ANNUAL REPORT 2006

President’s report

The ACT Women’s AFL (ACTWAFL) in 2006 has continued to expand on the foundations built by the committee in previous years and have continued to strengthen relationships within the AFL Community ensuring exposure of women’s football in .

During 2006, the ACTWAFL continued to grow with new players, including junior girls as young as 14, participate in key positions within the teams.

Other highlights this year included the Kangaroos hosting a training session for women. All who attended received personal coaching on techniques and gained an insight into the player’s weekly routine for game preparation.

The ACTWAFL again participated in a pre-season game against NSW in Dubbo, fielding a stronger side under the guidance of the Representative Coach, Joe Box. The opportunity given to those who played on the day was welcomed by all those involved and will continue to provide women who are thinking of trying out for the ACT representative team an opportunity to play in a representative practice match.

The ACTWAFL pre-season carnival and Open day again provided an opportunity for all teams to play prior to the season being undertaken. This also provided an opportunity for new players to ease themselves into the game. Congratulations to Eastlake for winning the Denny-Divett pre-season Shield. This day was a great success with guest appearances from ACT MLA Mr John Hargraves and Debbie Lee, President of the Victorian Women’s Football League (VWFL) to assist in promoting women’s football in the ACT.

The ACTWAFL continued its support for raising awareness of breast cancer and held a triple header of round games, with proceeds raised going to the Breast Cancer Council, with Guest appearance by our patron, the Hon. MP Ms Annette Ellis for the coin toss for the main game.

The ACT representative team headed to Sydney for the 2006 Women’s AFL National Championships with new coaches Joe Box and Nathan Costigan. The trip was financially supported by the Canberra Labor Club, ACT Government and the Sportsmans Warehouse. The ACT had mixed results in this year’s Championships however we defeated our rivals NSW in a closely fought match in muddy conditions under lights. The ACT came away more determined than ever to improve in 2007.

Congratulations to Riverina’s Kristin Ireland and Eastlake’s Emma Hender who were both selected to try out for the Australian Women’s International Rules team. Emma was selected and travelled to Ireland in October/November 2006 to play against Ireland’s gaelic football team. Sadly the team lost both matches against the strong Irish team. The ACTWAFL sees the opportunity to be selected to play and travel for an Australian team as something for players in the ACT to strive towards in their sport.

This year’s ACTWAFL Grand Final was played on between the two most dominant teams over the last few years- Eastlake and Tuggeranong. Eastlake proved to be too good for Tuggeranong in what was classed as typical football weather.

The ACTWAFL looks forward to 2007 as we will host the Women’s AFL National Championships and also celebrate 10 years of women’s football in the ACT. The ACTWAFL will continue to promote women’s football in the ACT region through these events in an effort to increase participation in the game and further relationships with key stake holders.

Finally, I would like to extend my thanks to the ACTWAFL committee, patrons and volunteers, whose commitment and application have contributed to yet another successful year for women’s football in the ACT region.

Joanne Foster ACTWAFL President

ACTWAFL President Jo Foster with Andrew Barr, ACT Minister for Sport and Recreation at Manuka oval

Treasurer’s report

2005/06 has been a year of much effort and change in the Finance area. In December 2005, the ACTWAFL lodged the outstanding 2003/04 and 2004/05 financial statements with the ACT Registrar General.

During 2006 the ACTWAFL migrated all financial information to MYOB, a professional accounting package, which can be used to complete the annual financial statements and record an annual budget.

Adoption of this package is an important step for the ACTWAFL as it will enable: • further consistency and controls around the financial reporting process; • easier tracking of accruals; • better reporting to the Executive; and • better separation of the Rep Team and League funds.

MYOB will automatically generate financial reports so that the Director of Finance can monitor progress against budget throughout the year. These reports will be presented at the monthly Executive meetings for the information of all Directors.

A further significant change made in the Finance area by the ACTWAFL during 2006 was to change the financial year from July – June to November - October. This more closely aligns to our competition season and simplifies the accounting process as fewer accruals will be required at year end.

