By JARROD POTTER
2015 VIC METRO CHAMPIONSHIPS – YOUTH GIRLS GRAND FINAL
EAGLES, Lightning, Pirates and Seagulls among others combined to almost seize back the interleague crown.
A gallant fight-back almost gave the South East Juniors Youth Girls the edge, but their hard-earned lead was chewed up in the dying minutes by Yarra JFL in a seven-point defeat.
Entering their ninth consecutive interleague grand final – featuring in every final since the competition began – the SEJ girls were determined to win back the cup, which has been Yarra JFL’s for the last two years.
The expansive Central Reserve surface made scoring pretty difficult for both sides – with only six goals kicked in the foggy, dew-laden conditions.
But despite being outsized vertically and hard-pressed to match the fleet-footed Yarra JFL, the South East Juniors team fought it out to the final siren, only pipped in the end by seven points.
After an early goal from Georgia Gee, the SEJ contingent didn’t hit the scoreboard again until the final term as Yarra made life precarious for the locals.
The clash was mainly played between both half back lines, with the efforts of Courtney Jones, Chloe Anderson, Logan O’Connell-Webb and skipper Cassie Rowe stopping the defending premiers from booting away in their own right.
A scant 10-point margin split the sides at the final break with the the match well and truly deadlocked.
An impassioned plea from coach Chloe McMillan – to give their all in the last 20 minutes – geared up the SEJ squad which finally meshed and produced its best footy of the carnival… albeit for 10 minutes in the final term.
McMillan rolled the dice in the fourth – rearranging the forward line to play a smaller, faster brand of football in search of a quick score.
Two direct clearances resulted in rapid-fire goals to Jones – who was arguably the SEJ’s best on ground for her efforts in roaming the midfield and both 50s – and Samara Hazelden to give the Demons a two-point lead.
Yarra would charge again, picking off three behinds in a row to take back the lead before Katie Lynch booted the teal-brigade to victory – their third consecutively in a purple patch.
“Unfortunately we didn’t settle as early as we like to and couldn’t capitalise on the opportunities we had,” McMillan said.
“To only go down by seven points is a testament to the girls and how hard they fought as Yarra was a pretty good outfit.”
McMillan praised the efforts of Gee, Emily Browning and Jones.
It brings an end to the interleague and representative duties for South East Juniors Youth Girls with the Dandenong Stingrays Academy also finishing up for the season this week.
SOUTH EAST JUNIORS 1.1 1.1 1.1 3.1 (19)
YARRA JFL 1.0 2.2 2.5 3.8 (26)
SEJ Goals: G. Gee, S. Hazelden, C. Jones. Best: C. Jones, G. Gee, E. Browning, R. Clayton, C. Anderson.
SEJ YOUTH GIRLS INTERLEAGUE SQUAD: Ashlee Sibly, Ashleigh Helsby, Bethany Robinson, Brooke Struylaart, Cassandra Rowe, Chelsey Bray, Chloe Anderson, Courtney De Kroon, Courtney Jones, Emily Browning, Georgia Gee, Jade Forsyth, Jordanne Dyer, Karina Diaz, Kelly Kerford, Kylee White, Logan O’Connell-Webb, Nicola Weston, Ruby Clayton, Samara Hazelden, Shaneece Stratton, Sophie Phillips and Teagan Sheldon.
