Tasmania Devils players Jed Hagan and Georgia Clark are riding high after the club secured its first ever double win across the VFL and VFLW over the weekend.
The men’s side overturned a 33-point deficit to defeat the Gold Coast by 50 points at North Hobart Oval while the women’s team beat Geelong by 24 points.
Hagan said the win was crucial for the team’s finals hopes despite a sluggish opening quarter.
“It was a great performance by the boys in the end,” he said.
“Obviously started very slowly, but after quarter time it was a really promising performance.”
Hagan said coach Jeromey Webberley delivered a stern halftime spray that lifted the group.
“Jez doesn’t really give him out too often, so clearly it shows where we’re at at quarter time,” he said.
“He’s normally pretty calm, cool and collected I suppose, so to give us that was definitely something we needed.”
He said the final quarter was among the most enjoyable of his career.
“When we get our ball movement going and playing freely, we’re pretty hard to stop,” he said.
Hagan, who broke a rib during a previous game, said he had spoken to a couple of AFL clubs around the mid-season draft but was not picked up.
“I guess you get your hopes up a little bit when you speak to a few clubs, but that’s part of footy I suppose,” he said.
“Just accepting that it hasn’t happened and I’ve been through it now, so you move on pretty quickly and get back to playing good footy.”
Georgia Clark made her Devils debut after hip surgery on April 1 for a labral tear and had not played since November last year.
She said returning to the field was special.
“I spent a lot of time with the girls training and watching them grow throughout the season so just being back on the field it was incredible,” she said.
Clark kicked two goals and said the team’s midfielders were outstanding, restricting Geelong to just one inside 50 in the third quarter.
The former AFLW player said she had one eye on a spot with the Devils when they enter the AFLW competition but was focused on building her form after injury.
“At the moment I’m just trying to focus on playing in the VFL, getting, like returning after injury and then yeah, hopefully in not too future that is an option,” she said.
The Devils sit just one win outside the top six in the VFLW, with finals firmly on the radar for both teams heading into the back end of the season.
