WA fall short of comeback win in AFLW U16 Championship opener

The AAMI WA Football State 16s Girls finished just short of a stirring comeback victory against South Australia in Tuesday’s AFLW Under-16s Championship opener in Adelaide.

WA kicked two late final-quarter goals to make a game of it but ran out of time, falling five points shy as the siren sounded on the 5.7 (37) to 5.2 (32) result.

It was a see-sawing affair in WA’s first hit-out of the carnival, with the Black Swans conceding three of the first four goals of the contest before back-to-back majors late in the second term made it a one-point margin at half-time.

The Croweaters broke away in the third quarter, kicking two goals to none to open up a 15-point three-quarter time advantage.

It was a low-scoring start to the final term with WA finally hitting the scoreboard through a set shot from Peel Thunder’s Layla Scott at the 14-minute mark to give the visitors some hope of a comeback victory.

East Fremantle’s Bella Godecke then kicked a beauty out of congestion two minutes later and suddenly it was a five-point margin.

WA continued to win the ball out of the centre to give themselves a chance.

The ball spent plenty of time inside WA’s attacking 50 in the final few minutes but they couldn’t produce a third goal in a row to snatch a win.

Fresh off an impressive ATCO WAFLW debut for West Perth, Arybella Nelson continued her strong form to finish with a team-high 23 disposals including 15 in the opening half.

Subiaco’s Caitlin Boss (22 disposals) and Swan Districts’ Keira Fawcett (19) were also prominent, while Peel’s Sariyah Homer booted two first-half goals in a lively display up forward.

WA finish their championship campaign in Melbourne on Thursday, April 16, with their opponent still to be confirmed.