By Lance Jenkinson
Manor Lakes has a psychological edge over not only the rest of the Western Region Football League senior women’s competition, but also the weather.
The Storm demolished Caroline Springs, keeping them goaless in a 60-point semi-final thrashing at Burbank Oval on Saturday to be the first team through to the grand final.
The victory was set up in the first quarter when the Storm kicked three goals to nil kicking into a stiff breeze.
“Our captain won the toss and doesn’t say we’re kicking into the wind, it’s only, we’re going that way,” Storm coach Nathan Smithwick said.
“We kicked three goals to nothing in that quarter.
“It’s a mind over matter type of thing and we just keep going.”
Manor Lakes is one win away from a fairytale unbeaten season. The Storm went 13-0 in the regular season with an astronomically high percentage of 2708.93.
They cruised through the first final, keeping Caroline Springs to just seven behinds.
While the Storm would be unbackable favourites on grand final day, Smithwick said the team cannot afford to get ahead of itself.
“It’s a sigh of relief to get to the grand final to start with,” he said.
“Getting there first doesn’t make us a 70 per cent chance to win the game, we’re still a 50-50 chance of winning.”
Gemma Anderson was outstanding for Manor Lakes in the midfield. She capped a best-on-ground performance with three goals.
Smithwick implored coaches at higher levels to consider his star player.
“Gemma’s a freak player,” he said.
“She should be playing at a higher level.”
Madisson Ahumada also jagged three goals for Manor Lakes. The midfield of Anderson, Ahumada, Jaimi Paten, Cara Dunshea, Jessica Court, Belinda Nancarrow and Diandra Sellers was totally dominant.
Manor Lakes will await the winner of the preliminary final between Caroline Springs and Spotswood.
