Yartapuulti senior coach Lauren Arnell said her playing group’s ability to score against a strong North Melbourne side on Sunday was something she was pleased with.
The Kangaroos remain in second place on the NAB AFLW ladder following Round 7, with opposition teams averaging just 17 points against them this season.
“We knew coming in that North Melbourne have given away an average of 17 points total to this point in the year and we kicked three goals six (24) and left a couple of really good shots out there on the day,” Arnell said following the defeat.
“The margin’s not what we’re after but I’ve talked a lot about consistency and how we apply ourselves and we played a very good footy team today. From where I’m sitting and the measures we asked for from our players, while the scoreboard and the margin doesn’t go our way, it’s probably the most consistent we’ve been for four quarters of footy against a really good team.”
Arnell and her coaching group have a continuous focus on growth and taking steps forward, which can be particularly challenging with a young team, especially in the absence of important players.
“We’ve had some pretty rubbish injuries this year to some key players,” Arnell said.
“Indy Tahau, ACL, (Julia) Teakle was out for a number of weeks, (Ella) Boag came back today as well after an ankle injury. (But) we keep on plugging away and keep on finding those growth measures so we can keep on growing.
“Obviously (Janelle) Cuthbertson’s out for us so you lose potentially your best defender and your best leader down there. I thought (Ange) Foley and (club debutant Jasmine) Simmons going into the backline today really stepped up so there’s obvious growth for us.”
Yartapuulti managed the first seven inside 50s of the game and was able to apply high pressure, but North Melbourne’s elite midfield soon broke through.
“I think they gained some midfield ascendancy after that,” Arnell said.
“We had a couple of good early centre bounces and didn’t completely maximise on time in the front half early in the first quarter but it’s another pleasing sign for us. I think North Melbourne are as good as anyone in the competition and we also love the brand of footy they play.
“Anyone that watches our style of footy can see that it’s the style of footy that we aspire to play is very similar to North Melbourne and it just gives us a measure on how much further we’ve got to go.”
Forward Teakle celebrated her first game back from a foot injury by slotting the first major of the game, while Maddy Keryk provided one of the highlights of the day with a beautiful left-footed snap for goal.
“(Maddy’s) certainly been more versatile than we expected when we brought her across to the footy club,” Arnell said.
“She started in defence, has pinch hit in the midfield for us and then has had a few weeks as a pressure forward who can also score so she’s been a great addition on field and certainly culturally to our footy club.”
And while the visit to Arden Street was always going to be a tough day at the office for the Power, the visitors were able to contain parts of the Kangaroos’ game.
“We try and play a pretty efficient brand of footy and North are the opposite, they chain uncontested possession,” Arnell said.
“One thing we were pleased with today is we knew they like to chain uncontested marks and we actually kept them under their average for our season today, which is huge for our group.
“You make a calculated decision to try and minimise (North Melbourne) to an extent but also we need to develop our brand of footy. Our brand of footy from day one has never been an enormously defensive tagging-type mindset, it’s been how much better can we execute our ability to score and win contest.”
Next Saturday, Yartapuulti takes on Gold Coast at Alberton Oval in the second week of AFLW Indigenous Round and another celebration of First Nations culture.