The combination of the following factors: • unreliable comparative information; • the fact that no accruals were processed for the comparative year; and • a 15 month (rather than 12 month) current year (during transition); mean that detailed analysis of current year financial statements is difficult and relatively meaningless. However, the ACTWAFL can confidently say that we have maintained a cash balance of approximately $13,000, managed the ACT Representative Team expenditure effectively and captured detailed financial information for the league in 2006, which will allow better analysis in the future.

The ACTWFL is in a solid financial position to continue operation of the league and efficient management of funds as well as accurately record and monitor expenditure for the hosting of the 2007 National Championships.

Melissa Backhouse ACTWAFL Treasurer

2005-06 Financial Statements Actual Actual 1/7/2004 - 30/06/2005 1/7/2005 - 31/10/2006

Income 40,895.28 66,724.28 Membership Fees 21,755.14 25,783.28 Rep Team Player Contributions 12,645.94 23,336.10 Sponsorship & Grants Received 3,300.00 7,350.00 Grants Received 3,300.00 3,000.00 Sponsorships Received 0.00 4,350.00 Donations Received 113.75 503.60 Events & Fundraising Revenue 3,080.45 9,751.30 Event Revenue 0.00 3,640.00 Fund Raising Revenue 3,080.45 3,328.40 Presentation Night Revenue 0.00 2,782.90

Expenses 35,956.10 66,273.63 Bank & Government Fees 130.50 226.60 Rep Team Expenses 16,867.66 22,554.83 Competition Expenses 17,633.39 25,695.80 Ground Hire Expenses 3,005.44 2,090.50 Trophy Expenses 368.95 1,189.30 Umpire Expenses 7,210.00 9,120.00 Insurance 7,049.00 13,296.00 Events & Fundraising Expenses 1,222.55 14,132.00 Event Expenses 0.00 5,799.41 Fundraising Expenses 1,022.55 1,795.29 Presentation Night Expenses 200.00 6,537.30 Overhead Expenses 102.00 3,664.40 Advertising 0.00 550.00 Donations Paid 0.00 1,067.50 Post Box 102.00 107.00 Stationery & Postage 0.00 10.00 Website 0.00 499.80 Networking 0.00 408.35 Memorabilia 0.00 670.00 Presents 0.00 351.75

Operating Surplus/(Deficit) 4,939.18 450.65

Current Assets 13,251.18 14,741.83 Cash 13,251.18 13,732.90 General Account 11,785.51 8,975.89 Nationals Account 0.00 0.00 Rep Team Account 1,465.67 4,440.01 Petty Cash 0.00 317.00 Account Receivable 0.00 1,008.93

Liabilities 0.00 1,040.00 Accounts Payable 0.00 1,040.00

Closing Retained Profits 13,251.18 13,701.83 Opening Retained Profits 8,312.00 13,251.18 Accumulated Results 4,939.18 450.65

2005-06 Audit Report

2006 – The Year at a Glance

The season

The ACTWAFL had 248 registered players during the 2006 season, who were broken up as follows:

Club No. of Members ADFA Football Club 36 40 ANU Football Club 33 Belconnen Magpies Football Club 36 Eastlake Football Club 30 Riverina Lions Football Club 37 Tuggeranong Football Club 33 Total 248

Age in years No. of Members 14 - 19 56 20 - 24 78 25 - 29 75 30 - 34 30 35 - 39 5 40 - 44 2 45 - 49 2 Total 248

Tuggeranong finished minor premiers after a strong season only losing the one game to Eastlake, the eventual premiers. Eastlake finished a close second after the end of the home and away season, with away loses to both Tuggeranong and Riverina.

Riverina, ANU, Ainslie and Belconnen all fought it out for the remaining two finals spots. With only two games to play in the season, all four teams were locked on16 points. Riverina and ANU ended up taking third and forth position respectively.

Riverina easily accounted for ANU in the first semi-final while Tuggeranong looked in good form beating Eastlake. The following week Eastlake bounced back from their loss to defeat Riverina and set up a rematch of the 2004 grand final.

