A TOP of the table clash that ended in a draw for Subiaco and Claremont to remain unbeaten highlighted a huge Round 7 of action in the WAFL Women’s as the State Academy members were out in force once again for their respective sides. We took note of how each of the State Academy members performed over the weekend.

All notes are the opinion of the individual author.

Subiaco:

#8 Olivia Crane (Defender)
Stats: 14 disposals, 5 marks, 6 tackles, 1 inside 50

Playing her second game since returning from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury with a bye in between, Crane worked into the contest after a few uncharacteristic early turnovers. Once she got going she was influential with a huge contested intercept mark on the quarter time siren and then a crucial clearing kick from defence to the wing late in the fourth term among her highlights. Crane showed her strong aerial ability and lovely kicking skills once she was given a split second to think and ran hard up and down the ground to even mark inside 50 at one stage in the final term.

#22 Olivia Wolmarans (Forward/Ruck)
Stats: 14 disposals, 5 marks, 5 tackles, 12 hitouts, 3 inside 50s, 2 goals

Became the match-saver with her goal in the last two minutes, marking 35m out and converting from around 40m for her second major of the game. Earlier she got her side off the mark with a very similar conversion after another mark on the lead. She judges the ball in flight well and was clean below her knees throughout the contest, while applying great defensive pressure for a tall. Wolmarans went into the ruck as well, winning hitouts up the other end of the ground with her terrific athleticism and follow-up work.

#24 Sunni-Quay Peters (Wing/Defender)
Stats: 11 disposals, 7 tackles, 3 inside 50s, 1 behind

Spent a lot of time on a wing and rolled back to assist in defence, Peters ran hard on the outside to get involved. She had a super busy first term winning plenty of the ball, hitting up teammate Claudia Langley deep inside 50 well. Though a little fumbly at ground level and dropping a couple of marks she should have taken, Peters was strong at ground level, laying fierce tackles and using her athleticism to advantage. In the opening minute of the second term, Peters appleid a full body spoil then recovered for a shot on goal that just missed.

#27 Layla Quinn-Schofield (Forward)
Stats: 11 disposals, 3 marks, 2 tackles, 2 inside 50s, 1 behind

Showed aggression throughout the contest and was an option in the front half, often used as a player to thump the ball inside 50 or deeper down the ground. She took a few marks on the lead, often wearing body contact, and attended forward half stoppages as well, capable of influencing around the ball with her stronger frame.

Claremont:

#11 Ella Gilbey
Stats: 5 disposals, 3 marks, 1 tackle, 3 inside 50s, 1 goal

The explosive Tigers forward did not get a lot of looks in the match, but took a couple of strong juggling marks at half-forward then kicked a nice goal under pressure off a snap just before being bowled over from close range. She was lively though ultimately limited in how she could impact, so hitting the scoreboard with a rare chance was very good.

#15 Hannah Seaborn (Forward)
Stats: 5 disposals, 1 mark, 1 tackle, 1 inside 50

After four goals on debut, Seaborn did not see a lot of it and was unable to hit the scoreboard with just the one mark and one kick. She did fire off a handball to Gilbey for her goal in the third term though so played the team role deep forward.

#33 Juliet Kelly (Defender/Midfielder)
Stats: 14 disposals, 17 tackles, 1 inside 50, 1 behind

Played a negating role on Krstel Petrevski around the stoppages and then when Petrevski was off or outside, Kelly went to Matilda Sergeant. Her defensive pressure and tank is elite, laying some bone-crunching tackles and critically locking the ball up late in the game with the ball in the Tigers’ forwardline. Did not get a lot of time and space, but when she did have the ball was neat, having one snap on goal that just missed.

East Perth:

#20 Charli Bassett (Wing/Forward)
Stats: 15 disposals, 4 marks, 1 tackles, 4  inside 50s, 1 goal

A really lively player who built on her first game last week to have another consistent outing in game two. Early on she was rushed with her disposal and made a few errors by foot, but once she adjusted, Bassett provided some nice low driving balls inside 50. She was clean at ground level and able to dish off quickly with lightning hands. While her disposal by foot at speed is an area of improvement, she can find space well and is not afraid to wear contact when required to win the ball. Covers the ground well too so is one to watch for next year.

Peel Thunder:

#8 Tiama Collard (Forward)
Stats: 19 disposals, 4 marks, 8 tackles, 5 inside 50s, 2 goals, 3 behinds

It was a wonderful performance from the dangerous forward who was shut down last week against West Perth, but found much more space against the Royals. Her defensive pressure is what underpins her game and she can win a lot of the ball through that avenue, as well as force turnovers. Then on the scoreboard she kicked a nice checkside goal as well as a rudimentary close range set shot, and could have had a big bag with a few misses as well. Overall was an eye-catcher for the Thunder and is one to watch over the next couple of years.

#26 Charlie Fletcher (Wing)
Stats: 19 disposals, 3 marks, 8 tackles, 6 inside 50s

Working in tandem with Collard but further afield, Fletcher often linked up with her Under 16s All-Australian teammate when going forward. The talented speedster did get running to half-back at times to apply enormous defensive pressure, and then once she had it, put speed on the ball as well in transition. At times she can get caught and cost a free kick, but as soon as she gains any sort of space, unless the bounce goes astray she is off to the races. Has nice hands at ground level and though she dropped a couple of marks she should have taken, recovers well and always looks for the most impactful disposals.

