8 (68) def. Subiaco 1.2 (8)

STATS: 20 disposals (16 kicks, 4 handballs), 8 marks, 2 tackles, 4 inside 50s, 3 goals, 2 behinds

FIRST QUARTER

O’Donnell did not take long to win the ball after working hard applying good pressure pushing up to the wing. Just two minutes into the contest she won the ball, and though she was set upon in the tackle, got the handball away and teammate Adele Arnup was awarded the free kick.

At the six-minute mark, O’Donnell buzzed around the forward stoppage but could not quite pick it up cleanly in a rare blemish by the teenager. Five minutes later however, the forward was able to be in the right place at the right time to receive the handball and snap around her body to kick her first goal.

SECOND QUARTER

O’Donnell started the quarter with a mark on the wing in the fifth minute. She ambitiously played on around her opponent who was right there going boundary side but due to having to rush, turned the ball over going inside 50. Not long after, she won the ball and quickly dished off by hand, and then did it again late in the quarter.

In the 17th minute of the term, O’Donnell won the ball on the wing, gave off a quick handball, pushed forward to receive it back but it turned over before she could win another possession inside 50.

THIRD QUARTER

The third quarter was where the teenager came alive. In the second minute of the term she marked 25 metres out, went back and slotted the goal from 30 metres with a lovely set shot. A few minutes later she made it three goals with a great leap, strong mark and set shot that never looked like missing.

Once she was done kicking them herself, she was setting them up for her teammates, with another great grab at half-forward, and nice pass into Arnup to kick another major. Her quarter ended with a sensational pickup off the deck with one hand, then she ran into 35 metres, but just pushed it to the left. She would take yet another mark late in the term and kicked to a contest 20 metres out.

FOURTH QUARTER

O’Donnell remained busy to the final siren with a number of important touches in the last quarter, getting her hands to the ball cleanly. In one instant a rushed handball from the contest was intercepted after she was tackled, but her second and third efforts a couple of minutes later were sensational.

She worked hard to lay a big smother on the wing, bounce back up and put immediate body pressure on the next player as she was covering the ground as well as she did in the first term. In her last passage of play, O’Donnell set up another goal with a brilliant pickup, then she shrugged off an opponent through a tackle and kicked to the goalsquare for the last major of the day.

CLOSING THOUGHTS ….

O’Donnell is already showing promising signs as that pressure forward and high work rate runner. She is strong overhead, clean and smart inside 50, and though she has a slight build, she is competitive and can beat bigger opponents one-on-one thanks to her aerial prowess and speed.