IT has been a big month for seven young Limestone Coast footballers who competed in the SANFL Under 17 and Under 14 Statewide Super Shield women’s competition.
The four-week competition saw the eight SANFL clubs split into two divisions, based on their affiliation to either the Adelaide Crows or Port Power AFL team’s “Next Generation Academy”.
The academies for females are a new initiative in 2017 and support talent pathways for players aspiring to compete at the elite level.
The Mount Gambier representatives in the Under 17 division – East Gambier’s Tulle and Baie Perryman, Maddy Freeman, West Gambier’s Kali Langley and North Gambier’s Emma Ilsley – lined up for the Glenelg Tigers due to the South East being Glenelg’s country zone, as did Mount Burr’s Ella Little and East Gambier’s Brooke Tonon in the Under 14 division.
In Under 17s Glenelg suffered a big loss to North Adelaide in Round 1 – 2.0-12 to 9.11-65 – at North’s home ground.
Langley and Ilsley were named in the best players.
Round 2 saw the inclusion of Freeman, plus Baie and Tulle Perryman.
The Tigers bounced back to record a convincing 6.6-42 to 0.2-2 victory against Central Districts at Elizabeth Oval.
Freeman and Ilsley featured in the best players, with Ilsley scoring three of the Tiger’s six majors.
The final minor round at Prospect Oval was a tight match, with the Tiger’s almost snatching a come-from-behind win against the highly-rated Sturt outfit.
Glenelg came home strong, kicking three goals in the last quarter.
Despite the efforts of best-on-ground Freeman, the Tigers fell short by four points – 3.3-21 to 4.5-25.
Last Sunday the teams played a cross-over finals round, squaring off against a team from the opposing zone based on their ladder position.
Having finished third in the Adelaide Crows zone, Glenelg played West Adelaide and went down 12.8-80 to 4.5-29.
Mount Gambier was again well represented, with Freeman named in the best players and Ilsley kicking two goals.
Glenelg talent manager Brenton Hole said he was impressed with Little and Tonon, who had played all three games for the Under 14s, as well as attending training sessions in Adelaide each week.
He said Tonon was one of the best players from the side, with Little right up there.
The Under 14 side won its division, after losing just one game along the way.
