A review of all the action from Round 5 of the 2025 rebel VFLW season.
CARLTON 0.0 0.3 0.3 2.4 (16)
DAREBIN FALCONS 2.1 3.1 4.3 7.4 (46)
MONIQUE DeMatteo recaptured her best form, booting three goals to lead Darebin to a second-consecutive win in a 30-point triumph over Carlton in the Pride Cup at IKON Park.
The Falcons grabbed the initiative with two goals in the first quarter and didn’t look back, keeping the Blues goalless until Amy Trindade finally broke their duck four minutes into the last term.
By that time Rohenna Young medallist DeMatteo had franked her match-winner against Collingwood from the week before with three majors and there was no stopping Darebin, with regular defender Lulu Beatty booting two of three late goals to seal a much-needed percentage-booster and keep touch with the top six.
Beatty sent a message to the Carlton AFLW list managers who let her go at the end of last season with her two goals capping off a starring performance that included 23 disposals.
Ange Gogos was again close to best afield with 28 touches (19 contested), 12 clearances and eight tackles, Alyssa Mifsud had 12 contested possessions, six clearances and seven inside 50s in another strong effort and DeMatteo finished it all off in style.
Defender Nadia von Bertouch was named best for Carlton, with Octavia Di Donato starring the middle for 24 touches, seven clearances and nine tackles and Jorja Jackson (13 contested possessions, six clearances, six tackles) also doing plenty of heavy lifting, while Grace Matser had a good contest with Shannon Egan for 35 hitouts apiece.
BEST
Carlton: Nadia von Bertouch, Octavia Di Donato, Sophia McCarthy, Amy Trindade, Kira Lemire, Mary Robinson
Darebin Falcons: Lulu Beatty, Nicole Callinan, Alyssa Mifsud, Ange Gogos, Monique DeMatteo, Caitlin Bunker
GOALS
Carlton: Tahlia Plunkett, Amy Trindade
Darebin Falcons: Monique DeMatteo 3, Lulu Beatty 2, Nicole Callinan, Sabine Cowley du Parquet
DISPOSALS
Carlton: Octavia Di Donato 24, Jorja Jackson 17, Hannah Scott 17
Darebin Falcons: Ange Gogos 28, Alyssa Mifsud 23, Lulu Beatty 23, Caitlin Bunker 18
COLLINGWOOD 2.2 3.2 4.3 4.3 (27)
BOX HILL HAWKS 0.1 0.2 1.5 3.7 (25)
COLLINGWOOD kept itself in touch with the top six after escaping a fast-finishing Box Hill Hawks by two points at Victoria Park.
Despite not scoring in the last quarter, the Magpies’ hard-earned 16-point advantage held up to claim their first win since Round 1, breaking a three-game skid and handing the powerful Hawks their second defeat.
Goals to Tahlia Fellowes and Amelia Peck in the first quarter set the tone for Collingwood and when Chloe Hunt kicked the only goal of the second term it was an 18-point advantage at the main break with the Hawks still to hit the scoreboard.
Olivia Fogarty finally did that 10 minutes into the third quarter but Sophia De Castella responded immediately with what turned out to be the Magpies’ last score of the game as Box Hill took over.
Paige Price striking twice in the final term to cut the difference to just three points with less than three minutes to play.
Like last week against Darebin, Collingwood’s hold on the win came down to a last-minute set shot by the opposition, but while Monique DeMatteo kicked the goal for the Falcons, the aptly-named Gabby Collingwood’s on-target kick was touched on the line by Mackenzie Bourne to save the day.
Former AFLW pair Lauren Szigeti and Lambert-Pearce medallist Dom Carbone were strong for the Magpies in the clinches, Bella Clarke impressed with her pressure and breakout rookie Tahlia Sanger laid 11 tackles in the tough conditions.
Tess Cattle had her best game for the Hawks with a game-high 22 disposals, seven clearances, 10 tackles and five inside-50s. Isla Baldwin won 12 contested possessions and stuck a remarkable 17 tackles, with Stasia Stevenson (10 tackles) and Price (38 hitouts, two goals) also prominent.
BEST
Collingwood: Bella Clarke, Lauren Szigeti, Dom Carbone, Tamara Henry, Tahlia Sanger, Kasey Lennox
Box Hill Hawks: Tess Cattle, Isla Baldwin, Matilda Van Berkel, Paige Price, Stasia Stevenson, Natalie Exon
GOALS
Collingwood: Sophia de Castella, Tahlia Fellows, Chloe Hunt, Amelia Peck
Box Hill Hawks: Paige Price, Olivia Fogarty
DISPOSALS
Collingwood: Lauren Szigeti 19, Dom Carbone 18, Molly Eastman 16, Zoe McCurdy 16
Box Hill Hawks: Tess Cattle 22, Isla Baldwin 19, Stasia Stevenson 18
NORTH MELBOURNE-WERRIBEE 2.3 2.3 4.5 6.7 (43)
WESTERN BULLDOGS 2.0 3.0 3.2 3.4 (22)
Lisa Hardeman medallist Nyakoat Dojiok and North Melbourne-Werribee heaped more pain on the Western Bulldogs for a convincing 21-point win in a wet Grand Final rematch at Arden Street Oval.
