A victory for Carlton against Greater Western Sydney in stormy conditions has been dampened following injuries to star players Brianna Davey and Tayla Harris.
The Blues sit atop the AFLW ladder following their 21-point win at Drummoyne Oval, and join Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs as undefeated for the season.
Yet with Carlton medicos confirming Brianna Davey will miss the rest of the year with a ruptured ACL, their path moving forward is in doubt.
The Carlton skipper had racked up 16 disposals before injuring her right knee in a seemingly innocuous collision, with just over five minutes left on the clock in the final quarter.
Davey was stretchered off the field, with fellow teammates visibly upset by their captain’s injury post-game, several of them - including Darcy Vescio - in tears.
It initially appeared there would be more Carlton heartbreak on the horizon, with the Blues only registering four behinds for the first term opposed to the Giants’ single goal from Phoebe McWilliams.
Yet fortune fell in favour of the Blues in the end, with McWilliams’ goal resulting as the only major score from the Giants for the entire game.
As the wet and wild conditions worsened, play was close to being abandoned altogether as the lightning strikes intensified and came dangerously close to Drummoyne Oval.
After a 30-minute delay, the weather relented and play finally resumed.
But with slippery conditions underfoot and a greasy ball to match, the inaccuracy continued to plague the Blues.
The scores were level – 1.0 to 0.6 – midway through the second quarter, with both sides having difficulty controlling the ball in the unfavourable conditions.
Nicola Stevens ultimately mastered the wet conditions and broke Carlton’s goalless drought, following a skilful crumb and left-foot snap around the body, giving the Blues a seven-point lead at the main change.
Come the third term, Katie Loynes had similarly wrangled the wet ball under her control, slotting the Blues’ second, mirroring Stevens with a right-foot snap through the big sticks.
Darcy Vescio also chimed in with her first goal of the season and could have added two more to her name had she converted.
Although the scoreboard ticked over slowly and more often than not in increments of one, the Carlton pressure shut down many scoring opportunities for the Giants.
Sarah Hosking was at the forefront of the Blues’ pressure drive, finishing her night with a record 16 tackles, along with 12 possessions.
The Giants only added a single point to their score at the end of the third quarter, and would only manage to score one more for the night, finishing with 1.3.
The fourth quarter was definitely one to forget for the Blues, with injuries and inaccuracy unfortunately prominent.
Shaky in front of goal, Carlton were able to bolster their score to 30 after a five-point final quarter.
Alongside Davey’s season-ending injury, Tayla Harris remains in doubt for next week’s match against Brisbane, after suffering a possible shoulder injury following a desperate tackle in the game’s dying seconds.
With the extent of Harris’ injury yet to be determined, it will be a nervous wait for Carlton fans heading into next week’s clash against Brisbane at Ikon Park.
The Giants – now with two straight losses under their belt – will be desperate to attain their maiden victory against Collingwood, who also will wish to end their winless streak.
GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY 1.0 1.0 1.2 1.3 (9) CARLTON 0.4 1.7 3.7 3.12 (30)
GOALS Greater Western Sydney: McWilliams Carlton: Stevens, Loynes, Vescio
BEST
Greater Western Sydney: Eva, Farrugia, Gum
Carlton: Davey, J. Hosking, S. Hosking
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