Mid Season Check In; Womens Premier Division
The Womens Premier Division team, under leadership of Head Coach Jon Dyster, have worked hard in the first half of the season to bring the team together after a significant change over of players since last season.
It was a slow start to the season for the team as they worked on replacing a number of players lost from last season, as well as facing the challenge of not having a lot of consistency in player availability due to absences, illness and injury. The weeks leading into the mid season break saw a substantial improvement in the team, and they will be looking to continue this going into the second half of the season.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SEASON SO FAR
Winning in Round 9 against North Shore where the team had to really dig deep when the game was in the balance was certainly a key highlight in the first half of the season. The team has been starting to get some consistency also, for the past 2 matches they have not had to make 4 or 5 changes and it certainly showed in the teams connection. The Womens Prems have been encouraged by the return of Mik Mahony after 2 seasons out with a knee injury who is playing a mid/forward role and has been racking up disposals and scored 4 goals in her past 2 matches. In addition, the return of Lucy Gilfedder after going down with a knee injury in round one has brought the team structure and a physical presence in their forward line.
BIGGEST CHALLENGE FOR THE SECOND HALF OF THE SEASON
The biggest challenge for the team moving forward will be maintaining consistency. They are 2-5 and really can’t afford to lose at all so they will have to look to be competitive every game and cannot have an off day. The team will also be impacted by the “European Summer” as they will lose a number of the student players over the mid year break.
KEY GAMES TO WATCH FOR THE SECOND HALF OF THE SEASON
Our Womens Prems team play East Coast after the long weekend in Round 10 and that will be a big challenge. East Coast have been the benchmark of the competition so far this season and are yet to lose a game.
KEY PLAYERS TO WATCH IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE SEASON
Mac Harley and Sas Johnson have been brilliant so far this season, backing up their performances (first and second in the B&F) from last season. Along with Georgia Mann they are forming a great combination in the midfield and really benefiting from new ruck, Molly Cameron’s tap work. Jas Smith, Amelia Causley Todd and Mia Connors were great pick ups from Inner West and have been consistent performers in key positions. In addition the team has had a number of younger players come into the side with Kendra Blattman, Lily Race and Fin Menz all providing plenty of enthusiasm in their first season in senior football.
Head Coach, Jon, is proud of his team, seeing them become more settled and consistent, but also understand the tough field that the team is in: “It was disappointing to start off so poorly this season but I think we underestimated the impact losing a number of influential players from our 2022 squad would have. Thankfully we are becoming a more settled team and this should see us being more consistent of the second half of the season. Our goal is still to play finals football.”
“The great thing about being a uni club is that every year you get a bunch of new players out of the student population that come from all around Australia to study at USYD. The flip side is that you can also lose players returning home or moving away to take up work opportunities. Both have certainly been a factor for us this year.”
“Our past two matches have certainly seen us playing football much more like we were in 2022. New players are starting to connect better and fit into our systems and we are starting to see more consistency in our squad as players return from absence, illness and injury. Whilst all these are good signs we understand that there are some really good teams in this competition and even on our best day no game will be easy.”
Women’s Premier Division play their next match on Saturday 17th June, 3pm @ Kanebridge Oval vs East Coast Eagles. View their full fixture and ladder details HERE