By JARROD POTTER
AFL YOUTH GIRLS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS – ROUND 2
BATTLING the two big Ws of the national championships – West Australia and the howling wind – Vic Metro all but confirmed its ticket to the MCG with a 44-point triumph.
Sandringham’s Trevor Barker Beach Oval copped its fair share of the storm-front buffeting Victoria this week – and play for the Victorians and Swans alike was not ideal.
The grandstand end held the key to victory as the winds gave every kick a solid boost.
When the wind favoured the Victorians, they cashed in and them some.
The first term was run on Vic Metro’s terms; from the first touch the likes of Deanna Berry, Isabel Huntington and Emily Browning set up forward entries aplenty.
Beaconsfield’s forward superstar Brooke Struylaart continued her brilliant start to life in the state ranks, giving West Australia’s full back Rachel Ashley nothing but headaches.
Struylaart bagged six goals – snagging them from all over the ground, including big grabs and ground-level efforts up the ground in the swirling Sandringham wind – to take her tally to 10 from the two matches.
But her work was set up by the gallant efforts of the midfield and especially the never-say-die defence.
Switching scenes, Vic Metro toiled in the back-end when the wind was smashing them head-on through Jordyn Allen, Tyla Hanks and Charis Ulu Peniata
Such was the tenacious defence from the host-state that at one stage Ulu Peniata battled two on one in the second term to ensure a behind wouldn’t be rushed.
Another starring defensive effort was a big shepherd from Olivia Vesely, that gave Karly McNiece the time to link up and hit Struylaart lace out at the other end.
The end to end stuff was just as important as the final score as Vic Metro showed it’s not just one, two or 10 girls that can steal the show, but the entire squad.
“When it’s so windy like that and blowing 60-70kms it’s worth six or seven goals and you only get 30 minutes to kick with it then 30 minutes to defend your life,” Vic Metro coach Wayne Siekman said.
“We kicked with it early and their intensity was high from the start, we might’ve only kicked one goal in the first five minutes, but we got on top and put the structures into place and gave us the good break that we needed.”
He praised the likes of Struylaart, Allen, Browning, the defensive performance of Tyla Hanks and Courtney Jones for her under-the-radar performance on the wing.
Siekman resorted to the age-old textbook answers when it came to thinking about Friday night though.
With two massive wins over West Australia and Queensland, the Metro girls are all but confirmed starters for the MCG curtain-raiser, but he was only looking towards Thursday’s clash against Vic Country.
“Mathematically, there’s still a possibility that we can miss – but two wins of 50 and 40 points our percentage is quite high and we’re pretty much there – that’s what these girls set out to do,” Siekman said.
“You can’t win a national championship without getting to the grand final and this year was the biggest reward yet to play on the MCG and the girls have nearly done that.”
On a brutal day battling the odds-on favourites and the howling gales, West Australia was well served by Sabreena Duffy, Emily McGuire and ruck Sonia Dorizzi.
Injuries may prove the biggest problem of the championships so far for Vic Metro with a few players sidelined from round one while Madison Prespakis going down with a leg injury in the last term.
The match against Vic Country has been relocated to Dandenong’s Shepley Oval and will be on from noon.
