Collingwood’s Jaimee Lambert and Chloe Molloy celebrate a goal against Fremantle on Sunday. Photo: GETTY IMAGES
RICHMOND 6.8 (44) d CARLTON 5.4 (34)
It’s official. The Tigers now own the longest winning streak in AFLW, bagging their sixth on the trot with their win over the Blues. Carlton kicked 4.1 in the first term and bolted to a 19-point lead, but kicked just 1.2 the rest of the way as the Tigers roared to life in the second half, when the Mon Conti and Courtney Wakefield show started. Conti ran rampant, getting 30 touches, and Wakefield marked just about everything kicked her way and slotted four set shots. With just four points the difference with under a minute left to play, Tigers’ captain Katie Brennan marked deep in the forward 50 and drilled home the sealer. Mimi Hill and Abbie McKay again starred for Carlton, with Hill kicking a goal to go with her 20 possessions and McKay getting 18 touches and laying 11 tackles.
BRISBANE 8.5 (53) d ADELAIDE 4.7 (31)
The Lions made their most convincing statement yet that they’re the AFLW’s team to beat, with a convincing win that — in combination with other results — drops the reigning premier to fourth on the ladder. After a first quarter arm wrestle, Brisbane exploded for four goals in the second term to take a 22-point lead — and a three-goal haul in the final term preserved that margin. While the Crows couldn’t flick on the goalkicking switch they’ve used in previous tight games to kick away, the Lions’ Jess Wardlaw and Sophie Conway found the sticks, kicking two majors apiece. While likely All-Australian Ally Anderson added a goal and led Brisbane with 22 touches, the club’s “sharing is caring” approach to ball distribution worked well, with eight different Lions amassing at least 15 possessions. Brisbane dominated the tackle count, too, shunting Crows’ forward advances. Ebony Marinoff was sensational for Adelaide, racking up 33 possessions, but while her teammate Chelsea Randall gathered 23, she had to leave the ground after taking an apparent forearm to the mouth from Conway, who will come under scrutiny.
NORTH MELBOURNE 7.12 (54) d PORT ADELAIDE 4.2 (26)
The Roos put the clamps on a surprisingly lively Power outfit in the second half of this match, limiting them to just three behinds during that span while kicking three goals, to coast to the finish line. North Melbourne’s Jasmine Garner only added to her chances to take out the AFL Coaches Association Most Valuable Player Award, with 27 disposals, five tackles, and two goals, while Alice O’Loughlin added two majors. Port Adelaide’s Gemma Houghton returned from a lengthy syndesmosis injury to kick a goal, but captain Erin Phillips remains goalless for the season. While the Roos edged closer to the top four with Adelaide’s loss, inaccuracy in front of goal remains an issue — Sophie Abbatangelo kicked 1.3 while Vikki Wall missed three shots on goal.
ESSENDON 7.6 (48) d SYDNEY 7.2 (44)
At this point, the Swans might want to consider changing their club song to the Moving Pictures back-in-the-day classic, “What About Me?” They did just about everything right in this contest and played, arguably, their most complete match, but still got pipped by the Bombers to remain winless after eight matches, with just two more to play. The Swans played a potent first half to lead by 10 points at the major break, but the Bombers’ collective experience and cool under pressure propelled them to wrest control, hit the front and jump ahead by 10 points at three-quarter time. Essendon’s experienced heads Daria Bannister, Cat Phillips, and Sophie Alexander accounted for the scoreboard firepower, each booting two majors, while Maddy Prespakis had a team-high 22 disposals. And while the Swans’ Sarah Dargan, Cynthia Hamilton and Sofia Hurley weren’t prolific ball winners, they all kicked two goals each in a brave team effort.
GEELONG 4.10 (34) d WEST COAST 4.1 (25)
Inaccuracy be damned — a 1.6 half time scoreline — the Cats continued their winning streak, banking their fourth straight victory, albeit a narrow one, over an ever-improving Eagles side. With Georgie Prespakis returning from suspension to lead her side with 21 touches and 12 tackles, and Chloe Scheer and Shelley Scott each kicking a goal, Geelong is crawling closer to a complete turnaround from near-bottom to a top-four side. If rivals’ results the next two rounds go the Cats way and they handle their business, it’s not too far-fetched a scenario. West Coast stalwarts Emma Swanson (24 possessions and five tackles), Dana Hooker (20 touches and a goal) and Charlie Thomas (19 disposals) were its best.
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MELBOURNE 9.4 (58) d GOLD COAST 1.3 (9)
The Demons made the Suns their punching bag, pounding away to a 49-point belting, which in combination with the Crows’ loss, allows the Dees to inch up to second on the ladder. The result was never in doubt from quarter time when Melbourne stormed to 19-point lead. The Dees held the Suns scoreless in the first and final terms, while Tayla Harris had a day out, kicking a bag of three majors, for 56 in her career, making her the AFLW’s all-time leading goalkicker. Harris’s total eclipses — at least temporarily — Carlton’s Darcy Vescio and Greater Western Sydney’s Cora Staunton. Melbourne’s Olivia Purcell continues to be a ball-magnet, as she again led her side with 32 touches and was one of four Dees to win at least 20 possessions. Jac Dupuy kicked Gold Coast’s only major, and Alison Drennan also can hold her head up high, as she led the Suns with 20 touches and eight tackles.
WESTERN BULLDOGS 4.11 (35) d ST KILDA 3.2 (20)
The Bulldogs outlasted the Saints in what was a tight contest until the last term, in what could be fairly characterized as a victory the Doggies won in spite of themselves. St Kilda was largely in the match because of the Doggies’ wonky goalkicking radar. Even captain Ellie Blackburn, the Doggies’ best, with 23 possessions and six tackles, wasn’t immune, as she kicked 0.2 on the day. Blackburn’s teammate, the usually reliable Richelle Cranston, also missed two. For the Saints, who now have lost six straight, it was an incredibly frustrating day, as not only did they not capitalize on their opponents’ misfires, but they opened the scoring by kicking the first two goals of the match, thanks to Caitlin Greiser and Georgia Patrikios. The Doggies’ win moves them into the top eight with two matches remaining.
GWS 4.10 (34) d HAWTHORN 5.3 (33)
The Giants got over the line in this one by the skin of their teeth, registering a behind off the boot of Nicola Barr with just four seconds left in the match to eke out a one-point win, breaking the Hawks’ consecutive three-game run of wins. Alyce Parker starred for the Giants, gathering 30 possessions, while Alicia Eva had 21, and Georgia Garnett had 20 and kicked a goal. Tilly Lucas-Rodd was Hawthorn’s best, with 18 touches and eight tackles, while the Hawks had five different goalkickers.
COLLINGWOOD 4.8 (32) d FREMANTLE 0.3 (3)
The Magpies soared into third spot on the ladder with a throttling of a Dockers’ side badly limping to the chequered flag. Goals weren’t plentiful, but Collingwood’s Sabrina Frederick — who in the previous seven rounds had kicked an unsightly 0.8 for the season — booted two, including a brilliant dribbler. Jaimee Lambert added a goal to complement her 19 possessions. In fact, if not for the Pies’ missing as many shots as they did, the result could have been far worse for Fremantle, which didn’t score until the fourth quarter and went goalless for the second time this season. While the previously injured Dana East returned for the Dockers, Ebony Antonio didn’t get up for the match as the club hoped. Kiara Bowers was Fremantle’s standout, with 28 disposals and 11 tackles. Collingwood’s ascendancy is in stark contrast to finalist from last season Fremantle sinking to 17th, with only winless Sydney keeping it from occupying the bottom rung.
