A review of all the action from Round 6 of the 2024 rebel VFLW season.

SOUTHERN SAINTS vs CASEY DEMONS

SOUTHERN SAINTS 0.1        0.2        1.4        3.7 (25)
CASEY DEMONS        1.2        3.4        5.5        6.5 (41)

CASEY DEMONS bounced back from their tough trip to Sydney to climb into the rebel VFLW top six after outclassing Southern Saints by 16 points at Wilson Storage Trevor Barker Beach Oval on Saturday.

The Demons resisted everything the Saints could throw at them in the first term before Niamh O’Neill kicked the first of her match-winning three goals in the shadows of the quarter time break.

Casey then added two more majors in the second term to take a commanding 20-point lead to half time.

The game was over midway through the third with the visitors blasting out to a 32-point gap before Nat Plane finally kicked the Saints’ first goal 77 seconds before three-quarter time.

And although the home side rallied with the first two of the last term to get within 10 points and raise some hopes, O’Neill quickly snuffed them out.

She finished with 13 disposals, four marks and six inside-50s for her three goals, cashing in on a dominant performance from Meg Macdonald, whose 24 touches were four more than anyone on the field and nine more than any other Demon. She also worked hard without the ball to lay 10 tackles.

Tackling machine Shree Fairchild laid 14 tackles, while Zoe Mitchell also impressed, but the influence of Maeve Chaplin and Tyler Burn (six rebounds each) to deny a Saints team that won the inside-50 count 40-26 can’t be understated.

Madison Torpey will be a contender for the three Lambert-Pearce Medal votes for the Saints, dominating the ruck with 20 disposals, 29 hitouts, eight clearances and a goal, and Charlotte Ryan (18 disposals, one goal), Tessa Boyd (19 disposals, six rebounds), Plane (15 disposals, seven tackles, one goal) and Gabby De Angelis (20 disposals) also tried hard.

NORTH MELBOURNE vs GEELONG CATS

NORTH MELBOURNE              1.0        2.0        3.1        5.5 (35)
GEELONG CATS                          3.5        4.6        7.9        8.11 (59)

GEELONG sent North Melbourne crashing to second bottom on the ladder with a stunning 24-point upset victory at Arden Street Oval.

The Cats are building nicely after a slow start to the season but started clear underdogs in this clash coming after the Kangaroos easily beat a Carlton team in Round 2 that had thrashed Geelong a week earlier.

The visitors took control early with Geelong Falcons youngster Kiara Woods booting her team’s first two goals on her VFLW debut at just 17 years of age, before No.18 draft pick Chantal Mason continued her rapid development to set up a 17-point lead at quarter-time.

Geelong also kicked the opening goal of the second term before North struck either side of the main break to raise hopes, but the visitors slammed on the next four goals to put paid to the contest.

Amazingly, the Cats did it despite losing the disposal count by a whopping 282-218, with their pressure led by Molly Walton in defence, while Lily Jordan and another Geelong Falcon in Seisia White drove the ball forward to ensure the Cats won the inside-50 count.

Mason cashed in to be best afield with 18 disposals, five marks and three goals and Woods added 10 disposals to her two goals.

Alana Barba was all class for North Melbourne with 22 disposals, five clearances, six tackles, six entries and a goal. Maddie Di Cosmo (25 disposals, one goal), Mara McSweeney (22 disposals, seven rebounds) and Audrey Rhodes (22 disposals, five clearances) also got plenty of the footy.

COLLINGWOOD vs ESSENDON

COLLINGWOOD         1.3        3.3        5.5        7.5 (47)
ESSENDON                    3.0        6.1        9.1        10.4 (64)

AN EFFICIENT Essendon showed it was still a team to be reckoned with as it overcame Collingwood by 17 points at Victoria Park.

The Bombers took the lead when Sophie Molan kicked the first goal after seven minutes and despite being tested on a couple of occasions, most notably when the Magpies drew within four points and pressed hard for the lead during the second term, they had the answers.

Emily Gough’s two goals in the shadows of half-time and Isabelle Porter’s major straight after the break looked like breaking it open before Collingwood came again, closing to within eight at the 12-minute mark.

However, the Magpies could get no closer with the Bombers’ accuracy in booting 9.1 to three-quarter time being critical.

Captain El Chaston led from the front for Essendon with 17 disposals, six tackles and a crucial goal, while Ruby Mahony (21 disposals, eight tackles, five rebounds) led the backline and Matilda Dyke provided a strong target in the ruck in a pure team effort.

Collingwood’s Lilly Pearce (11 disposals, 36 hitouts) was the dominant ruck on the ground and Kaitlyn Day (15 disposals, two goals), Carly Remmos (16 disposals, seven tackles, one goal) and Sarah Sansonetti (15 disposals, seven marks) made their presence felt.

PORT MELBOURNE vs GWS GIANTS

PORT MELBOURNE  0.0        0.2        1.4        2.6 (18)
GWS GIANTS                4.2        5.2        5.7        6.7 (43)

GWS blew Port Melbourne off the park early before the reigning premiers won the rest of the day, although the damaged had been done, as the Giants prevailed by 25 points at ETU Stadium.

The Giants were irrepressible in slamming on four goals inside the first 13 minutes before the Borough could blink as youngster Madison Brazendale (23 disposals, one goal), Cambridge McCormick (22 disposals), Kaitlyn Srhoj (17 disposals, one goal) Teagan Germech (51 hitouts) led the way.

