Geelong star Amy McDonald celebrates one of her two goals during the Cats’ stunning upset of Melbourne in the second semi-final. Photo: AFL MEDIA

FIRST SEMI-FINAL
ADELAIDE 12.10 (82) def SYDNEY 2.3 (15)
The young Swans relished their Cinderella role all season, climbing from the ladder’s bottom rung in Season 7 to a semi-final this year. But at Norwood Oval Friday night, their carriage morphed into a pumpkin and the three-time premier Crows greeted and treated them as if they were their wicked stepsisters. Sydney’s bravery proved no match for Adelaide’s prowess, as the murderous Crows mercilessly crushed the Swans by 67 points and booked a preliminary final date next week against North Melbourne. As if Adelaide superstar Anne Hatchard wasn’t dangerous enough with the ball, she proved invincible when Sydney defenders inexplicably allowed her time and space to operate. Midway through the second term, Hatchard already had collected 19 of her match-high 36 possessions (18 contested) and booted the first of her two goals. In the ruck, Adelaide’s Jess Allan dominated, taking advantage of the Swans missing young star Ally Morphett, and many of her 25 hitouts fell right into the appreciative hands of teammates Danielle Ponter (nine clearances and a goal) and Ebony Marinoff (five clearances and 388 metres gained). The Crows more than tripled Sydney for inside 50s (48-14) and Adelaide’s 18 tackles in its attacking end demonstrated its ferocious forward pressure. A passage just before half-time essentially decided the match. With the Swans trailing by 17 points, Sydney’s Montana Beruldsen streaked toward an open goal but instead of taking a couple of extra steps, she fired a shot which cruelly bounced sideways from the goal square to the forward pocket, where a Crows defender pounced. Beruldsen immediately tackled her and, thinking the umpire’s whistle meant she’d been paid a free kick for holding the ball, played on and fired another shot for goal. Unfortunately for Beruldsen, the umpire pinged her for holding her opponent without the ball, and then paid a 50-metre penalty Adelaide’s way to add insult to injury. Moments later, Adelaide’s Yvonne Bonner snapped truly on the half-time siren to put the Crows up by 23 points. Hatchard continued the Crows’ momentum less than a minute into the third term, slotting a set shot after being paid a free kick (one of 16 Sydney conceded) for getting sling-tackled. A massive Crows win over the shellshocked Swans became a fait accompli.

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SECOND SEMI-FINAL
MELBOURNE 6.9 (45) def by GEELONG 7.8 (50)
The underdog Cats held on by their claws, withstanding a grandstand finish for the ages from the Demons to roll the heavily-favoured reigning premiers. The result means Melbourne has exited the finals in straight sets, after being flag favourites for much of the season, while Geelong advances to a preliminary final next week against the Lions in Brisbane. The Cats jumped the Demons from the opening bounce, dominating clearances while forcing and capitalising on turnovers. Star Geelong midfielder Amy McDonald (21 possessions) had never previously kicked more than one goal in a match, but within the first nine minutes, she had already snapped two. Jacqui Parry kicked the Cats’ third major, then hit Kate Darby, who took a brilliant sliding mark and slotted a set shot to help propel the Cats to a 25-point advantage. Nina Morrison was everywhere all match, with 29 disposals and 10 clearances, while counterpart Georgie Prespakis was solid with 19 touches and 13 tackles. The Demons, by comparison, who had the No.1 attack in the home-and-away season, looked as if they were trudging through quicksand in the first half and didn’t kick a goal until Maddie Gay converted a set shot on the half time siren. The match looked over at three-quarter time, with the Cats up by 30 points, but the Demons ran out the final term like a team possessed, particularly Tyla Hanks (17 touches and six tackles), Eliza West (28 and eight clearances) and Eden Zanker, the AFLW’s co-goalkicking leader. Hanks snapped home a goal just 19 seconds into the final term, setting the scene for Zanker, who piled on another three goals, victimising defender Claudia Gunjaca each time. Amy Mackin pulled the Demons to within one straight kick with two-and-a-half minutes left – her snap followed Gunjaca getting pinged for holding the ball. Then with just eight seconds on the clock, the Demons had the chance to draw the match, but Lauren Pearce’s quick banana from the ruck went for a minor score, which would soon send the victorious Cats into euphoria, and consign Melbourne to three consecutive defeats for the first time. Making the Cats’ victory even more impressive was the fact they did it without their leading goalkicker Chloe Scheer who is nursing a collarbone injury.