TWO GOALS in two minutes from captain Maddy Prespakis led Vic Metro to a 12-point win over Vic Country in the NAB AFL Women's Under-18 Championships.
Onballer Prespakis came to life after half-time and was instrumental in the 4.5 (29) to 2.7 (17) victory in cold and blustery conditions at GMHBA Stadium in Geelong.
Country was undefeated at last year's Championships and has another strong squad this year but will be ruing missed shots at goal in the first half when they had the momentum.
Vic Country midfielder Tyla Hanks impressed throughout, pushing forward and looking dangerous around goal.
Metro's defence – led by Georgia McPherson, Molly Warbuton and Charlotte Wilson – held firm under the weight of numerous inside-50 entries, while Country's Nina Morrison was clean on the wing and made good decisions with ball in hand.
Vic Metro coach Tom Humphrey was pleased with his side's third term, where it extended its lead from just one point to 19.
"After half-time, the girls really stood up. We restructured a bit, shared the ball around and moved it a bit quicker into our forwards and the results speak for themselves," Humphrey said.
"Our defence was fantastic. We didn't rotate our defenders until halfway in the second term, when we felt a bit more comfortable, but the back seven played really well.
"They all did their job, they were certainly under the pump at the start of the second quarter but held their own."
He said Prespakis, who won Vic Metro's MVP last year, was a strong player but still had plenty to work on as she works towards October's NAB AFL Women's Draft.
"She's very impressive as a skipper and the way she goes about her play. She felt she got caught between the ball a bit in the first half, but her determination meant she worked really hard to get into the game in the third quarter and that was the difference, really."
The two sides will now look to the second series of the competition on the Gold Coast, which runs from 9 to 13 July.
There, they will take on Western Australia, Queensland, Central Allies (Northern Territory and South Australia) and Eastern Allies (NSW/ACT and Tasmania).
VIC METRO 1.3 1.4 4.5 4.5 (29)
VIC COUNTRY 1.0 1.3 1.4 2.5 (17)
GOALS
Vic Metro: Prespakis 2, McKay, Bateman
Vic Country: Dunn, Purcell