But Port stemmed the flow, and even though the home team was unable to kick a goal until the seventh minute of the third quarter it was able to dry things up at the other end to concede only two more majors for the day, kicking 2.6 to 2.5 after quarter-time.

The Borough won the inside-50 count by nine with Ava Seton (22 disposals, seven clearances, nine tackles) underneath every pack, Laura McClelland (19 disposals, seven tackles) not far behind her, Lauren Caruso (21 disposals, five rebounds) doing her job off half back and Bella Clarke (14, eight marks, six tackles) playing well around the ground.

WESTERN BULLDOGS vs CARLTON

WESTERN BULLDOGS           2.1        3.6        5.7        6.7 (43)
CARLTON                                        0.0        0.2        0.4        3.7 (25)

ELLIE Blackburn put on a vintage performance while Darcy Vescio capped their own starring role with a couple of late goals as the Western Bulldogs comfortably accounted for Carlton by 18 points at Mission Whitten Oval on Sunday.

After a scoreless first 13 minutes was broken by back-to-back goals for Keeley Hardingham, the Bulldogs were never seriously troubled in their best performance of the season, keeping the Blues goalless for the first three quarters.

The home side led by 33 points by that stage before Carlton rallied with the first three goals of the last term – two to Vescio – to close within 14 before Renee Saulitis put paid to any thoughts of a miracle.

Blackburn was outstanding in her first VFLW game since 2019, winning game-highs in disposals (24), marks (seven) and clearances (five) while also hitting the scoreboard with a second-quarter goal.

She was well supported by ruck Hardingham, who followed up those two goals with 22 disposals, 20 hitouts, four clearances, six tackles and five inside-50s.

Ash Snow (19 disposals, six marks, seven rebounds) also had claims as she marshalled a frugal backline, with Maggie Gorham also turning heads with a strong VFLW debut.

Vescio earned 21 disposals on the wing, adding six marks and those two last-term goals, while Yasmin Duursma (21 disposals, six marks, six rebounds) ensured the margin wouldn’t be bigger and Lily Goss, Meg Robertson, Keeley Sherar and Emily Hurley could hold their heads high.

WILLIAMSTOWN vs DAREBIN FALCONS

WILLIAMSTOWN        1.0        4.5        4.6        8.9 (57)
DAREBIN FALCONS 1.1        1.2        2.6        2.7 (19)

WILLIAMSTOWN was forced to summon all its class before running away with a 38-point win over a plucky Darebin at DSV Stadium.

The Seagulls went into the clash as red-hot favourites after beating the Falcons by 76 points in Round 1 but the visitors put up a gutsy display to win two of the four quarters this time around.

Darebin kicked with a breeze that didn’t look like a big factor in the opening term and outplayed their more fancied opponents, conceding just a single major and taking the lead into quarter time through Monique De Matteo.

Williamstown lifted in the second term and added three goals to one for a decisive lead by half-time with De Matteo then kicking the only goal of the third term to have the Falcons within 12 points turning for home.

But the effort had taken its toll and the Seagulls finished full of running to boot four goals in the last term to secure a final margin that flattered them but still lifted them to third spot on the ladder.

It was the talls who were most impressive on both teams, with second-game veteran Cat O’Bryan (11 disposals, 24 hitouts) and the experienced Lori Stepnell (16 touches) putting strong performances in the ruck, for Williamstown, while Shannon Egan was terrific for Darebin in direct competition with 36 hitouts of her own.

Sharnie Whiting didn’t win as much of the ball as usual but was still a difference maker with three goals, Gabby Biedenweg-Webster was strong in defence and skipper Eliza Straford bobbed up with a couple in the last term.

Ange Gogos led all comers with 17 disposals and 13 tackles as she battled through a tag, with Sam Baisis, Grace Wake, Caitlin Bunker and Emily Rayment played well and Victoria Blackwood had her moments in her and Millie Shone’s 50th games.

BOX HILL HAWKS vs SYDNEY SWANS

BOX HILL HAWKS     0.0        1.0        2.0        3.1 (19)
SYDNEY SWANS        4.3        6.7        11.8     12.10 (82)

Sydney showed it could be one of the major challengers for the AFLW premiership after it ruthlessly dispatched a previously undefeated Box Hill Hawks by 63 points at Fenjiu Stadium.

All 21 Swans in the game were AFLW players, but stars Laura Gardiner, Lucy McEvoy, Bec Privitelli, Sofia Hurley, Brooke Lochland, Lexi Hamilton, Brenna Tarrant and Alana Woodward were still missing.

Yet they still put a Hawks’ team with seven AFLW-listed players to the sword, going +97 in disposals, +35 in marks and +23 in entries.

But they did have superstar Chloe Molloy, All-Australian ruck Ally Morphett, No.1 pick Montana Ham and inaugural best-and-fairest winner Cynthia Hamilton on the park and they put on a show, kicking 4.3 to 0.0 in the first quarter and rolling on from there.

Morphett’s 22 disposals, six marks, 27 hitouts and six inside-50s was a class above, Ham’s performance of 22 touches, 10 marks, five tackles and nine entries was similarly unstoppable and Bella Smith marked everything on her way to four goals.

Hamilton, Montana Beruldsen (two goals each), Tanya Kennedy and Lauren Szigeti also starred as their side notched a fourth-straight big victory.

Box Hill was led by Hawthorn youngsters Hayley McLaughlin and Charlotte Baskaran who each finished with 17 possessions, while Danika Spamer laid nine tackles in an impressive shift and Tamara Luke claimed 20 hitouts.