Melbourne’s Tegan Cunningham clears the ball out of the pack against Fremantle on Sunday. Photo: GETTY IMAGES
In a weekend in which the footy goddesses decided to shake up the ladder positions as if they were kernels inside a popcorn popper — which vaulted Brisbane to top spot by a mere percentage point, dropped Fremantle down to fourth, and elevated the surging Crows to third — fans were treated to stunning displays of individual brilliance. The Blues’ Darcy Vescio, Melbourne’s Karen Paxman, the Pies’ Aiesha Newman, and Brisbane’s Courtney Hodder were four players who made superhero transformations for their winning sides, while the Eagles’ Mikayla Bowen and Fremantle’s Roxy Roux played late heroine roles for their respective clubs, but fell just short in getting them over the line against their rivals. The final home-and-away round is next week, with — incredibly — all top-six teams playing against each other, each summoning their own heroes to meet the moment.
CARLTON 13.9 (87) d GOLD COAST 4.3 (27)
Don’t be fooled. The woman in the Blues’ No.3 jumper looks like Darcy Vescio of Markwood, country Victoria. She’s really — at least on a footy ground — Amazon demigoddess Diana of Themyscira, aka. Wonder Woman. The divinely-talented Vescio reigned supreme Friday night — up forward, through the middle, and down back — tallying a career-best five goals, nine score involvements and spurring Carlton to kick a new AFLW record score, in an almighty smashing of the Suns. The Blues remain in the finals hunt, and one can only imagine how much worse the carnage might’ve been if their first term hadn’t appeared to carry a deflating hangover from the previous round, which saw them lose after squandering a 15-point lead in the last five minutes. Gold Coast actually jumped out to a 19-point lead, but then Vescio unleashed superhuman strength, endurance and instincts. In the final term, Vescio flew in the goal square, from behind a pack, to take one of the season’s best screamers, while later she appeared to freeze time itself, striking a pose while selling candy to a bewildered defender, then feeding a perfect handball to teammate Elise O’Dea who goaled. While Vescio’s brilliance was almost unfair, Natalie Plane added two Blues majors and 13 Carlton players compiled double-figure disposal counts, keeping Gold Coast winless.
GWS 2.4 (16) d GEELONG 1.3 (9)
Unlike last year, the Giants won’t make finals, but they’ve now won two on the trot and look to finish strong. After enduring the tragic passing of teammate Jacinda Barclay in the off-season, and coming to terms with a career-threatening neck injury suffered by Irish import Brid Stack in the pre-season, GWS’s resilience is praiseworthy. Alyce Parker starred yet again for the Giants, gathering 25 possessions and teammate Haneen Zrelka’s magnificent snap in the forward pocket from the tightest of angles early in the first term was a gem among the only three goals the two sides combined for. In a goalless second half, the highly competitive Cats were superior in tackling and contested possessions, but ultimately, the Giants’ experienced backline prevailed, repelling Geelong attacks and leaving it still winless.
COLLINGWOOD 8.11 (53) d ST KILDA 2.1 (13)
The good news for Pies fans? Their club kicked its highest-ever score, recorded its biggest victory margin and kept pushing for a top-two spot. The not-so-good news? With the logjam at the top of the ladder, Collingwood’s win wasn’t the vital percentage-booster it could’ve been to elevate it back to the top. Instead, Collingwood sits second on the ladder, just 1.5 percentage points behind Brisbane. The best news of all for the Pies, though, was the return to form of star midfielder Brianna Davey, who Lions tagger Cathy Svarc limited to just 14 touches last week. Davey gathered 23 against the Saints, and her equally-gifted teammate Britt Bonnici had 29 possessions — tying her for the match with St Kilda’s leading ball-winner Georgia Patrikios. Collingwood’s Jaimee Lambert added 21 touches and a goal, while Aleisha Newman sizzled up forward, feasting off crumbs to snap three majors. Ruby Schleicher ruled Collingwood’s backline with 23 disposals, and Sharni Norder dominated the ruck with 22 hitouts and adding a goal. Collingwood will have a stiff challenge to earn a top-two spot. Besides having to beat Adelaide on its home ground next week, Collingwood’s best chance would be if Brisbane and Fremantle both lose.