Team P W L B For Ag PC Pts 1 Tuggeranong 14 11 1 2 1117 134 833.58 44 2 Eastlake 14 10 2 2 975 166 587.35 40 3 Riverina 14 6 6 2 473 431 109.74 24 4 ANU 14 5 7 2 276 525 52.57 20 5 Ainslie 14 4 8 2 315 826 38.14 16 6 Belconnen 14 4 8 2 230 759 30.30 16 7 ADFA 14 2 10 2 189 734 25.75 8

2006 ACTWAFL final ladder

The Grand Final

The 2006 ACTWAFL grand final was held at Manuka oval on Sunday 3 September. The game preceded AFL Canberra’s First and Second Division grand finals and continuing the trend of the previous two years, the final was played in wet and windy conditions. Despite the weather the game recorded a high number of spectators and show cased the growing talent of the Women’s league.

As reported on the ACTWAFL web site:

The Eastlake Demons have broken another ACTWAFL record by winning their second consecutive premiership defeating the Tuggeranong Hawks in a highly skilled grand final at Manuka Oval.

The Demons went into the game as underdogs after losing to Tuggeranong in a major semi-final a few weeks ago. But the reigning premiers showed their experience and hit Tuggeranong hard from the first bounce.

Eastlake have now won four of the past five premierships.

All-Australian midfielder Emma Hender and ACT representative Mel Backhouse were vital to Eastlake's win, dominating the centre clearances and giving their forwards plenty of quality opportunities.

Eastlake's full forward Amy Bainbridge kicked two goals in the first quarter, one of which came off an exceptional mark, especially considering her come back recovering from a broken thumb only weeks earlier.

Eastlake's forwards flourished with 15-year-old winger Rohanna Prince kicking goal of the day from the left pocket on the run, while captain Megan Divett was solid in the ruck.

Eastlake coach Nathan Costigan praised his team for turning around the major semi-final result against the minor premier.

"We had a talk good talk during the week and we thought we were pretty bad in the first final," Costigan said. "They seem to like doing it the hard way, they lost the first semi-final last year as well."

Despite Tuggeranong's excellent running game, they seemed to be no match for Eastlake's experience. Handy Tuggeranong forward Kim Dickerson took an inspirational mark and kicked a goal in the third term but it wasn't enough to pull her side back into the game.

"They were just too good and we (Tuggeranong) weren't", said Dickerson after the match.

The final score Eastlake 8. 11. (59) defeated Tuggeranong 3. 3. (21)

Best on ground was won by Eastlake's Emma Hender.

Awards & Milestones

Goal Kickers Tuggeranong boasted the top 3 goal kickers for 2006 with Helen Dunhill pipping Kim Dickson at the post, overtaking her by kicking 10 goals in the final game.

Rachael MacDonald finished with the best goal point average, kicking her 20 goals in just 6 games, giving her an average of 3.33 goals per game.

Player Name Team Name Goals Dunhill, Helen Tuggeranong Thunder 31 Dickerson, Kim Tuggeranong Thunder 29 Ghirardello, Kathryn Tuggeranong Thunder 23 Rose, Sarah Eastlake Demons 21 MacDonald, Rachael Eastlake Demons 20 Puglisi, Donna Tuggeranong Thunder 18 Waldron, Sally Eastlake Demons 15 Pieper, Angela Riverina Lions 14 Willis, Dionne Riverina Lions 13 Backhouse, Nicole Eastlake Demons 12

2006 top 10 goal scorers

Awards

2006 Marion-Ann Bainrot Best & Fairest Kristen Ireland (Riverina)

2006 Runner up Best & Fairest Megan Divett (Eastlake) Bek Hall (ANU)

2006 Rising Star Elise O’Dea (Belconnen)

2006 Junior Player of the Year Kathryn Ghiradello (Tuggeranong) Amy Coote (Riverina)

Kathryn Ghiradello (Tuggeranong), Judy Mustard (AFL Canberra) Amy Coote (Riverina)

Senator Kate Lundy speaks at the Presentation Night

Milestones

The following ACTWAFL players reached their milestone number of games for the ACTWAFL (includes league and ACT Representation Team games) during the 2006 season and were recognised on Presentation Night.

