WA Football Commission
Titans down Swans in tough battleSunday, June 12, 2016 - 10:26 AM
The Coastal Titans League team have won a bruising encounter against the Swan Districts by 19 points in round 8 of the West Australian Women’s Football League at Steel Blue Oval on Saturday night.
The Titan’s kept the Swans scoreless in the fourth quarter to record a 7.10 (52) to 5.3 (33) victory and moves them four points clear on top of the ladder.
Both sides were tested physically with big collisions and ferocious tackling on display throughout the match.
The Swans struggled to exit their defensive fifty for large portions of the game with the Titan’s forward press forcing long kicks to congested areas.
Titan’s Emma King showed why she was the number 1 pick in the 2015 Women’s AFL Draft, dominating the ruck contest and marking strongly around the ground.
Coastal Titans Coach Martine Pearman said a tough physical contest was what she was expecting.
“Hard contested footy is what we always get against Swan Districts so it was a battle from the first quarter right up until the end there…there certainly were some hard hits tonight.”
“Both teams play hard relentless footy and it’s certainly something that we keep working on week in and week out to get better and better at, that pressure on the ball carrier as much as we can and hit the contest hard.”
“I thought we held our structures really well in the second half and that certainly was one of the messages that we spoke to the girls about at halftime was to hold their structure and contest as hard as they could.”
Swan Districts Coach Rob Kennedy said his team fought bravely and there were a lot of positives to take away from the game.
“You know when you come up against a top side like the Titans its going to be a physical game.”
“We took it to them in the first quarter but we just couldn’t sustain it, we had three girls go down. I thought the girls fought really hard.”
“We are midway through the season and premierships aren’t won in June, but we are on the right path and hopefully we can fix a few things and get it right. I think the systems that we have got in place are good, once we start trusting and executing we will be right.”
Both teams came into the contest unbeaten after drawing their first match in the season opener.
Hayley Miller opened the scoring for the Titans, but the Swans quickly returned fire through the boot of Akec Chuot.
Each side traded goals throughout the opening quarter, with the Titans converting field position into a 3.2 (20) to 2.2 (14) lead at the first interval.
It was the Titans who started off the second term with a greater intensity. Emma King began combining with midfielders Kiara Bowers and Hayley Miller to win clearances.
It wasn’t long before this reflected on the score sheet with Amy Cotterell kicking the Titan’s first goal of the quarter.
The Titans were dominating field position but wayward kicking and gritty Swan Districts’ defence preventing them from taking a larger lead.
Two running goals by Swans forward Ashley Sharp kept them in the contest with the Swans making the most of their limited inside fifties.
The Titans lead 5.6 (36) to 4.2 (26) at halftime.
The Swans came out of the break looking to impose themselves on the scoreboard and started well with Megan Boddington kicking a set shot goal to bring the margin to 4 points.
Swan Districts were switching and moving the ball well with Courtney Ugle and Emily McGuire beginning to find some space on the wings as play went from end to end.
However, sustained defensive pressure from the Coastal Titans began to take effect with Titans forward Brooke Whyte kicking her first goal, giving the Titans an eleven-point lead at 3-quarter time.
The fourth quarter was physical from the first bounce with players refusing to give an inch.
Lara Filocamo was providing a physical presence for the Titans as both teams went hard at the contests.
The Swans seemingly had no answers to the Titans forward press as the ball was kept in the Swans defensive half.
Defensive pressure by the Titans prevented the Swans from scoring any points in the final term.
Martine Pearman, “I’m really pleased with our back line. We needed to make some changes after the first quarter and there was certainly some girls that took on board what we asked of them and the backline certainly stepped up.”
Brooke Whyte’s second goal sealed the win, the Coastal Titans winning by a 19-point margin.
The Coastal Titans will take on East Fremantle next week, with Swan Districts up against the Thunderbirds.
Goals:
Swan Districts: Sharp 2, Chuot, M. Ugle, Boddington
Coastal Titans: Whyte 2, Millar 2, Wineti, Filocamo, Cotterell
Best:
Swan Districts: Antonio, Donnellan, Matcham, Chuot
Coastal Titans: King, Filocamo, Miller, Bowers, Whyte
Article: Cam Inglis
