Gold Coast broke through for its first AFLW win against West Coast at Whitten Oval on Sunday. Photo: AFL MEDIA
The AFLW show did go on — despite the Omicron COVID-19 variant forcing both Brisbane and the Western Bulldogs to go off the park and into isolation, and the league to quickly organize two matches for their scheduled opponents.
In round two, two flag contenders, Melbourne and Collingwood, showed they’re deep enough to cover for their sidelined stars. Two others, Adelaide and Fremantle, strongly reasserted their credentials.
And for the first time in nearly two years, Gold Coast finally won a match — in truly inspirational fashion.
MELBOURNE 8.6 (54) d RICHMOND 6.2 (38)
Whispers abounded last week that Melbourne superstar Karen Paxman must have been carrying some sort of injury to have been held to just eight possessions. But Paxman matched that total in this game after just one quarter, doubled it by half-time, and with 22 to her name by full-time, nearly trebled that meagre tally. Melbourne – without five of its first-choice players due to COVID-19 health protocols – won by 16 points over the upstart Tigers, who in the first term gave the Dees a big scare, roaring out to a seven-point advantage. Richmond’s Monique Conti dominated the first term, picking up seven possessions and pacing the Tigers’ attack. She and captain Katie Brennan would kick a fourth quarter goal each, but by then it was too late. The Dees’ Eliza McNamara, sidelined in round one, filled in for Casey Sheriff, and she quickly reminded everyone how good she is, with her pace and foot skills, and collecting 16 disposals. But it was Alyssa Bannan who sped as if she had “Star Wars” bounty hunter Boba Fett’s rocket pack strapped to the back of her jumper, kicking a brilliant running goal in a massive, five-goal second quarter, which also featured forward Kate Hore nailing two majors.
COLLINGWOOD 6.5 (41) d ST KILDA 2.2 (14)
You’d have thought the Saints might’ve watched the Carlton-Collingwood highlights from last week and learned that the Pies make the opposition pay for undisciplined acts, as they converted three free kicks into sodas. So what did the Saints do in the first term? Conceded a 50-metre penalty for violating the “stand” rule, then gave away a free kick in the goal square for deliberate out of bounds. Two mistakes became two Collingwood goals, and the Pies never looked back. St Kilda, in fact, didn’t go inside its forward 50 until the second term and went into half-time having kicked just two behinds and trailing by 33 points. All that would have had senior coach Nick Dal Santo, who was forced to isolate and miss being out on the park because of COVID-19 health protocols, yelling at the TV as he looked on. Collingwood, playing the rest of the season without inspirational co-captain and 2021 co-best-and-fairest Bri Davey, was dealt another injury blow just before the match, losing co-captain Steph Chiocci to an achilles injury. Enter midfield star Britt Bonnici, who gathered 26 disposals, while Jaimee Lambert picked up 25. Irishwoman Aishling Sheridan had her kicking boots on, goalling twice in Collingwood’s romp. St Kilda’s highlight might have come pre-match, when the players welcomed former men’s great Nicky Winmar to Victoria Park, wearing its Indigenous Round jumper. Part of that guernsey features a silhouette of Winmar raising his jumper and pointing to his skin, in defiance of the racial abuse Pies’ fans showered upon him 29 years ago, at the same ground.
CARLTON 4.7 (31) d GEELONG 2.5 (17)
Some pundits affectionately nicknamed this match the “Prespakis Cup,” as sisters Maddie and Georgie faced off against each other for the first time in their lives. Georgie impressed last week in her AFLW debut for the Cats, but this week, it was Maddie, her smaller, older, and more experienced sibling, who shone brightest, piling up 29 possessions to lead all players. Rebecca Webster and Amy McDonald led the Cats with 21 disposals each, while Georgie Prespakis gathered 15. For Geelong, which won just one match last season, it was a second consecutive “honourable loss” to start the season. The Cats entered the third term within a goal, but Carlton, which had four different goalkickers, pulled ahead to win by 14 points.
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GOLD COAST 7.4 (40) d WEST COAST 5.3 (33)
What a magnificent way to break a duck. The Suns, last year’s winless wooden spooners, could have easily switched off and given up after a Maddy Collier goal late in the fourth quarter put the Eagles up by 16 points. Instead, the Suns caught fire. They kicked five straight unanswered goals to win by seven points. Gold Coast, in its first win since 2020, have plenty to savour from this match. Charlie Rowbottom, surely this round’s Rising Star nominee with an equal team-high 17 possessions and 12 tackles, was magnificent, as was Ellie Hampson, who matched her in disposals. Forwards Tara Bohanna and Kate Surman were unstoppable in the fourth quarter. Surman pounced on crumbs to snap two goals, while Bohanna booted three — one after a strong contested mark and another on the final siren. For the Eagles, Dana Hooker amassed 19 touches, showing how much her side missed her presence last year whilst she was injured, Emma Swanson had 18 disposals, while Mikayla Bowen added 12, plus a goal.
ADELAIDE 5.7 (37) def. NORTH MELBOURNE 3.6 (24)
How high is Crows’ tall forward Ash Woodland flying this season? Try eight goals from the first two matches of the season. Woodland kicked another four majors, to equal her round one output, including a point-blank snap inside the goal square, finishing an electric, coast-to-coast effort, paced by leading ball-winner Anne Hatchard (29 disposals) and speedster Danielle Ponter. Adelaide utility Stevie-Lee Thompson was dangerous once again, touching it 17 times and kicking the Crows’ fifth goal, while Erin Phillips had 23 possessions and took eight marks. The Norwood heat appeared to take a toll on both clubs, as 13 minutes passed in the last term before either team kicked a goal. Ash Riddell continued her red-hot form for the Roos, getting 27 touches, one week after equalling the league’s all-time best with 35, and Emma Kearney made a welcome return from the COVID-19 inactive list, gathering 23 possessions. North Melbourne star Jasmine Garner had 20 touches of her own and snapped a fourth quarter goal which drew her side to within seven points, before Woodland’s last goal put the match out of reach.
FREMANTLE 7.10 (52) d GWS 2.8 (20)
The Dockers, in delivering this smackdown, were back to their dominant best, which two years ago saw them go undefeated yet finish unrewarded. While her wife Kara Antonio was being managed, Ebony Antonio again jump-started the Dockers’ first-quarter attack with a goal. Star Freo forward Gemma Houghton atoned for three misses in front of the sticks last week, booting majors in the first and second terms. Fremantle’s second quarter forward pressure, including Houghton’s, was ruthless. The Dockers won the tackle count by plenty, fuelling a four-goal assault, catapulting them to a 25-point lead at the major break. Kiara Bowers’ stunning inside-out torpedo punt from a standing start beyond the 50-metre arc, which skittered through the goal square for a major, is sure to feature on highlight reels. Dockers’ captain Hayley Miller led her side with 19 touches, while it was the Giants’ usual prolific tandem of Alicia Eva and Alyce Parker collecting the most possessions for their side, with 26 and 19 respectively.