100 Game Players Alice Broughton (Belconnen) Julie McLean (Riverina) Melissa Backhouse (Eastlake)

50 Game Players Amy Coote (Riverina) Dani Curcio (Ainslie) Kirsty Ferguson (Riverina) Kristin Ireland (Riverina) Nicole Backhouse (Eastlake) Raph Jarvis (Eastlake) Rebecca Hall (ANU) Sally Waldron (Eastlake) Vanessa Jackson (Belconnen)

Congratulations to all the award winners on the night for a fantastic season!

CLUB REPORTS

Eastlake Demons

Eastlake had a very successful season in 2006 by retaining the pre- season premiership and the ACTWAFL premiership trophies. This year proved to be a huge test for the Demons with stiff competition coming from Tuggeranong Thunder and Riverina Lions leading into the finals. Eastlake concluded the season with 10 wins and two losses and finished second to Tuggeranong in the home and away rounds.

The Demons met Tuggeranong in the Major Semi-final and were well beaten by a hungry Thunder team who went straight through to the Grand Final. In the Elimination Final Eastlake came up against the Riverina Lions who were keen to make it two grand final appearances in a row. After a physical game Eastlake came out on top and were through to their fifth consecutive ACTWAFL Grand Final.

The ACTWAFL Grand Final was played with amazing intensity and commitment. Both teams gave it everything but in the end the Demons were too strong and came away with back to back premierships.

Highlights of 2006

• Sarah Rose came 4th in the ACTWAFL Leading Goal kicking Award in her first year of football. • Rohanna Prince, who is just 14 years of age, was nominated for ACTWAFL Rising Star and Junior Player of the Year and was exceptional in her first year with the Demons. • Megan Divett finished equal second in the ACTWAFL Best & Fairest Award. th • Melissa Backhouse played her 100 ACTWAFL game during the season. Nicole Backhouse, Raph Jarvis and Sally Waldron played 50 ACTWAFL games. • Seven Eastlake players represented the ACT in the National Championships - Megan Divett, Melissa Backhouse, Kristen Woods, Rohanna Prince, Bronwyn Magdulski, Beth Bobroff, Emma Hender and Haidee Hudson. • Eastlake welcomed 8 new players to the club during 2006. This included Emma Hender from the Sydney league, Bronwyn Madgulski, skeleton competitor and the guest speaker from the 2005 ACTWAFL presentation night, Rohanna Prince from the Eastlake junior boys team, Lyndell Bruce from Melbourne, Belinda Powell from Brisbane, Renae Talyor from ANU, Sarah Rose and Haidee Hudson.

Eastlake Demon’s Club Awards

Best & Fairest - Melissa Backhouse Coaches Award - Sarah Rose Player’s Player- Carli Shillito and Rohanna Prince

Tuggeranong Thunder

The Tuggeranong Thunder finished the 2006 ACTWAFL home and away season on top of the ladder with a record of 11 wins and one loss. Victory over Eastlake in the Major Semi Final provided direct passage through to the Grand Final, but as has happened so often in the ACTWAFL, Eastlake were able to turn the tables on Grand Final day and were deserved Premiers.

Despite another grand final disappointment the Tuggeranong Thunder can be proud of their record of eight successive ACTWAFL finals series appearances. The Tuggeranong Thunder will look to continue this run in 2007 and go one better under the leadership of newly appointed coach Stephen Staines, who has previously coached Riverina in the ACTWAFL.

Highlights of 2006

• Helen Dunnill kicked 31 goals to finish as the ACTWAFL leading goalkicker for the season. Team mate Kim Dickerson came runner up with 29 goals and in the process became the first Thunder player to reach 100 career goals.

• Kath Ghirardello was named joint winner of the ACTWAFL Junior Player of the Year Award after finishing 3rd in the ACTWAFL goal kicking and 5th in the ACTWAFL Best & Fairest.

• Melissa Naughton made a successful return to football after a knee reconstruction to claim her 3rd Club Best & Fairest and Player’s Player double. She was also the highest polling Thunder player in the ACTWAFL , finishing 4th.

• The Thunder introduced four brand new players to football in 2006, Amanda Doelle, Lisa Grech, Hannah Harris and Sherrie Syrek and welcomed Renee Bink from junior boys football, Lauren Benfield from the Sydney competition and Steph Ingall and Donna Puglisi from ADFA.

