The Fitzroy-ACU Reserves Women left nothing on the deck when they went down by 23 points in the Premier Reserve Womens Grand Final last Sunday, to a well-drilled and skilful Marcellin team, who had led the competition from start to finish.
Despite the initial upset and disappointment at losing their first grand final, captain of the Fitzroy-ACU Reserves, Rachael Telfer, said the mood lifted pretty quickly because they were so proud of themselves and each other for making it this far.
Rachael said that the initial upset on the siren and the mental and physical struggle of the tough finals series were soon put behind them with messages from their coach Simon Jackson and the support of the huge Fitzroy crowd.
Jacko emphasised after the game that he couldnt have asked for any more from us and he was proud of us so that was really great to hear.
Everyone was also buzzing from having the crowds that we had for our finals games! All the girls were so appreciative of all the supporters and players that came down to watch because we dont often get people coming to watch our games, so it was really, really amazing having all those people there! That was definitely one of my highlights of playing finals this year,Rachael said.
There isnt really a measuring stick long enough to show how much improvement has been generated by this team in 2018 and the superb showing in the finals, should only give them greater confidence going into 2019.
In her first year as captain and with some unplanned time on the sidelines, Rachael said she could observe the improvements as they went.
I honestly cant put into words how proud I am of the girls and how far we have come. We only won two games last year and then finished 4th and ended up in the grand final!
While I was out injured for about five weeks I just got to watch them go from strength to strength, improving every game, so I am a very proud captain! And very honoured that they chose me to be captain of the 2s this year./p>
In his first year with Fitzroy-ACU, Jacko has made an impression.
Jacko has taught us so much and helped us immensely this year! I think the biggest thing he has taught us is to believe in ourselves and to take risks not to worry about messing up or not pulling something off.
He constantly tells us that he believes in us and he doesnt care if we mess up so long as he can tell we are giving 100 per cent effort and I think that gives us and particularly the new girls that hadnt played before this year a lot of confidence going into games.
Hes also gotten very good at his pre-game rev up/motivational speeches and can pull out some pretty funny/lame things at training so on the whole the girls and I have really loved having him coach us this season.
As for next season; with a year of playing together and Jacko coaching us, I think our strengths will just keep building. Hopefully everyone from this season comes back and we get some more recruits (maybe even potentially a third team!). And hopefully we get a good new senior coach who fits in with Jacko and all the girls.
Im glad to have a break but definitely already excited for next season,Rachael said.
Nice work Rachael and team. Were excited about next season too.
Back on the field, Emily Fitt played an outstanding game in the grand final and kicked both of the teams goals under enormous pressure. Tess Young was best on ground, along with Fitt, Freya Shearer, Katie Hillier, Bridie Murphy and the captain.
The final score in the Grand Final was 5.9.39 to 2.4.16.
If you missed the game or would like to watch it again, the VAFA filmed it and its is available here on VAFA TV: https://www.vafa.com.au/vafa-tv/gf-prem-res-womens-marcellin-vs-fitzroy-acu/
