Saxbii Shaw keeps her cool as Group 11 take down their rivals

Shaw was named player of the match in the annual Group 10 and Group 11 league tag clash, just another feather in the cap of the youngster.

One of the most exciting talents in the area, the Macquarie Raidette had a hand in almost everything Group 11 produced during their 12-10 win.

"It was good, it was really good," Shaw said of the match.

While her age has never stopped her from thriving in senior sport before, the Group 11 playmaker said she loves learning from whoever she can.

"Most of our team are all young and we had a few standouts in our team who were young," she said.

"It's good to take on those experienced girls, they teach you a lot of things. Even training with them."

Macquarie had five players in the Group 11 side with Shanique Darlington and Makayla McKeown impressing also.

Fresh off a grand final appearance last year with the Raidettes, Shaw said her club teammates fully deserve the recognition.

"Macquarie is home to us and we get along really well," she said.

"It's such a fun club."

Group 10 got things under way in the match with new Mudgee signing India Draper scoring off a clever Meredith Jones pass.

Draper's fellow Mudgee recruit Alahna Ryan added the extras before the dual-code gun scored a four-pointer of her own just after half time.

Wellington's very own Kiara Sullivan got Group 11 back in the game when she crossed to score with 12 minutes remaining.

A successful Shaw conversion meant we had a 10-6 scoreline heading into the final stages.

After missing last season, Ellie Purtell was the hero for Group 11 as she scored with less than two minutes on the clock.

Shaw once again made no mistake with the kick to give Group 11 the lead and they withstood some nervy moments to seal the win.

A Western Rams league tag is likely to be chosen after the match, something Shaw said she would be keen to have a crack at.

"I played last year when I got called up and there were a few Macquarie girls," she said.

"There were some Group 10 girls as well and they were so good to learn from."

While Group 10 may have not got the job done, captain-coach Jones said it was good to blow the cobwebs out.

"It's a challenging time of year to play footy and I think that showed in the first half," she said.

"We had a lot of ball drops on both sides and missed tags. It's hard getting a team together because we've got a lot of girls who are still playing touch or tackle.

"It was certainly a tricky one but it was nice to get a game in the legs."

Draper, Ryan and Danielle Fisher joined new Mudgee teammate Dayna Stockton in the side as the Dragons look to improve on their success in 2023.

Seeing a couple of her future opponents in action together on Saturday, Jones admitted she did all she could to get them on the park.

"I'm a bit sad that I didn't do a bit better recruiting for St Pat's and try to get them onboard a bit earlier," she said.

"I kind of got wind that they were playing for Mudgee early on and I got onto them before Group 11 announced their side."

"It's got that really good balance where we have some experienced girls and just that talent coming through," she said.