Melbourne’s Sinead Goldrick gets a handball away during the Demons’ win over Carlton on Saturday. Photo: GETTY IMAGES
The news last week about a probable August start date for next AFLW season, with players, coaches, commentators, and observers all weighing in, threatened to relegate the weekend’s action to an afterthought.
But even with five of the six finals berths already booked, the on-field combatants certainly didn’t play like the last home-and-away round was a non-event.
Two players set new standards for individual brilliance in a match, while three forwards — all of whom broke the previous single-season goalkicking record — battled for supremacy, with one eventually taking the crown.
With percentage a factor, the final order of the top six wasn’t completely decided until the last match of the weekend. Top-two Adelaide and Melbourne get a two-week respite and a home preliminary final, while sides three through six face elimination finals next week.
And the also-rans? Instead of waiting until 2023, the chatter out of league headquarters suggests their collective rest until the start of a new campaign will be short.
GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY 8.5 (53) d GEELONG 5.5 (35)
The Cats did everything right in the early going, racing out to a quick lead through goals by Rebecca Webster and Phoebe McWilliams, but the Giants — missing three of their best players — soon turned the tables on the hostesses. Greater Western Sydney ruck Erin McKinnon played an instrumental role, giving her teammates first use of the ball while amassing 41 hit-outs — a new AFLW record. As she’s wont to do with ball in hand, Giant Cora Staunton kicked four majors, giving her 18 for the season — good enough to tie for second on the AFLW goalkicking table. Nicola Barr led the Giants with 23 touches, and Jess Doyle added two goals for the winners.
COLLINGWOOD 6.11 (47) d RICHMOND 1.3 (9)
With the Pies’ finals berth on the line motivating them, their home fans cheering them on, and the Tigers missing four stars — captain Katie Brennan, their goalkicking leader, midfielders Jess and Sarah Hosking, and winger Tessa Lavey — the result here was practically a foregone conclusion. With Jaimee Lambert gathering 20 possessions and Ruby Schleicher getting 13 — by half time — Collingwood built a 14-point lead. Lambert ended the day with 31 touches, while Schleicher finished with 25, and Sophie Alexander kicked two final term goals. While the Pies’ win locks in a road elimination final date with reigning premier Brisbane, they face an anxious wait on the Match Review Officer’s findings, with defenders Jordyn Allen, and Sophie Casey potentially in strife. Casey made head-high contact with the Tigers’ Tayla Stahl with a ball in dispute, while off the ball, Allen appeared to punch Emelia Yassir in the stomach.
NORTH MELBOURNE 9.5 (59) d WEST COAST 3.2 (20)
With an historic individual performance, Ash Riddell led the Roos’ thrashing of the Eagles, officially condemning them to wooden-spooner status and locking in a home elimination final next weekend against Fremantle. Riddell, firmly on track to capture the AFLW Coaches Association best-and-fairest, established a new record for most touches in a match with 42 — exceeding the high-water mark of 35 she previously shared with Crows’ midfielders Ebony Marinoff and Anne Hatchard. The Eagles actually got off to a hot start, taking an early lead by kicking two first quarter majors — quite significant considering this was only the second match this year in which they’ve kicked goals in the opening stanza. But North overran West Coast in the second quarter thanks to forward-ruck Emma King taking strong contested marks and kicking her first two goals of the season. Not to be outdone by Riddell, their midfield mate, Jasmine Garner piled on 26 touches and kicked two goals, while Jenna Bruton had 27 possessions and five tackles. Emma Kearney and Sarah Wright also brought their own Sherrins, touching it 25 and 22 times, respectively, while Tahlia Randall and Daria Bannister chipped in with two goals each.
