Collingwood’s Sabrina Frederick and Brisbane’s Phoebe Monahan battle for the ball at the Gabba. Photo: GETTY IMAGES
BRISBANE 10.10 (70) d COLLINGWOOD 3.2 (20)
Stalking a second consecutive AFLW premiership, Brisbane on Sunday went total beast mode in a qualifying final mauling of Collingwood at the Gabba.
In sultry conditions, Brisbane’s aggression at the contest, its pressure, and its tackling — combined with untimely Collingwood acts of ill-discipline – led to a 50-point belting of the Magpies, the Lions advancing to a preliminary final next weekend at the MCG against Melbourne.
Lions’ Irish winger Orla O’Dwyer, a prime candidate for her first All-Australian nod, was a key to Brisbane’s attack, garnering 18 possessions and a goal, while her teammate, 2022 AFLW Coaches Association best-and-fairest winner and certain All-Australian Emily Bates, led her side with 19 touches and six clearances.
If not for Brisbane’s inaccuracy in front of goal — an affliction that hampered its efforts from the first term — the margin of victory could have been far greater. Brisbane had eight individual goalkickers on the day, with forwards Jess Wardlaw and Greta Bodey booting two majors each.
The Pies, who benefitted from being paid the third-most free kicks in the competition this year, gifted the Lions their first two goals — to Wardlaw and small forward Courtney Hodder — by conceding costly frees.
It set a terrible tone for Collingwood, which conceded 20 free kicks, including a handful of 50-metre infractions, which resulted in Wardlaw and Bodey nailing “sodas” from point-blank range. Collingwood also self-sabotaged its efforts with 54 turnovers.
The Lions dominated every facet of play: exactly doubling the number of Collingwood’s clearances (28-14), more than doubling the number of Pies’ inside 50s (44-21), hit-outs (28-13), and significantly winning the contested possession and tackle counts. The only significant positive statistic in which the Pies beat the Lions was rebound 50s — because the Collingwood backline was under siege from after quarter time.
Collingwood’s Mikala Cann (20 touches), Ruby Schleicher (18 touches), and Chloe Molloy (18 touches and a goal) gallantly pulled their weight in a losing effort, while Aliesha Newman added a goal, and Sabrina Frederick opened the Pies’ scoring by dribbling in a major against her former side.
Next weekend’s preliminary final at the MCG – scheduled to start at 12.40pm (Melbourne time) and the first AFLW premiership match to be held there – sets up a rematch of a thrilling Round 7 battle at Metricon Stadium, in which the Demons bested the Lions by three points, surviving a potentially match-winning — but wayward — set shot from Bodey after the final siren. Adelaide will host Fremantle at Adelaide Oval in the second preliminary final at 2:40pm on Saturday afternoon.
