PORT ADELAIDE’s Next Generation Academy female under 16 team has completed a clean sweep against Adelaide’s NGA side after claiming a third win for the year at the weekend.
Port’s NGA enjoyed a comfortable 6.2 (38) to 2.6 (18) victory on Friday evening at Thebarton Oval to back up its 43-point win in game one and 47-point victory last month.
The game was held as a curtain raiser to the SANFLW All-Star game but there were plenty of young stars to see in both NGA sides.
Port’s NGA started the game with one on the interchange and an injury to Tess Huxtable after just two minutes meant it had to play out the game without any rotations.
Coach Naomi Maidment was proud of the way her side fought it out.
“It was our ruck and we’d brought in Tess to the squad to help fill the ruck void and she got injured in the first few minutes so that made things pretty difficult but we had one of our bottom-agers, Beth Sigley, who hadn’t played in the ruck before but was a taller girl and we were pretty lucky that she stepped up,” she said.
“It was a pretty slow start from both sides without much scoring in the first quarter on a big oval at Thebarton.
“We managed to put on three of our six goals in the second quarter when we were able to hit more targets, control the ball and then score quickly.”
West Adelaide teenagers Lauren Young and full-back Jessica Chyer were among the best on the night.
“Lauren played as a centre half back during the game because she had been pulling up sore and she controlled the whole defence and didn’t allow the ball to really get past her,” Maidment said.
“It was another really good performance from Lauren and when you consider she is still not 15 yet, it was another really impressive showing. She will go into the SANFLW next year and probably do the same in that level.
“Jessica has really come a long way with her defensive work and played full-back for us in the last two games and did an excellent job. She was really strong in defence.”
Port Adelaide’s NGA zone includes players from the South Adelaide, West Adelaide, Woodville-West Torrens and Norwood football clubs while Adelaide’s zone is made up of the remaining SANFL clubs - Sturt, North Adelaide, Central District and Glenelg.
Earlier this year, before COVID-19 restrictions were put in place at Alberton, Port Adelaide’s squad of 25 participated in football and educational sessions at the club, learning what the game looks like at the next level.
That included spending time with Port Adelaide AFL staff for training around high performance, nutrition and media skills.
The program is now complete but players will undergo exit interviews and be provided with advice to prepare them for the next step in their footballing journey.
Many will return again next year due to their young age.
“We’re lucky that 12 of our squad are in the bottom age group so we will at least get 12 of that 28 back next year,” Maidment explained.
“We are pretty fortunate that there is some fantastic young talent amongst our group that we will continue to work with.”
Port Adelaide U16 NGA 6 2 38
Adelaide U16 NGA 2 6 18
Goals: Taheny, Hickey 2, Scutchings, Waters
Best: Young, Chyer, Sigley, Hickey, Waters, Goody
