The Northern Territory women’s team has been defeated by a strong South Australian side 6.5.41 to 2.2.14 at Adelaide Oval on Saturday evening.
Sunday 29 May 2016
In the curtain raiser to the Toyota AFL Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Round match between the Adelaide Crows and the GWS Giants, the NT side came out firing, leading the SA side by one point at the quarter-time break.
The Territory side impressed early with Jaylene Chevalier kicking two goals and Danielle Ponter taking a spectacular mark. Despite leading by a point at the end of the first quarter, the SA side began dominating the hit-outs and centre clearances.
With seven more scoring shots and an additional eight entries inside the forward 50, the SA side made the most of their opportunities in front of goal, gradually extending the margin and eventually winning by 27-points.
As the AFL moves closer to announcing the clubs who will play in the inaugural competition next year, the clash against the South Australian side was an exhibition match highlighting the best talent across South Australia and the Territory.
Head Coach and AFL NT Talent Manager, Wally Gallio, said it was a solid hit-out for the NT women despite the end margin.
“We started off really well and finished strongly which is important but it was the second and third quarter where we could have done a few things differently.
“Overall, we showed enough and we are not far off the mark with our women having learn a lot from this experience.
Adelaide Football Club legend Andrew McLeod was the assistant coach and supported Gallio with team structures.
“It was great to have Andrew coaching alongside me, he’s a proud Territorian and offered great words of inspiration to our women,” Gallio said.
Youngster Tayla Thorn, who turns 18 next Tuesday, said she enjoyed the experience of playing on Adelaide Oval in front of a large crowd.
“It was an awesome experience and one of the highlights of my football journey,” Thorn said.
“In terms of the crowd, it was definitely the biggest crowd I have played in front of and I’m really looking forward to what the future holds.”
NT hopeful Abbey Holmes said she really enjoyed the experience of playing an AFL curtain-raiser.
“It was fantastic for the NT girls to come down and play on a big stage and continue to build this relationship with the Adelaide Crows and South Australia,” Holmes said.
“It was a great opportunity to bring all the NT girls together again and meet the opposition who could be teammates to some of us come next year.”
Ebony Marinoff was SA’s leading possession winner, with 22 disposals and eight clearances, while their captain Courtney Cramey had 19 touches.
Sally Riley was the leading ball-winner for the NT, with 15 possessions, and was closely followed by Sue Nalder with 14.
The Adelaide Football Club and AFLNT have lodged a joint bid with the AFL to have a license for a team in the new AFL national women’s competition next year.
SA 2-0 4-3 6-4 6-5 (41)
NT 2-1 2-2 2-2 2-2 (14)
SA GOALS: Edwards 2, Cox, Vanhagen, Woodland, Allan
NT GOALS: Chevalier 2