Women’s Update – Steve Symonds

As we move into our last bye of the season before our finals campaign, it gives us time to catch our breath and reflect on the season thus far and what may lie ahead.

With one minor round game to go and then into our finals campaign, we find ourselves in a strong position both from a physical and performance position.

We are well pleased to find ourselves with only the one loss thus far and giving ourselves a great opportunity to progress further with the double chance and likely home finals.

After getting so close to a second premiership last season, we set about fixing a few weak areas in the off season. With a few tweaks to both our pre-season and in-season programs, promoting a few exciting youngsters and bringing in 18 new players to the club, the changes have been positive for us. In the off season we were fortunate to have obtained Hannah Dunn and Najwa Allen from the ACT as well as Sophie Armitstead from the Crows. These three have been great additions to our squad giving our midfield a different look and providing us plenty of drive. Our whole squad as a collective have come together very well and are a very close, tight and united bunch who have a very positive vibe. We have made some adjustments to our style of play which has given us a strong playing brand that is nicely balanced between both contested and outside play. We are rated number one in majority of the key statistical areas. Defensively we are very strong, but our goal kicking continues to be a work in progress. Our ability to cover the ground and use the ball more efficiently has certainly improved in comparison to previous seasons.

At the start of the year we had two girls unavailable for the whole season from ACL injuries and during the season we lost another four to long term injuries. One which included our co-captain Bek McMahon in the first game of the season. The girls who have been in rehab have been an inspiration in not only the way they have attacked their rehab, but their willingness to help on the side lines within games and training’s. They have been terrific in helping drive our culture.

Despite losing a few players, our squad had remained strong and united in which the depth of our squad has shone through. We again have been coordinating and playing our own reserve games to provide further development opportunities for our players. This includes several under 17 girls gaining game experience, but also some girls from our Eyre Peninsula country zone have travelled to play these games.

We now start preparing for the final part of the season. We haven’t been looking too far ahead, our mindset has been strongly about improving each quarter and each session. The recent loss we experienced has been a blessing as it has kept us grounded and allowed us the opportunity to revisit a few of our weaker areas and tidy them up for finals preparation.

We know we will face some stiff opposition over the next few weeks, but we are confident we will continue to play a positive brand of footy and make the club and members proud.

We look forward to your support.

Steve Symonds

(Norwood FC – Women’s State League Head Coach)