Years 7/8 Girls Football
Catholic College Sale have fallen just short of a State Semi-final appearance, after losing out to Rowville in the School Sport Victoria Junior Girls AFL competition.
After dominating at Division and Regional rounds, the girls braved cold conditions at the Koonung Recreation Reserve in Blackburn North on Tuesday August 13, as they looked to book a place in the final four of the state-wide competition.
They would came up against Rowville Secondary College, who have become a rival of sorts with some tight tussles in Netball State Finals over the last two years.
Rowville got out to an early lead, slotting through three goals in the opening term. A late goal to Ash Centra – the first of three for the day – pegged back the margin. The second quarter was more promising, as we kept Rowville goalless and were rewarded for our tireless work across the midfield.
Once we worked our way into the game, the work-rate and skill of our midfield and half-back line was evident. Jemma Birss and Ash Centra were standouts in centre and on the ball, continually getting to contests and providing opportunities in our forward half, while Aly Beale was terrific in providing first use from ruck contests, and never stopped the whole match.
The defensive quartet of Tilley Pendergast, Miah Stothers, Zoe Stothers and Scarlett Morris were tremendous with their pressure and rebounding, while Ash McDonough’s tackling pressure was fantastic and definitely gave opposition forwards trouble.
Milla Anderson and Sienna Wynd helped keep us in the game with some great play and awareness in the 3rd and 4th quarters, while Zali Gallagher had a terrific second half from the wing going one-on-one with a strong opponent. But ultimately, we would fall just short, falling by 14 points at the final siren.
A big thank you to parents and families who were able to travel down and support the team, and thank you also to Corey Scholtes and Rachel Bown for their coaching and managing of the squad this year. We are already looking forward to next year!
Rowville 3.0 3.1 4.1 5.4 34
CCS 1.1 2.2 3.2 3.2 20
Goals: Ash Centra 3
Best: Jemma Birss, Tilly Pendergast, Ash Centra, Ally Beale, Zali Gallagher
