The inaugural year of the Women’s F-League is done and dusted and the Boomerangs women have performed magnificently; finishing second on the regular season table and topping it off with a convincing Semi-Final win and a Grand Final appearance.
Nine wins, two draws and only three losses saw the team finish second on the regular season table, behind the strong Parramatta Blues unit (12-1-1), and ahead of Melbourne Heart (on goal difference) with Sydney Scorpions (6-4-4) rounding out the top four.
The Boomer women played a solid game against the Melbourne Heart in the Semi-Final defeating them 2-1 in a closely fought tussle. The other semi though, produced somewhat of an upset with the dogged and determined Scorpions outplaying the table topping Parramatta team. The upset continued as fourth placed Scorpions continued their strong finals performance with a convincing win over the Boomerangs in the inaugural F-League Women’s Grand Final. In the earlier round games, the Boomerangs and Scorpions played out two enthralling draws (0-0 and 1-1). The Boomerangs three losses in the regular rounds were to Parramatta (twice) and Melbourne Heart (once).
The Women’s F-League featured only three Series in 2013 – at the AIS in Canberra, and in Melbourne and Sydney – with the teams playing four-five games each Series. This was a big ask for the players and favoured the teams with the largest – and fittest squads. Indeed before the Semi-Final and Grand Final on the final Sunday of competition, the Boomerangs (and most other teams) had already played four games on the Saturday.
Scoring quality goals was a feature of the 2013 Boomerangs Women with Nikola Orgill leading the way with 12 goals, followed by Ashleigh Palombi on 10. Brittany Palombi six, while Hayley Buckingham netted five. Youngster, Maddy Whittall also beat the goalkeeper on four occasions with a memorable goal in the semi-final against Melbourne Heart. Indeed all but one (non goalkeeper) Boomerangs players scored during the season, and much like the men’s team, it was terrific to see such great contributions from the young teenagers in the squad including Whittall, Brittany Palombi, Phoebe Worth and Ruth Kravis.
An excellent pairing of goal keepers in Gill Raymond and Tahlia Davidson also saw the team concede on average less than 2 goals per game — a testament also to the strong defensive efforts by the team.
So an excellent first season in the top flight for the Boomerangs Women, and an ‘almost’ perfect start to the F-League for the Canberrans. Next season, coach Kristian Collins will no doubt give his charges two clear goals – to go one better in both the regular season – and finish table toppers – and to finish off the season with a Grand Final victory.