Photo: Solstice Digital
The Tasmania Devils have stormed to their first win of the 2022 NAB League Girls season, beating the Western Jets by 31 points at Prospect Park. It was a dominant display from the Devils as they kicked the first four goals of the game and never looked back.
TASMANIA DEVILS: 4.3 6.3 8.4 10.5 (65)
WESTERN JETS: 0.2 1.3 2.4 5.4 (34)
BEST PLAYERS: Claire Ransom, Brooke Barwick, Meghan Gaffney, Candice Belbin, Georgia Clark, Georgia Alomes
Midfielder Claire Ransom was named as Tasmania’s best on the day, as she went head-to-head with fellow AFLW Academy player Charlotte Baskaran and racked up a team-high 25 disposals. The Devils forward line was also at its dynamic best, with talls Georgia Clark, Tunisha Kikoak and Bellah Parker kicking two goals each in a balanced display. Clark was particularly impressive and produced her strongest performance for the Devils to date, finishing with 21 disposals and six tackles along with her two goals.
While the home side were on top from the opening bounce, the Jets dug in early and made life difficult in the opening exchanges. It was Ransom that broke through for the game’s first goal after eight minutes, and that kickstarted the Devils attack. Parker, Kikoak and Clark all booted their first major of the day before quarter time, and they were well supported by their defenders who held the Jets scoreless in the term. After spending the bulk of her career to date as a forward, Georgia Alomes led the defensive effort with her intercepting ability and carry out of the backline.
It was a tighter contest for the bulk of the second quarter, with the Jets finding their footing and slowing Tasmania’s momentum. It took more than 12 minutes for either team to find a goal, and it was the visitors that kicked their first to keep themselves in the contest. It looked like the Devils may be held goalless in the quarter, but Parker’s second major broke the drought a minute before the main break. When debutant Grace Le Fevre found the big sticks just seconds before the siren, Tasmania’s lead had ballooned to 30 points at half time.
That margin only continued to grow after the restart, with Jenna Griffiths kicking another Devils goal in the opening minutes of the third term. Tasmania’s midfield consistently won the ball around the contests and drove it forward with purpose, with the experience of Ransom, Meghan Gaffney (15 disposals) and Brooke Barwick (16 disposals, 8 tackles) shining through. They fed Clark for her second goal midway through the third, and while the Jets were able to pull one back before the final change, a 36-point deficit looked too much to overcome.
That proved to be the case, as the Devils added two more goals to put the result beyond doubt. Maisie Edwards got her name in the scorebook in response to an early Jets goal, and after the visitors added two more to keep some amount of suspense in the game, Kikoak put the icing on the cake with her second of the day. That pushed the final margin to 31 points, a result that moved the Devils into fourth on the NAB League Girls ladder after two rounds.
The Devils will travel south when they host the Oakleigh Chargers at North Hobart Oval on Saturday February 5.