SA U16 Girls remain undefeated in Marsh AFLW National Championships

By ZAC MILBANK

The South Australian Under-16 Girls team has remained undefeated for the third year in succession after eclipsing the Brisbane Lions Academy by 56 points in Game 2 at Thomas Farms Oval.

Backing up a gritty 13-point win against Western Australia in Game 1 of the Marsh AFLW U16 National Championships, the Croweaters burst out of the blocks to pile on 6.1 (37) in the first term while keeping the Lions without a score.

Tall SA utility Lara Gribben made her presence felt early with two goals in the opening stanza while captain Maia Freemantle produced a nice finish on the run for a major.

SA vice captain Lani Cocks continued her bold play from the contest against the Sandgropers last week, regularly running off half-back and through the middle to provide plenty of drive for the hosts.

The scoring dried up for Bek McMahon’s charges in the second term as the visitors mounted an inaccurate charge to get back into the contest, booting 2.4 for the second term.

But SA responded well after the main break when Scarlett Bletheyn nailed her set shot four minutes into the third quarter.

Then came the play of the day for the Croweaters when Madeline Nuss took three bounces through the corridor inside 50m, handballed over the top, kept running to receive the final handball in the chain and finish the foray with a major in the goal square.

From there, the margin continued to balloon for SA as Charlotte Maurits (two goals) was creative on her left foot while Caitlin Hardin and Isabella Beaumont were also praised for their effort by the Croweaters’ coaching staff.

SA’s MVP of the Championships will be announced in the coming days once the tournament concludes later this week.

South Australia  6.1  6.1  9.6  12.8 (80)

Brisbane Lions  0.0  2.4  2.4  3.6 (24)

BEST – SA: Maia Freemantle, Lani Cocks, Lara Gribben, Charlotte Maurits, Caitlin Hardin, Isabella Beaumont.

GOALS – SA: Lara Gribben, Charlotte Maurits, Scarlett Bletheyn 2, Indiana Nelson, Lillian Thomas, Maia Freemantle, Madeline Nuss, Jaidee-Lee Shortridge, Charlotte O’Sullivan.

At Thomas Farms Oval, Unley