By Lance Jenkinson
There was no shame in running second for Caroline Springs in the inaugural Western Region Football League senior women’s grand final, according to coach Anthea Stathakis.
The Lakers were beaten by not only a better side in Manor Lakes in a 51-point loss at Avalon Airport Oval on Saturday, but a team that will be revered for many years to come after setting the bar so high in the competition’s first year.
The Storm’s season was out of this world – a 15-0 record including finals and a sky high percentage of 2708.93 per cent over the home and away rounds.
They are numbers that might not ever be seen in this competition again.
“Manor Lakes are the powerhouse team of the competition,” Stathakis said.
“They have set the benchmark from the start.
“Our girls needed to go out there and give their 100 per cent and no matter what the outcome we’d be proud of them.
“They did that and I couldn’t ask for anything more from my playing group.”
Caroline Springs started the game promisingly with some early forward entries.
They hit the scoreboard twice, but both were behinds.
It did not take long for Manor Lakes to wrest control of the game and once they did they were impossible to stop.
“We had a good first 10 or 15 minutes of the first quarter,” Stathakis said.
“We did say that we needed to get off to a good start to be competitive against them.
“The girls did that, but unfortunately we couldn’t convert our shots into goals.”
Caroline Springs’ only goal came in the second quarter through Caitlin Balshaw.
By that stage, the Storm had done too much damage. It was a nice reward for Balshaw, who was one of the better Lakers players on the day.
“She had a ripper game,” Stathakis said.
“If the scoring was a little bit closer, I’d say she would’ve been close to getting best on ground.”
Alexandra Fato produced a strong game under the strain of a tag.
Fato has been the standout player in the Lakers midfield this season.
“It’s hard when you have two players tagging you, but she still racked up her possessions,” Stathakis said.
Ash Stafford’s efforts in defence were described as “phenomenal”.
Stafford used her years of football experience to thwart a number of Manor Lakes attack.
Caroline Springs will lick its wounds over the summer and come back bigger and stronger.
The Lakers can take heart from Manor Lakes, who were in a similar position last season when they came runners-up to an irrepressible Keilor, but turned it around in one off season.
“They [Manor Lakes] actually did say after the game that they were us last year and to keep our heads held high,” Stathakis said.