• Kim Dickerson represented the ACT with distinction at the National Carnival.

Tuggeranong Thunder Club Awards

Best & Fairest – Melissa Naughton Runner Up – Taryn Riley Player's Player – Melissa Naughton Most Consistent – Amy Currie Most Improved – Nikki Tepper Best Player in Finals – Lauren Benfield Coach’s Award – Tia Flood

Riverina Lions

Pre-season 2006 got off to the start we were hoping for with yet another solid pre season gaining fitness and prospective players.

Come the season opener, the Lions soon realised the players and talent that had relocated since season 2005 and went down in their first encounter lacking in player numbers. This would be the sad truth for the Lions all season having enough players on the books, however struggling to field a full team each weekend due to high work demands and family commitments. This was particularly evident for road trips to Canberra.

However, the Lions true to their nature, kept their fighting spirit alive and although only fielding 14 players on two occasions, finished strongly and fulfilled their goal of making their 4th successive finals appearance in the ACTWAFL, bowing out to 2006 premiers Eastlake in the preliminary final.

Highlights for 2006

• Round 9 win over eventual premiers Eastlake 37-31 and 71-9 annihilation of ANU in the semi-final. • It would be a record breaking year and a year of firsts for the Lions with eight Lions representing at the National Women’s Championships in Sydney and with this the clubs first ever All Australian Representative Kristin Ireland who was rewarded for an outstanding week at the championships. • Club captain Julie Mclean would become the first Lion to be inducted into the ACTWAFL 100 club, playing her 100th game in the nail bitting victory over NSW on day 3 of the Nationals. • Club leaders Julie McLean and Kirsty Ferguson would make 50 Lions games, this a significant event achieved without missing a single game, whilst Kirsty Ferguson, Amy Coote and Kristin Ireland also made 50 ACTWAFL games. • At the ACTWAFL Presentation night, Kristin Ireland cap off a stellar season being named the ACTWAFL Best and Fairest and ACT Representative team Player’s Player. Amy Coote was named joint winner of the ACTWAFL Junior Player of the Year award.

The Lions now look forward to 2007 with a bright new outlook, fresh blood and look to regain the passion for the game and continue the proud history the club has upheld within its four years in the ACTWAFL.

Riverina Lions Club Awards

Best & Fairest (and player’s player) – Kristen Ireland Runner Up – Kirsty Irvine Most consistant – Angela Pieper Most improved – Suz Theobald Coaches award – Danielle Parr Clubperson – Angela Breen

ANU Griffins

The Australian National University Australian Football Clubs’ (ANUAFC) women’s team had another strong year on and off the field this season. This year ANU welcomed the ACTWAFL’s and the club’s first female coach, Kym Rose. The assistant Coach was Matthew Kenna.

Captained by Kendelle Treloar and Vice Captains Samantha Engel and Rebecca Hall, the ANU Griffins finished 4th on the ladder. It was a tough season, seeing a lot of injuries to key players. Never the less the Griffins spirit never dwindled and the girls were encouraged to develop their skills individually and as a team.

Griffins have continued to play together in the off season, participating in the Recreational Football competition. Pre season has also already commenced and the girls are eager for the 2007 season start.

A special thanks from the ANUAFC to the President of the ACTWAFL, Joanne Foster and the committee for their continued hard work and dedication to the league.

Highlights of 2006

• Rebecca Hall, Samantha Engel, Simone Huntingford and Rita Vigh were selected and represented the state at the National Championships in Sydney. The club was very proud to be sending away so many ANU representatives.

• The 2006 season concluded with our annual presentation night in September. ANU’s Best and Fairest Award was won by a rookie, Simone Huntingford.

• Rebecca Hall was joint runner up for the ACTWAFL’s Best and Fairest Award.

• Bek Hall reached 50 ACTWAFL games.

• The club welcomed 15 new players to the team, a good sign for the club and the ACTWAFL.

