India Draper and Kimberlee Gordon have led Group 11 league tag to a big win over Group 10 on Saturday at Pioneer Oval.
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The annual representative fixture between the two sides was entertaining as always but it was Group 11 who proved to be too good in the end, taking a 38-12 win.
The win was Group 11's first triumph in the clash for some time and coach Kaitlyn Mason was extremely proud of her team's efforts.
"It was a really good win, we only had the one training together but I think that just speaks to the girls' professionalism and the talent we have within the group," she said.
"We wanted to pick a team who were for the team this year and I think we've done that.
"I'm really happy with the way it turned out, we just played simple football and defended each for other."
While they may have not got the win, Group 10 captain-coach Mish Somers admitted it is always a great game to be a part of.
"They showed up and we probably didn't for a large majority of the game," she said.
"But they are a quality side, one training session probably doesn't help as well as having a few players come in and out.
"There are no excuses, we just didn't turn up and make the tags."
Group 11 wasted no time getting on the scoreboard as Breighel Thuell crossed within the first five minutes to give the hosts the lead, Ebony Furner's goal-kicking was on point as she nailed the conversion to give Mason's side a 6-0 advantage.
But Group 10 would hit back after marching their way downfield as Josie Clark crossed in the left-hand corner.
Group 10 looked to be in control of the game but still trailed 6-4 until Mason decided to turn to her bench and bring on Emily Caton and Demi Wilson.
Draper began to work into the game also and made a break up the middle of the field before passing the ball off to Caton who raced away to score under the posts, with the try once again being converted Group 11 led 12-4 at the break.
Coming out of the second half, Group 11 didn't let up.
Gordon showed all her skill to score a brilliant individual try before Group 10 hit back through Cheynoah Merchant.
The Group 10 star's try got the score to 18-8 with still 15 minutes remaining but Group 11 would pull away following a Jorja Simpson four-pointer.
Georgie Coote raced down the sideline to score, showing a wonderful burst of speed to beat several defenders before Gordon grubbered for herself to get her second try of the match.
Both sides would score in the dying stages of the match through Georgie Barrett and Katie Kelly but ultimately it was Group 11 who came away with a solid win.
Speaking prior to the match, Mason was excited about the pace her side had out wide and it was something she was glad to watch during the win.
"We definitely got to see that today and those young ones coming through as well," she said.
"We really utilised that, the old heads in the group got them the ball and it was good."
There was no player of the match announced but Mason believes Gordon did a wonderful job captaining the Group 11 side.
"She played well, the leadership she brings to the team has been good," she said.
"They played for each other."
Even in a losing side, Somers still had a smile on her face and said it was nice to play alongside some familiar faces.
"It's good fun, I've played a lot of touch with some of these girls so it's nice to play with them, she said.
"The juniors from Orange are really handy players and they are the future of our sport so it is nice to have a bit of a run around with them.
"There is a few that have been around for a few years but it's nice to have those younger ones coming through and play with them."
GROUP 11 38 (Kimberlee Gordon 2, Katie Kelly, Emily Caton, Breighel Thuell, Georgie Coote, Jorja Simpson tries; Ebony Furner 5 conversions) defeated GROUP 10 12 (Georgie Barrett, Josie Clark, Cheynoah Merchant tries)
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