Dear Roys faithful,

It is with sadness that I pen my last missive as the coach of this wonderful group of Women. For those watching the results of this team closely, you'll know that the Reserves Women suffered two losses totalling 150 points in Rounds 1 and 2. If you had offered me third place and a semi-final berth after these two games, I'd have taken your arm off! The team exploded into form though in Round 3, with a 100 point win against Old Brighton – with Captain Calypso Poole booting five, each goal better than the last.

As is the case with a very new group of players, each game saw the team improve exponentially – we had to. We had 11 players playing their first season at the club, and almost as many playing their first season of women's footy.

The team started to find their feet when they began leaning into their strengths, thriving on contested footy with sprinkles of 'magic' players adding flair in their respective positions.

Each week the squad grew in stature, standing up for each other on the field, doing the small things like shepherding, blocking, smothering and tackling. These were the cornerstones of the team's success. This isn't to say that this team is unskilled, far from it. I challenge anyone who holds the view that women's football skills aren't improving and reckon that if they’d spent a couple of nights at our pre-season training and then compare it to our skill level shown in round 14, they’d appreciate just how much this group has grown in that respect.

When writing these short pieces, one reflects on highlights of the season, and while a cliche, I don't have the word count to detail each of my favourites (over a couple of beers at the Redlow, I will most definitely be sharing them though!). But if I had to choose, the team’s gutsy two-goal win away at Monash was my favourite. It was the team at their best, winning contest after contest, never giving up, never complaining, encouraging each other the whole game through. Goals to Captain 'Pip' and the gutsy Caitlin 'Whitey' White secured the win with standout performances from a number of first-year players. I will never, ever forget the team running to me on the boundary and hugging me in celebration. We didn't get the chocolates in the semi final, but the team fought for every footy and I couldn't be prouder of this group. They will be back stronger and better than ever in season 2023!

While I will miss the team dearly, I am so excited to follow the football journey of each of these wonderful clubwomen.

Thank you to everyone for helping me to feel so welcome and appreciated at the club, and a special thank you to each of my 'girls' for showing me what football is all about.

Best wishes,
Coach Nath