Both the VFLW and VFL sides secured wins over SANFL in the AAMI State Games during Gather Round, with the four Box Hill representatives putting up strong showings.
The VFLW managed a historic win in the inaugural clash between the women’s sides on Friday night at Alberton Oval, where Victoria ran out 27-point winners.
While in the VFL it was a drought breaker, with the side securing its first victory over the SANFL side since 2002, with an 11-point victory at Tanunda Recreation on Saturday afternoon.
Hawthorn AFLW backline coach and Box Hill Hawks specialist coach Steph Binder was an assistant coach with the VFLW State Team.
Binder said it was incredible to be a part of the inaugural women’s clash with the SANFLW.
“The game itself was played to a very high standard with lots of talent and athleticism on display,” Binder said.
“The fact that it was the first time in history that the VFLW faced off against the SANFLW was so special, it’s something that all players, staff and coaches are very proud of. It's also a pretty good feeling to be able to confidently say that the VFLW is the second-highest level of women's football in the country after the AFLW.
“We got off to a fast start with a commanding lead at quarter time before the South Aussies fought back gaining momentum in the second. The rest of the game was a real arm wrestle, but the Vics managed to stay connected as a team, absorb pressure, kick accurately and come away with a strong win."
Binder said Box Hill’s Maddi Torpey well-represented the brown and gold, putting on a valiant display for Victoria.
“Maddi competed well in the ruck all night. Her strengths were on display with her follow-up work around the ground. Her defensive pressure was immense, with an intercept possession she took at the top of the forward 50 arc resulting in the Vics’ first goal of the game,” she said.
While in the VFL, Box Hill VFL Senior Coach and Hawthorn AFL Development Coach Zane Littlejohn was the head coach of the VFL State Team.
Littlejohn summarised the details of an “unreal” game of football and shared his gratitude for the opportunity to coach the representative team.
“An unreal game of football in all honesty. The standard was high quality, I think there were 11 lead changes across the day, but the character that the VFL boys showed was first class,” Littlejohn said.
“I’m just really proud of them, to dig deep and get over the line. I thought our last quarter, you could see what it meant to them, the way they played, the connection of the group, it was fantastic.
“Full credit to the SA group as well, it was just a great standard of footy and great game of footy, I think anyone who watched it would have seen it, a lot of turnovers but the pressure was really high, so a really proud day for everyone involved and a great reward.
Littlejohn expressed his pride in all three of the Box Hill representatives, Ethan Stanley, Kya Declase and Sam Durdin, he said the way they performed was exceptional.
“Ethan was solid through the day, he in all honesty got better as the game went on. Started inside then we moved him to the wing in the second half to get a bit more outside speed and run, he looked a lot more comfortable when he went to the wing and gave us some really good run and dash and really found his feet as the game went on.
“Kye was solid all day. He had a really good state game last year and was quite solid again this year, had a lot of involvement in our scoring chains early in the game, held his width really well and was really damaging going front of centre so had some big moments for us in that space as well which was good. Had to work really hard on a nice warm day but covered the ground really solidly which was great.
“Sam was really strong. Our back eight were under the pump early in the game and credit to South Australia they kept putting us under a lot of pressure and I thought our back seven or eight held up really strong for the day. Sammy’s a great leader, he’s an SA boy himself but he was really proud to pull on the Big V and represent the VFL and he held himself really strongly and played a really good game.
“And obviously, Cal Porter was a travelling emergency and provided great energy on the bench for us.”
Littlejohn also highlighted an off-field Box Hill representative in Sean Jessiman, who is a physiotherapist at Box Hill, who made the trip as a VFL State Team physio as well.
“I was rapt to have him involved and get some great exposure at another level,” he said.
“All in all a really good day and a great experience for everyone involved. A special day for the VFL and I’m really proud to be a part of it, and really thankful to have the opportunity to lead them.”
FINAL SCORES:
SANFLW 0.1 1.6 2.11 4.12 (36)
VFLW 4.2 7.2 8.5 9.9 (63)
SANFL 2.7 7.8 11.10 15.13 (103)
VFL 4.0 8.2 12.6 18.6 (114)
