Despite coming into the clash as the major underdogs, Scotch Oakburn have comprehensively taken home the Northern Sports Association of Tasmanian Independent Schools girls' football title.
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Falling to grand final opponents Marist by 11 goals in the regular season, the odds were certainly stacked against the eventual victors, but the Scotch girls overcame them and picked up a 8.9 (57) to 0.1 (1) away win to take home the championship in convincing fashion.
Boosted by the inclusion of Launceston Football Club trio Mia King, Camilla Taylor and Amy Halaby, with King and Taylor having represented the under-18 Eastern Allies at the national championships, the Paul McKendrick-coached side were too strong for their opponents.
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Grace Grove was named best on ground for the victors assisted by Lauren Tyson, King, Harriet Grimshaw and Jemma Blair as Tilly Nathan hit the scoreboard with two majors with Grove, Halaby, King, Sophie Jones and India Viney also slotting goals through the big sticks.
With women's football growing in both Tasmania and Australia, Scotch Oakburn's director of sport Rob Jeffery is impressed with the excitement shown by the girls.
"Girls football is growing really well at Scotch. We were one of the instigators in getting a NSATIS girls' football competition up and running two years ago and now in it's second year, it has come back bigger and stronger," he said.
"A lot of our 7-8 girls play with East Launceston Football Club as well, so it's growing from a younger age, not just the 9-10s."
Fresh off the NSATIS win, the Scotch Oakburn side will head South this weekend for a chance at taking out the state title as they face Fahan School at Hutchins, alongside their boys' side who take on their arch-rivals at their home turf.
With an Eastern Allies representative game approaching Scotch will be without King and Taylor which hurts their chances but as King continues to achieve at a high level, Jeffery hopes that Scotch can get their first AFLW player, following in the footsteps of Launceston team-mates Courtney Webb and Daria Bannister.
"In year 10, two years ago, we identified her, as did North Melbourne. She's a real star and you could tell that then, just how clean she used the ball."
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Josh Partridge
As a sports-mad fan who loves to remain challenged, sports journalism always seemed the path for me and it's allowed me to do things I never thought possible. A keen racquet sports player, I'm experienced in that field, allowing me to do my job at a strong standard.
As a sports-mad fan who loves to remain challenged, sports journalism always seemed the path for me and it's allowed me to do things I never thought possible. A keen racquet sports player, I'm experienced in that field, allowing me to do my job at a strong standard.
