Della and Picker learn from Oztag

Both girls normally play for the Crookwell She Devils league tag side, and were selected for the ACT (alongside Annie Croker, who had to pull out due to an injury) on the back of their form in the George Tooke Shield League Tag season. 

The team suffered to due a slow start, but eventually picked up their form and finished the weekend with two wins, five losses, and a draw. 

“We didn’t really gel on the first day,” Della said. 

“But when we got into the second day, we gelled together really well and started playing together as a team.” 

Despite the adverse results, Della said that the weekend had been a “really good” experience and that she learned a lot about the sport as a result. 

“It opened my eyes to what there is out there and what talent everyone has,” she said, “and what talent I didn’t know I had. It was a bloody good weekend.

“They’re more experienced than me, so I was learning a lot off them as well. It was more of a learning weekend than anything.” 

Both of the Crookwell girls who attended were new to the sport, but Della said that Croker picked up the necessary skills and tactical nous very quickly. 

“[Annika] went well, she picked it up really quick,” Della said. 

“She was the youngest out of all of us … we did, she was alright though, she knew what she was doing. 

“Annika and I worked off each other a lot using our league tag skill … we both scored a few tries too, in a couple of games.” 

Although playing oztag during the regular season would be difficult, as there are no competitions closer than Canberra, Della said that she would “definitely” take up the opportunity to play in the same competition again next year if given the chance. 

In the meantime, she is sure that the experience will help her with the She Devils in 2019. 

“I’ve learned a lot of new ways to play football, so it’ll be really helpful for next season,” Della said. 

The experience will be crucial if the She Devils are to improve on their preliminary final result from 2018.