Tamworth Swans women's captain, Jess O'Brien, expected Saturday's derby match against the Tamworth Kangaroos to be "scrappy and hard".
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
What she didn't predict, however, was that the Swans would put together the "cleanest game I've ever played against the Roos" to secure a 7.7.49 to 2.2.14 win.
After a gritty opening term, in which both teams were at a stalemate for the first 10 minutes, the Swans broke through and clawed their way to a small 12 point lead at quarter time.
But what really impressed O'Brien was her side's resilience in defense, which restricted the Kangaroos to just one point by half time.
"Our back-line this year is unreal," she said.
"Tassie [coach Andrew Donohue] said it multiple times, he's spoilt for choice this year. He's just got so many girls with so much talent and ... our main back-line at the moment is just unreal."
Due to a niggle in her knee, O'Brien played in the forwards and was one of two players, alongside vice captain Madison Sharp, to kick a pair of goals for the Swans.
- Also read: All the Group 4 statistics after Round 7
"Last week was the same, and I kicked three goals in that game," she said, before adding, with tongue firmly in cheek, "So that might be more my area, I don't have to run as much!"
Despite her relative lack of activity last weekend, O'Brien said one of the major keys to the Swans' win was their running.
"Our fitness was better, and we just stood up at the end of the day and ran with it," she said.
It was the third consecutive win for the Swans women, who now sit at third on the AFL North West ladder, behind the Gunnedah Bulldogs and Inverell Saints in first and second place respectively.
Prior to the start of the season, O'Brien was confident that they had the talent to push for a place in the grand final.
Now, after five rounds, she "absolutely" believes this is still the case.
"I think these girls have got it in them to take it to the end," O'Brien said.
"Gunnedah are a strong side, and they're the benchmark, the team to beat. When I first started, it was the Saints.
"But I said to the girls, we only need to beat [one of those top teams] once, and that's in the grand final. We've got to work hard now to keep our for-and-against and keep the wins coming."
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark northerndailyleader.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News