Top 10 moments in women’s sport in South Australia this century that we’ll cherish forever
Friday night’s historic first AFLW Showdown is set to be one of SA’s most memorable events in women’s sport. Here are 10 other amazing moments to go along with it.
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Friday night’s first-ever AFLW Showdown between Port Adelaide and the Crows at Adelaide Oval will be a history-making event for women’s sport in South Australia.
In honour of the game, Liz Walsh goes through the history books from this century to pick 10 memorable moments in SA women’s sport.
1. Adelaide wins its second AFLW premiership
On March 31, 2019, the Crows stormed to a 45-point victory over Carlton at Adelaide Oval to claim their second premiership.
Adelaide’s 10.3 (63) to 2.6 (18) victory was memorable not only for the fit, skilled and precise football of the Crows’ stars – notably Erin Phillips (who won the best on ground medal despite going down with a torn ACL early in the third quarter), Chelsea Randall, Anne Hatchard and Danielle Ponter – but because of the crowd that attended.
An incredible 53,034 people crammed into SA’s iconic venue to watch the first AFLW grand final to be played on Adelaide Oval, setting a new record for the highest attendance at an AFLW match (which still stands) and a new record attendance for a women’s stand-alone sporting event in Australia (broken in March 2020 by the 86,174 who attended the T20 World Cup final between Australia and India at the MCG).
2. Australia demolish India in 2006 Test Match at Adelaide Oval
With Karen Rolton captaining Australia, the green and gold beat the visitors in a Test match played from February 18-20, 2006 with four runs and an innings to spare.
The star South Australian all-rounder helped Australia reach its first innings target of 250 with her 63 (131 balls) and then took 1-2 from six overs in India’s first innings and then 2-10 from 12 overs in the follow-on. The first women’s Test match at Adelaide Oval was played in 1949 against England, where a crowd of 17,025 over three days saw star all-rounded Betty Wilson starred for Australia with a century and nine wickets.
The 2006 Test is the last time a women’s Test Match was held at Adelaide Oval.
3. Thunderbirds win the 2013 ANZ Championship
Adelaide’s Entertainment Centre came to life on July 14, 2013 when the T-Birds – captained by Australian Diamonds captain Natalie von Bertouch – beat the Queensland Firebirds by two goals – 50-48 – to claim their fourth premiership in club history.
Carla Borego starred at the net with 26 goals from 33 shots and Erin Bell chipping in with 24 of her own.
The 2013 victory is the last time the Thunderbirds won a championship.
4. Adelaide Lightning 2008 preliminary final win
On March 1, 2008, the Adelaide Lightning defeated the Dandenong Rangers 74-64 at Findon’s Adelaide Arena with Renae Camino topscoring for the home-side with 24 points, followed by Erin Phillips with 18. Other notable performances in the prelim win came from Samantha Woosnam (12 rebounds and nine assists) and Jess Foley with 11 points and five defensive rebounds.
The win qualified the Lightning for the 2008 WNBL Grand Final, which the side went on to win 92-82 in NSW.
It was the last time the Lightning claimed a WNBL title.
5. Anna Meares wins 36th national title and crowed Champion of Champions at Adelaide’s Superdrome in 2016
It was February 6 when Meares won her 36th Australian track cycling national titles with a victory in the keirin – winning all three events she entered at the 2016 nationals, including the team sprint and individual sprint. She was crowned Champion of Champions as well.
Meares retired from the sport later that year after competing at the 2016 Rio Olympics, as the most decorated Australian cyclist following 22 years in the sport.
Among her many honours, she won six Olympic medals including two golds, 27 World Championship medals and eight Commonwealth medals. One of her most memorable medals was her silver at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, coming back after breaking her neck seven months prior.
6. Ash Barty wins second Adelaide International
On January 9 this year, then World No. 1 Australian tennis star Ash Barty convincingly beat Elena Rybakina in straight sets – 6.3 6.2 to win her second Adelaide International title, having also been victorious in 2020.
Barty went on to win the Australian Open later that month and then stunned the tennis world by retiring from the sport in March.
Back in January, the Memorial Drive crowd had no idea they were witnessing a historic moment, with Barty mere weeks away from retiring.
7. Jess Stenson (nee Trengove) wins her first City-to-Bay in 2010
In September 2010, Trengove won her first City-to-Bay event in a time of 40 minutes and 24 seconds.
This win was significant because it saw the rise of the then 23-year-old through the ranks of Australia’s distance running athletes. She went on to compete at the Australian Cross Country Championships, the Melbourne Half Marathon and Sydney’s iconic City2Surf, which then led her to her marathon debut in Nagoya, Japan in March 2012.
Trengove’s time of 2:31.02, was then fastest-ever debut marathon by an Australian woman.
Trengove returned to the City-to-Bay event earlier this month, winning the 12km run in a time of 38:43. It was her first event since winning the Commonwealth Games gold medal at the Birmingham Games earlier this year.
8. Amanda Spratt wins third consecutive Tour Down Under
On January 14, 2019, Spratt made history winning her third consecutive Santos Women’s Tour Down Under, when she had a clean finish around the picturesque streets of Adelaide’s East End.
Spratt – racing with Mitchelton-SCOTT – went into the race with an unassailable lead after tackling the Mengler Hill ride a day earlier.
Prior to the race, Spratt had declared that winning the 2019 Women’s Tour Down Under had been one of her goals for the year, with the Australian road cyclist saying it was one of her favourite racing events on the calendar.
9. Adelaide Strikers’ Sophie Devine hits five consecutive sixes in 2019
The Adelaide Strikers took on the Melbourne Stars at Karen Rolton Oval on November 10, 2019 in a match that left cricket fans in awe.
After being dropped twice in the opening overs, Devine – one of the world’s best all-rounders – was still at the crease for the 20th and final over of the Strikers innings.
Fellow Striker Katie Mack took a quick single with the first ball of the over, which brought Devine to the strike.
She then unleased, belting five consecutive sixes and setting a new women’s cricket record for the highest number of runs hit in a single WBBL.
The remarkable 31-run final over lifted Adelaide to 4/164 and the Strikers won the match by 17 runs.
The 2019 season saw the Strikers qualify for their first ever WBBL final, which they ultimately lost to Brisbane Heat.
10. Nelly Korda wins the 2019 Australian Open
American Korda’s -17 win at the 2019 ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open was the best winning score by a competitor in the five years the event was played in Adelaide. From 2016-2020, the Australian Open was played at the Grange, Kooyonga and Royal Adelaide golf clubs.
Korda’s -17 (271) at the Grange Golf Club saw her win the event by two strokes ahead of then defending champion Jin Young Ko, of South Korea.
Korda’s victory was incredible because it became known as the “Korda Slam” – joining three of her family members in celebrating wins Down Under. Her father Petr, sister Jessica and younger brother Sebastian all won Australian Open champions in their respective sports: Petr won the 1998 Australian Open tennis title, Jessica was the 2012 Women’s Australian Open golf winner, while Sebastian won the 2018 Australian Open junior tennis final.
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