Talia’s Talking Points | Round 2

We headed out to Unley Oval on ANZAC DAY morning for the first game in the triple header with our Men’s Reserves and League. Sturt were prelim finalists in 2025 and we recognised their skill and football smarts would require us to be at our best.

The first quarter was a very evenly-matched battle. Our contested work at stoppage and around the ground was much improved from Round 1, and winning both contested possession and one-percenters was a good reflection of this intent. Leading the way was Deni Varnhagen playing supporting midfield minutes. Georgie Fielder got us off to a flying start on the spread from our contested work (finishing with 20 disposals, 5 tackles). Kiana Lee got us on the board in the first quarter after a great forward 50 entry from Isla Wiencke hit her up in the corridor.

Our second quarter was an unfortunate lapse of concentration and defensive transition and we found ourselves sucked into contest too often. Ella Quinn, playing her 50^th SANFLW game, was outstanding for us and saved us in several 1v1 battles, topping the aerial count for the day with 6 marks.

Pleasingly, we worked hard to get ourselves back into the game in the 3^rd quarter and our Co-Captain Asha Dufour was the instigator of this, with 8 disposals and 5 clearances in the quarter (finishing with 23 disposals, 12 clearances). Isla Wiencke was outstanding playing as a mid-forward and snapped a freakish goal as she was corralled and pressured. Astrid Gooley – who continues to play a critical and reliable role in our team – closed the margin with a composed set shot from 40m out.

A strong performance by Madi Newman (nee Freeman) with 17 disposals and 6 tackles on the wing was really important for us in shutting down Sturt’s quick outside ball movers. We closed the gap on Sturt with Kiana Lee kicking 2 goals in the final quarter from difficult set shot positions as she continues her very strong start to 2026 (finishing with a game-high 4 goals).

This week brings us to Round 3, where we play Norwood at Norwood Oval in a twilight 5pm timeslot. We can’t wait.

GFCW Best: Quinn, Fielder, Freeman, Dufour, Wiencke