PROUD WIN FOR THE BULLDOGS AS BROOKE BAGS SEVEN
By Athos Sirianos
Brooke Lochland kicks yet another major, setting a new AFLW record with her seven-goal haul. Photo: Fox Sports
The Western Bulldogs have sent an ominous warning to the league following their 73-point dismantling of a helpless Carlton side in the inaugural Pride Game at Whitten Oval.
The Blues failed to score for the whole first half as they fell victim to an onslaught at the hands of the unrelenting Bulldogs.
After only leading by 10 points at quarter-time, the home side kicked five unanswered second-quarter goals to lead by 44 points at half-time.
While the Bulldogs collectively recorded the biggest victory in AFLW’s short history, the spotlight was stolen by forward Brooke Lochland who starred with seven goals, a feat not yet seen in the AFLW.
With skipper and powerhouse forward Katie Brennan ruled out after sustaining an ankle injury in last week’s clash against Adelaide, the Western Bulldogs’ attack appeared on paper far less ominous, and there were questions as to how they would score their goals.
Coupled with the absence of Isabel Huntington, the pressure was on the small Bulldog forwards to rise to the occasion.
And Lochland did just that, kicking four goals in the second term to help stretch the margin beyond doubt with the Blues not being able to respond.
Bonnie Toogood also chimed in with three goals of her own, but the night well and truly belonged to Lochland.
Carlton’s only scores came in the third quarter, with all 13 points courtesy of former skipper Lauren Arnell, whose efforts weren’t enough to will her side to victory.
The Bulldog midfield again was destructive, with Ellie Blackburn and Emma Kearney proving once again they are the most dangerous midfield duo in the competition.
Blackburn and Kearney racked up game-high 18 and 26 disposals respectively, this week being their fourth straight in which the two have accumulated over 30 possessions between them.
Despite their injuries and doubts surrounding them, the Western Bulldogs’ resilience ultimately persevered and earned them their third victory of 2018.
The Bulldogs maintain their position on top of the ladder and receive a healthy percentage boost following their demolition of the Blues.
Their first loss to Adelaide last week now a distant memory, the Bulldogs will look forward to the next few weeks in excitement, having now been donned the new Premiership favourites.
Hoping to continue their momentum, the Bulldogs may be eyeing off an even larger percentage boost when they meet a plucky Collingwood outfit, while Carlton face a tough week on the road against the reigning premiers Adelaide.
WESTERN BULLDOGS 12.14 (86)
CARLTON 2.1 (13)
BEST Western Bulldogs: Lochland, Kearney, Blackburn, Toogood Carlton: Arnell, S. Hosking, Moody
WET AND WILD WIN FOR THE LIONS
By Chris Nice
Jess Wuetschner scored two goals for the Lions, and also scored a kiss on the cheek from grateful teammate Kate McCarthy. Photo: Getty Images
Brisbane have downed Fremantle by seven points at a saturated South Pine Sports Complex, securing their place in the top two of the AFLW ladder.
The Lions now sit a game clear in second position, joining the Western Bulldogs who have also begun their season 3-1 following their 73-point smashing of Carlton on Friday night.
With Brisbane enduring over a month's worth of rain in the past two days, conditions were always going to be less-than-ideal.
The unfavourable weather was further exacerbated by the 26 degree weather and 82 per cent humidity, resulting in the heat policy coming into effect (in which an extra 30 seconds are added to the quarterly breaks and another 90 seconds for half time).
Upon taking the to the field, the extent of the drenching was evident and affected the gameplay from the onset.
The heavy ball and wet weather dictated a strict body-on-body approach, resulting in tight and contested football in the first quarter.
Fremantle managed to lock the ball in their forward 50 for most of the quarter, but failed to capitalise on the scoreboard from their 10 inside 50s, with a single minor score coming off the boot of Gabby O'Sullivan.
It was a lucky break for the Lions, who despite the poor conditions were sloppy out of defence and were unable to pick out targets thanks to their hastiness.
Come the second quarter, soccer skills were on display at the sodden South Pine, and it turned out to be on several occasions the best way to move the ball forward.
Jess Wuetschner proved it better than anyone, masterfully booting the first of the game off the ground after receiving a soccer-like pass from teammate Sabrina Frederick-Traub.
