GWS star Alicia Eva and Collingwood’s Sarah Sansonetti grapple for the ball at Victoria Park on Sunday. Photo: AFL MEDIA
CARLTON 6.8 (44) d ST KILDA 2.5 (17)
This affair was all one-way traffic as the Blues broke a four-match winless streak in style, sending the Saints plummeting down the ladder after they had started the season 2-0. Carlton ruck-forward Breann Moody was sensational, kicking two goals and registering 22 hit-outs and three clearances, while Mimi Hill had eight clearances, as she and Abbie McKay gathered 26 possessions each. It would be pretty hard to match Saint Jessica Matin’s getting bang for buck, with two goals from three disposals, but Carlton comfortably won the contested possession and inside 50 counts, starving St Kilda of opportunity.
RICHMOND 6.7 (43) d WEST COAST 3.6 (24)
The Tigers roared to their fifth win on the trot, comfortably winning out west and staking a firmer claim to a spot inside the top eight. Eilish Sheerin led Richmond with 22 possessions and kicked a goal, while Grace Egan booted two majors, including the sealer, to go with 18 touches, while stalwart Mon Conti also collected 18 possessions and kicked a goal of her own. The Eagles made things interesting late, coming within eight points, courtesy of an Emma Swanson goal, and Charlotte Thomas had a blinder for West Coast, with a match-high 23 touches.
GOLD COAST 7.7 (49) d SYDNEY 2.4 (16)
The Suns improved their top-eight chances, hitting their straps in the second term and kicking away in the rest of the contest, to belt the still-winless Swans. Gold Coast ball-winners Charlie Rowbottom (22 possessions) and Claudia Whitfort (19 possessions) owned the clearances, while Jac Dupuy and Courtney Jones kicked two majors each. For Sydney, insult was added to injury at the final siren. Bec Privitelli — who returned to the field in the second term after taking an Ellie Hampson bump to the head and kicked two goals — had her set shot, which at first appeared to go through, touched on the line. With Essendon, Fremantle, and Geelong awaiting the Swans, they are staring an 0-10 season in the face.
ADELAIDE 7.7 (49) d FREMANTLE 5.1 (31)
It usually kicks in late in matches — the reigning premier Crows flipping on their goalkicking switch, just in time to turn momentum and defeat opponents. The Dockers, despite having a nine-point edge after three-quarter time, were Adelaide’s latest victims. In the space of just over a minute in the final term, Chelsea Randall (18 disposals) and Ash Woodland each booted one of their two majors on the day to snatch back the lead. As is so often the case, Anne Hatchard and Ebony Marinoff were the Crows’ drivers in providing scoring opportunities. Marinoff had a match-best 32 disposals, to go with 11 tackles, while Hatchard ruled the stoppages with 12 clearances and gathered nine of her 28 touches in the final term. Fremantle’s Kiara Bowers had a game for the ages, with 29 touches, 19 tackles, and 11 clearances, but two of her key teammates, Gabby O’Sullivan (shoulder) and Janelle Cuthbertson (ankle) exited early in the piece with injuries, deepening an already long Dockers’ injury list.
BRISBANE 5.3 (33) d NORTH MELBOURNE 3.8 (26)
The round’s marquee matchup did not disappoint, as the Lions held on in a close contest to win and stay atop the ladder. Ruby Svarc and Greta Bodey put on individual work rate clinics in kicking two third quarter goals that extended a Lions’ lead to 17 points. The Roos’ inaccuracy in front of goal (Tahlia Randall kicked 0.3) kept them from drawing any closer to or surpassing their eventual seven-point losing margin. Brisbane defenders Phoebe Monahan, Tahlia Hickie, and Kate Lutkins all took important intercept marks from Roos players blazing away inside 50 instead of lowering their eyes. Lion Ally Anderson continues to ride a purple patch of form, amassing a match-high 24 touches — outworking Roos’ ball-winners such as Ash Riddell and Jasmine Garner, who won 22 and 21 touches respectively.
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HAWTHORN 4.5 (29) d PORT ADELAIDE 1.10 (16)
In a battle of expansion clubs, the red-hot Hawks won their third straight contest and piled more pain on what continues to be a miserable maiden season for the wildly wayward-kicking Power. Port Adelaide opened its account early through a goal from Olivia Levicki, but suffered a major score blackout the rest of the way. Tilly Lucas-Rodd was Hawthorn’s best and brightest, racking up a match-high 19 possessions, laying nine tackles, and kicking the sealer in the final term. Notably, Power captain Erin Phillips remains goalless on the season, after kicking 0.3 in this match.
GEELONG 6.7 (43) d ESSENDON 4.4 (28)
In Warrnambool, it was a case of Scheer excellence coming to the fore — the Cats’ Chloe Scheer, with her contested marking and kicking. In the opening minutes of the final term, Scheer broke apart a contest deadlocked at three-quarter time, converting two set shots (the first from a diving mark in the goal square) to give her three majors on the day, and win the match off her own boot. Scheer had seven shots at goal for the match to go with 13 possessions. While Cat Amy McDonald added to her stellar campaign with 26 disposals and 12 tackles, Bomber Maddy Prespakis again put her entire side on her back, winning 10 clearances and gathering a career-best 37 possessions, while Essendon’s Bonnie Toogood also starred, with 16 disposals and two goals.
MELBOURNE 10.13 (73) d WESTERN BULLDOGS 1.3 (9)
The Dees reasserted themselves as rulers of their nearly impenetrable Casey Fields fortress, thumping the Dogs by 64 points, effectively sealing the match by half time. Olivia Purcell continued her white-hot form for Melbourne with 25 touches and nine tackles, while her teammate Eliza West kicked a goal to go with her 24 disposals. Alyssa Bannan led the Dees’ goalkicking parade with a bag of three, and Eden Zanker and Tayla Harris booted two each. Ellie Blackburn led her side with 17 possessions, while Sarah Hartwig kicked the lone Doggies’ major. While Melbourne remains third on the ladder, the combination of the Suns’ win and Dogs’ loss vaults Gold Coast into the top-eight and drops the Bulldogs into ninth spot.
COLLINGWOOD 6.10 (46) d GWS 2.2 (14)
The Magpies kept pace with Brisbane, Adelaide, and Melbourne by defeating the Giants and earning their sixth victory from seven contests. Collingwood’s inaccuracy in front of goal wasn’t a factor, as its dominance in hit-outs, contested possessions, inside 50s, and marks inside 50 kept GWS scoreless into the third term, and goalless into the fourth. Chloe Molloy had a blinder for the Pies, kicking two goals and laying nine tackles, in addition to 12 disposals, while Jaimee Lambert had a team-high 23 touches. Milestone Magpie Steph Chiocci celebrated her 50th career AFLW match with a late goal. The scoring output of the Giants’ leading goalkicker Cora Staunton is a reliable barometer for her team, and in this match, the Pies held her scoreless and restricted her to just four touches. Alyce Parker, with 20 disposals, eight clearances, and seven tackles, was the Giants’ best.
