Tigers Taming the Heat

By ZAC MILBANK

Glenelg is embracing the scorching summer sun as it prepares for the 2020 Statewide Super Women’s League season.

Still buoyant after qualifying for their first finals series last year, the Bays didn’t hold back as they launched into an internal trial match amid 35C heat at Mitchell Park before Christmas.

Speaking on SANFL Radio, Glenelg coach Jason Fairall said his team looked upon the unforgiving weather as a positive challenge to tune up for similar conditions once their campaign begins on February 15.

The Bays will be without forward line focal points Lucy Bellinger and Caitlin Gould, with the pair selected in the 2019 AFLW Draft by Brisbane and Adelaide respectively.

But the recruitment of South Adelaide pair Emily Woods and Grace Duffy is being seen as a great tick for the Bays’ program after a disappointing 2018 campaign.

On the coaching front, Fairall is looking forward to having the presence of Angela Moritz, who will be the Tigers’ bench coach in 2020 after missing last season as a player due to a knee reconstruction.

Fairall is keen to promote as many female coaches as possible, with a view to stepping aside for the right candidate to take on his mantle at Brighton Road.

Moritz is one of several experienced players to enter the coaching fray next year, joining Jane Fitzgerald (Norwood), Stacey Huddleston (South) and Jane Altschwager (North).