ANU Griffins Club Awards

Best and Fairest- Simone Huntingford Runner up - Rebecca Hall Player’s Player - Rebecca Hall Coaches Award - Alison Wright

Ainslie Football Club The 2006 season saw Ainslie start out with high expectations with over half of last year’s team returning. But what was even better was a number of older recruits that came to join the Ainslie throng and had some experience in playing the game at a schoolgirl level. This allowed the team to move into more advanced level of training skills sooner and the result of this was seen when we took on the more fancied teams in the Preseason Carnival. Not only did we win games but we almost rolled the eventual winner of the Carnival in a nail biting finish. The season looked promising. We let ourselves down in the opening game of the season despite running all over Belconnen in the first half. An issue that would haunt us for most of the season was when we became overconfident we let teams get back into the game and end up losing what were winnable games. Yet when our backs were to the wall we would find that bit extra and win games that everyone expected us to lose. When we started training with thirds team on a regular basis our teamwork became sharper, had more purpose and opposition teams started treating us with much more respect. If the enthusiasm of the 2006 team is anything to go by 2007 should be a great year.

Highlights of 2006

• Karina Demant, Dani Curcio, Shannon Biggins and Zoe Speck selected in the ACT Women's team. Unfortunately Zoe broke her finger just prior to the Championships and had to withdraw from the team. • Dani Curcio reached 50 games for the ACTWAFL. • While our first competition win in three years against ADFA was a moment to savor, it was our win to ANU against the odds that had everyone ecstatic. The win against Riverina, the first ever against them, placed the team on an even greater high as it put Ainslie into finals contention.

Ainslie Club Awards Best and Fairest: Karina Demant Runner up: Clare Warwick Encouragement Award: Zoe Speck Most Improved: Meredith Wells Coaches Award: Shannon Biggins Players Player: Joanne Loundes

Belconnen Magpies

The Belconnen Magpies had a mixed season in 2006. The season began with the appointment of the ACTWAFL’s and club’s first female coach and former player, Kate McNally.

The Magpies had plenty of new players to the club this season and unravelled some amazing junior talent in the form of 14-year-old Elise O’Dea and 15-year-old Amy Cash. This season also saw former player Rebecca Goddard return to Belconnen and the arrival of Victoria’s Lisa Gooding.

Despite having some experienced players (Alice Broughton, Jo Harris, Lyn Addison, Rhiannon McAdie, Rebecca Goddard and Jodie Davis) registered with Belconnen, due to injury and illness, there was not one game when all these players were available to play. Sadly Belconnen lost both Rhiannon and Lisa in the earlier part of the season to knee reconstructions.

The Magpies are already looking forward to next season with new coach Ossie Terron already appointed. Ossie will be assisted by former Belconnen player Justin O’Dea.

Belconnen and Riverina teams photographed “Out and about” by the Canberra Times during the ACTWAFL’s Breast Cancer Awareness Triple Header

Highlights of 2006

• Jo Harris, Alice Broughton, Elisa O’Dea and Lisa Gooding selected in the ACT Representative team. Jo was also named captain of the side.

• Elise O’Dea won the ACTWAFL’s Rising Star award.

• Alice Broughton reached 100 games and Vanessa Johnson reached 50 games for the ACTWAFL.

• Coach, Kate McNally gave birth to a healthy baby Olivia just after the season concluded.

Belconnen Women’s Club Awards

Best and Fairest- Jo Harris Runner up- Elise O’Dea Most improved- Jess Rees Coach’s Award- Gen Netting

ADFA Rams

The ADFA Rams had to be virtually rebuilt in 2006 because the majority of our senior and skilled players graduated at the end of 2005. We gained a number of enthusiastic new girls, the vast majority of which had never played football before, and for some, had never even seen a game of footy.

Our season began well, with a win at the Kapooka 12’s tournament, the first game for many of the new girls. We won our first game against Wagga, a feat unachievable in 2005. The winning streak was short-lived with many losses throughout the year, until finally winning the last game of the season. Despite the losses however, the enthusiasm and energy of all our girls remained high and skills improved dramatically.

The ADFA Rams says goodbye this year to our captains Liesl Franklin and Peita Starcevic, our President Heidi Storey and many other prominent players in the club. We also lose our coach Dan Fankhauser and our “back up coach” Amanda Frape, who have been fantastic this season and also season 2005.

