Harris’s heroes reign supreme

The SWFL women’s team was crowned inaugural winners of the 2019 WA Female Country Football Championships in Perth on Sunday.

Coached by Michelle Harris, the SWFL went through the carnival undefeated, with solid victories against the Goldfields, Great Northern, Pilbara and Peel football leagues.

Speaking a day after the magnificent triumph, Harris said a solid opening to the carnival paved the way for her side’s success.

“The whole carnival was really impressive with five regions who all had good numbers,” she said.

“The Pilbara struggled a little bit, but in the spirit of the competition, we loaned them four players for a half and it was really decent of the girls to offer that.

“It was fantastic to see five regions commit to such a great event and hopefully more regions will be a part of it next year.”

Prior to the carnival, Harris told the South Western Times that she had been thoroughly impressed with her side’s cohesive nature in both training and scratch matches.

Across the board, all players took every opportunity that came their way, with Harvey Bulls quartet Zoe Worsfold, Doma Fedele, Fleur Parker and Dena English particularly dangerous against rival defenders.

Harris is tipping next year’s carnival to be even better, with players and officials appearing to embrace the concept.

“The feeling that you got from the players from all regions was enjoyment and that they were really loving it,” she said.

“Jan Cooper from the West Coast Eagles AFLW team was there and was obviously doing a bit of scouting.

“She said a few words at the end about how impressed she was with the standard and the rate at which the girls are growing in terms of their skill development.”

Results

SWFL 8.6 (54) def Goldfields 2.0 (12)Goals: SWFL - Z. Worsfold 3, D. English, K. Templeman, D. Fedele, J. Blackford, B. Bond 1. Best - K. Bassett, E. Bilcich, D. English, Z. Worsfold.

SWFL 10.8 (68) def Great Northern Football League 0.2 (2)Goals: SWFL - D. English 2, Z. Worsfold 2, R. McMillan 2, B. Bond, E. Bilcich, C. Elward, F. Parker 1. Best - R. McMillan, D. Fedele, K. Bassett, D. English.

SWFL 13.11 (89) def Pilbara Females 2.0 (12) Goals: SWFL - L. Worsfold 4, C. Elward 3, R. Sansom 2, H. Staszewski-Hose, F. Parker, B. Bond, Z. Worsfold 1. Best - F. Parker, B. Beckett, C. Elward, H. Staszewski-Hose.

SWFL 5.11 (41) def Peel 1.0 (6)Goals: SWFL - R. McMillan 3, K. Templeman, J. Ruland 1. Best - H. Staszewski-Hose, E. Bilcich, K. Templeman, R. McMillan.

2019 Women’s All-Stars - South West representatives

Players: Ruby Mahony, Zoe Worsfold, Doma Fedele, Fleur Parker, Kloe Bassett, Dena English and Ebony Bilcich;Coach:Michelle Harris.