Adelaide’s Ebony Marinoff (centre) led all comers on Sunday with a best-ever 36 touches and a goal. Photo: GETTY IMAGES
With apologies to the original recording artist Bob Dorough who first coined the phrase in the early 1970s, three was a magic number this round in AFLW action.
Adelaide stars Ash Woodland and Anne Hatchard slotted three goals each in its unprecedented evisceration of GWS. At Swinburne Centre, with just over three minutes left on the clock, a well-timed smother was the defining moment in Richmond’s unexpected toppling of ladder-leading Brisbane.
Geelong’s Chloe Scheer and Shelley Scott each kicked bags of three goals in the most complete victory the Cats may ever have recorded, while Melbourne’s Tayla Harris kicked a trio of majors to give her old club, Carlton, the blues.
Hawthorn’s Tahlia Fellows booted three goals to help the Hawks win their first-ever match, while a three-goal effort in that same game from Sydney’s Brooke Lochland wasn’t enough to lift winless Sydney off the bottom of the ladder.
And three was also the same number of goals both Fremantle and West Coast kicked in the Western Derby, which saw the Dockers win their first match this season.
FREMANTLE 3.8 (26) d WEST COAST 3.5 (23)
It wasn’t the declarative, line in the sand Western Derby statement the Dockers may have been hoping to make, but they’ll certainly take their hard-fought, narrow win over their rivals north of the Swan River. If there’s any takeaway from this contest, it’s that despite the Dockers preserving their unbeaten Western Derby record, the once-wide gap between the two sides has considerably narrowed, as the Eagles had a fighting chance of winning until the dying seconds. Fremantle captain Hayley Miller put on a best-on-ground masterclass, winning a match-high 26 possessions, eight clearances, and six tackles, while tall target Aine Tighe booted two of the Dockers’ three goals. Each week she continues to show more mastery of her role. Isabella Lewis, the Eagles’ 2021 best first-year player and best and fairest winner, helped West Coast nearly pinch this match, with a 25-disposal, one-goal, three-clearance showing.
GEELONG 11.5 (71) d ST KILDA 3.3 (21)
Like rude eavesdroppers at parties who habitually insert themselves into others’ private conversations, the Cats on the weekend loudly announced to the competition that they refuse to continue being on the outside the group of top clubs, looking in. Geelong played what perhaps was its best-ever match, thrashing the Saints by 50 points in a total team victory that showcased tremendous individual accomplishments. Amy McDonald led the ball-winning brigade, collecting 34 possessions and 11 clearances while Rebecca Webster gathered 27 touches, and emerging jet Georgie Prespakis had 25 possessions and laid 11 tackles. And where there’s supply of the ball to forward targets, there’s massive scoreboard impact. Geelong’s Shelley Scott and Chloe Scheer took full advantage, each kicking bags of three goals. The Cats’ AFLW-best defence kept St Kilda goalkicking threat Kate Shierlaw to just one goal, helping Geelong elevate to fifth on the ladder. The Saints also will be sweating on results of tests on Nicola Xenos’s knee, which she injured in the match. Xenos’s 2021 season was ruined early by an ACL tear.
NORTH MELBOURNE 6.7 (43) d WESTERN BULLDOGS 4.4 (28)
In a tight contest until midway through the final term, The Kangaroos ultimately proved too much for the Dogs, out-hunting them and out-marking them in the air, snapping the Dogs’ four-match winning streak, and catapulting back into the top eight. North Melbourne’s tall timber, in the form of Emma King and Tahlia Randall, kicked decisive goals, feeding off the efforts of Jasmine Garner (26 disposals), Jenna Bruton (20 disposals), and Ash Riddell (19 disposals). Give the Bulldogs credit for scrapping until the bitter end, with Katie Lynch (22 touches) and Elle Bennetts (20 touches) stepping up to win more of the ball than their usual leaders in that department, Ellie Blackburn and Kirsty Lamb. The Dogs’ young gun, teenager Rylie Wilcox, also continued her season-long liveliness, kicking two goals. Don’t be surprised if a sequel to this competitive match between two quality sides unfolds in the finals.
COLLINGWOOD 4.4 (28) d ESSENDON 2.5 (17)
It would be to no surprise if the Bombers’ Maddy Prespakis soon develops a back issue, because she’s currently carrying the entire team on it. On the weekend, however, it wasn’t quite enough. Prespakis further firmed her standing as a strong candidate for the league’s best and fairest award with a 31-disposal, 17-contested possession, one-goal performance, former Pie Sophie Alexander kicked a goal against her old side, and the Bombers held the lead until early in the second term. Then, just before half-time, the Pies’ Chloe Molloy struck, with an electrifying, zig-zagging run in and out of traffic before snapping truly to put her side in front. While Collingwood’s Mikala Cann (20 touches, nine clearances, and 11 tackles) worked tirelessly to keep her side slightly ahead in the second half, her teammate Eliza James unleashed two brilliant snaps to extend the Pies’ lead and eventually seal the match. Collingwood’s win solidifies its second spot on the ladder and drops the Bombers outside the top eight.
