FINAL '17: Demons vs Raiders (W.Conf)

Mitch Skelly | 16.08.17

Clapham Demons 0.1 (1) def by. Shepherds Bush Raiders 4.8 (32)

A disappointing end to an amazing season, our conference girls should hold their heads high. Through sheer determination we were able to qualify for a grand final, finishing off the Swans and Magpies first teams and taking on the might of the Wildcats. All season we were the team that threatened to upset their season, and for a while it looked like we could finally pull off a win!

The Dee's went into the game as underdogs and a "nothing to lose" mind-set. Everyone knew what the Cats were capable of, but never once did we let this intimidate us. The first quarter was tight and brutal. Sarah rucked like a seasoned pro and got the ball moving our way, Viks, Jenna and Jo all did everything they could to win clearances and stop the Wildcats run. At the first change we were up by 1 point to nothing – to my knowledge the first time the wildcats have trailed at any break, and a credit to our team.

The 2nd quarter was looking extremely promising. Ryano was a handful to her opponent and Beast had a run in the midfield. Jenna was doing an awesome job of shutting down the Wildcats best player and things were looking good... Unfortunately a little brain fade saw both Jo and Jenna kick the ball the wrong direction... Despite the best efforts of Juice and LV the wildcats managed to pinch a goal.

At half time we were a goal down and still well and truly in the contest. If there is one thing we knew it's that the She-Dee's would never give up. French Steph laid one of her trademark big tackles to get the crowd "up and about" and German Nat was playing a really good game at half forward. The 3rd quarter is often known as "the premiership quarter" and it was now when the Cats did the damage on the scoreboard, putting a further 2 goals to the Dee's none.

I missed the last quarter however I'm happy to hear we never dropped out of the game and kept having a crack. The one passage of play I did see was Royesy taking an awesome intercept mark, showing we still had the desire to work hard for each other. The final margin was 31 points, and all things considered this was not a bad outcome.

For a team made up primarily of people new to footy we have plenty to learn, but some amazing signs of improvement. The team spirit lifted through the roof over recent weeks and I think we thank captain Pinks for stepping in when Coota had to step back a little. Pink's passion and energy is infectious, she does everything asked of her plus more – a perfect example was making 50+ friendship bracelets for the squad. Congrats on season 1 of the She-Dee's Conference side, bring on season #2!

Best: "Team Effort"

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