Swan Districts:

#5 Carys D’Addario (Midfielder)
Stats: 22 disposals, 3 marks, 6 tackles, 3 inside 50s

It is rinse and repeat for D’Addario in a good way, with the Swan Districts midfielder again just playing her role and providing a fierce presence on the inside. Offensively and defensively the top-ager can impact the game, and she even had a few chances towards goal, setting up Emily McGuire in the opening 30 seconds of the third term as well. Very clean and just keeps winning the ball and cracking in defensively.

#14 Ava Stewart (Defender)
Stats: 9 disposals, 3 marks, 2 tackles, 1 inside 50

After showing her wares up forward the last couple of weeks, Stewart was back in defence where she won a few touches in the opening few minutes, mopping up at half-back. Her athleticism allows her to compete in the air against most opponents, and she ie mobile enough to pounce on the loose ball post-marking contest. She laid an important bump and follow-up tackle four minutes into the second term to save a certain goal, before a moment later competing in a marking contest, getting it to ground and clearing it to safety. Set up McGuire as well with her sole inside 50 a low bullet to her leading teammate.

#18 Sienna Gerardi (Forward)
Stats: 13 disposals, 5 marks, 2 tackles, 3 inside 50s, 1 goal, 1 behind

Exciting and dangerous in the forward half, Gerardi covered a lot of ground working up to the wing at times and had a number of great defensive plays even if not rewarded with tackles. One such play was a great run-down of Jasmine Single, forcing a turnover on the wing early in the second term. Gerardi can turn on a dime, dancing around opponents with ease, and after some hard running throughout the game, got reward for effort with a fantastic snap goal from the pocket two minutes into the fourth term.

Perth:

#34 Addison Opalinski (Defender)
Stats: 10 disposals, 1 mark, 2 tackles

Played higher up to start with and would rotate with Carlshausen deeper at times, providing an intercepting option from the back half of the ground. Her sole mark was a nice intercept midway through the third term, and though at times she threw it on the boot under pressure, generally got it to the right areas. Not as many touches as previous weeks but still had an impact in the match.

#37 Mia Carlshausen (Defender)
Stats: 16 disposals, 2 marks, 1 tackle

The bottom-ager is growing into her role at League level in defence as that classy running half-back who can also defender. She can get bumped off it a little and will look to add strength in order to have a few more tackles stick, but what she does with ball in hand stands out. She lowers the eyes, takes risks and can open the game up. Expect her to develop into that running half-back and either wing or inside midfielder of the future with her skills and speed an attribute combination that slots in well across any line.

West Perth:

#7 Mia Russo (Midfielder)
Stats: 22 disposals, 3 marks, 4 tackles, 7 inside 50s, 1 behind

Has strung together some strong performances, and was again really solid without anything spectacular. She loves to burst from the stoppages, and while she did get a couple of chances to do so, mostly looked to win the ball in close and feed it out to teammates. He defensive pressure was fierce and she has built in confidence as the season has gone on, working into space to be an option forward of centre including resting up forward in the last quarter to lead out, mark and then kick it deep to get vital meterage and field position. Thrives on the bumps and contested nature of footy.

#25 Lexi Strachan (Midfielder)
Stats: 20 disposals, 2 tackles, 4 inside 50s, 1 goal

Similar to Russo did not have a lot of space to work with, but Strachan became the saviour when in the last quarter midway through, she finally broke the goal drought with a clever snap around her body out of nothing. That opened the metaphorical flood gates for a few last goals for the Falcons who prior to that had kicked eight straight behinds. Her hands through traffic were good in the middle, she influenced around the stoppages and showed good strength against far more experienced opponents.

#31 Cara Dziegielewski (Ruck)
Stats: 17 disposals, 4 marks, 9 tackles, 26 hitouts, 7 inside 50s

Started in the ruck and rotated forward where she presented as a target. Had a few ‘almost marks’ which might well have been completed in drier conditions, though she still worked hard to follow-up. She looked too athletic in the ruck, and not only impacted at the stoppage but also around the ground, getting involved in transition both as a lead-up and out wide as a safe option. Her marking got better as the game went on, but once the ball hit the deck, Dziegelewski’s tackling pressure shone for a player of her height.

East Fremantle:

#13 Maya Louvel-Finn (Defender)
Stats: 17 disposals, 2 marks, 5 tackles

The top-age defender was under siege for the most part in the back 50 as the Falcons dominated field position, but was once again able to hold her own gallantly. Louvel-Finn took some of the kickouts and looked to drive the ball from defence, but was often unable to find targets long with the home side well set up. She did not panic with ball in hand, had her head on a swivel and generally made the best choice she could, even with her long kicks often picked off.

#17 Alicia Blizard (Forward)
Stats: 7 disposals, 2 marks, 2 tackles, 1 hitout, 1 goal

Kicked an early goal with a soccer in the goalsquare running hard back, though did not get too many more looks in the front half of the ground. There were quite a few ‘almost touches’ from the National Academy member who worked up the ground and got to the contest, but could have been a touch cleaner at ground level or in the air. Defensively she worked intently, applying pressure and then when having her chance, trying to break through stoppages to get her team forward.