The Gunnedah Bulldogs have kept their undefeated record intact in the women's competition with a victory over the Tamworth Swans during AFL North West's Women in Sport round.
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The scoreboard didn't read well for the Swans - 13.9 (87) to 0.6 (6) - but Gunnedah duo Casey O'Connell and Anne Cusack both said the score didn't reflect the match.
"Intense," O'Connell said when asked how it was out on the field.
Cusack added: "Very intense. Really good competition from the Swans, as always. It's always a tough game from them.
"We came in wanting to start strong and finish strong and that's what we did."
The final quarter was the closest of the game and saw the Swans rack up plenty of inside 50s.
But the Tamworth side wasn't able to convert that into goals as the Dogs defensive unit held strong.
O'Connell made note of Nikki Bruce, "with hands of gold", Meg Foster and Natasha Fisher who all played well down back.
She also said the midfield and forward line played their part with Katrina Rekunow named best for the Bulldogs.
She also kicked two goals alongside Cusack and Maya Gallagher while Alice Mitchell bagged a treble.
The Bulldogs sit atop the ladder, one win clear of the Saints who beat New England 14.9 (93) to 3.5 (23) in Inverell on Saturday.
While Gunnedah are in a good position, the ladies said there was still plenty of work to be done.
"It's good. We're happy, obviously, with where we are on the ladder but we're always aiming to improve and do better," Cusack said.
O'Connell added: "And we don't go into a game expecting to win either. Every quarter it [the score] goes back to zero. We don't stop until that final hooter."
Over at No. 1 Oval, for the final match of the Women in Sport round, the Tamworth Kangaroos took on the Moree Suns under lights.
Kangaroos coach Brett Douglas said the Suns were light on for the match but it still "ended up being a pretty good game" as the Roos won 8.6 (54) to 3.5 (32).
"They brought down 11, so we lent them a couple, and it ended up being a good battle," Douglas said.
"They're improving out of sight. We were behind in the first quarter and if they can get a full squad together, they'll go really, really well."
The Roos bounced back in the second quarter, moved the ball freely and kicked straight, Douglas said, and went on with the job from there.
Along with the women's games, there was also youth girls exhibition matches played in Gunnedah and Inverell.
Numbers were promising at both grounds with the Women in Sport round being well supported as a whole.
"We're very, very proud to represent women in sport and we just hope we can get more girls to join footy across NSW every year," Cusack said. O'Connell added: "It's just so good to see more females jumping on board and I think the league making a big deal about it is really good way to influence people to come across."
Ben Jaffrey
Ben is a content curator and journalist for The Land. He has been with ACM since 2015 and first worked at The Area News and then at the Northern Daily Leader. Ben first joined ACM Agri as a digital journalist for all seven agricultural mastheads in 2022 before shifting to The Land full-time in 2023.
Ben is a content curator and journalist for The Land. He has been with ACM since 2015 and first worked at The Area News and then at the Northern Daily Leader. Ben first joined ACM Agri as a digital journalist for all seven agricultural mastheads in 2022 before shifting to The Land full-time in 2023.
