By Jonty Ralphsmith
Gippsland’s girls had their first win of the 2025 Coates League season on Sunday defeating Western Jets 16.7(103) to 7.2(44) at a typically blowy Williamstown Oval.
It was a breakout game for Pakenham’s Ava Deszcz, kicking five goals and taking eight marks in a 22-disposal effort.
Deszcz played 11 Under-18s games for Gippsland last year having just turned 16, alongside seven games for the Outer East premiership-winning Lions, winning the best-on-ground medal in the grand final.
An old-school, smart footballer with a nose for goals, Sunday’s match was comfortably her best at the level.
“She’s always had moments in relevant positions and does great things but has lacked execution, but she finished everything on a gusty day on Sunday,” Gippsland coach Nathan Boyd said.
“She got up the group and helped us higher up and showed us she has a lot of power and footy IQ.
“She’s been working on process around her finish because she’s always impact.
“She can drive her legs and is powerful and we’ve seen her finish with her kicking.”
Deszcz’s Pakenham teammate Abby Hobson was also among the best, accumulating 24 disposals and kicking two goals as a marking forward.
“She covered the ground well, she was high, she was deep and looked to be the most dangerous forward when the ball was coming out of contest and in transition,” Boyd said.
“She read conditions well, held front spot, took some early marks and her confidence built.
“As a high forward, she’s almost having impact like a midfielder even though we’ve never played her in the midfield before.
“She showed she has incredible athleticism, speed and power.”
The evenness of the performance pleased Boyd, with combative midfielder Rebecca Fitzpatrick, classy bottom-aged midfielder Grace Dillow, ruck Charlize Dent and midfielder Chelsea Sutton all among the best.
“Grace Dillow was fantastic in the middle: she was strong over the footy, really clean and gave us drive out of stoppage,” Boyd said.
“Chelsea was consistent with the attacking stuff out of the middle and Bec Fitzpatrick played as a gritty, combative, defensive midfielder.
“She led really well and had a consistent day showcasing her day around strength, contest and pressure and Charlize is developing well.”
It was Gippsland’s first match for three weeks after a competition-wide bye was followed by a team bye last week.
“The two week break was refreshing for the girls to go back and play local footy; we were able to reflect on the first block and we came in and the energy was really good and so was the preparation,” Boyd said.
“The girls feed off each other’s energy positively after a win.”
Boyd also offered an insight into AFLW Academy member Ella Stoddart’s early season form, which has her averaging 17 disposals as a halfback.
“She played as a high defender and got her hands on the footy on Sunday,” Boyd said.
“She’s great rebounding off the halfback line,
“There’s a focus for her on defending and that looked really good.
“She getting the balance between attacking and defending right.”
The Power are next in action on Sunday at 1.30pm at Avalon Airport Oval, Werribee, against Geelong Falcons, which sits 2-2 after four games.
That match will immediately follow the boys match at 11am.
