WA claims Female Kickstart Football ChampionshipsMonday, October 3, 2016 - 1:10 PM

The WA State Indigenous football team has claimed the 2016 Female Kickstart title after the side defeated Queensland in its Grand Final clash at the 2016 National Female Diversity Championships.

More than 200 players of Indigenous and Multicultural backgrounds showcased their skills and proudly represented their state at the 2016 Female Diversity Championships held at Shepparton, Victoria.

The week-long round-robin championships (September 25 – 30) encompassed the National U14 Kickstart and for the first year the National U14 All Nations Cup.

In addition to the players, more than 70 Indigenous and Multicultural coaches, umpires, managers, physios and trainers facilitated and supported the tournament, including WA’s Lewis Williams from the East Perth District (Korean background) and Dickson Garbutt from the Perth District (African background).

The All Nations WA team just missed out on securing a spot in the inaugural All Nations Grand Final and finished with four wins out of the six matches played.

Day 1

Kickstart WA v Tasmania
Kickstart WA defeated Tasmania 9.4 (58) to 1.0 (6) in the side’s first clash of the championships. The Tasmanians were under a barrage of pressure from a strong WA attack but still managed to keep WA to just three goals in the first half. In the second half WA gained all the momentum and opened it up, kicking six goals to take an outstanding win by 52 points.

All Nations WA v Victoria
All Nations WA team (3.1.19) was three points shy of Victoria’s 3.4 (22) in its first match. The side put in a gallant fight for the entirety of the clash and was up six points before the main break.Victoria came out a new team in the final term and closed the gap with a late goal and in the dying minutes of the game secured the winning goal.

Kickstart WA v Victoria
Kickstart WA team played out a desperate final five minutes of its twilight contest against Victoria, defeating the side 2.2 (15) to  2.2 (14).  It was Victoria who started strong in the first half, and kept WA scoreless but the West pinched the game after securing two early goals after the main break and with just over a minute left on the clock a behind by forward Hope Ugle-Hayword was enough to secure a victory for WA.

All Nations WA v South Australia
All Nations WA team were eager to grab a victory after the side lost earlier in the day to Victoria by only three points. WA was on a roll in the opening half of the match and was up 13 points at the main break. South Australia fought back quickly in the third term but WA’s Scovia Anzoa kicked a spectacular goal to draw the scores level and give the side the best hope of taking home the chocolates. 

South Australia rose to the occasion and cemented a seven-point lead in the early minutes of the final term but WA wasn’t finished, and the team made something out of nothing with a goal on the final kick of the day seeing jubilant scenes for the WA side who defeated SA 6.3 (39) to 5.4 (34).

Day 2

All Nations WA v Northern Territory
All Nations WA proved too strong for the Northern Territory team winning 8.6 (54) to 2.1 (13) in their first clash on the second day of the Diversity Championships.

Kickstart WA v Queensland
The final game of the morning session saw the goal of the tournament, kicked by WA’s Monique Riley. Riley sailed a kick from outside the fifty into open space, similar to Jack Fitzpatrick’s Round 23 long bomb that sent Hawthorn fans into a frenzy this year. Riley’s major sealed Kickstart WA’s 4.1 (25) to 1.5 (11) victory over Queensland.

All Nations WA v NSW/ACTAll Nations WA’s Scovia Azizoa was instrumental in her side’s commanding win against NSW/ACT. Azizoa’s supreme control of the football saw her take a telling grab using one hand, snapping around the body to put the first of her two opening-half goals on the board. A late major from NSW/ACT saw the side remain in contention at half time but WA blew the game open following the break. Already 20 points up at half time, WA’s dominance continued as the All Nations side piled on six more goals, which led to its 56-point victory.

Kickstart WA v NSW/ACT
Kickstart WA remained undefeated following four games in the Kickstart Championships and the winning streak continued after WA defeated NSW/ACT in a one-sided affair. With a comprehensive 59-0 win, WA was not short of scoring opportunities, with the scoreboard showing 8.11 at the match’s end.

Kickstart WA v Northern Territory

Switching to the yellow ball Kickstart Northern Territory and WA played in a thrilling match to end Day-Two of the National Female Diversity Championships. The WA side gained ascendancy late in the first half and had drawn scores level as coaches and players prepared for a nail-biting finish. WA worked their way to a one-point lead, but a desperate rushed behind in the last 20 seconds of play saw Northern Territory draw the scores level 3.2 (20).

Day 3

All Nations WA v Northern Territory
Northern Territory was no match for WA All Nations who lead from the get go, securing a 8.8 (56) to 0.2 (2) victory to take confidence into the side’s afternoon match.

Kickstart WA v South Australia
Kickstart WA continued its charge towards taking the Kickstart title after defeating South Australia 10.6 (66) to 0.0 (0). A selfless performance from Courtney Little saw her gift teammate Hope Ugle-Hayword a goal as she ran into open space. But the scoring was abundant as the WA side kept their opposition goalless and booked a spot in the Kickstart Grand Final.

All Nations WA v Queensland
All Nations WA and Queensland played a close match, with the winner to progress to the big dance. A fantastic goal after the half-time siren saw the Swans creep closer and sit only one goal behind their opposition. But WA just missed out on securing a spot in the Inaugural All Nations Grand Final after Queensland produced the goods in the second half and beat WA 5.1 (31) to 3.0 (18).

2016 Female Kickstart Grand Final

WA v Queensland
Queensland came out firing in the 2016 National Female Kickstart Grand Final clash against the Western Australian side and lead at the main break 1.5 (11) to 0.2 (2). WA turned up the heat and scored two goals in the second half, keeping Queensland scoreless for the rest of the match. The WA side claimed the Kickstart title with a 2.5 (17) to 1.5 (11) victory over Queensland.

At the conclusion of the one-week tournament players from the All-Nations team were selected for the Medleys National squad and players from the Kickstart team were selected for the Woomeras National Squad.