The first round of the Sydney Women’s AFL began this weekend at Mahoney Park – the home of Women’s AFL in NSW. The league has been granted the use of the ground for the winter season, with hopes of becoming a long term tenant. This is the first oval dedicated to the sport of Aussie Rules within the Marrickville municipality and is a fantastic field for the sport to utilise to foster growth within the local community.
It was the perfect day for Aussie Rules – the sun shining and little wind, and you could feel the excitement in the air when the first whistle blew to signal time on.
The first game saw Newtown take on St George, with Newtown taking the game by 78 points. St George let the team get away with an early lead which was always going to be difficult to rein in – however St George full forward made the most of her opportunities, bagging all four goals for the Crows. The end scoreline read Newtown 15.15 105 v St George 4.3 27.
The midday game was a battle of the Universities, with Uni of NSW up against reigning premiers Sydney Uni. With both teams having an overwhelming contingent of players new to the sport, it was encouraging to see some future stars of the game throwing away any inhibitions and making the most of their new found skills. Sydney Uni ended the game as victors with a 9.15 69 final score v UNSW on 1.5 11.
The final game of the day saw two rivals go head to head, with Wests and Balmain taking the field. Both teams were one game apiece following pre season matches and the question on everyone’s lips was who would step up when the two points are on offer. Wests got off to an early lead, kicking 4 goals in the first quarter to hold a 21 point lead at the first break and despite a fierce comeback from Balmain, managing to pull the margin in to 2 points at one stage, the Wolves managed to hold tight and take out the game 9.5 59 to 6.6 42.
Overall, it was a great first round with the level of skills showing this season is promising to be the most fiercely contested yet – and a fitting way to introduce the sport of AFL to the Marrickville municipality.
The league believes this alliance with the Marrickville Council, NSW/ACT AFL and Sydney Women’s AFL will be strong and beneficial for all parties, and is in line with the key developments identified by the council in their 2006-11 strategic plan of providing accessible and appropriate leisure and recreation opportunities and spaces which will encourage and actively engage the community to participate in leisure and recreational activities and foster high levels of social capital.
The SWAFL committee looks forward to working with the council to achieve some of the key objectives outlined in their plan, by encouraging and supporting the development of a more active and healthy community.
Last Modified on 05/05/2008 09:38