BLUES BEAT MAGPIES IN SCRAPPY CONTEST
By Chris Nice
Carlton has secured the maiden win of the AFLW season, overcoming their rivals in Collingwood in a low-scoring affair at Ikon Park.
While the crowd of 19,852 was shy of last year’s lockout crowd of 24,568, the hype was all the same for the opening game of the season.
Collingwood got off to the ideal start, with Jasmine Garner slotting the first goal in the opening 90 seconds thanks to midfielder Stephanie Chiocci’s skilful ball movement.
Within the first three minutes, Chiocci had gathered four possessions and one inside 50, her fast-paced attack setting the tone for the Magpies early in the piece.
Yet the Blues fought back, their defensive zoning halting the Collingwood forward offensive and locking the Magpies to their back half.
The resultant pressure from the Blues saw goals to Kate Shierlaw and Tayla Harris, the latter of whom took a spectacular contested mark to convert the Blues’ second.
At quarter-time, Carlton led the inside 50 count 8-2, reflective with a lead of seven points.
The Blues extended their lead early in the second quarter with a goal to Alison Downie, yet neither team were able to accumulate a clean entry to their forward half for most of the term.
While the Magpies showed glimpses of their composure and link-up play along the wings, they were only able to amass two marks from their 10 inside 50s.
The only major came off the boot of Amelia Barden, who narrowed the margin to a single kick at the main change.
As the second half got underway, Collingwood looked dangerous when they had space, yet the Carlton press limited this freedom, resulting in only three minor scores for the term.
The game was not without controversy, with Magpie Sarah D’Arcy kicking Sarah Hosking in the groin following a marking contest.
D’Arcy was placed on report, while Hosking continued to play the remainder of the game.
A final-quarter comeback was certainly on the cards for Collingwood, yet only managed the one behind from a Melissa Kuys set shot.
The Magpies were unable to seize their opportunities moving forward, despite a standout quarter from Chloe Molloy, who racked up a game-high 20 touches.
The lack of a Collingwood forward structure contributed to their eight-point loss, with superstar Mo Hope’s presence minimal.
Hope and her Carlton counterpart, Darcy Vescio, failed to have major impact for the game, with a combined 13 disposals and zero score involvements.
Carlton will hope to secure their second win against Greater Western Sydney at Drummoyne Oval, while the Magpies will face Fremantle in the first AFL match at Optus Stadium.
CARLTON 2.1 3.1 3.4 3.4 (22)
COLLINGWOOD 1.0 2.1 2.1 2.2 (14)
GOALS
Carlton: Shierlaw, Harris, Downie
Collingwood: Garner, Barden
BEST Carlton: Harris, Hardiman, J. Hosking Collingwood: Molloy, Chiocci, Lambert
CRANSTON CRUSHES GIANTS’ DREAMS
By Nick D'Urbano
Melbourne were too strong for their tenacious opponents in Greater Western Sydney, defeating last year’s wooden-spooners by six points in a hard-fought game at Casey Fields.
In a seesawing contest with five lead changes, the game was only decided at the 16-minute mark of the final term.
The Giants pounced on the Demons early, slotting the first major of the game and subsequently limiting their opponents to 1.3 for the first half.
GWS were right in the thick of the contest for the entirety of proceedings and were led from the front by Phoebe McWilliams.
The Giant booted three majors, including one to level the scores late in the final quarter.
Yet a resurgent Melbourne outfit, who trailed by nine points at the major change, turned the tables in the second half.
With scores level in the final quarter, Melbourne pushed ahead late when Richelle Cranston was able to break through a large pack of players and put the Demons in front with three minutes left on the clock.
Cranston, who played an inspiring second half, booted three goals and willed her side back into the game alongside her skipper, Daisy Pearce.
The Melbourne captain was again a standout, with a game-high 19 touches, 13 of which were in the second half of the game.
Pearce set the tempo for her teammates with a superb display in the middle of the park and was flanked brilliantly by fellow midfielder Elise O’Dea, who had 17 possessions of her own.
It just wasn’t to be for the Giants who in the end were outrun by a fitter Melbourne side.
Following their victory, Melbourne have proved they are in the running for securing their maiden premiership come season’s end.
The Giants themselves were still able to take positives out of the narrow loss, unearthing the first Irish talent in the AFL Women’s competition in Cora Staunton, a former Gaelic ace who was selected 11 times for the All-Ireland team.
Staunton was able to kick a big first half goal to push the Giants further ahead and retain their lead for the entire second term.
Melbourne will face the reigning premiers, Adelaide, at Casey Fields next Saturday, while the Giants welcome Carlton to Drummoyne Oval on Friday night.
MELBOURNE 1.2 1.3 4.3 7.3 (45)
GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY 2.0 3.0 5.2 6.3 (39)
GOALS
Melbourne: Cranston 3, Scott 2, Cunningham, Hore
Greater Western Sydney: McWilliams 3, Barclay 2, Staunton
BEST
Melbourne: D. Pearce, Cranston, O’Dea
Greater Western Sydney: McWilliams, Staunton, Gum
LIONS RUTHLESS IN GAINING GRAND FINAL REVENGE
By Zac Standish
It was a clinical display by AFLW 2017 runners-up Brisbane, as they ran out 12-point victors over reigning premiers Adelaide on a hot summer night at the Parade.
