SA U18 Girls defeat Western Australia

By ZAC MILBANK

South Australia has finished its 2024 March AFL U18 Girls National Championships campaign on a high after defeating Western Australia by 21 points in Game 3 at Thebarton Oval.

Facing a tight tussle in the first quarter, the Croweaters trailed by a point at the first change before making their move during the second term.

Coach Brad Snell’s charges then piled on 4.1 to the Sandgropers three behinds to establish a handy 21-point lead at half-time.

The Croweaters, fuelled by strong performances from Central pair Mikaylah Antony (14 disposals, nine marks) and joint vice-captain Charlotte Riggs (15 disposals, five marks), then put the squeeze on the visitors by restricting them to just two behinds in the third term.

Despite conceding four goals in the final term, it proved to be enough of a buffer to record a second victory of the tournament as South Adelaide defender Esther Schirmer was fittingly named as SA’s MVP.

Glenelg’s Eloise Mackereth hit the scoreboard with a game-high four goal haul for SA while fellow tall target Klaudia O’Neill and goalsneak Georgia McKee booted three goals each.

SA finishes with a 2-1 win-loss record after winning the previous two AFL U18 Girls National Championships, defeating the Allies by 78 points in Game 1 and succumbing to Victoria Metro by 21 points in Game 2.

South Australia  3.2  7.3  8.3  11.5 (71)

Western Australia  3.3  3.6  3.8  7.8 (50)

BEST – SA: Mikaylah Antony (Central), Charlotte Riggs (Central), Eloise Mackereth (Glenelg), Sophie Eaton (Central), Laela Ebert (North), Violet Patterson (Glenelg)

GOALS – SA: Eloise Mackereth (Glenelg) 4, Klaudia O’Neill (Eagles) 3, Georgia McKee (Central) 3, Shae Archbold (South) 1

SA U18 MVP – Esther Schirmer (South Adelaide)

At Thebarton Oval