WA APM State team wins inaugural Women & Girls Inclusion title at AFL Open

Western Australia are the inaugural Women & Girls Inclusion Competition champions at the AFL Open tournament in Melbourne.

WA defeated a combined Northern Territory, Tasmania and Queensland combined outfit in a thrilling finale at La Trobe Sports Park in Bundoora on Wednesday.

The Sandgropers finished top of the ladder after day two with an impressive 3-1 record before completing a brilliant carnival with a hard-fought two-point grand final victory – 1.9 (15) to 2.1 (13).

All-Australian Abbey Partridge starred in the win to be named best on ground, capping off a best-and-fairest winning campaign.

The WA team was captained by Eliza Bain, while the vice-captain was fellow Canning Vale Cougars player Tracey Toms.

David Wright was head coach of the victorious West Aussies, Andrea Petersen was team manager and assistant coach alongside Charlie Cronin, with Justin Prior the runner, Tyson Wright the trainer and Sue Briggs the trip coordinator and WAAAFA executive officer Hayden Marchetto also had a big hand in pulling the team together.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by WA All Abilities Football (@allabilitiesfooty)

WA led at every change in windy conditions but had to withstand some late pressure in defence before the final siren.

The Toyota AFL Open Inclusion division is an annual representative competition for participants aged 16 and over with intellectual disability.

It allows Australia’s top footballers to represent their State or Territory, while showcasing their significant abilities to the broader community.

The men’s inclusion side finished fourth out of seven teams after a 4-2 record during the round robin before falling short against Tasmania in the third-place playoff.

The mixed wheelchair team also came in fourth place, in an eight-team competition, and suffered the same result in their final game against Tassie.

WA was also represented in the AFL Open Blind Exhibition Match with three players taking part.

Seven West Aussies made the AFL Open All-Australian team including men’s coach and East Perth WAFL gun Tom Medhat, wheelchair star Ryan Zilioli, women’s premiership trio Partridge, Bree-Anna Hennighan and 14-year-old Karis Abbott and men’s duo David Hallows and Marcus Meyer.