'Respect our opponent': North Wagga takes win over Tigers in first meeting

Defeating Wagga Tigers 4.7 (31) to 1.3 (9) in the clubs' first meeting, it was no easy win for the Saints.

Captain Melinda Hyland said her side did well to not allow the Tigers history to impact their preparations.

The Tigers have not won a game since joining the competition.

"The conversation before the game was that they were unknown, that they're really successful and strong club with a really proud history and that we were going to go in there and respect our opponent and try and be competitive from the start," Hyland said.

Keeping the Tigers scoreless in both the first and third quarters, Hyland said back-line strength was a big contributor.

Shutting the Tigers down across the halfback line, she said the Tigers strength sat in their midfield.

Blocking the midfield from the game helped keep the scoreline in North Wagga's favour, though it wasn't without a hiccup.

"They had some pretty strong midfield players that would stream down from our forward line once there was a transition or a turnover, and we managed to shut it down there and hit some leading targets to take it back up the field," she said.

"We came undone a little bit in two of the quarters because their transition was a lot quicker than ours."

Regrouping to prevent the Tigers quick play during the term breaks, Hyland was particularly impressed with Sarah Harmer's impact on the game.

An inaugural Saint, Harmer has been improving season on season, and Hyland feels like everything has fallen into place for her ahead of the 2024 season.

"I thought she was really good at that centre-half, full forward position," she said.

"After playing a couple of seasons she's finally clicked and was really good with her positioning, pushing back into the square and leading out into that hot spot.

"She was able to take some really good contested marks by doing that and it meant we had a heap more scoring shots than the other team."

With just one game left in the pool rounds, North Wagga prepares to take on Turvey Park on Friday.

Both teams head into the game without a loss this season.

Hyland said it will be their toughest game yet.

"We do feel confident but we also know that they've had similar kind of success and we know they had pretty good team last year, so we're expecting it to be a little bit more challenging than the previous two games.

"We want to try and get a win over them so we're top of our pool going into the next round of games."

Pleased with the balance of youth and experience the side has struck this season, Hyland feels her team is primed to go well as the season progresses.

As the first round of pool games come to an end this week, all four pools will feature top two games.

Australian Rules Football,Southern NSW Womens Football League,Senior Women,09/02/2024,"Coolamon Hoppers Women 2.0 6.0 7.1 9.3 (57)

Temora Kangaroos Women 1.2 3.3 3.3 3.3 (21)

GOALS: Coolamon Hoppers Women: ; Temora Kangaroos Women:

BEST: Coolamon Hoppers Women: S.Gaynor, L.Jolliffe, B.Hanrahan, Z.Cartwright, G.Beard, E.Leary; Temora Kangaroos Women: A.Reinhold, B.van Egmond, D.Manning, A.Clark, H.Derrick, S.Moncrieff

Griffith Swans Women 1.3 3.6 4.7 7.8 (50)

Narrandera Eagles Women 2.1 3.1 4.1 4.1 (25)

GOALS: Griffith Swans Women: G.Buchan 3, J.Hill 2, L.Marshall 1, J.Turner 1; Narrandera Eagles Women: L.Smith 2, A.Harrison 1, J.Morrison 1

BEST: Griffith Swans Women: G.Buchan, J.Richards, K.Bertoldo, L.Marshall, J.Hill, E.Fattore; Narrandera Eagles Women: M.Darrington, M.Savage, J.Morrison, A.Mcinerney, L.Litchfield, M.Smith

Brookdale Bluebells Women 0.0 3.2 6.3 7.5 (47)

CSU Bushpigs Women 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.4 (10)

GOALS: Brookdale Bluebells Women: R.Bell 4, K.Kobzan 1, M.Day 1, C.Hosie 1; CSU Bushpigs Women: M.McKinley 1

BEST: Brookdale Bluebells Women: M.Day, R.Bell, A.Voss, S.Creasy, R.Hyde, C.Hosie; CSU Bushpigs Women: L.Hogan, O.Henzen, K.Brown, Z.Dribbus, A.Trevaskis, E.Keys

Northern Jets Senior Women AFLW 2.4 5.7 8.8 9.9 (63)

Leeton Whitton Crows 0.2 0.2 1.2 2.4 (16)

GOALS: Northern Jets Senior Women AFLW: J.Bray 3, C.Willis 1, M.Maguire 1, C.Meehan 1, A.Davies 1, M.Reinhold 1, S.Irons 1; Leeton Whitton Crows: K.Pham 1

BEST: Northern Jets Senior Women AFLW: N.Fraser, J.Bray, A.Doyle, M.Reinhold, C.Meehan, E.Bell; Leeton Whitton Crows: K.Pham, E.Crelley, M.Gilmour, A.Ryan

GGGM Lions Women 1.3 4.4 5.8 5.9 (39)

Marrar Bombers Women 0.2 2.3 2.3 2.6 (18)

GOALS: GGGM Lions Women: S.Hamblin 2, K.Logan 1, A.Fisher 1, O.Hall 1; Marrar Bombers Women: K.Woolley-Blain 2

BEST: GGGM Lions Women: P.Walsh, B.Gregurke, B.Reid, G.Guthrie, A.Sase, S.Hamblin; Marrar Bombers Women: K.Woolley-Blain, L.Mckelvie Hill, A.Piercy, I.Cunningham, S.Crouch, S.Godde

Turvey Park Bulldogs Women 3.2 6.2 7.2 9.5 (59)

MCUE Goannas Women 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.2 (2)

GOALS: Turvey Park Bulldogs Women: A.Reynoldson 2, M.burkinshaw 2, B.Nimmo 1, P.Grigg 1, M.Hallcroft 1, M.pinney 1, F.Young 1; MCUE Goannas Women:

BEST: Turvey Park Bulldogs Women: P.Grigg, F.Young, M.Garratt, J.Pinney, M.burkinshaw, J.Wendt; MCUE Goannas Women: M.Cole, T.Wilson, A.Christie, T.Schulz-Cole, O.Howell, J.Plater

Collingullie Wagga Demons 2.4 4.5 5.7 5.7 (37)

EWK Hawks Women 0.1 0.2 0.2 1.6 (12)

GOALS: Collingullie Wagga Demons: C.Fretter 2, E.Wearne 2, K.Harris 1; EWK Hawks Women: A.White 1

BEST: Collingullie Wagga Demons: J.Goldski, D.Hallett, C.Fretter, G.Kennedy, R.Kennedy, S.Beresford; EWK Hawks Women: C.Barton, D.Heath, C.Green, K.Penny, K.Bettens, I.Cooper

North Wagga Saints Women 1.0 2.1 3.7 4.7 (31)

Wagga Tigers Women 0.0 1.0 1.0 1.3 (9)

GOALS: North Wagga Saints Women: T.Kenningale 2, B.Nicholson 1, O.Pollard 1; Wagga Tigers Women: S.Jameson 1

BEST: North Wagga Saints Women: S.Harmer, O.Pollard, S.Balchin, M.Hyland, T.Kenningale, Z.Cunial; Wagga Tigers Women: T.Brooks, B.Ross, J.Post, S.Jameson, S.Stevens, N.Carl"