Story and photo courtesy of Northern NSW Football.
Match of the Round
Warners Bay v Wallsend
Sunday 27th May, 2:30 pm
John Street Oval
Last start: Warners Bay beat Thornton 9-0, Wallsend lost 2-0 to Adamstown
Position on ladder: Warners Bay 1st, 25 points; Wallsend 4th, 13 points
Squad news
Nadja Squires and Maddi Latter return for Warners Bay to field a full-strength team. Sass Seaborn has moved to South Wallsend and Laura Hall, Georgia Minors and Rosie O’Connor will be given until Friday to prove their match fitness.
What the coaches say
Warners Bay player-coach Cass Davis wants to finish off Round two strong.
“Last time we played Wallsend, they threw everything at us,” Davis said.
“We lacked intensity which we have spoken about and did really well on Sunday.
“We know Wallsend will come out firing so we need to be ready from the start.”
Wallsend coach Marc Hingston says he is expecting another great game of football.
“We have a few injuries at the moment but we have plenty of depth and culture that money can’t buy,” Hingston said.
“We are quietly confident we can be successful on Sunday but also appreciate that Warners Bay are playing well.”
Bottom line
History hasn’t been kind to Wallsend, with their last victory over Warners Bay back in Round 9, 2015. Sass Seaborn is a big loss for the Devil’s but their young guns will have no trouble filling the void. The visitors have the chance to extend their top four lead and will be out with a point to prove. On the opposing side, Warners Bay have the front-runner for the Golden Boot, Jenna Kingsley, leading the charge up front. Kingsley is dangerous and with Tara Pender and Sophie Stapleford assisting, they are a force to be reckoned with. The Bay is coming off a big win over Thornton and will be looking for another scalp on Sunday. A victory is a big ask for Wallsend but they can beat any team on their day which makes for an exciting match.