Geelong’s Rebecca Webster is tackled by West Coast’s Emma Swanson in the Eagles’ big win. Photo: GETTY IMAGES
An exciting Sunday double-header saw the top of the ladder get quite the shake-up.
Brisbane again dashed a club’s dreams of an undefeated season by knocking Collingwood off its perch — but its inaccuracy in front of goal cost it a chance of building enough percentage to grab top spot.
The Magpies slid to third position with their loss, while the Dockers’ inspirational comeback for the ages against Carlton helped them jump to first on the ladder. The top three teams all have 6-1 win-loss records, separated by 36 percent.
Meanwhile, Melbourne’s season-best performance in a dominant win over Adelaide, coupled with North Melbourne hanging on to beat the Western Bulldogs, has created a logjam with spots four through six, as those teams are 5-2, with 56 percentage points separating them.
The race for the coveted top-two spots — which carry with them a bye week and automatic home preliminary final — is coming down to the wire.
RICHMOND 6.5 (41) d GOLD COAST 4.2 (26)
What a difference a fit Monique Conti and a deadeye Katie Brennan make. The Tigers sorely missed Conti last week, after she was a late out with hamstring tightness, but against the Suns she was at her typically-electric best, amassing 25 disposals — 13 of which came in the first half – along with six clearances to help the Tigers win their second match in three weeks after losing their first 10 AFLW matches. Brennan, Richmond’s skipper, who started the season in a goalkicking funk with her first five shots on goal all minor scores, booted three majors to make it nine goals in a row for her. Ellie McKenzie’s 20 disposals and goal only helped her case to win this year’s Rising Star award, and add to the notion that the Tigers are progressing toward becoming a contender next year. Gold Coast, meanwhile, continues its winless freefall down a seemingly bottomless pit.
GWS 7.3 (45) d ST KILDA 3.7 (25)
Sixteenth-century Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon thought he’d discovered the legendary “fountain of youth” in the Caribbean. But little did he know that some 500 years later, Greater Western Sydney’s 39-year-old Irish power forward Cora Staunton would find it at Moorabbin. The comp’s oldest player kicked three goals on Saturday to help GWS win its third match and hand St Kilda its third-straight loss. The Giants kicked the match’s first four goals, while the Saints couldn’t take their chances. Staunton’s bag was just one shy of her personal best, which she accomplished earlier in the season. Her teammate Rebecca Privatelli kicked three goals from 11 touches, while midfield dynamic duo Alyce Parker and Rebecca Beeson continued their scintillating form, collecting 28 and 18 touches, respectively. In defeat, star Saint Georgia Patrikios shone with 27 possessions and 10 tackles.
NORTH MELBOURNE 5.7 (37) d WESTERN BULLDOGS 3.8 (26)
How does a defender stop a speeding bullet? With a hip-and-shoulder. With 5:15 left in the final term, the Doggies’ hypersonic small forward Kirsten McLeod whizzed within centimetres of toe-poking home a loose ball that would’ve cut North’s lead to eight points — until Alleen Gilroy’s earth-shattering, but legal, bump laid her flat on the turf. Gilroy rushed the ball through for a behind, saving a certain goal. McLeod, meanwhile, suffered a head knock and was, for several minutes, in the trainers’ hands, before leaving the field under her own power. Two minutes later, Roos defender Jessica Duffin (20 possessions) prevented another goal with a crucial intercept mark. With 1:10 left, Jasmine Garner — North’s best with 28 possessions — logged the last and most impactful of her
13 clearances. Finally, with under a minute left, North’s Kaitlyn Ashmore, who laid eight tackles, literally smothered the Doggies’ last hope, blunting a kick. On the other end, North’s Emma Kearney kicked two goals and racked up 21 possessions, while Emma King accumulated 25 hitouts and a goal. Bulldogs prolific goalkicker Izzy Huntington booted two second-term majors, but her vital set shot with 3:30 left in the final stanza that could’ve reduced the margin to a goal hit the post. Captain Ellie Blackburn (18 touches) missed a shot just 30 seconds later, preceding more Kangaroos backline, game-sealing heroics.
