The Southern GIANTS have recorded their first win in the Women’s Winter Series, defeating the Gold Coast Suns by 11 points at Southport. 

After leading at quarter-time, the Southern GIANTS found themselves trailing at the final break before they stormed home to record a memorable victory. 

GIANTS AFL Women’s-listed midfielder Britt Tully was influential in the match and said a good start by the Southern GIANTS built the foundations for their first win.

“I think we came out fast and surprised the Suns a bit in the first quarter,” she said.

“They came back into the game with some good run and carry but we held them to a stalemate through the third.

“We tightened our structure a bit in the final term and managed to hold them while kicking a few goals of our own which got us over the line.”

After being held scoreless in their opening game against the Brisbane Lions, Tully said the Southern GIANTS were ecstatic to break their duck.

“I think we had a little bit of doubt as to how good we could play, but that all went out the door in the first quarter,” she said. 

“We played some good, solid footy which was great, especially as it was only the second time we’ve come together as a team.”

Tully said although the overall team performance was the most impressive aspect of the Southern GIANTS’ game, there were a few standout individual efforts. 

“Katie Rose (Eastlakes Demons) came in and out of the ruck and forward line, and kicked two goals,” she said.

“She provided us with a really versatile line-up.

“In the midfield Alyce Parker (Thurgoona Bulldogs) and Chelsea Knight (Wodonga Raiders) complemented each other really well.”

Meanwhile, the Northern GIANTS went down to the Brisbane Lions by 11 points in a tough encounter at Aspley.

The Northern GIANTS were impressive against a strong Lions team that boasted 16 AFLW-listed players.

Former GIANTS AFLW forward Rebecca Privitelli said it was a tough result to take but their fight was impressive. 

“I think overall we were pretty proud with the way the girls went about the game,” she said.

“We had a balance of half AFLW players and half local league players and everyone across the board played their role they were expected to play.

“Brisbane is a really good team to play as they’re tough around the contested ball.

“You could see they had a great structure with the way they moved the footy, particularly because they’ve played together for so much longer than we have.”

Although the team effort was evident, Privitelli said two of her teammates really stood out.

“I was impressed by the way Lisa Steane (Macquarie University) played, she is quick and gets herself in the right positions,” she said.

“In the second half, she won a fair bit of the footy and was really good in the midfield. 

“From a GIANTS perspective, Phoebe Monahan played a really good game as well. She was all over the place and every single contest she was up there spoiling.”

The Women’s Winter Series now takes a three-week break before the Northern GIANTS take on the Southern GIANTS at Tom Wills Oval in the final fixture of the competition on Saturday, July 14 at 11:00am.