VIC Metro’s firepower proved too much for Vic Country in the opening game of the AFL Women’s Under 17 Championships, as the home team ran away with the contest by 35 points. Vic Metro booted four goals to zero in the first half, and whilst Country did not manage to put through a major over the opening two terms, they hit the scoreboard in the third quarter to keep the deficit at a straight four goals. Metro had no interest in making it a close finish however, closing out the game with two final quarter goals to win, 8.5 (53) to 2.6 (18).

Alyssia Pisano slotted two goals in the victory, with the skilful bottom-age left footer always looking classy around goals. The power-packed midfield of Sandringham Dragons duo Sofia Hurley and Bridie Hipwell, Western Jets’ Charlotte Baskaran and Calder Cannons’ Abbey McDonald – who are all bottom-agers in the Under 19s Metro squad – took control and led the way early despite Vic Country’s talented ruck Kalani Scoullar – also in the Under 19s squad – standing out at the taps. Keeley Skepper, Felicity Crank and Ash Van Loon did their best through the midfield for Country, whilst Lily-Rose Williamson caught the eye out of defence, and the defensive trio of Grace Hay, Molly Walton and Olivia Leonard were also strong.

Also impressive in the front half of the ground for Metro was Reese Sutton, while Ava Jordan and Charlotte Taylor looked strong on the wings getting the ball inside 50. Mia Busch stepped up to continue her good form for Eastern this season, while Kiera Whiley was another bottom-ager who showed her future potential. For Country, Mia Van Dyke played forward and had some eye-catching moments, while Charlotte Simpson and Grace Chapman also had a number of notable moments that featured in our Top Performers.

VIC METRO 2.2 | 4.3 | 6.4 | 8.5 (53)
VIC COUTRY 0.2 | 0.3 | 2.4 | 2.6 (18)

GOALS:

Metro: A. Pisano 2, K. Coyne, J. Rigoni, S. Potter, R. Sutton, A. Jordan, P. Ryan.
Country: L. Keck, K. Scoullar.

DC BEST:

Metro: A. Pisano, S. Hurley, M. Busch, B. Hipwell. C. Baskaran, A. McDonald
Country: K. Skepper, L. Williamson, K. Scoullar, A. Van Loon, G. Hay, C. Simpson

TOP PERFORMERS:

VIC METRO

By: Declan Reeve

#1 Ava Jordan (Northern Knights)

Playing a bit of a different role for Metro, as an outside midfielder or small forward, rather than a rover like at club level, she took the change in her stride and had a really good display, looking particularly dangerous in the forward line as a pressure forward. That consistent pressure, and willingness to win her own ball as she’s done with the Knights, got her on the scoreboard, to reward her hard work.

#2 Abbey McDonald (Calder Cannons)

Played a really big part of Metro keeping Country goalless, especially in the first quarter where the pressure was consistently on from the midfield, where her ball reading and willingness to meet the ball gave her every opportunity to win it and kick it long forward. She was often rushed into a quick kick forward which made her usual high quality kicking look a little worse than usual, but it did not stop her from having a high impact going forward.

#5 Reese Sutton (Calder Cannons)

Had a really consistent showing, making herself a consistent option going forward for Metro, often being spoiled by taller opponents, where she’d follow up at ground level and beat them to get the ball to teammates. She really shined in the 3rd quarter where it felt like she was involved in everything that happened in the Metro forward half, getting herself a goal for her hard work.

#6 Charlotte Baskaran (Western Jets)

Maybe not her most prolific game, but Baskaran showed exactly what she was expected to show, with her kicking and ability to hold her space on the outside of contests and then time her run well to receive a handball, being highlights from her game, still working hard to pressure opponents and help teammates if she did not get the ball herself. As the game went on she got more opportunities to get the ball and highlight that damaging kick, also winning clearances from most stoppages she was around when she did not have an opponent on her.

#9 Alyssia Pisano (Eastern Ranges)

Made the forward half her own for Metro with her work at ground level and around marking contests excellent, showing natural forward craft beyond her years. She also was not afraid to put her hand up as a marking option in the forward line, making short and dangerous leads towards the ball carrier, this was highlighted when she made a lead 15 meters away from Bridie Hipwell, where she marked the Hipwell kick and converted the goal. In the second half she pushed a bit more up the ground in a high half forward role, where her speed and penetrating left foot kick were too difficult for country to deal with at times, taking bounces and weaving around her opponents.

#12 Mia Busch (Eastern Ranges)

A reliant pillar in the Metro defense for the game, Busch was really impressive with her tendency to attack a loose ball coming in or drift across and impact contests inside the defensive 50, with her follow up work, particularly her kicking, being a strength for Metro in transition, and set up a lot of chains going forward. She was trusted with the majority of the Metro kick ins, where she’d take a good 15-20 meters and then kick it as far as she could, reaching the wing and giving Metro a really good opportunity to get it forward.

#17 Bridie Hipwell (Sandringham Dragons)

Being a taller midfielder, she was often looked for by her teammates when moving the ball out of the backline, to take marks and get the game moving with her speed and deadly kicking. She was also a dangerous winner on the inside, with some real highlight moments where she’d win a contested ball, evade a couple of opponents and then get out into the open to deliver a long kick forward. There were times where she got caught trying to do too much, but those were rare.

