Over three days the Dragonflies competed against six other states hoping to claim the title of 2019 champions, a feat that wouldn’t be easy for the NT side as they met last year’s grand finalists, South Australia (SA), in their first match of the tournament. It would be a hard battle with the SA team not allowing the team to score a goal until the third quarter, ultimately seeing the Dragonflies defeated by 31 points.
With the support of Molly Byrnes and Nadia Alliston’s family the Dragonflies headed into the second game against Western Australia (WA) headstrong but it wouldn’t be enough to take down WA’s team of tall players.
Plagued with a couple of injuries and fatigue the girls headed into the third game of the day against New South Wales (NSW) putting up their highest number of points of the day and finishing with a loss of 28-5.
Waking up on Day 2 with fresh legs and a new mind-set the players were ready to meet with top of the ladder contenders Victoria (VIC). The positive attitude of our girls would contribute to their highest scoring matches of the tournament and lead them to their first victory against Australian Capital Territory (ACT).
“This was a great show of skill as well as sportsmanship, the tables were turned as we were the more experienced team this time and the Dragonflies really responded.” Said Team Manager, Sophie McConnell.
The final day of the tournament was full of happy tears as the team celebrated early with a birthday breakfast for team mate Rosie, which would be followed by a battle for fifth and sixth against WA. Starting off the match evenly the girls improved on their previous score against the western side, finishing in sixth place.
The success of the day wouldn’t end there, as the awards ceremony would have a couple of surprises lined up for the NT side. Naomi Alliston, Captain of the Dragonflies was awarded the MVP Award and Emily Ellison took home the Spirit Award. These would be the only two individual awards of the tournament highlighting the amazing sportsmanship and integrity of the side.
