SHE has only played six games in the AFL Central West competition, but already new Bathurst Giant Aimee Schmidt has proven herself to be a player who thrives under pressure.
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On Saturday as the Giants fought off a determined Orange Tigers outfit to post a 5-7-37 to 2-4-16 win in the annual Katrina Hobby Memorial Shield match at Waratahs, Schmidt was the best on ground.
"She is just taking the game by storm, she's a bloody superstar that girl," Giants coach Liz Kennedy said of Schmidt.
"She came from Temora, she was a basketballer, but she has just transferred those skills incredibly and her fitness is incredible too.
"I gave her a bit of a task to sit on Erin Naden and she nullified Erin - Aimee was just an absolute stand out."
While the Tigers won the inaugural Hobby Memorial in 2018 by eight points, last year the Giants were able to hoist the shield for the first time with an 83-point victory.
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The Giants were keen to retain the shield, but the Tigers were also hungry to win the match in honour of one of their founding members.
Little separated the rivals early on, with the Giants booting the only major of the opening term and leading 2-5-17 to 1-2-8 at half-time.
The Giants maintained that nine-point buffer heading into the final quarter and as they managed to restrict the Tigers to just a sole behind, the win was theirs.
"It's such an emotional game for both teams, both clubs have a link to Katrina," Kennedy said.
"It's a game that brings out the best in Katie [Kennedy], she was our players' player and she really directed that side around and Jayarna [Kay] just rose to another level, her talk out the back was great.
"I've got something positive to say about every single girl after the way they played."
As was the case when the Giants won last year's memorial, the win sealed them the minor premiership. But in 2020 it also brings with it a direct path to the grand final.
"Now we wait three weeks, it's not the best run for finals but it is what it is. The girls will rally around, we'll run a couple of extra training sessions and see how we go," Kennedy said.
