The second round of the NAB AFL Women's Under-18 Championship moved to Broadbeach on the Gold Coast on Wednesday.
All six teams played, with the Allies – a composite team made up of girls from South Australia, Northern Territory and Tasmania – producing the best effort of the day to defeat the in-form Western Australia.
What happened?
The Allies, led by Adelaide's AFLW coach Bec Goddard, overran Western Australia by five points. They kept the girls from the west to just three points after quarter-time. It was the Allies' second win for the week, after they overcame NSW/ACT on Monday. The two victories are even more remarkable considering the players came together only last Friday, while some state teams have been training for months.
It was a disappointing result for Western Australia, which had looked like one of the strongest teams in the competition after Monday's dominant win over Vic Metro.
In the early match, a four-goal third quarter from Vic Metro was enough to close out a 22-point win over Queensland.
The home side rallied in the last quarter with three goals, but it was too little, too late.
Vic Country continued its unbeaten run, holding off NSW/ACT by 27 points.
NSW/ACT was much better defensively in the second half, keeping Country to just two points, but struggled to hit the scoreboard.
Who starred?
Vic Country: Darcy Guttridge, once again, showed plenty of class off half-back. The 17-year-old is eligible to be drafted this year, and has been in Country's best every match this carnival.
NSW/ACT: Angela Priftis is a nuggety defender and an excellent intercept mark. She ran hard off half-back and was consistent all day.
Vic Metro: Madison Prespakis is likely to be selected very early in October’s NAB AFLW Draft, and she did her chances no harm on Wednesday. She booted two goals in a couple of minutes, and took several strong contested marks.
Queensland: Captain Arianna Clarke was a workhorse in the midfield.
Allies: Ruck Jess Allan is about 182cm and has a decent vertical leap. The South Australian gave her teammates first use of the ball for most of the day.
Western Australia: McKenzie Dowrick was strong in the air and has great hands. The midfielder has to wait another year before she is eligible to be drafted, but is a name to watch for the future.
Seen and heard
Goddard and her GWS counterpart Tim Schmidt are leading Allies and NSW/ACT respectively, giving them plenty of scouting opportunities for potential draftees.
Collingwood coach Wayne Siekman and Bulldogs coach Paul Groves spent much of the day sitting next to each other, keeping a close eye on the Victorian girls.
Fremantle coach Michelle Cowan made the cross-country trip from Perth, while Richmond women's football operations manager Kate Sheahan was on hand pondering 2019 and beyond. The Tigers are one of 10 clubs seeking a licence to play in the expanded AFLW completion from 2019.
Sheahan said Richmond was preparing to make a verbal presentation to the AFL later this month after submitting a proposal several weeks ago.
Plenty of current AFLW players are among the assistant coaching ranks during the carnival, with Katherine Smith (Melbourne), Jess Dal Pos and Renee Forth (Greater Western Sydney) helping out the Allies, and Sam Virgo a line coach for Queensland.
Collingwood's Emma Grant was also present, providing Siekman with an extra pair of eyes. Also on hand was former AFL umpire Mathew James, recently appointed the Pies’ AFLW football operations manager.
Brisbane Lions coach Craig Starcevich was lending Queensland coach Michael Gugliotta a hand in the coach's box, while captain Emma Zielke was an interested onlooker.
What's next?
The teams have a rest day Thursday, with team bonding activities and recovery sessions planned.
Three games will be played on Friday at Broadbeach, the final day of the championships.
Vic Metro will take on NSW/ACT from 10am, Vic Country faces Western Australia at 11.40am, and the Allies play Queensland in the final match at 1.30pm.
An All-Australian squad will be released on Friday evening, with the final team to be selected at a later date.