We are looking forward to a strong season in 2007 hopefully gaining some new recruits who are as enthusiastic as the girls this year.

Highlights of 2006

• A win at Kapooka 12’s tournament in the lead up to the start of the season.

• Winning our first game against Wagga, a feat unachievable in 2005.

ADFA Women’s Club Awards

Best and Fairest- Peita Starcevic

2006 AFL Women’s National Championships

The ACTWAFL Representative team came back from this year’s Women’s AFL National Championships sixth in the competition. This was the toughest competition the ACT team has ever experienced with a record nine teams competing and some states improving significantly since 2005. ACT had wins against the Australian Defence Forces and arch rivals NSW as well as close loses to WA (2nd) and Qld (3rd) and disappointing losses against NT and SA.

The ACT had a win in their first game against the Australian Defence Force team 3.7.25 to 1.1.7. Junior star forward, Karina Demant from Ainslie kicked two of the three goals in the game whilst Tuggeranong’s Kim Dickerson kicked the other.

The ACT then took on the Victorian U19’s, also known as the “little Vics”. The girls knew it would be a tough game but also knew they were strong competition. The ACT lead in the first half 2.2.14 to 2.1.13. The girls went into the second half strong but unfortunately lost their legs in the last ten minutes, losing to the little Vics 2.3.15 to 4.1.25. Goals were scored again, by Karina Demant and ANU’s Bek Hall. This game also saw Melissa Backhouse play her 100th game for the ACTWAFL a milestone, only four other women in Canberra have ever previously reached.

On day two, the ACT took on Western who were a much stronger team than 2005 and a real contender for the finals positions. The ACT started well and were leading in the first half

1.2.8 to 0.3.3. The game was all locked up with only minutes remaining when a controversial decision left WA with a kick in front of goal, with the final score 2.4.16 to 2.5.17. Goal kickers were Belconnen’s Elise O’Dea and Tuggeranong’s Kim Dickerson. The game also saw Bek Hall and Kristen Ireland play their 50th games for the ACTWAFL.

In the second game on day two, the ACT played Queensland in a highly competitive match with great passages of play by the whole team. Queensland led at half time 2.0.12 to 3.2.20 with the ACT fighting back strongly in the second half with the game again coming down to the last few minutes. Queensland took the win 4.1.25 to 4.4.28. Goal kickers were Bek Hall and Eastlake’s Melissa Backhouse, Megan Divett and Kristen Woods.

On day three, the ACT took on a strong Victorian side and wanted to do well to make up for the unlucky results of the previous two days, the girls knew it would be a tough game. The game was hard as expected but the ACT defence was also strong keeping the Victorians to five goals and nine points. This was the lowest score the Vics were held to throughout the four days of competition. The ACT were unable to score but were happy with the result, the final score was 5.9.38 to 0.0.0.

That night, the ACT took on arch rivals, , under lights at . The ACT played a great game and put in all the energy they had left, keeping NSW scoreless and scoring 2.3. 15. For the ACT, this was the win of the Championships. The game was captained by Vice-Captain Julie McLean in recognition of her 100th game for the ACTWAFL.

Day Four saw the ACT take on South Australia and the Northern Territory, where the results of these games and one other that day meant we still had a chance at getting into the finals. After two tough games the previous day, the girls had used up a lot of their energy. The game against South Australia saw the ACT go down 2.2.14 to 1.2.8 with Karina Demant scoring the only goal.

The final game for the day was against the Northern Territory who brought a very strong team to the Championships. The ACT played hard and had opportunity but couldn’t get the ball through the goal posts, going down 2.1.13 to 0.5.5. The game also saw Alice Broughton play her 100th and Amy Coote play her 50th game for the ACTWAFL.

ACT player, Kristen Ireland, was announced in the All Australian Team after playing some fantastic games throughout the Championships and another ACTWAFL player, Emma Hender, who was playing for the Australian Defence Forces, was also announced in the All Australian team and was named player of the Championships.

Overall, the ACT was competitive at this year’s Championships, while the final position was a little disappointing the ACTWAFL is looking forward to hosting the event next year and evening up the score.