Royals on Fire: Women’s Reserves enjoying unprecedented season

Fifteen games.

One hundred and seventeen goals.

Eight goals conceded.

Fifteen wins.

The most important of an incredible array of statistics that form part of the most incredible season for our Reserves Women’s team.

The table-topping Royals sit six points clear of nearest rivals FC Clifton Hill with nine points to play for.

The ladies had the week off this week, which will be just as much a relief for the other teams in the competition as it will be for the players themselves.

The youthful Royals Reserves feature a number of players that Senior Coach Vince Battiato will hope can form part of the Senior team in the years to come.

With the Reserves acting as a proving ground for some of the club’s most talented juniors, a finishing school for some of the younger senior players looking to establish themselves in Battiato’s immediate first-team plans and a place where much-needed minutes can be found for senior players, there is a vibrant mix of youth and experience throughout the team.

With the Seniors in similarly good form this season, the firsts have been a hard team to break into, providing some semblance of consistency for the Reserves.

Still, 31 players have featured for the Reserves this season.

Just over half of those players (16) have found the back of the net, with incredible individual hauls from Kiana Kyriazis (34), Ivana Ovcaric (26) and Lola Ferrante (18).

Incredibly, Kyriazis’ 34 goals have come from just 12 games, Ovcaric’s 26 goals from 15 games and Ferrante’s 18 goals come from just 11 games.

Ferrante started the season in the under-16s but has been fast-tracked into the Reserves as part of the club’s initiative, which sees talented under-16 players join the combined Senior/Reserves squad for training once a week.

Goalkeeper Alyssia Ierardo is another who has ascended into the Reserves set-up alongside her Under-16 duties, alongside fellow goalkeeper Elissa Pasqualone, who has played in five games.

There have been 14 players who have played 10 games or more with the Reserves, those being:

·   Ivana Ovcaric (15)

·   Danielle Maugeri (14)

·   Bruna Silva (14)

·   Isabella Santilli (14)

·   Jacinta Walker (14)

·   Tessa Sciulli (14)

·   Luna Nakada (14)

·   Xoe Minas (14)

·   Kiana Kyrazis (14)

·   Lola Ferrante (11)

·   Stephanie Gouder (11)

·   Tahlya Gorevski (11)

·   Alyssia Ierardo (11)

·   Zoe Schaffner (10)

The addition of Track160 has allowed for unparalleled analysis of our Women’s Reserves games, helping coach Battiato and his assistants Gus Flores and Liam Drury better analyse and provide feedback to their players.

The system has captured five home games for the Reserves this season.

In every game recorded, the Reserves have comfortably out possessed their opponents, creating an incredible number of scoring chances.

Danielle Maugeri has recorded the most passes in two separate games, notching up 66 and 60 passes in her top two games, recording a fantastic 78.79% success rate in her best passing performance.

In Round Two against Spring Hills Stallions, the Royals had EIGHT players record a passing success rate over 60%, compared to just one from Spring Hills.

In four of the five recorded games, Tahlya Gorevski has featured in the top most successful pass makers, leading the Royals out of the back with possession.

The ladies covered more than 90km between them in four out of the five games recorded, with the highest distance covered in a game clocked by Ovcaric, who clocked 10.02 km against Elwood City.

Whatever happens over the next three games, the Royals are intensely proud of the efforts of our Reserves players, who have been incredibly professional all year and are a fine reflection of the attitude and culture we hope to see right across our club.