Sport
30 May, 2024
Top spot
THE Terang Mortlake U18 girls football team remain undefeated heading in to this weekend’s grand final rematch.
The Bloods took on the Horsham Demons on Sunday at Wilsons DC Farran Oval, and quickly established a vice grip on possession en route to a 3.8 (26) lead over the scoreless Demons by the end of the first quarter.
Horsham took advantage of a breakaway to get on the board in the second quarter but the Bloods held firm as they brought the lead up to 40 points at the major break.
The strong performance continued through the remainder of the match as the Bloods cruised to victory, 8.20 (68) with Horsham finishing the day 3.3 (21).
Best players for the Bloods were Tayla Bell, Sema Meric, Holly Jones, Claire Kennedy, Nikaiah Murfett and Sommer Jones.
Tayla Bell and Holly Jones led the scoring with two goals apiece while Matilda Curran, Claire Kennedy, Maddison Wallace and Isla Primrose each kicked a goal.
“I’m very happy with how the girls played,” coach Nathan Jones said.
“We knew Horsham were coming with not as many players as we had hoped for but our girls are playing a good brand of footy.
“They’re all making cont-ributions so we’ve got a pretty good squad at the moment with lots of numbers.
“Above all they’re having a lot of fun and they’re learning lots along the way, so it’s an enjoyable place for the girls to be around.”
Jones said he believed the improvements through the squad’s development has been noticeable this year.
The girls remain undefeated more than half way in to the season, which he attributed to their collective eagerness to improve in addition to a strong support system of coaches, mentors and parent helpers which has seen “it all come together”.
“We’ve got some really good on-field leaders who have been in our program for three or four years,” Jones said.
“Communication is one thing we’ve been focusing on, it still has room for improvement but it is getting better.
“Our transition from back line to forward line is getting better, our pressure on the balling and just competing on the ball has all shown improvement.
“We all know those improve-ments are needed across the board if we’re going to match it with a team like South Warrnambool, who are still the yardstick of the competition.”
The yardstick will be tested this weekend as the Terang Mortlake U18 girls head to Warrnambool to take the South Warrnambool side, who are coming off a 79-point win over Cavendish at the weekend.
The Bloods lost a heart-breaking Grand Final to South Warrnambool last year, but got their revenge in round two this season with a 12-point win.
Jones acknowledged Souths will undoubtedly be looking to flip the script this weekend to share equal points for first on the ladder.
“We just have to be competitive and show a little composure under pressure,” he said.
“Training has been really positive and we know it’s going to be a hard-fought contest - it always is with them.
“We’re more evenly matched this year so I think our middle group will really stand up and give it a good crack this weekend.”