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BRISBANE 4.11 (35) d NORTH MELBOURNE 2.8 (20)
The Lions’ hard-fought victory, combined with Collingwood’s and Fremantle’s results, was just enough for them to leapfrog to the top of the table. North meanwhile, will rue not just its inaccuracy in front of goal, but also its ill-timed, uncharacteristic skill and tactical errors. North’s Daisy Bateman slotted a stutter-step set shot in the third term to put the Roos up by two points, but Sophie Abbatangelo missed a gettable shot from close range moments later that would’ve stretched North’s lead. Instead, momentum forever shifted Brisbane’s way. The Lions pounced on the Roos’ Isabelle Eddey’s spilled mark just inside the 50-metre arc and Brisbane’s Breanna Koenen bombed it long toward teammate Tayla Smith in the goal square. But instead of one Roos defender getting goalside of small forward Jess Wuestchner, two backwomen contested Smith, leaving Wuesctchner unmolested to snap through a crumb from that contest, giving Brisbane a three-point lead. Later, North’s Danielle Hardiman’s errant kick into her defensive 50 prompted lurking Lion Sophie Conway to strike. She shoved aside intended target Jessica Duffin, scooped up the loose ball and blasted it home to extend the Lions’ lead to nine. North mids won plenty of ball — Jenna Bruton had 26 touches, Ashleigh Riddell had 25 and Emma Kearney 24 — but the Roos missed three crucial set shots in the final term. Brisbane’s livewire small forward Courtney Hodder spectacularly sealed the match with a goal-of-the-year contender. Hodder rocketed to 30 metres out from goal to leap and spoil an opponent’s certain intercept mark. While still sprinting, she devoured the crumb, weaved through two defenders and snapped the goal.
RICHMOND 5.12 (42) d WEST COAST 5.4 (34)
It took until the next-to-last round of their second season, in monsoonal rains, but the Tigers finally got their first AFLW home win, outlasting a determined Eagles side that rallied from 22 points down to one straight kick midway through the final term. Not even a Katie Brennan steadier late in the piece deterred the Eagles, who scored 32 of their 34 points in the second half. Richmond’s Tayla Stahl was a one-woman gang in the first term, collecting seven touches and kicking two goals, while Monique Conti (24 disposals) and Ellie McKenzie (22), who had 17 contested possessions and seven clearances, consistently won the ball. Despite the Eagles losing mids Aishling McCarthy, Maddie Collier and Kellie Gibson for the match, and gun small forward Imhara Cameron briefly, due to injuries, teenage sensation Mikayla Bowen (21 possessions) led an inspired Eagles uprising. Bowen curled a brilliant set shot from the boundary line between the big sticks — a goal-of-the-year nominee — for the first of her two majors, while teammate Niamh Kelly took a courageous, mark-of-the-year contender. Even at the final siren, after Richmond survived West Coast’s scare, the Eagles took a last shot at goal.
ADELAIDE 12.6 (78) d WESTERN BULLDOGS 3.4 (22)
One week after being humbled away from home by the Demons, the Crows emphatically punched their ticket to the finals by crushing the Doggies to secure a top-six spot. Ebony Marinoff (24 possessions) led the way, winning the ball at seemingly every turn, while Anne Hatchard (19), Erin Phillips (14) and Stevie-Lee Thompson (14) were at their playmaking best in attack and on defence. Adelaide had eight different goalkickers on the day, with Chloe Scheer heading the list with three and Ashleigh Woodland and Caitlin Gould kicking two apiece. For the Doggies, Brooke Lochland gathered 20 possessions and Bonnie Toogood kicked two goals, but Adelaide held their leading goalkickers Izzy Huntington and Jess Fitzgerald goalless, allowing them only 11 touches combined. Adelaide’s forward pressure was unrelenting throughout, with Teah Charlton laying seven tackles, and Hatchard and Marinoff registering six each. While the Crows threatened Carlton’s newly-established highest score and boosted their percentage, the Doggies’ chances of making the top six look extremely slim at best.
MELBOURNE 5.7 (37) d FREMANTLE 4.8 (32)
In what came down to an absolutely heart-stopping final few minutes of the last term, in which the Dockers had all the momentum and locked the ball in their forward 50, the resilient Dees hung on by their fingernails to win. Melbourne solidified its place in the top six and massively dented Fremantle’s top-two hopes, dropping it from first to fourth on the ladder. Dees midfield star Karen Paxman outduelled Fremantle counterpart Kiara Bowers, with her 24 possessions doubling Bowers’ season-low output of 12. For the sixth time in eight matches, the Dockers went goalless in the first term and Melbourne’s Kate Hore made them pay, kicking two goals and Eliza McNamara added another. The Dees went so hard at the ball in the first half, and won so much of it, they had an astonishing 54 more disposals and 23 more contested possessions by half-time. Whenever the Dockers managed to go inside 50, they were wasteful in front of goal, kicking seven behinds until Gabby O’Sullivan slotted a set shot with just under two minutes left in the third term. When Roxy Roux snapped truly with just 10 seconds left in the third period, Fremantle rode the momentum shift of another Roux snap and Gemma Houghton’s set shot, which gave the Dockers a short-lived, one-point lead. The final result came down to which side would blink first — and Fremantle did. The umpires pinged Fremantle’s Emma O’Driscoll with a 50-metre penalty for encroaching a Daisy Pearce mark, which moments later led to Maddie Gay converting what proved to be a match-winning set shot.
