Don’t have an age listed for Sarah Ford (version I have mistakenly has 1900 listed!). Height is 160cm.
Amelia Radford is 26 and is 168cm tall.
Rebecca McDonagh is 32* and is 176cm tall. Garrett McDonagh is her brother-in-law.
*First played in 2019, and took 2020 off to have her third child (according to West Preston facebook)
Now that we have some NAB League names: let’s see if they featured highly in the first three rounds of the NAB League Girls.
This all pretty much comes from the good folk at:
(I hate their website re-design.)
Round 1
Calder lost to Eastern Ranges 15-38
Abbey McDonald credited with working hard all day to give the Cannons drive going forward. The Cannons’ sole Vic Metro hub representative didn’t disappoint in the opening game of the season, playing a more permanent midfield role than she has done previously. McDonald was consistent in her application and ferocity at the contest, jumping onto opponents in tight to create repeat stoppages, but also managing to break away at times and utilise her damaging ball use to try and get Calder forward. Whilst it wasn’t an easy day for any Calder midfielder, McDonald had a few purple patches where she managed to win a couple of consecutive clearances but was met immediately by an Eastern midfielder.
A quieter game by her standards, Octavia Di Donato still had her moments that caught the eye. In the third term she marked the ball leading out at half-forward, delivered into Painter with precision, then received the ball back by hand and hit up Demi Greenwood leading out from the square which resulted in a goal. Her long kicking and work up and down the ground still featured throughout the game.
Western Jets did not play (there are 13 teams)
Sutton’s 12 tackles was the league’s best. No one in team of the week.
Round 2
Bendigo beat Not Greater Western Victoria 62-12
Octavia Di Donato (19 disposals, three marks, six tackles, three inside 50s and four rebound 50s) improved from the week before with a strong effort across the ground. In a similar performance to Round 1, but with lifted consistency, Di Donato showed her class in moments across the ground. Her ability to read the play, intercept and take off from half-back, or to run along a win when in midfield, helps her impact a contest in multiple ways. She laid six tackles and was able to balance her ball-winning skills in all thirds of the ground. Once she has time and space, she is able to drill passes to teammates with ease, and just makes great decisions with ball-in-hand. Not an enormous ball-winner compared to some, but is highly effective.
Orritt had a defensively-minded performance from the midfielder whose tackles shaded her disposals (13-12). She was fierce around the ball, burrowing in and trying to win the ball for her team. Though often playing more of a team role, Orritt still had five inside 50s and was able to set up some potential goal scoring opportunities when going forward.
Calder’s co-captains led the way with strong performances through the midfield. Reese Sutton stamped her mark at the contest before limping off with a lower leg injury in the dying stages, while Olivia Manfre booted a couple of goals as she rotated forward. Among an even team performance, Abbey McDonald thrived in a defensive role
Sutton’s game may have ended slightly early, but she still managed to lead all comers (22 disposals) in an important midfield shift. The Calder co-captain was busy at ground level and displayed desperate intent going both ways; diving on the ball to win it herself, and shutting down opposition mids with tackling pressure. Sutton’s speed allowed her to consistently break clear of stoppage congestion, and she was terrific at the centre bounces during term three, which set the tone for the Cannons’ breakaway.
Abbey MacDonald played a role across the backline this time out. She was matched up on dangerous Northern forward Rylie Wilcox and did well to not only cover said defensive base, but also produce some offence on the rebound. McDonald was rarely beaten in one-on-ones both aerially and at ground level, proving physical and imposing with her pressure to help Calder recover possession. She ended up driving right up the ground as the game wore on, registering three inside 50s to go with six rebounds.
Olivia Manfre, the second of Calder’s co-captains, put up brilliant numbers of 21 disposals, five inside 50s and two goals in what was a solid overall performance. Starting forward, she snared an opportunist goal off the deck in the opening quarter, before lifting when moved on-ball thereafter. Her second major came in term three after reading the flight of the ball well to mark and convert the set shot, and Manfre helped Calder get on top when it mattered with her scoreboard impact.
For a second week Scarlett Orritt topped the league tackles with 13 (she shared that stat with Cannon Amy Gaylor).
Team of the week: MacDonald on there HBF, Reese Sutton on the bench.
Round 3
Western Jets beat Northern 38-23
Jets skipper Charlotte Baskaran was a standout for the second week running, collecting a competition record 38 disposals through midfield. She was partnered by Montana Ham (32 disposals) and Stephanie Asciak (18) at the centre bounces. I left the references to the others because holy crap 38 in 80 (?) minutes and because Montana Ham was the ultimate big-bodied-mid last year and has since grown another 6cm.
Asciak may not be as flashy or dynamic as other in Western’s midfield, but she played an important role in generating some forward momentum from the stoppages. The over-ager looked confident on the ball and backed herself to break away from congestion, slapping away the arms of would-be tacklers and arching her back on the march into attack. It was another solid outing for Asciak, who has also accrued some VFLW experience.
Bendigo lost to Dandy Stingrays 45-77
Orritt listed in the Bendigo bests.
Di Donato is arguably the Pioneers’ standout top-ager, and racked up a season-high disposal tally but did so in a more unassuming way. She looked classy with each possession, absorbing contact if necessary and taking her time to find the right option in even the tightest of spots. Her ability to step into space and be clean with each touch proved important, and Di Donato also displayed her leadership with some commanding voice from the bench.
Stats and team of the week articles for round 3 are not up yet.
If anyone but me read all of that I’ll be astonished.
Soooooo… I can’t tell what the criteria for a developmental player is to get included on that print-out: it’s not age, not whether they have played a game with us, not NAB League status.
I hope that’s not the list that goes on the website – even though it does include Simone and Isabel this time!
(Hmmm, sportsTG have not added the VFL/VFLW 2022 seasons yet. Going by the absence of both of the NAB Leagues, it may not happen at all. I guess we hope the AFL have fixed their website to list teams as actually named, rather than by jumper number!)
Yeah, that bug has been there for years. They just have a default home ground for each team and don’t enter the actual location (can’t remember what it showed when Collingwood played us “home” at Tulla last ANZAC Day).