Gold Coast and the Western Bulldogs played out a thrilling draw at Metricon Stadium on Tuesday night. Photo: AFL MEDIA
Amplified agony and electric ecstasy characterised this week of AFLW action, bookended by high drama on the Gold Coast.
Deja vu left the Lions’ Greta Bodey stewing in emotional pain, while a marking contest had Crows superstar Erin Phillips writhing in excruciating physical pain, as her club held its collective breath, hoping her injury wouldn’t be the latest in a long line of ACL ruptures. It turned out not to be, and Adelaide retook the ladder’s top spot.
Thirteen rungs further down, St Kilda tied a league record for futility against a much-maligned opponent which kicked its highest score in 2022 and saw the welcome return to form of one of the game’s superstars.
Reigning premier Brisbane started the round sizzling with energy, with more than half their players kicking goals, helping set two team records and shatter a league standard, but by the end, they were outrun by the Demons, as a star recruit tied another league record.
The Suns rebounded from an almighty hiding to kick their highest score of the season – but squandered a four-goal lead at three-quarter time to the Bulldogs, who themselves missed a match-winning set shot and had to settle for a draw.
And in what was by far the round’s most touching moment, a Tiger daughter triumphantly returned home to kick her first career goal, in front of family and friends cheering her from the stands — but her inability to touch them in a post-match celebration was heartbreaking.
BRISBANE 12.13 (85) d GOLD COAST 2.4 (16)
Using the adjective “smashing” to describe how the Lions went in this year’s QClash against local rival Gold Coast would be putting it far too mildly. The phrase “completely ruthless annihilation” is more like it. Survey this battlefield carnage: Brisbane’s 85 points was its highest-ever output and just two short of the AFLW record; its victory margin (69 points) was its largest ever; and it set a new record for most individual goalkickers (nine). The panel voting to award the QClash Medal had the dewy evening’s toughest task, as nearly every Lion put her hand up. Tayla Smith punished her old side by kicking three goals, three other Brisbane players, Emily Bates (14), Orla O’Dwyer (12) and Cathy Svarc (10), all cracked double figures in tackles, but the honour went to livewire small forward Courtney Hodder, who collected 17 touches and booted two goals, including a pearler early in the final term.
WESTERN BULLDOGS 3.10 (28) d GEELONG 2.4 (16)
Who could blame the Doggies for coming out a bit sluggish early against the Cats, a week after their cathartic upset victory over the ladder-leading Crows? The daughters of the west managed only two minor scores in the first term, but fortunately for them, Geelong didn’t score at all. That set the tone for the night and allowed the door to open for Bonnie Toogood to boot two of her side’s three majors and open an insurmountable, 25-point half-time lead. Kirsty Lamb had a game-high 26 touches to go with seven tackles, Elisabeth Georgostathis racked up 23 possessions, and captain Ellie Blackburn had 22. By the time the final siren went, though, the Dogs’ first-half advantage would prove handy, as the Cats made their move in the final term. Geelong forward Chloe Scheer moved to the middle of the ground and made an almost immediate impact, launching a 40-metre bomb from a standing start that went for a goal, and less than a minute later getting paid a 50-metre penalty that set up teammate Phoebe McWilliams’ major. The Cats’ Julia Crockett-Grills narrowly lost a chase for the ball in an open goal to the Dogs’ Naomi Ferres and later got pinged for holding the ball after playing on after taking an intercept mark — two key passages of play that, if they’d gone Crockett-Grills’ way, could’ve resulted in a Cats upset.
