Up against eight teams in our division, St Mary’s competed against Newcastle High, Tomaree High and St Paul’s Booragul achieving outstanding results. Although some of our team had little to no experience in AFL, the girls were quick on their feet and soon realised their skills on the field.
The girls were able to apply their relevant skills acquired from touch football, rugby league, soccer and basketball to play a game of AFL, including tackling, learning strategy and coping with the challenge of a 360 degrees attacking and defending environment.
The results on the day saw a 34 - 7 win against Newcastle High, 23 - 0 win against Tomaree High and 43 - 1 against St Paul’s.
Making it through to the final round, the girls were up against Belmont Christian College and took it out of the park, defeating them 22 – 3. All up, our girls scored 122 points and conceded 11 points.
The following students were awarded for their outstanding performance on the field recognised as the most valuable players:
- Petra Greaves (forward) scored some excellent goals, took great marks and ran hard all day.
- Georgia Jenkins (midfield) rucked consistently and dominated the midfield. She was a reliable link between the forwards and the backs.
- Grace Harvey, in her first AFL tournament, was outstanding and took many marks. Her work rate was excellent and helped build a platform for the team.
All team members deserve praise and credit for their efforts, especially acknowledging the fact that they were respectful to all teammates, demonstrated good sportsmanship and remained controlled on the field.
A special thanks goes to Riley Newstead who assisted at training and the gala day with skill development, drills, strategy and positioning of players. Col Love also attended training, organised uniforms and first aid and transported the team.
To this day, the St Mary’s AFL girls team remain undefeated, proving their remarkable determination and dedication to sport. We look forward to a future game against the Central Coast champion team.
Follow mnnews.today on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
