The Greater Western Victoria (GWV) Rebels girls challenged the ladder leading Oakleigh Chargers in tough conditions on Sunday at Mars Stadium but ultimately fell by 27 points.
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In slippery and windy conditions the Rebels matched Oakleigh in general play but were unable to finish off their good work, going down 4.5.29 to 0.2.2.
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Coach David Loader said it was the girls inability to finish off their good work on the scoreboard that let them down.
"Just couldn't score, that was it. They're the best team in it and I didn't think they were a million miles away from us," he said.
"I was quite pleased with what I saw. We've just got to find a way that we can score. Our method and our structure is not too bad, but our ability to kick and hit targets just lets us down."
"All that sort of stuff is just what we've got to work our way through and get better at I suppose, in a nutshell."
After a hard fought, scoreless opening quarter from both sides, the Chargers managed to kick two goals in the second term to take a 15-point lead into the main break.
One goal in each of the next two quarters to Oakleigh was enough to put the Rebels away, who could only manage one point in the second half.
Olivia Leonard was named best on ground playing a lockdown role down back. Kalani Scoullar battled hard in the ruck all day and Nyakoat Dojiok provided great run off half-back.
Lilli Condon, Chloe Leonard and Molly Walton rounded out the best players.
The Rebels girls will be back at Mars Stadium for their round eight fixture against the Northern Territory on Sunday March 28. The game kicks off at 11am.
THE Rebels boys continued their preparation for the season ahead with an intra-club game following the girls.
Loader said it was a good chance for some match practice however, it has been tough being unable to play practice games against other teams.
"It was a good, solid hit-out. It's just a challenge for us because we can't play against other teams. You sit back and you go 'we're doing everything against ourselves'," he said.
"There was no practice matches or anything scheduled against other teams this year, well how are we going to know how we're going until round one really when we play others?"
The Rebels boys kick off their 2021 NAB League season against the Geelong Falcons on Thursday April 1 at C.E Brown Reserve, Lake Wendouree.
The under-18s kick off the night at 5pm, followed by the under-17s squad at 7:30pm.
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