AAMI WA Football State 16s Girls finish carnival on a high

The AAMI WA Football State 16s Girls finished their AFLW National Under-16s Championship campaign on a high, defeating Brisbane Lions Academy by 11 points at Shepley Oval in Dandenong on Thursday.

The fast-finishing WA side overcame a 14-point at three-quarter time to prevail 8.6 (54) to 5.13 (43).

It came on the back of a stunning four-goals-to-none final term.

West Perth defender Arybella Nelson capped off a brilliant carnival with another dominant display, racking up a game-high 29 disposals after 23 in last week’s narrow loss to South Australia in Adelaide.

Subiaco’s Caitlin Boss (24 disposals and a goal) was also prominent, taking her carnival average to 23 disposals, while East Fremantle key forward Lara Fuller (three goals) and dangerous Peel Thunder talent Sariyah Homer (two goals) did the damage up forward.

The Lions were the better team in the opening quarter but could only manage a wasteful 1.7 to lead by 11 points at quarter-time, despite the best efforts of Nelson who had a game-high nine disposals in the back half and provided excellent rebound.

WA landed an important blow early in the second term with Fuller converting a close-range set shot after a strong contested mark.

The Black Swans then snatched the lead at the three-minute mark as Peel Thunder’s Sariyah Homer snuck one in from just outside of the goal square.

Against the run of play, Brisbane hit back with back-to-back majors to open up a 12-point advantage midway through the term.

An excellent end-of-end passage of play resulted in Fuller’s second goal of the quarter with East Perth’s Zailee Robson dishing out a brilliant handball under pressure from the boundary.

Boss was busy in the second term, finishing the half with an equal team-high 13 touches alongside Nelson.

Trailing by seven at the main break and 13 early in the third, WA got one back through Fuller who soccered one through for her third goal from after Swan Districts’ Khalia Fawcett forced the turnover with a strong tackle.

West Perth’s Vienna Matera got WA off to the perfect start in the final term, cutting the margin back to eight points.

East Fremantle’s Chelsea Natta made it consecutive goals for the Black Swans as the contest heated up.

WA then took the lead as the 14-minute mark through Homer who kicked a beauty on the run after a pinpoint handball from Claremont’s Indianna Slocombe.

Boss, one of WA’s best throughout the match, then nailed a set shot from 40m out to extend the margin out to double digits and put the result beyond doubt with two minutes left on the clock.