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MELBOURNE 5.4 (34) d CARLTON 5.3 (33)
The Demons might not have been expecting a nail-biter — especially on their Casey Fields home ground, on which they’ve been invincible the last two seasons — but the Blues gave them one. If not for a missed set shot by Carlton’s usually reliable Darcy Vescio with under one minute left, the Demons’ home winning streak of 12 at Casey Fields would have fallen. While the Dees’ Lily Mithen (26 disposals), Tyla Hanks (25 disposals), and Karen Paxman (24 touches) did the heavy lifting at the coalface, with Carlton defenders giving plenty of attention to their ex-teammate, Tayla Harris, Melbourne’s Alyssa Bannan provided the scoreboard firepower, booting three majors from seven touches. Daisy Pearce, so effective this season as a rebounding defender, also cashed in on the scoreboard, kicking two goals, giving her seven in the last two matches. Harris, meanwhile, was held goalless for the first time all season and ends the home-and-away season with an equal second-best total of 18. Blues’ ruck Breann Moody, a 2021 All-Australian, bested Lauren Pearce, a strong 2022 All-Australian candidate, with 22 hit-outs and seven tackles, helping Carlton’s mids set up attacks. The Blues’ Mimi Hill finished her season strongly, leading her side with Madeline Guerin, with 19 disposals. Nicola Stevens was electric for Carlton, kicking three of its five majors. Melbourne, meanwhile, finishes second on the ladder and in a fortnight is slated to host a preliminary final.
ADELAIDE 7.11 (53) d ST KILDA 2.2 (14)
After a sluggish first term, in which they trailed by three points, the Crows took flight, bolted to a 19-point lead at the major break, and proceeded to thrash the Saints to clinch top spot on the ladder and the right to host the grand final should they get that far. While Adelaide made significant changes to its side — none because of injury — it welcomed back captain Chelsea Randall (10 disposals), who’d been sidelined with a hamstring injury since Round 5. Her teammate Ash Woodland booted two goals to finish first on the AFLW goalkicking table and set a new record of 19. The Crows’ Ebony Marinoff (25 possessions and 12 tackles) and Anne Hatchard (23 possessions) were the usual ball-winning suspects, while Erin Phillips collected 19 touches and kicked a goal. Adelaide is set to host a preliminary final in two weeks’ time, and while defender Najwa Allen is set to return from suspension, winger Justine Mules appeared to be in strife at the end of this match with an apparent left shoulder injury.
BRISBANE 10.6 (66) d WESTERN BULLDOGS 5.4 (34)
Now here’s a scary thought for the Lions’ finals first round opponent: defender Natalie Grider telling a TV commentator during a half time interview: “We know we haven’t played our best footy yet.” She may have been right, with the reigning premiers ahead only by one straight kick at that juncture, but Brisbane soon put the pedal to the metal and ran roughshod over the Bulldogs, cruising to a 32-point victory. Winger Orla O’Dwyer, out last week, returned in style for Brisbane, booting two early goals from 12 possessions. Lions’ stalwarts Emily Bates (18 touches, 11 tackles, and 11 clearances) and Ally Anderson (15 touches and six clearances) led their side in ball-winning, while Sophie Conway and Greta Bodey continued their respective sizzling form, kicking two goals each and setting up others, and Courtney Hodder and Tayla Smith added one apiece. Doggies’ superstar Ellie Blackburn led her losing side, amassing 25 disposals, five tackles, and five clearances.
FREMANTLE 7.4 (46) d GOLD COAST 0.9 (9)
With the possibility a home final dangling in front of them, a flat start cost the Dockers, whose late flurry of four majors in the final term fell just short of a percentage boost that would have elevated them from fifth to fourth spot on the ladder. Instead, the Dockers finished fifth and must travel to Melbourne next weekend to face the Roos in an elimination final. Fremantle got six regular players back for this match, all of whom were either injured or in isolation, in keeping with the COVID-19 health and safety protocols. Kiara Bowers was the biggest “in” for Fremantle, racking up 18 possessions and 17 tackles, while married returnees Ebony Antonio and Kara Antonio kicked one goal each. Despite the 37-point victory, it was defenders Ange Stannett and Sarah Verrier who shone brightest for the Dockers, continually holding up the backline and collecting 21 and 20 disposals respectively. Despite their overall improvement from last year, the Suns’ inaccuracy in front of goal doomed any chance they had of ending the year on a winning note, as they tumbled to their third straight loss.