#18 Kiera Whiley (Western Jets)

Very similar to Busch in their strengths and play styles, Whiley found herself up the ground and competing for contested ground balls a lot more. She showed a great work rate and second efforts, often following up her own kicks and impacting the contests wherever they ended up at down the ground.

#19 Charlotte Taylor (Oakleigh Chargers)

One that perhaps flew under the radar coming into this game playing only the two NAB League games, her work along the wing was superb all day, being a taller wing, she’s naturally an aerial threat around the ground, playing as a link up type, and delivers the ball long with a penetrating kick forward, often to a dangerous spot that would lead to shots on goal.

#24 Sofia Hurley (Sandringham Dragons)

As expected she had the ball on a string and was extremely dangerous around stoppages, with her speed and ability to weave through traffic just being too much for any Country midfielder to keep up with, allowing her to get relatively uncontested kicks forward. There were times where she’d look to handball to teammates in close, realise she was not under immediate pressure, and then run around a couple of opponents to then deliver a kick forward. With such an all round performance, she’s no doubt put her hand up to be playing in the Under 19s at some point in the upcoming fixtures.

VIC COUNTRY

By: Peter Williams

#1 Lila Keck (Bendigo Pioneers)

Looked lively deep inside 50, and the bottom-age talent has some great defensive attributes to go with her athleticism. She had a shot in the opening term running into goal but missed to the right, then snapped from the pocket on a tight angle around her body in the third quarter to get her team going for the second half.

#6 Lily-Rose Williamson (Gippsland Power)

Clearly one of the most eye-catching players going around, Williamson shows no fear with her aggression and willingness to move the ball on quickly. Whilst sometimes her regular fend-offs can get her into trouble, when it pays off she is hard to stop. Her power and speed combination make her such a dangerous prospect, that while she has aspects of her game to sharpen up, she has no issues finding the football and tucking it under her arm before running forward. Strong overhead and a thumping kick, Williamson has great raw talent.

#10 Felicity Crank (Dandenong Stingrays)

Continued her great recent form for the Stingrays through the midfield, often opposed to a quality opponent from the metro midfield, but capable to of dropping back and helping out the defence where possible as well. Early in the match she showed good composure to kick under pressure from deep in defence to half-back and was one of the more consistent ball users when winning the pill.

#11 Charlotte Simpson (Geelong Falcons)

Always has a crack in the midfield and was most notably very vocal in there. She teamed up well with her Falcons teammate Ash Van Loon, and used her strength and clean hands in there to win the ball. She is able to rack up the pill almost unassumably, but has a long boot on her that can clear the ball inside 50.

#12 Olivia Leonard (GWV Rebels)

One of the more consistent players across four quarters, Leonard showed her one-on-one ability on a number of occasions. She took a good intercept mark in the second term, and won a free kick one-on-one in the back pocket, as well as showing desperation to rush the ball across the line to save a likely goal. With her fierce tackling on display, Leonard played a solid game for Country.

#15 Ash Van Loon (Geelong Falcons)

The tackling machine was where the ball went and looked comfortable in the midfield against quality opposition. She is quick to get the ball to her boot and has clean hands on the inside to match her fierce desperation with her tackling pressure. Van Loon had a great kick out of the middle under pressure in the third term and was always lurking about the stoppages trying to free the ball from congestion.

#16 Keeley Skepper (Murray Bushrangers)

A standout performer from Country, unsurprisingly backed up her best on ground in the Under 16s match a couple of years ago with being amongst the top performers in the Under 17s version. Winning plenty of the ball through midfield, spreading to the outside and thumping long by foot, Skepper was able to provide plenty of meterage with her kicks and win the ball for more than her fair share. Sometimes she could not quite get on her trusty left foot and was forced to rush, but showed off her versatility by even going to full-back in the final term where she used good body positioning to win the ball at ground level, and was also tasked with the kickouts.

#19 Grace Hay (Murray Bushrangers)

Another one of the reliable Country defenders who did plenty, Hay was the pick of the trio with plenty of body-on-body pressure, able to stick with her opponent given her speed on the lead. For a taller player, Hay has enough athleticism to win the ball at ground level and close down opposition leads, but had a bit of bad luck with a perfect spoil in the first half, only for Metro to crumb and kick a goal. She showed good composure with ball-in-hand to rush it over the line.

#20 Molly Walton (GWV Rebels)

The other defender who has come on in leaps and bounds this year, Walton stepped up alongside Hay and Leonard to be a driving force out of the back 50. She was clean with her hands and present around the ball to provide some movement in transition, doing well throughout the game to work hard against the flow and contribute for her side.

#25 Mia Van Dyke (Geelong Falcons)

Given the strength in defence, the versatile Van Dyke played forward, and whilst she did not register a goal in the match, certainly caught the eye on a number of occasions. She soccered off the ground early in the match for a behind, then nudged her opponent under the ball well to have a shot on goal, only to miss again. She pushed up the ground to play on the win through the match, and kicked long on a number of occasions, taking a good strong intercept mark in the final term.

#30 Kalani Scoullar (GWV Rebels)

One of the top performers of the past month, Scoullar’s high-volume hitouts came to the fore again with her strength around the contest and clean tapping to her teammates. Whilst the opposition did try and shark her taps on a number of occasions given her dominance with her clean hands, Scoullar was also able to move well with hard work around the ground. She ran onto the loose ball in the third term to kick a major from the goalsquare, then playing forward presented as a target, taking a couple of marks and winning a free kick for her troubles.