Round 7 saw the Giants come up against another of AFL London’s premier women’s teams - the Wandsworth Demons. This team is made up of some of the best talent in women's footy outside of Australia.
An early morning affair saw us take on the premiership Demons outfit. The return of Sophie Bale was a massive lift to the whole squad and a huge start to the match putting immense pressure on the Demon's forward pack who struggled to find the goals early.
The second quarter was our best, restricting the Demons to just 8 scoring opportunities. Ellie Hyner dominating in the ruck and Susie Carr roving around the backline picking up anything loose we had opportunities but were cut off by some clean hands and clever handballs from the Demons.
The third quarter saw the clock stopped multiple times for injuries, which is not within the rules of AFL London, but despite this we only conceded 17 points. An unfortunate injury to Sophie Bale saw her leave the field and off to A&E - we wish her the very best of recovery.
In the end however the main theme of the day was to celebrate Pride and both teams did an incredible job. Special shout out to Nikki Low who spearheaded the collaboration with the Demons to make this a very special round. We want to acknowledge pride as a protest and although our club strives to be inclusive always, the weekend was an important day to really show that.
We supported our amazing socks and laces supplied by Stonewall and the Gay Pride Shop to show our support on the field. The money raised from these items went to our chosen charities Stonewall and CliniQ who emphasise that unfortunately in many sports and the healthcare settings are still not accepting/inclusive places for everyone in the Queer community.
We also want to thank the Gay Pride Shop for their support in getting everything to us quickly and also a new flag for the club so we had the progress pride flag/all our face paint!
After the games some of our players had the opportunity to march in the London Pride parade with AFL London and walk as one with our competitors.
Giants: 0.0 0
Demons: 13.15 93
Boat Race: Giants, despite some questionable pre-sculling tactics from our hosts (and just perhaps some questionable pouring from our own)
Breast & Fairest: Susie Carr
Dick of the Day: Sophie Bale
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