Shantel Miskin Ripia

Thunder seeks a positive end to 2019

14.08.19 09:37

By Kyle ChampionĀ 

With only two rounds left, Thunder is looking to finish off the season on a high note. This weekend they will be paying the Demons a visit at SkyBus Stadium, Frankston.

Last time they met it was Casey who thumped NT in a decisive victory. Shantel Miskin-Ripia feels her teammates have recovered well from the bye and are eager to make amends.

“We played Casey last in Alice Springs,” Miskin-Ripia said. “They controlled the entire game from start to finish and they didn’t let us get our game going. Now that we’ve had the week off, we’re refreshed and ready to go.”

After five consecutive defeats, the break has given the travellers a chance to spend time with their families and take a breath.

“It was really good for us,” Miskin-Ripia said. “We only came to the club once last week. For us, it has just been all about relaxing and spending time with our families. This week there has been a lot of mental preparation for Casey and we want to have a good game.”

In Thunder’s last game against Geelong, Amy Chittick suffered an ankle injury that sidelined her for the rest of the match.

“She came off in the third quarter,” Miskin-Ripia said. “Hopefully, it’s not too bad because AFL is everything to her, she lives it and breathes it but knowing her determination she’ll do her recovery and be back better than ever.”

Although the last few games have met with a sad ending for Thunder, Miskin-Ripia loves nothing more than representing the NT. In the next two games, she is determined to finish off strong.

“We’ve been training hard,” she said. “We just need to put it on the field. We need to improve more on our skills because we want to finish off strong. We love representing the NT and we want to finish off the next two weeks strong.”

For the 2019 season, Thunder is out of the race for the VFLW finals. They may only be a few wins behind Geelong and Melbourne University, but Thunder’s percentage is too low to catch them.

The road home for Thunder is battle of pride. The girls have been battered and beaten down but they will continue to fight out the season to the bitter end.

VFLW Round 15: NT Thunder vs Casey Demons – 11:30am, Sunday 18 August – SkyBus Stadium, FrankstonĀ