While the play opened up more, moving forward was still an issue for both teams. The Dockers broke free of the congestion several times, their efforts went unrewarded with only Emily McGuire impacting the scoreboard with a behind.
Goals were few and far between them, but with the rain somewhat relenting in the third quarter the Dockers and Lions were able to convert.
A snap from 50m out from Brittany Gibson gave the Lions their second, but the margin was brought back to five points after Stacey Barr kicked an easy goal with just over a minute left on the clock.
With the heavy ball and wet weather still difficult to control, soccering off the ground again proved to be effective in gaining ground.
But the tactic nearly went against the Lions.
Hearts were in mouths after Jamie Stanton hyper-extended her left knee in a sickening collision after she attempted to kick the ball off the ground.
After the season-ending knee injuries to Brianna Davey and Isabel Huntington, it was almost impossible to not assume the worst had also been inflicted upon Stanton.
Thankfully, Stanton returned to the field in the final quarter and guided her side to victory.
Wuetschner again put her soccer prowess to use, with a sliding kick through the big sticks after a Tahlia Randall torpedo sailed over the heads of four Fremantle defenders and landed right at her feet.
One last roll of the dice from the Dockers narrowed the margin yet again courtesy of a goal from Ashlee Atkins, but it was too little, too late, as Brisbane emerged winners by seven points.
Brisbane's grit in the poor conditions not only cemented their place in the top two, but emphasised their determination coming toward to atone for their Grand Final loss last year.
All eyes will be on the Lions as they come in against the hot premiership favourites in Melbourne, while the Dockers will face the steely Giants at home.
BRISBANE 3.4 (22)
FREMANTLE 2.3 (15)
BEST
Brisbane: Wuetschner, Lutkins, Anderson
Fremantle: Filocamo, Donnellan, Atkins
HOT PIES! COLLINGWOOD SECURE THEIR FIRST WIN OF THE SEASON
By Nick D'Urbano
Meg Hutchins and Jamiee Lambert were all smiles after defeating the Demons. Photo: Zimbio
Collingwood have finally got some runs on the board with a clinical victory over flag fancies, Melbourne, at TIO Tragear Park in Alice Springs by 34 points.
The Magpies had the ascendency for majority of the game in sweltering conditions which reached a high of 37 degrees and created havoc for the players in the extremely difficult climate.
Melbourne started the game the hotter of the two sides and thanks to goals from Kate Hore and Elise O’Dea were ahead by 14 points at the first change as the Pies were kept scoreless.
The second quarter told an extremely different story, with goals from Christina Bernardi and a late double from Moana Hope in the final six minutes of the quarter.
The three goals put the Magpies in the lead heading into the major change in an extremely rapid turn of events.
From there, the Magpies were in full control as they stepped on the gas in the third quarter and kicked a further three goals to Melbourne’s one.
Their dominance was on full display as they opened up an 18-point lead heading into the final quarter.
It wasn’t to be for Melbourne, as Collingwood put the game to bed with a blistering finish of goals from Stephanie Chiocci, Amelia Barden and Melissa Kuys, which ended any hope for the Demons as the Magpies ran out with their first victory of the season.
Collingwood were led brilliantly by midfield duo Chiocci and Jaimee Lambert who combined for 36 disposals and eight tackles.
A fantastic effort from Brittany Bonnici kept Melbourne star, Daisy Pearce to only the nine disposals for the night.
The major story of the night was the performance of the much-scrutinised, Mo Hope, who continues to turn a corner following her past two games.
Hope kicked 2.3 and was a continual presence inside the forward 50 for the Pies, hinting at her destructive potential should she hit peak form this season.
Melbourne’s O’Dea and Karen Paxman were the best in a tough night for the Dees, who were outgunned by the fired-up Magpie outfit.
The Demons have now lost two on the trot and have fallen outside the top two.
A huge clash awaits next Friday night against another flag fancy in Brisbane at Casey Fields.
Collingwood meanwhile will look to keep their faint finals hopes alive when they make the trip to Moe to take on the red-hot Western Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon.
MELBOURNE 3.6 (24)
COLLINGWOOD 9.4 (58)
BEST
Melbourne: Paxman, Downie, O'Dea, Cunningham
Collingwood: Bernardi, Lambert, Chiocci, Hope
TIGHT DRAW IN THE WET RULES OUT CROWS AND GIANTS
By Zac Standish
Wild weather in the Giants and Crows clash yielded no result for either side. Photo: AAP
It was a gloomy day from start to finish at Blacktown International Sport Park as Greater Western Sydney and Adelaide fought out a tough low-scoring draw in front of a small crowd, enduring what can only be described as horrendous conditions.
