The Cranbourne defender makes his VFLW debut

By Jonty Ralphsmith

It was a brutal start to the VFLW for Cranbourne’s Kheely Cornwall on Sunday.

Representing the Southern Saints in their match against a Carlton side that contained 16 AFLW-listed players, including stars Abbie McKay and Darcy Vescio, the final score was 10.17 77 to 0.2 2.

But crucially for Cornwall, the opportunity was a great learning experience in her first taste of senior football.

After playing 14 games over the past two seasons for the Stingrays as a standout midfielder, the Eagles junior resumed her typical backline role and was under the heat for much of the game as Carlton went 50-64 times.

“It was really quick, they like to run and carry,” Cornwall said.

“I found it difficult in the first two quarters with the transition, but with the girls in the back – (Deanna Jolliffe and Tessa Boyd) – they really encouraged me, which helped.

“I had a lot of fun.”

Cornwall had several key defensive efforts to go along with her six disposals and was named among Southern’s top six players.

Stingrays teammates Indi Toledo-Glasman and Zahlia Clarke also made their debuts, with the former holding some strong marks in her limited opportunities in the attacking half.

The trio each trained with Southern three times before their debut, exposing them to a different program and giving them all their first taste of senior club.

The debut allowed Cornwall to get significant game time during the Stingrays’ two-week break as Cranbourne was forced to withdraw its under-18 girls team mid-season due to a lack of numbers.

Cornwall is weighing up which local club to link up with for the rest of the season after playing her entire junior game for Cranbourne.

“I’m still good friends with a lot of the guys I played with when I was younger at Cranny, so playing alongside them and now seeing them develop is something I’ll look back on Cornwall said.

“I’ve always loved playing at Cranny.

“I have many memories that will never be forgotten.

“It will be hard to find a new club but I will always be a ‘Cranny’ girl at heart.

Cornwall is one of a host of talented running backs in the Stingrays squad this season and plays with excellent poise, setting up the play when given the opportunity and defending desperately when under pressure.

After playing as a midfielder at local level, seven games for Dandenong last season helped him understand a new role.

“Understanding how we like to play our game in the backline – defend first, switch lane, run – before my senior year definitely helped me settle in and know the style of play on that we love to play,” Cornwall said.

“The defense first suits the style of play I like to play and using my running and running off the midfield and getting deep entries was really good.”