Saints bow out in NCWL prelim against Nathalia

Jun 22, 2021

Despite a valiant attempt, Benalla’s venture into finals territory in the women’s football landscape ended abruptly on Sunday.

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Heading to Tatura for their Northern Country Women’s League preliminary finals bout with Nathalia, the Saints were ultimately unable to match the Purples’ tenacity in a 9.4 (58) to 2.2 (14) defeat.

A slow start cost Benalla, with Nathalia roaring ahead to a 15-point lead at the first break.

The Saints’ backline of Shalijah Sciberras, Abbie Buhagiar and Nicole Donald were always going to have their work cut out containing Abby Favaro, who slotted 31 goals during the regular season, and the gap was increased further by halftime even with Benalla jagging a major.

Nathalia continued to push on in the third, and by then, the game was largely out of reach.

A second goal in the last for Benalla brought a smile to the travelling fans faces, however, the Purples split the sticks three more times to solidify their spot in the grand final against Echuca this Sunday.

Nevertheless, Benalla left the park with heads held high following an impressive season, with a statement posted to the sides’ Facebook page confirming this.

“Coaches Russell Lowe and Lucy Welch have done a fantastic job with the girls this year to build a strong team environment that has had many challenges with injuries and numbers,” the statement read.

“This is a credit to all involved.”

Additionally, the season-wide efforts of Saint Emma Layfield did not go unnoticed, with the forward polling third in the overall league best and fairest count.