With co-captain and reigning AFLW MVP Erin Phillips ruled out on match eve with a quad injury, it was always going to be an uphill battle for the depleted Crows.
The Lions, driven from last year’s Grand Final defeat, displayed the form which saw them claim top-spot after the home and away season last year.
It was a seesawing affair for much of the night, with momentum swinging in favour of the team kicking with the northerly wind.
Only one of the five goals kicked for the night came from the southern end of Norwood Oval.
After a strong start where the Crows dominated field position, the Lions bounced back to control the first quarter, putting on 1.3 to Adelaide’s no score.
With a sloppy first quarter behind them, Bec Goddard rallied her troops at quarter-time as a reinvigorated Crows team emerged in the second term.
Adelaide piled on 3.1 following their scoreless first quarter – their fast-paced ball movement simply too much for the Lions who failed to hit the scoreboard.
Crows co-captain Chelsea Randall in particular proved to be a handful for the Lions; her excellent pace and skills allowing her to finish up with 18 disposals and a goal.
Randall’s performance ultimately ended up being one of few shining lights for Adelaide.
With all the scoring in the first half being limited to one end, the game was evenly poised at half-time, with the Crows taking a 10-point advantage at the main break.
Kicking to the scoring end, the Lions started to flex their muscles, booting 3.4 with Adelaide being kept scoreless again for the term.
Sabrina Frederick-Traub would prove to be overwhelming for the Crows defence as the big centre-half forward took 10 marks and set up many scoring opportunities moving forward.
After a dominant second term, the Lions took a five-point lead into three-quarter time with the mood around the ground being it was anyone’s game.
Expected to fight back in the last quarter and with the wind to their advantage, the Crows ran out of gas as an excellent defensive effort by Brisbane kept them scoreless for a third quarter.
Brisbane’s Kaitlyn Ashmore took a clutch mark with five minutes and to go and duly converted to secure victory for the Lions.
With the extent of Phillips’ injury unknown, the Crows will be hoping she can get up for next Saturday’s clash with Melbourne at Casey Fields.
The Lions meanwhile, will hope to keep their momentum going against the Western Bulldogs on Sunday at South Pine Sports Complex.
ADELAIDE 0.0 3.1 3.1 3.1 (19)
BRISBANE 1.2 1.3 3.6 4.7 (31)
GOALS
Adelaide: Jones, Wallace, Randall
Brisbane : Wuetschner 2, Conway, Ashmore
BEST
Adelaide: Randall, Marinoff, Wallace
Brisbane: Stanton, Zielke, Wuetschner, Frederick-Traub
DOCKERS DISAPPOINT AS DOGS DOMINATE
By Chris Nice
The Western Bulldogs have comfortably dispatched Fremantle at Whitten Oval, gaining not only four points but the all-important first position on the ladder.
With a percentage of 213, the Bulldogs sit well in front of Brisbane, Carlton and Melbourne, who comprise the rest of the top-four.
The clash marked the return of skipper Katie Brennan, who only managed to play two games last season due to injury.
But it appeared as if Brennan had barely skipped a beat, with an impressive 12 possessions and three goals to her name, two of which came from difficult set shots.
From the beginning, the Dogs were agile and aggressive.
A flying start from the Bulldogs saw them race to 3.2 in the opening quarter, opposed to the scoreless term from Fremantle.
The combined midfield force of Emma Kearney and Ellie Blackburn – last season’s Susan Alberti award co-winners – rolled the Dockers early, and provided ample opportunities for their forwards.
The duo finished their days with 18 and 23 disposals respectively, well above the team-high 12 disposals from Fremantle midfielder Kara Donnellan.
Come half-time, the Dockers still had failed to hit the scoreboard, and had done little to minimise the Bulldog assault as they piled another 2.2 onto their total.
Yet the Dockers were able to stem the flow in the third quarter, keeping the Dogs goalless and finally impacting the scoreboard with two majors from Amy Lavell and one from Ashley Sharp.
With only 15 points separating the teams at three-quarter time, the late Dockers charge came to an end, with the Bulldogs sealing the win with a 2.1 to 0.2 term.
Three marks were taken for the Dockers inside 50 for the entire game as opposed to the Bulldogs’ 12, with two of these resulting in Brennan goals.
After finishing sixth last season with 2-5, the Bulldogs have licked their wounds and proved they too are contenders for the AFLW premiership.
The Bulldogs will face Brisbane at home following their stirring win over Adelaide, while the Dockers will be doing their best to avoid an 0-2 start against Collingwood.
WESTERN BULLDOGS 3.2 5.4 5.6 7.7 (49)
FREMANTLE 0.0 0.0 3.3 3.5 (23)
GOALS
Western Bulldogs: Brennan 3, Blackburn, Lochland, Toogood, O'Connor
Fremantle: Lavell 2, Sharp
BEST
Western Bulldogs: Blackburn, Brennan, Kearney
Fremantle: Donnellan, Hooker, Lavell
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