With rain pelting down all afternoon, it was a tight battle for the entire afternoon; the weather preventing either team from taking charge of proceedings and subsequently forcing a very congested and slow-paced game.
Both their seasons on the line, the clash was built to be one of the matches of the round.
A resurgent GWS looked to continue their good form from last week with a big win against one of the competition’s lowly sides in Collingwood.
The Crows meanwhile looked to carry their momentum from last week’s come-from-behind win against the Western Bulldogs, with Erin Phillips again the centre of attention following her 4.2 return.
As expected, it was a hotly contested start at Blacktown and prior to the original downpour of rain, both teams played at an extremely high quality.
The Giants got things underway relatively quickly, surprising the Crows with their intensity around the ball and pressure which resulted in costly Adelaide mistakes.
After dominating initial field position, the girls in orange hit the scoreboard relatively quickly, pouncing on a poor Adelaide kick-in and setting up an easy set shot for the classy Rebecca Beeson who duly converted.
But GWS couldn’t keep up the pressure as a fired-up Adelaide team immediately began to show their premiership pedigree.
Much like the Giants, the Crows were able to lock the ball inside their attacking half and were rewarded as All-Australian defender-turned-midfielder, Courtney Cramey, announced her return from injury with an excellent finish to tie things up at quarter time.
With the heavens opening up, the match turned into a tough slog after quarter-time.
A nasty collision between Courtney Gum and Cramey was just one incident of what was a very contested quarter of footy – the attack on the ball by both teams intense in the wet.
It would take some nice build-up play and a classy finish by the experienced Cora Staunton to give the Giants a crucial break.
Despite having opportunities, neither side could add another maximum to their tally before the main break, with the weather making it extremely difficult to generate any sort of fluent ball movement.
Half-time would see the Giants hold a crucial eight-point lead in what was an excellent half of wet weather football from the reigning wooden spooners.
The weather would hold no reprieve for the third term as rain continued to pelt down relentlessly at Blacktown.
Missed opportunities plagued both sides as Adelaide locked down defensively and began pegging back an advantage around the contest, with Erin Phillips getting involved in some critical touches.
Each team would have patches of dominance throughout the quarter, yet neither would capitalise with a major.
The Crows only managed one behind opposed to the Giants three behinds in the contested and sloppy quarter of footy.
It was do or die for both teams going into the last quarter as the Giants came in with a very handy buffer of nine points.
After improving defensively in the third term, the Crows would come to life offensively in a last bid to keep their distant finals hopes alive.
A rev-up from coach Bec Goddard saw them come out with a sense of vigour and intensity which the Giants simply couldn't match.
A brilliant piece of work by Ruth Wallace from the boundary would see Adelaide spring right back into the contest as she collected cleanly and snapped a beautiful goal.
The Crows would continue their momentum with a period of absolute dominance, locking the ball in their forward half and applying immense pressure on their young opposition.
But despite this excellent period, Adelaide again couldn’t convert, as chances to Jenna McCormick and Cramey went begging as the Crows put on four straight behinds to take a one-point lead into the final five minutes.
GWS would quickly level the scores through a counter-attack play out of Adelaide’s forward half to give them hope of a thrilling win.
In the game’s intense final moments with both of their seasons on the line, neither team could trouble the scores again and the match ended in at 19 points apiece.
Ebony Marinoff was superb for Adelaide, racking up a record 21 tackles for the game (the largest for both the AFL and AFLW), while midfielders Chelsea Randall and Angela Foley were also impressive.
The Giants had a number of excellent performers with Alicia Eva the standout with 23 disposals, and was supported well through the midfield by Gum and Beeson up forward.
Next week Adelaide face another must-win match at Norwood Oval against a deflated Carlton, who will be itching for redemption after Friday night’s embarrassing defeat to the Western Bulldogs.
The Giants on the other hand will travel over to Perth for a crunch meeting with a desperate Fremantle side looking to keep their season alive.
GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY 2.7 (19)
ADELAIDE 2.7 (19)
BEST
Greater Western Sydney: Eva, Beeson, Dal Pos
Adelaide: Marinoff, Foley, Randall
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