The Northern District Tigers AFL Women's side – featured on the March 2021 cover of 2515 magazine – have won their first premiership!
Coach Tony Ryan reports.
The Northern District Tigers AFL Women’s side, based in Woonona, took on the mighty Wollongong Lions in the battle of the big cats for the 2022 Division One Premiership at Thomas Dalton Park on Saturday, September 3.
The bookies had both teams equal favourites coming into the game as the two sides had played each other three times during the season for one win, one loss and a draw.
Pouring rain greeted the teams as they ran onto the rain-soaked paddock. The coach was adamant that the first seven minutes of the game was critical as the ball would be dry and players had to make the most of early opportunities.
The Tigers were revved up as the game started and won the first clearance. Smart ball-play saw Franziska ‘Franzi’ Klatt have the first opportunity to score and score she did, with a great kick at goal.
The Tigers did not have to wait too long before Julie Langhorn won a free kick about 20m out – she steadied herself and kicked the footy right through the middle.
The Tigers were up by two goals after eight minutes – then, with just seconds left on the clock, Franzi once again came to the fore, kicking the ball, which bounced through.
This gave the Tigers a 3.1.19 lead to zero at the first break.
As the ball became slippery and heavy the game turned into a war of attrition, with players sliding through mud and puddles to win every contest.
The Lions came back as everyone knew they would and kicked 1.2.8 to zero to be behind just 11 points at the main break.
The third quarter was a slog: Charlee McPherson and Siobhan White were mudlarks, finding themselves at the bottom of each pack, while Valentina ‘Tiny Tina’ Siskoska thwarted any attack the Lions could mount.
There was no score at all in the third quarter and the coach implored the players that they were 15 minutes from creating history and had to spend “every petrol ticket”.
The last quarter was a battle of wills. Every time the Lions attacked, the Tigers repelled. Holly Colquhoun seemed to run with springs in her legs and sprinted 30m to tackle a Lions player who was just about to launch an attack.
Wily ol’ veteran Una McKay’s highlight package was full of gut-busting runs.
The Lions attacked and attacked but were not able to kick goals due to the pressure applied by the Tigers. With two minutes to go the tigers were just eight points up. The Tigers had trained for this exact scenario and with cool heads managed to soak up the pressure and the time on the clock.
One final foray by the Lions only resulted in a point.
Finally, the siren sounded and supporters streamed onto the ground to celebrate the Tigers' first AFLW silverware. Emotional scenes were all around especially as several players on the field had played in the first Tigers team five years ago.
Final score: Tigers 3:1:19. Wollongong 1:5:11
Best players: Charlee McPherson, Siobhan White, Una McKay, Valentina Siskoska, Holly Colquhoun and Taylah Gartshore
Goals: Franziska Klatt 2, Julie Langhorn 1
For more information on the club, visit the Northern District Tigers AFC website
