Photo: Solstice Digital
2022 is here, and the NAB League Girls competition is ready to kick off another huge season. The Tasmania Devils will be looking to further improve on their debut finals appearance last year, and they will open the new campaign against the Sandringham Dragons this Saturday January 22. The action will kick off at midday from Launceston’s Prospect Park, and the game will be live streamed with details to come.
This will be the first meeting between the Devils and the Dragons in the NAB League Girls, with the two sides avoiding each other in last season’s fixture and having their 2020 matchup cancelled. With no familiarity and no form guide to point to, the game will be a chance for both sides to make a statement early in the season. It will also be the first game at the helm for new Devils coach Jeromey Webberley, with the former Clarence TSL coach and Richmond AFL player taking the reins of both NAB League sides this year.
While there is always plenty of list turnover in the NAB League competitions, the Devils girls will be led by a group of experienced players. Jemma Blair will captain the side throughout 2022, with Meghan Gaffney and Claire Ransom selected as vice-captains. Amy Prokopiec, Ruby Pacey and Charlie Vandenberg will also be part of the leadership group.
Now entering her third NAB League season with the Devils, Blair has established herself as one of the most versatile defenders in the country. She returns as an over-age player in 2022 after making her VFLW debut last year and drawing significant interest from AFLW clubs during the offseason.
Last season’s averages of 8.1 disposals and 3.9 tackles per game don’t jump off the page, but Blair was a key member of a Devils backline that was among the NAB League’s best and allowed just 21.9 points per contest. At 172 centimetres she has the ability to play small or tall as needed, with the versatility to take on a lockdown assignment or a rebounding role from the half back line. With a high football IQ and good disposal by foot, expect Blair to play plenty of mistake-free football in 2022 while leading by example from defence.
2021 was a big year for Gaffney, both with the Devils program and in senior competition with Ulverstone. She played a huge role for the Robins as they claimed the NWFLW premiership in an undefeated campaign, and she was just as important in the Devils’ charge to the NAB League finals.
An elite aerobic athlete with the ability to run all day, Gaffney used her pace to great effect last year as she constantly broke lines and pushed the ball forward. Able to line up on the wing or further up the ground, she is virtually unstoppable when given the space to run and carry. She was consistently among the best players for the Devils in 2021, averaging 13 disposals and 3.3 tackles per game and making up for her smaller stature with buckets of toughness. Expect her to be one of the prime movers for the Devils once again this season.
Already one of the most accomplished young players in the state, Ransom will be looking to take another step forward while leading from the front in 2022. After a runner-up finish in the Devils best and fairest as a bottom-aged player last year, she has been selected in the NAB AFLW Academy for this season and looks to be squarely in the frame for selection in the AFLW Draft.
Primarily a hard-running outside midfielder, Ransom is also willing and able to win the ball at the coalface around the stoppages. That well-rounded skillset makes her one of the most complete midfielders in the NAB League, and she will be a prime mover for a Devils side that has lost star ball-winners Perri King and Ella Maurer to the AFLW. After racking up 16.6 disposals and 3 inside 50s per game in her bottom-age year, expect her numbers and influence on games to increase even further in 2022.