Match Report – Under 16 Girls – Round 6, 2018

U16 Girls – Bayswater vs Upper Ferntree Gully.

Overcast conditions greeted our players for this week’s game against Upper Ferntree Gully. We were once again joined by Charli and Chya from the Under 14s, and with our full list available, were able to field 15 girls with one girl on the bench.

Our training prior to the game focused on being more accountable, and playing one on one footy all over the ground. I was pleased to see the effort and concentration the girls brought to the game. Most of the time when I scanned the ground, especially when our opponents had the ball or it was in dispute, our players were right on their opponents. The aspect of our girls’ game that I was most impressed with, however, was that I could really start to hear more voice around the ground from more players, and the team looked and acted as a unit as they entered and left the ground. I know it sounds like a small thing, but it is the foundation of a great team culture.

Unfortunately, our captain courageous Chloe, was badly injured going hard at the ball, and couldn’t come back on. Highlights for the game included Ez’s leadership, Emily P providing dash as well as lots of tackling pressure, Emma also good in close and with plenty of tackles, and Rhian who is rapidly building a reputation for hardness at the ball. Like Rhian earlier in the season, Amber played a really good first up game for the team, chasing, competing hard, going for marks, and getting her hands on the ball. Good games additionally from Caitlin, Jaslyn (who played despite not feeling 100%), Emily C-T, Alanna and Holly, as well as Charli and Chya. A shout out to Talia too, who did a perfect drop punt in the first quarter.

Once again, the scoreline which showed Upper Ferntree Gully defeating our girls 0.1-1 to 16.15-111, didn’t reflect the effort our girls put in. As we improve 5% or 10% at a time, I’m confident that we will start to close the gap on the better teams in our division. We will continue to focus on talk, kicking technique, and one on one footy at training, as well as some basic drills on picking up the ball.

This week sees us having the bye, which is probably a good time for our girls to recover from any injuries, and refresh for the rest of the season. We are going to use the time we would normally be playing to visit an Escape Room as a team building exercise. Hopefully all the girls escape, because we can’t afford to lose any numbers for the game the following week!

Thank you to our runner Tori, water boy and girl Aidyn and Summer, goal umpire Alan, umpire escort Shane, boundary umpire Lochlon, trainer Craig and team manager Mandy.

Andrew Robertson
U16 Girl’s Coach