Last weekend we were thrown some challenges with several players succumbing to injury and Mickey Roberts and Celina Whan unable to travel at the last minute. I spoke about effort and playing for each other at the start of the match, and I believe we achieved this against a star-studded Bulldogs outfit. Our young and inexperienced side gave everything and never gave up. One of your young guns, Tayla Hart-Aluni, was lively in the forward line kicking two goals, and Sophie Armitstead was relentless with her work rate and pressure created turnovers all around the ground. Lisa ‘Robbo’ Roberts had one of her best performances to date, chopping off the ball and rebounding out of our defensive 50 on numerous occasions. Despite going down to the Bulldogs last week in Ballarat, the group is in high spirits this week as we know we have an opportunity to turn it around.
Unfortunately, our injury list continues to grow but In positive news, we welcome star midfielder Ebony Marinoff into the mix for the first time this season and key forward Rachael Killian on debut, after she has been training well with our Adelaide-based group. We also welcome back consistent performers Kristy Irvine, Tayla Thorn and Mickey Roberts who have had exceptional seasons so far in 2019 and are looking to continue this form in Round 13.
It’s an exciting weekend as we are fortunate to play at GMHBA Stadium in Geelong, and we come up against a relatively young and inconsistent Cats team. They are sitting on the same points and almost the same percentage as us, which means this game is very much within our reach. Finals is up for grabs for the winner, which is an excellent motivator for. We will continue to focus on effort and enjoying the small wins as a united group. We need to be more competitive around the contest and clean at ground level to give our forwards every opportunity to score.
We have the firepower to match it with the best, so now it’s time to make it count and execute on the big stage. This group has developed a high level of resilience, and I know they will do everything in their power to get the four points.
Go Thunder!