NAB League Girls Player of the Week: Round 1 – Laura Gardiner (Geelong)
IN a bumper round of NAB League Girls and plenty of individual efforts, it was a tough first week to pick our Draft Central Player of the Week. In the end, that honour belonged to Geelong Falcons’ midfielder, Laura Gardiner who suffered leather poisoning during the Falcons’ 33-point victory over Gippsland Power at RMIT Bundoora on Saturday. In perfect football conditions, Gardiner racked up 38 disposals, and laid 14 tackles, as well as producing five inside 50s and booting a crucial last-quarter goal in her side’s win.
Now in her top-age year, Gardiner has already represented Vic Country as a middle-ager last season, averaging a solid 11.7 disposals and 5.3 tackles at the AFL Women’s Under-18 Championships. An inside bull who thrives on the tackling pressure and clean hands, Gardiner also averaged more than five tackles playing for the Falcons last season to go with her 13.1 disposals per game.
It is only the first round of the season, but with her ball-winning numbers and tackling pressure, Gardiner is already looking like a crucial member of the Falcons team alongside fellow top-agers, Darcy Moloney and Poppy Schaap who finished with 28 and 24 disposals respectively in the win on Saturday.
DRAFT CENTRAL NAB LEAGUE GIRLS PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Round 1 – Laura Gardiner (Geelong Falcons)
WAFL Colts MOTR | Round 3: Subiaco vs. West Perth
SUBIACO overcame inaccurate goalkicking to beat West Perth by 16 points in this week’s WAFL Colts match of the round. The Lions steadied with four goals to two in the final quarter to run out deserving victors over the plucky Falcons, 8.16 (64) to 7.6 (48) at Leederville Oval. The winners dominated territory and possession […]
2024 WAFLW Player Focus: Zippy Fish (East Fremantle)
WESTERN Australia’s top AFLW Draft prospect Zippy Fish brought her own ball to Pentanet Stadium last Friday night, doing as she pleased in East Fremantle’s win over fellow top three side West Perth. The Sharks grabbed the Falcons’ second spot on the ladder and kept in touch with current leader Claremont, with Fish’s performance a […]
2024 SANFLW Team of the Week: Round 6
THREE impressive winners shared the spoils in our SANFL Women’s Round 6 Team of the Week with four players apiece in the side. Central District, South Adelaide and Woodville-West Torrens all recorded a quartet of talents, while fellow winner Glenelg, along with West Adelaide had the three. Losing sides Norwood, Sturt and North Adelaide finished […]
SANFL U18s Player Focus: Charlie Nicholls (Central District)
CENTRAL District tall forward Charlie Nicholls was in fine form as his side picked up a third straight SANFL Under 18s win on Saturday. The Bulldogs conceded the first five goals of the match to West Adelaide, but hit back to take the lead and run out 13.9 (87) to 7.7 (49) victors. Nicholls was […]
2024 Coates Talent League Girls: Round 2 wrap
A FIVE-game fixture played out across the weekend, with Oakleigh Chargers and Eastern Ranges moving to 2-0 for the year, while Gippsland Power and Bendigo Pioneers picked up a win in game one, and Sandringham Dragons bounced back to take home the four points.
Giant success for GWS at Under 16s carnival
GWS GIANTS Academy enjoyed taking out the 2024 AFL Women’s Under 16 Championships, picking up wins over Tasmania and Northern Territory to be the only undefeated team in Pool B. The Giants knocked off Tasmania by 32 points in game one on Friday, before a comfortable 44-point victory over Northern Territory on Monday. Those results […]
Scouting Notes: 2024 Victorian Under 16 trials
VICTORIA’S best and brightest Under 16 prospects took to Trevor Barker Oval on Friday for a pair of trial matches. Vic Metro took out both games over their Country counterparts, as the selection process for this year’s National Development Championships narrows. We noted some of the top performers.
2024 SANFLW R6 wrap: Bulldogs back on track
JUST two points separates second from sixth following Round 6 of the SANFL Women’s as the mid-table logjam continues to make each match of crucial importance. While Glenelg’s win over Norwood gained some breathing space at the top of the table, South Adelaide and Central District moved to 4-2 for the year, while Woodville-West Torrens’ […]
Rebranded Goannas slay new Dragons
PARRAMATTA Goannas proved too strong for St George Dragons, running out 64-point winners over the newest AFL Sydney Women’s Premier Division franchise. The Goannas held the Dragons scoreless in St George’s inaugural match, with the final score being 9.10 (64) to 0.0 (0). St George’s entry into the competition went as expected, with the young […]
[…] disposals, 14 tackles, five inside 50s and a goal in the opening round of the 2020 season – earning a Draft Central Player of the Week nomination for her efforts – the youngster proved that she is more than capable of taking the lead when required, […]