Womens Reserves Round 8 Wrap Up

The drive down to David Grays Arena in Mandurah may have be a tiresome one but the conditions were perfect on arrival. Unfortunately, the score at the end of the game wasn’t so perfect as our Women’s Reserves went down to Peel Thunder by 37 points. 

The Thunder shocked us in the first quarter with their hard pursuit of the ball. Stronger starts to games is one of our key areas for improvement and it was made glaringly obvious again when Peel hit two unanswered goals almost immediately. Peel were able to get in front of our players to create a series of uncontested marks that ultimately led to goals. Conversely, we weren’t making the best decisions when the ball was in our hands and so we were unable to penetrate inside 50. That’s not to say our Falcons weren’t without their moments. Cameron Dawson was lively, using her long limbs to cover more ground than an 80-volt ride-on lawnmower. And it may as well have been swooping season for Zoe Panagopoulos and Scovia Anzoa who dove time and time again on the ball to regain control.

While we came out with a more determined attitude in the second quarter we found ourselves being sucked into the contest to our detriment. Too many numbers around the ball allowed Peel to kick over our heads and run into the goal square unhindered. Our normally tight defence found itself on the back foot like a B-side Ke$ha song, always chasing thunder. Natalie Bennett took a few saving marks and Tracy Gallagher consistently moved to fill dangerous space, but Peel were mostly able to thunder away with it. We had our chances when Courtney Collard won the ball out of the pack and centred it beautifully into our 50. Unfortunately, we needed to use our voices to ensure the ball carrier knew that they had more time to ping it through the big sticks. At the end of a frustrating first half our Women’s Reserves were behind by 36 points.

Fuelled by a Boladeras pep talk, the second half was an entirely different game. Over the final two quarters Peel scored 29 points and we scored 28 points making it an even contest and reminding us that we must gun it like a US Capital rioter from the very start of the match. Zoe Panagopoulos started our first insurrection moving the ball to Dixie Corcoran who delivered to Jaymee Duke on the lead. A clobber in the back to Duke then resulted in a free kick and goal. Amy Montgomery also had a chance through Scovia Anzoa as well as Tia Bergin through Chelsea Doolan. While we weren’t able to convert on these occasions we certainly controlled the game and moved the ball to our advantage. Our backline also functioned more effectively with Zoe Smith intercepting Peel’s entries, Dixie Corcoran sending the ball out of defence, and Trish Medwin laying brutal tackles.

Once we had the game moving to the beat of our wings, we started to slot repeated goals. The captaincy of our marauding militia in the fourth quarter went to Tia Bergin. Bergin simultaneously cleared the ball from the centre and gathered it in our 30 to goal. She was ably supported by Summer Mollross who worked hard to offer leads and ensure the ball was always contested, but the next goal again went to Bergin who was set up perfectly to run and gun by a precise kick from Chloe Metcalf. With a little help from her defensive teammates, Scovia Anzoa’s consistent efforts throughout the match were finally rewarded with our last goal. We didn’t win the war, but we certainly won some battles, and we can build on that. The match ended with the scoreboard showing Peel Thunder 10.7 (67) and West Perth Falcons 4.6 (30).