Rd 5: Demons vs Wimbledon Hawks (Women)

Mitch 'Boxy' Skelly | 09.06.16

Wandsworth Demons 3.4 (22) def. by Wimbledon Hawks 5.4 (34)

It was billed as the AFL Europe match of the round and today's grand final rematch did not disappoint. Despite the sore heads from the Epsom Derby both teams played hard committed footy in a game that went down to the wire.

The message for today's game was simply to go hard at the contest and play accountable football. From the outset it was clear the Dee's were up for a scrap, with plenty of solid bumps and tackles, Noodles leading the way as usual. The first quarter was tight and space was hard to come by, an early goal from Socksy giving the Dee's a deserved lead at the break.

The second continued on in the same way, however the game started to open up a little and we saw the skills and speed from Tessa as she was racking up the possessions. Jess Calam was throwing her self into every contest taking the hits in her stride, an unfortunate knee injury ended her day early which was a costly blow to the team, however her contribution to that point was just what we wanted. Noodles slotted a lovely goal and things were tight at half time - the Hawks had a small lead from memory!

Despite falling further behind in the third quarter the girls rallied and started to play some of the best footy we have seen all season. With the ball going end to end both teams were giving it everything, one passage of play in particular saw the ball move from our half back line to the forward line with Ringo getting on the end of a little "Joe the Goose" and slotting home her first sausage from point blank range.

Whilst things didn't go our way in the final quarter the effort remained solid throughout. The Hawks have some very talented footballers and were able to break away and kick some decisive goals early. With some improved fitness and tighter marking of our opponents we may see a better outcome in future matches, this is something we can only work on at training and shows the importance of getting to as many sessions as possible in the run in to the finals.

Despite the loss this was our best effort for the season across four quarters and so many of our players had great games. The stand outs of the day were Tessa, who's clean hands and pace broke the game open, and Becks who played a magnificent game at Centre Half Back taking marks, great ball use and also nullifying the impact of the Hawks best player. As usual Crabs was killing it all over the place, playing just about every position on the ground and doing them all to great effect and Fliss played a huge game in the ruck without any recent training under her belt. Special mentions to Damo, French Steph, Fliss and Jo O'D who all played well in their debut games, Pinks, Jizzy and Screech for their assistance on the bench and all the girls who weren't playing but helped out and cheered the team on all day.

Goals: Socksy 1, Noodles 1, Ringo 1

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