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That is what Bathurst Lady Bushrangers captain Kelsey Richards felt got her side over the line in Saturday’s Central West AFL women’s derby against the Bathurst Giants.
While the Giants stuck with their rivals during the opening half at George Park 1, drawing on the experience of three seasons together the Lady Bushrangers lifted to come away with a 7-9-51 to 3-0-18 win.
Though the defeat was the first for the Giants since joining the competition this season, Richards felt they should be proud of their effort.
“I really do think it came down to us having that experience in the end … we’d hoped it would help,” Richards said of her side, which has had a stranglehold on the women’s premiership since it began in 2015.
“They played really well and at half-time I think there was only a goal or two in it.
“It was one of those games that we felt the score didn’t really reflect, to us it was a much harder game than that.”
As expected, the enthusiasm of the Giants – through their tackling pressure and willingness to make the Lady Bushrangers work hard to win any contested football – kept things tight early on.
The Lady Bushrangers led by 13 points at the first change and while they held a 4-2-26 to 2-0-12 lead at half-time, the Giants were still in the contest.
However, the Lady Bushrangers held Giants scoreless in the third term and kicked clear.
Alora Dickson booted four majors for the victors, Sarah Shakleton was good in the ruck, and Meredith Jones impressed so much she picked up the Bushrangers’ Zac Baker Medal ahead of the club’s male talents.
But Richards was also pleased to see how the Lady Bushrangers’ new recruits performed - the likes of Donalee Delahunty who returned a strong effort in the midfield.
“The new girls that have joined us this year, a lot of them have come from other sports, they’ve just been fantastic,” Richards said. “They’ve got a lot of natural ability and have really picked things up quickly.”
For the Giants Tamara Thompson booted two goals, while Bridget and Minna Annand were solid.