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HAWTHORN 5.5 (35) d SYDNEY 4.7 (31)
The Hawks, who remain the competition’s lowest-scoring side, made their own history by recording their first win, narrowly defeating the revved-up Swans, who were at their most competitive this season. Hawthorn’s Jasmine Fleming was creative, winning 16 possessions, and pressure-minded, laying 10 tackles, while teammate Tahlia Fellows kicked three goals. For Sydney, missed opportunities and inaccuracy in front of goal cost it its first win. Cynthia Hamilton was influential for the Swans, with 19 touches, but kicked 0.2. Sydney’s Brooke Lochland — who still holds the record for most goals kicked in an AFLW match — kicked a bag of three, to go with her 17 possessions. The Swans are now the only winless AFLW club this season, putting them squarely at the bottom of the ladder.
MELBOURNE 7.8 (50) d CARLTON 1.2 (8)
Recent recruits ran rampant for the Demons in a demolition of the Blues. Perhaps still smarting from last week’s defeat at the hands of their finals rivals Brisbane, the Dees came out firing. Dees’ forward Tayla Harris made her old side pay, leading the ambush by booting three goals from just 11 possessions. Olivia Purcell, the former Cat, led Melbourne ball-winners with 30 touches, while Eliza West contributed 20. Melbourne is now fourth on the ladder, behind Brisbane, Adelaide, and Collingwood, who occupy the top three positions. Carlton’s Mimi Hill continues building from her stellar Rising Star campaign, tallying a match-high 33 possessions in a losing effort.
RICHMOND 2.6 (18) d BRISBANE 1.8 (14)
Tigers’ backline, take a bow. Countless one-percenters, not possession totals, helped Richmond pull off what so far is the season’s biggest upset. The desperate defensive acts of Tigers Gabrielle Seymour, Tessa Lavey, and Libby Graham held the competition’s best forward line at bay. While the Lions’ collective radar in front of goal was wonky — including a Courtney Hodder early second quarter point-blank miss from her soccer off the deck that went centimetres wide of an open goal — credit Seymour with the season’s most impactful smother, negating Dakota Davidson’s potential match-tying snap after she played on from a strong contested mark, with about 3:30 left in the match. Richmond forward Courtney Wakefield’s two goals proved the only firepower the Tigers needed, with her second coming midway through the third term with Richmond trailing 10-9, giving the Tigers a 15-10 lead they never relinquished.
GOLD COAST 7.4 (46) d PORT ADELAIDE 5.2 (32)
It’s safe to say that as far as professional footy siblings the Rowbottoms go, the Suns’ Charlie had it far better than Sydney Swans’ brother, James. While James’s side was massively belted in the men’s grand final and he was run down from behind in a moment, Charlie — who attended the MCG decider — led her team with 26 possessions and eight clearances, including 13 and three respectively, by half-time. Her efforts helped Gold Coast to a 19-point advantage at the major break, en route to a 14-point win over Port Adelaide, which launched a grandstand finish with a flurry of five second half majors, after managing just one point in the first half. Gold Coast’s Lauren Ahrens blanketed Port Adelaide goalkicking captain Erin Phillips by holding her scoreless and restricting her to just 10 possessions, and Jac Dupuy nailed two early third-term goals to lengthen the Suns’ lead. Phillips moved into the middle in the final term, once the Power pulled to within striking distance, and four of her touches came as a result of clearances. Her work helped her teammate Brittany Perry kick two late goals, but Suns’ captain Tara Bohanna replied with the steadier from a set shot that sealed the contest.
ADELAIDE 15.7 (97) d GWS 0.1 (1)
If there was any AFLW match that rivalled the AFL grand final for its anti-climactic vibe, this historic one was easily it. The Crows established a new AFLW record for the league’s most lopsided win, humiliating GWS by 96 points and rocketing to second spot on the ladder. The Crows jumped the Giants to lead by 35 points at the first change, with Adelaide’s five goals setting a new club record for an opening term. By half-time, Adelaide extended its lead to 53 points and had seven different goalkickers, with McKenzie Dowrick leading the parade with two of her majors on the day. Ash Woodland and Anne Hatchard were the next most prolific scorers, slotting three each, while Ebony Marinoff led all comers with a personal-best 36 touches and a goal. The Giants, meanwhile, scored their only point by way of an inadvertent gift, when a Crows defender’s wayward pass in the backline hit the behind post, allowing GWS’s Meghan Gaffney a free kick, which she then registered a behind.