ADELAIDE 5.15 (45) d GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY 0.5 (5)
While there was little doubt as to how this match would go, the Crows survived a major scare the day after their comfortable win, learning through medical scans that club legend Erin Phillips only sprained her left knee, rather than tearing her ACL, after awkwardly landing in a marking contest. Adelaide, already missing captain Chelsea Randall because of injury, also had Stevie-Lee Thompson withdraw just before the match. In the end, Crows forward Danielle Ponter’s six behinds would’ve gotten them over the line against a Giants side that has kicked one goal in its last two matches. While Adelaide’s Anne Hatchard booted a major among her 23 disposals and Ash Woodland buffeted her league-leading goal tally by kicking numbers 13 and 14 (now two shy of tying Carlton star Darcy Vescio’s single-season record), Ebony Marinoff was best on ground, kicking a goal, laying 16 tackles, and piling up a game-high 24 touches, including the 1000th of her career. GWS defender Brid Stack, the Irishwoman who missed the entire 2021 season because of a fractured neck she suffered from contact with Marinoff in a practice match that year, picked up 12 touches and laid six tackles, while consistent ball-winner Alyce Parker was her side’s best with 22 disposals and nine tackles.
CARLTON 7.6 (48) d ST KILDA 0.2 (2)
A third quarter TV camera shot of players returning to the field of play captured the telling image of a placard mounted to a chain link fence along the under-construction wing at Ikon Park, declaring in all capital letters: “DEMOLITION WORK IN PROGRESS.” No other phrase at that moment could’ve better described what was happening on the ground, with the Blues dominating by 33 points and St Kilda stuck like a skipping record on its 0.2 (2) scoreline from the first term. Indeed, the needle never moved for the Saints, who now share with the 2021 Suns the dubious distinction of kicking the AFLW’s lowest-ever score. To paraphrase a line from a Simon & Garfunkel classic, asking the whereabouts of baseball legend Joe DiMaggio, any fans wondering, “Where have you gone, Darcy Vescio?” finally got their answer. For three straight matches, the veritable footy superhero had been held by foes to under 10 possessions, but in this match Vescio broke free, collecting 14 touches, kicking a season-high two goals, and having five other score involvements. The Saints’ Tilly Lucas-Rodd battled all day, getting 24 possessions, but Vescio’s teammate Bree Moody was influential out of the ruck with eight hitouts, but even more so up forward, kicking two majors. Carlton’s Maddy Prespakis and Georgia Gee chipped in with 20 touches apiece, as Carlton kicked its highest score of the season.
PLEASE HELP US CONTINUE TO THRIVE BY BECOMING AN OFFICIAL FOOTYOLOGY PATRON. JUST CLICK THIS LINK.
RICHMOND 10.8 (68) d WEST COAST 7.3 (45)
When is a captain guilty of doing just a little too much for her side? The Tigers’ Akec Makur Chuot could very well have called out her skipper Katie Brennan for that, after she touched Makur Chuot’s fourth-quarter banana snap that looked a sure bet to scoot through the square for her first-ever goal. Instead, Makur Chuot, a former Docker who, because of Western Australia’s pandemic-induced border closure, hadn’t been home for two years and was playing in front of a host of family and friends, had to settle for a behind — momentarily. The footy goddesses were surely smiling on Makur Chuot a few minutes later when, with Richmond comfortably ahead, she leaped to out-mark Eagle — and her former Freo teammate — Evie Gooch, then went back and slotted a set shot to put the exclamation mark on the Tigers’ 23-point victory and their biggest-ever score. With COVID protocols preventing Makur Chuot from close physical contact with her loved ones, the Tiger forward could only flash her smile and wave at them after she hit the scoreboard. Richmond’s Tayla Stahl played without her recognisable soft helmet and kicked a bag of three goals, while Brennan added two, and Ellie McKenzie contributed one from her 17 possessions. Again, midfield maestro Mon Conti was at her vintage best, with 24 touches, nine tackles, and five clearances. As was the case against Collingwood the previous week, West Coast didn’t take flight until the second half. Aimee Schmidt kicked two of her three majors in the final term, while captain Emma Swanson (22 possessions) kicked one of her two goals in the third quarter. Dana Hooker was consistently brilliant for the Eagles, with 24 touches, seven tackles, and six clearances, but ultimately it wasn’t enough to sustain West Coast’s attack.
