By Lachlan Onions
For the second year in a row, the South East Women’s Zone team was defeated in the grand final of the SA Country Championships.
The carnival got off to the perfect start in Whyalla on Saturday as the South East claimed two dominant victories.
In the first game, South East defeated Eastern 46-0.
Penola’s Shandeen Balshaw came off the bench and led the goalkickers with two majors, while Sophie Arkun, Dellie Brown, Zoe Hawker, Kendell Saffin and Alice Tentye all kicked one goal each.
Tess Andrews was named best on ground in a strong performance from the vice-captain.
“It was very windy, we had a very fast side and their ball game was quite good,” South East Zone coach Michael Hunt said.
“Being a windy day played into our hands.”
He said with the windy conditions, the South East moved the ball as fast as possible and because of the weather, there was more ground ball, which suited the team.
“There were two or three transitions from defence that ended in goals that were as good as I’ve seen in our league,” Hunt said
He said a major aspect of his side’s play style involved applying pressure from the forward line.
However, it was not all smooth sailing for South East, as captain Scarlett Jarrad’s carnival came to an end when she sustained a knee injury.
“That was a big loss, she’s a great leader,” Hunt said.
“She can play forward, back, midfield, when she is around the ball, she does a lot of hard work and creates a lot for the other players.
“The other two leaders, Tess Andrews and Annabel Mould, stepped up, the whole team stepped up but it was obviously a big loss to the side.”
The second game on Saturday was a rematch of last year’s grand final when they took on Northern.
South East claimed revenge in a one-sided contest.
For the second game in a row, South East did not concede a goal and Northern was only able to score three behinds in a game which ended 21-3.
Brown, Arkun and Saffin all kicked their second majors of the carnival as South East booked its place in the grand final.
South East took on the second-placed Southern Districts in the grand final, a team which also won both of its games on the Saturday.
Hunt said there was a little bit of nervous energy in the lead up to the game and because his side wasn’t in their football season, soreness had set in.
It was a tense first quarter and South East took a one-point lead at the first break.
Hunt said his side didn’t capitalise on the pressure they applied in the first quarter and would have liked to try and put more scoreboard pressure on Southern Districts.
The strength of Southern Districts was on full display when it dug deep and took the lead in the second quarter.
“The pressure in the first quarter was hard to maintain,” Hunt said.
Despite the South East’s best efforts, Southern Districts extended its lead to 21 points at the final change.
“They were certainly a better marking side than us, they had some really tall girls,” Hunt said.
“We had a 10-minute period in the third quarter where we got a bit rattled, including us on the bench.”
Both sides kicked one goal and one behind in the final term as Southern Districts defeated South East 44-23.
“I’m very disappointed but I was super happy proud of our girls’ efforts,” Hunt said.
“They left nothing on the table, so there is nothing to be disappointed about apart from the fact we weren’t quite good enough to get the win.”
Tentye kicked two majors in the grand final for South East while Kellsie Turner kicked her first goal of the carnival in the grand final.
Six players from the South East were named in this year’s Team of the Championship.
Tentye, Saffin, Andrews, Mould, Erin Horsnell and Chelsea Frost were recognised for their efforts.
“We had six in the team of the year, four from South Gambier which is a credit to them,” Hunt said.
“Alice Tentye and Kendell Saffin were very good and kicked some of the best goals from set shots in women’s footy.
“Chelsea Frost on the wing was really good, Erin Horsnell in the middle was excellent, Tess Andrews dominated in the centre and Annabel Mould was probably if not the best but certainly second-best ruck in the comp.
“Zoe Hawker and Sophie Arkun were quite good as well.
“A girl that is only playing her 11th or 12th game, Zhane Crawford, she really brought some pressure to town and she is going to be something special when she has 20 or 30 games under her belt.”
Hunt said he was proud to have such a strong representation in the Team of the Championship as his side played a “really unselfish” style of football, which he said brought a number of players into the game.
Team of the Championship:
F: Jennifer Thompson (Eyre Peninsula), Alice Tentyre (South East), Kendall Saffin (South East)
HF: Tella Wise (Eastern), Kiara Pring (Central), Madison Bennett (Southern Districts)
C: Tess Andrews (South East), Amber Jones (Central), Teagan Cordes (Central)
HB: Esther Heywood-Smith (Eastern), Brooke Moore (Eyre Peninsula), Jodie Hunt (Southern Districts)
B: Ashley Baker (Central), Rebecca Deer (Northern), Chelsea Frost (South East)
R: Nikita McRostie (Central), Annabel Mould (South Eastern), Erin Horsnell (South East)
INT: Rachel Searle (Southern Districts), Katrice Turner (Southern Districts), Amy Vitkunas (Southern Districts), Kalani Bates (Southern Districts), Tess Huxtable (Southern Districts), Aisha Thomas (Central), Alex Mason (Eyre Peninsula).