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MELBOURNE 6.7 (43) d ADELAIDE 2.3 (15)
In the tale of the tape, the Dees’ midfielder Lily Mithen concedes about 20 centimetres to Crows counterpart Anne Hatchard. But in a second-term confrontation, Mithen was uncompromising, forcefully tackling Hatchard, winning a free kick for holding the ball, then hitting up teammate Lauren Pearce, who took a strong pack mark. Pearce slotted the resultant set shot, capping one of many inspired Melbourne passages of play in a bruising, physical contest on a greasy surface. The Demons refused to be bullied by the hard-edged Crows, ferociously attacking the footy and winning 23 more contested possessions. Mithen gathered 22 disposals and laid eight tackles, while teammates Shelley Scott laid a game-high 10, and Karen Paxman contributed nine, to go with 21 touches. Eden Zanker temporarily cured her goalkicking yips by opening Melbourne’s scoring as she slotted a superb set shot from the boundary line in the first term to give her and her teammates some early confidence. Zanker, Maddie Gay, and Tyla Hanks were instrumental in the Dees’ ball movement, especially in the third term, when they had 18 forward 50 entries to the Crows’ three. Melbourne’s Kate Hore kicked two of her three goals in that term, while the Dees held the Crows to one point and comfortably won.
FREMANTLE 6.9 (45) d CARLTON 6.5 (41)
Just five minutes from the Blues pulling off an upset to keep their flickering finals hopes alive, the Dockers said: “Not so fast.” Freo kicked three goals to dig out of a 15-point hole and in a thriller to catapult itself to the ladder’s top spot. The goals came in a 78-second span and were sparked by three one-percenters: a Hayley Miller tackle; a Matilda Sergeant intercept mark; and a Roxy Roux hitout. Miller won a holding-the-ball free kick after tackling Carlton’s Grace Egan, which culminated in a miraculous Sabreena Duffy snap which dribbled home, whilst being tackled Vaomua Laloifi, just after receiving a Gemma Houghton no-look handpass. Sergeant out-marked Elise O’Dea, starting a rebound-50 and ending with Duffy striking again with a blast just beyond the 50-metre arc which kindly bounced through. Roux’s freakish vertical leap and thumping fist out of the centre square gave Tiah Haynes the advantage she needed to bomb the footy long inside 50 where Houghton marked it on her chest, then went back and slotted the match-winner. Best-on-ground Kiara Bowers again put on a masterclass in the midfield, getting 28 touches (15 contested), laying 10 tackles and chalking up nine clearances. Carlton’s Kerryn Herrington led her side with 22 touches and Nic Stevens booted the Blues’ first and last major scores — the second one coming just before the pivotal Freo uprising.
BRISBANE 4.11 (35) d COLLINGWOOD 4.8 (32)
Twice in the last three rounds, the Lions have tamed an undefeated premiership fancy, and boosted their own flag credentials. Still, Brisbane had barely unpacked its bags after its morning flight to Melbourne — where this match was relocated because of new COVID-19 restrictions in Queensland — when Collingwood’s Aishling Sheridan snapped for goal, just 29 seconds in. From there, the Lions trapped the Pies inside their back half, with 12 forward-50 entries. Brisbane registered 10 scoring shots — including goals to Courtney Hodder and Shannon Campbell — and with better accuracy could’ve inflicted far worse damage than their 13-point quarter-time lead. Collingwood cut that only to 10 at half-time, largely because of Lion Cathy Svarc’s masterful tagging of Pies ball-magnet Brianna Davey, holding her to only four touches. Svarc later goalled, while limiting Davey to just 14 possessions on the day. Brisbane midfielder Alexandra Anderson had a match-high 26 disposals and even took a goal-saving intercept mark after being moved into defence. In the final term, with Britt Bonnici winning 10 of her 28 possessions, Collingwood closed within a kick after a second Sheridan goal and another from Joanna Lin. But twice in the last minute, Maddie Shevlin missed shots that could’ve given the Pies an improbable win — a left-foot soccer off the ground toward an open goal square and a wayward set shot from a tight angle.
WEST COAST 8.5 (53) d GEELONG 2.2 (14)
The Eagles recorded their biggest score and widest victory margin in their short history with this thumping of the Cats. West Coast’s Imhara Cameron made the second term her own, invoking a version of the Midas touch, as everything she touched turned to a goal. She booted three majors in the period, through strong contested marks, attacks on loose balls and forward pressure. It also was a huge day for the Eagles’ own Kelly gang — Irish sisters Niamh and Grace Kelly kicking two goals each. West Coast’s Emma Swanson racked up 21 possessions and eight tackles to lead her side in both departments, while Chantella Perera looked every bit the backline general, amassing 16
disposals and taking five marks. It was another frustrating day for the Cats, who remain winless at the ladder’s bottom rung, with a league-worst percentage.
