The Tasmania Devils were left to rue missed opportunities in round eight of the NAB League Girls as they fell to the Eastern Ranges by 31 points. The Devils were in the fight early at the Kilsyth Recreation Reserve but couldn’t find the goals in the first quarter, allowing the Ranges to run away with the contest.
TASMANIA DEVILS: 0.6 1.7 1.7 3.9 (27)
EASTERN RANGES: 3.1 5.3 8.4 9.4 (58)
BEST PLAYERS: Madison Brazendale, Georgia Clark, Courtney Hingston, Meghan Gaffney, Mackenzie Williams, Claire Ransom
Madison Brazendale was outstanding on the wing once again, racking up a game-high 24 disposals and laying seven tackles, while Priya Bowering led the Devils in clearances and booted her first two NAB League goals. Despite the side’s struggles up forward Georgia Clark continued to excel, equaling the competition-high this season with four contested marks and working tirelessly up the ground for her 20 disposals.
The Ranges burst out of the gates and kicked the game’s first goal inside the opening minute, and while the Devils were able to work their way forward in response they couldn’t capitalise. A pair of rushed behinds were followed by another Ranges goal, and by the time the hosts kicked their third major just seconds before the quarter-time siren, the Devils had six behinds and no goals on the scoreboard. Despite finishing the term with two more scoring shots than the opposition, Tasmania entered the first break facing a 13-point deficit.
The tide looked to be shifting when the Devils kicked the first goal of the second quarter, with Bellah Paker finally opening their account and continuing her own strong form. That would be as close as they would get, though, as the Ranges kicked the next two goals to extend their lead. The Devils were able to slingshot the ball out of defence, with Mackenzie Williams (four rebound 50s) and Courtney Hingston (five rebound 50s) both excellent on the half back line, but some sloppiness in attack left them 20 points in arrears at the main break.
Things didn’t improve in the third quarter, where the Devils were held scoreless and the Ranges continued to pull away. Tasmania’s midfielders did their best to dig in, with Candice Belbin (13 tackles) and Brooke Barwick (10 tackles) applying plenty of pressure, but they couldn’t slow down Eastern’s momentum. The home side added another three goals in the quarter, and that left the Devils facing an uphill battle and trailing by 39 points at the final change.
To their credit, the Devils continued to fight even after the Ranges hit the scoreboard first in the fourth quarter. Already prolific in the midfield, Bowering gave Tasmania something to celebrate with the first NAB League goal of her career, and she doubled that dose with her second just two minutes later. That saw the Devils win the quarter on the scoreboard, a promising finish to a tough outing against one of the competition’s best sides.
The Devils will return home in round nine to host the Bendigo Pioneers at North Hobart Oval. The game will be played on Sunday March 20, with the first bounce at 12:30 PM.