NORTH MELBOURNE 6.2 (38) d COLLINGWOOD 2.3 (15)
In a pre-match TV interview, Pies forward Chloe Molloy engaged in a little trash talk, proclaiming her and her teammates’ dislike of the Kangaroos and her own disdain for former Pies defecting to join North Melbourne in that club’s infancy. But Molloy apparently forgot trash talk’s most important rule: back up your words with your performance. While Molloy struggled to collect six disposals, former Pie Jasmine Garner brought her own footy and put on a clinic. In a final score that flattered Collingwood greatly, Garner — with 26 touches, four clearances, and three goals — did everything short of working the home ground’s pie stand to help bolster the Roos’ Tasmanian fortress. Ash Riddell, who had game-highs with 30 disposals and seven clearances, Emma Kearney, with her 24 possessions, Tahlia Randall, with two goals, and ex-Collingwood forward-ruck Emma King, with 20 touches and 12 hitouts, all mightily contributed to North’s complete dominance. A defender getting more ball than anyone else signals a backline under constant duress, and with the Roos amassing 42 inside 50s, Pies’ defender Ruby Schleicher led her side with 20 disposals. Collingwood’s forward line was so off kilter, defender Stacey Livingstone, who never has never kicked an AFLW goal, was summoned there. North Melbourne has now won eight straight Tasmania matches, while the Pies suffered a third loss this season to a top-six side.
MELBOURNE 5.5 (35) d BRISBANE 4.8 (32)
The footy goddesses haven’t lost their penchant for irony. When these two sides met last year in Round 9 at Casey Fields, Lion Greta Bodey’s potential match-winning kick after the siren was punched over the line for a minor score, handing the eventual premiers a two-point loss. So of course, on Monday night at Metricon Stadium, it was Bodey once again lining up after the siren for a set shot. But just like last year, fate wasn’t with Brisbane. Bodey’s kick was smashed over the line and the hard-finishing Dees claimed a three-point win, overcoming a 23-point deficit. The Lions were likely playing the second half on “heavy legs” after a three-day break, kicking just 1.3 after the major break. The fresher Dees mustered only a goal by half-time, but caught fire in the third term, scoring 22 points to close the gap to a solitary point. In that pivotal third quarter, Melbourne’s Karen Paxman gathered eight of her match-high 23 possessions, Tyla Hanks got half of her 16 and Lauren Pearce got majority of her six clearances. Melbourne using tall forward Tayla Harris as their avenue to goal made all the difference. Harris was, simply, magnificent. She not only kicked two goals, including the match winner, to move her up to second on the league goalkicking ladder with 14, but also tied an AFLW record by taking seven contested marks. When Harris wasn’t out-marking opponents, she was bringing the ball to ground — one of those efforts produced a crumb Eliza West gobbled up and snapped home for a crucial goal. Harris also was a link in a coast-to-coast chain from which Alyssa Bannan (two goals) hit the scoreboard. The Lions played with their paws on the accelerator in the second quarter, producing many exciting moments, including two goals in the space of a minute by Sophie Conway, after a clever tap-on from Hodder, and then by Bodey, who kicked a major on the run after taking the advantage. Strong All-Australian contenders Emily Bates (21 touches and six tackles) and Orla O’Dwyer (18 possessions and a goal) paced Brisbane to a commanding 17-point half-time lead, but managed only a Zimmie Farquharson goal and three minor scores the rest of the way.
GOLD COAST 6.5 (41) drew with WESTERN BULLDOGS 6.5 (41)
While both sides will rue their missed golden chances, both sides can revel in taking huge steps forward as they chase the sixth and last finals berth. The Dogs narrowly missed accomplishing something no other AFLW club has done — coming from 24 points down to snatch a victory — but for a Toogood set shot with just under 90 seconds left, which missed the lot. Blackburn was rested for most of the third term with a minor ankle injury, but once she returned in the fourth, she was influential, gathering seven of her team-high 22 possessions. Lamb also collected six of her 19 on the night in that last quarter and kicked one of four unanswered goals (two to Nell Morris-Dalton) to force the draw. The Suns, meanwhile, rebounded from their 69-point hiding by kicking their highest score of the season and first-year player Charlie Rowbottom may have firmly cemented her credentials as the 2022 Rising Star winner by registering 24 possessions, six tackles, four clearances, 353 metres gained, and her first AFLW goal. Each team now sits just two points outside the top six with three matches remaining.
