GEELONG Falcons’ Lucy McEvoy was again the shining light in Vic Country’s second victory up on the Gold Coast. The defender has made the move up forward for this tournament with great success, following up a five-goal performance with a bag of four in her side’s 23-point win over the Central Allies.

Vic Country kicked off the scoring with a goal from Dandenong Stingrays’ Molly McDonald, whose long range kick rolled through the goals for her first major of the tournament. But some good defensive efforts from Central Allies’ Rachel Dunstan and Bella Clarke really challenged Country, limiting their scoring to 1.1 (7) for the quarter.

While the Allies didn’t manage to get a score on the board in the first quarter, gun forward, Katelyn Rosenzweig responded instantly with the first goal of the second quarter in the opening minutes. She converted a set shot from about 35 metres out which brought the Allies within a point of Country. It didn’t take long for the side to wrestle the lead back, as Essendon Victorian Football League (VFL) Women’s star Danielle Ponter converted a wonderful set shot from a difficult angle near the boundary line. Ponter has kicked five goals from five games for the Bombers and kicked her first for the AFL Women’s Under 18 Championships in the second quarter of the fast-paced clash. After this, it then took some quick transition from Country to get it back into the hands of their match-winner on Monday, as McEvoy ran in to kick her first goal of the day and her sixth goal of the tournament to swing the momentum back in their favour. The Geelong defender continued to show her dominance in the forward line, running into goal from close range to register her second consecutive major just before the half-time sire, giving Country a 3.2 (20) to 2.0 (12) lead at the main break.

In the third quarter, McEvoy picked up where she left off, winning a free kick right in front of goal and slotting it through for her third of the match. It was then Nikia Webber’s turn to join the party, kicking her first goal of the tournament in her first game in the ‘Big V’. This extended Country’s lead to 21 points early in the third quarter, prompting the Allies to get a move on if they wanted to avoid handing Country their second consecutive big win. Amber Ward provided a highlight in defence for the Central Allies when she smothered what would have been a certain goal from Rene Caris on the goal line. Jordyn Allen’s long bomb from outside 50 got the ball to the hot spot for Country but from there, it was all Amber Ward, giving her side the opportunity to rebound out of defence. Unfortunately, the Allies couldn’t get that crucial score on the board in the third quarter, trailing Vic Country 2.0 (12) to 5.4 (34) at three quarter time.

To begin the last term, the same culprit continued to cause havoc for the Central Allies. McEvoy ran in for her fourth goal of the game, showing determination that she wanted another bag of five next to her name. But the Allies wanted to provide a highlight of their own, and that came from Jaimi Tabb, who provided an explosive run down the boundary line, taking a few bounces and sending it forward. This allowed star forward, Ponter to run onto the ball that came off the back of the pack, running in for her second goal of the day. But that ended the scoring for the Allies, as Vic Country ran out victors with a score line of 6.6 (42) to 3.1 (19). This is Country’s second consecutive win of the Gold Coast tournament, which will give them huge confidence going into their next game on Friday against the dangerous Western Australian outfit.

VIC COUNTRY: 1.1 | 3.2 | 5.4 | 6.6 (42)
CENTRAL ALLIES: 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.1 (19)

GOALS
VIC COUNTRY: Lucy McEvoy 4, Molly McDonald, Nikia Webber.
CENTRAL ALLIES: Danielle Ponter 2, Katelyn Rosenzweig.

ADC BEST
VIC COUNTRY: Lucy McEvoy, Nina Morrison, Jordyn Allen, Olivia Purcell, Nikia Webber, Sophie Van De Heuvel
CENTRAL ALLIES: Danielle Ponter, Amber Ward, Nikki Gore, Rachel Dunstan, Esther Boles, Hannah Munyard