The Kangaroos trailed by three points at half time after Emma McDonald converted a goal for the Western Bulldogs early in the second term which represented the only score from either team for the quarter.
However, that was to be the Bulldog’ last major of the game.
Maddie Di Cosmo kicked her second goal to put the Kangaroos back in front in the first minute of the third term before Dojiok got off the leash.
The star forward, who soccered her way to an amazing first goal late in the opening term, booted the the last three majors of the game to prove the difference once again, finishing with a Grand Final-equalling four goals from 12 disposals.
Alana Barba, though, was best afield after giving away the second 50m in Bishop’s goal, piling up 34 disposals (22 contested), 12 clearances, seven tackles and six inside-50s, Di Cosmo’s 25 touches (21 contested), nine clearances, eight tackles, five entries and two goals not far behind.
Bishop was voted the Bulldogs’ best with 20 touches, seven rebounds and a goal, with Debbie Lee medallist Keeley Hardingham easily beating Kate Reynolds (38-32 in hitouts, 16-3 in disposals, 8-1 in clearances), although the Kangaroo ruck kept working and laid seven tackles, while Jaimi Tabb (11), Sarah Poustie (10) and Jess Fitzgerald (nine) battled tirelessly to stick 30 tackles between them.
BEST
North Melbourne-Werribee: Alana Barba, Maddie Di Cosmo, Nyakoat Dojiok, Charlotte Blair, Charlotte Ryan, Stella Reid
Western Bulldogs: Ellie Bishop, Keeley Hardingham, Bree McFarlane, Jorja Livingstone, Sarah Sansonetti, Jess Fitzgerald
GOALS
North Melbourne-Werribee: Nyakoat Dojiok 4, Maddie Di Cosmo 2
Western Bulldogs: Ellie Bishop, Emma McDonald, Mali McLeod
DISPOSALS
North Melbourne-Werribee: Alana Barba 34, Maddie Di Cosmo 25, Stella Reid 16, Charlotte Ryan 16
Western Bulldogs: Ellie Bishop 20, Keeley Hardingham 16
CASEY DEMONS 4.3 5.5 5.6 5.6 (36)
ESSENDON 1.0 3.3 4.4 6.6 (42)
ESSENDON took right until the death to run down a blistering start from the Casey Demons to record a six-point win at Casey Fields to move into the top four.
In cold conditions, the Demons jumped a shellshocked Bomber outfit with a four-goal burst in the opening quarter, inspired by some brilliant football from Sydney Swans Academy graduate Ella Morris.
Morris, who has had a horror run with injuries over the past two years, had never kicked a VFLW goal going into Saturday’s match.
However, she was electric early, taking a wonderful intercept mark and drilling the shot on the run from the boundary backing up with a two-bounce sprint through the top of the 50m arc for her second to set up a 21-point advantage at quarter time.
When she snapped her third from the top of the goal square to answer the Bombers’ early major three minutes into the second term, it was hard to see how the momentum could be stopped for the winless Demons
But Essendon’s class gradually came to the fore and Casey did not kick another goal for the rest of the day.
Even so, it took the Bombers until the last 10 minutes to finally run the Demons down, with second-gamer Lucy Thompson levelling the scores with a 12th-minute behind before grabbing the win with a cool set shot three minutes later.
Morris’ early heroics were hard to top for best afield as she finished with 15 touches, six marks and three goals, while Charlotte Hammans was also terrific early for the Demons and Zoe Mitchell, skipper Meg Macdonald and Tylah Burn made their presence felt.
El Chaston was a huge catalyst for Essendon’s comeback, with the pace of Maddison Albrecht (11 tackles, one goal), Brooke Plummer (six inside 50s, one goal) and Meg Harrison causing plenty of headaches, while Abbey McDonald was outstanding with 24 touches, six clearances and five tackles.
BEST
Casey Demons: Ella Morris, Meg Macdonald, Zoe Mitchell, Delany Madigan, Sophie Casey, Tylah Burn
Essendon: Abbey McDonald, El Chaston, Maddison Albrecht, Brooke Plummer, Maddison Ford, Tia Davidge
GOALS
Casey Demons: Ella Morris 3, Jo Lin, Alice Robinson
Essendon: Tia Davidge 2, Maddison Albrecht, Brooke Plummer, Jayda Richardson, Lucy Thompson
DISPOSALS
Casey Demons: Meg Macdonald 19, Zoe Mitchell 19, Ella Morris 15
Essendon: Abbey McDonald 24, El Chaston 21, Maddison Albrecht 15, Brooke Plummer 15
PORT MELBOURNE 4.1 6.5 6.6 9.7 (61)
GEELONG CATS 0.1 0.1 0.4 0.4 (4)
PORT Melbourne climbed to the top of the ladder and handed Geelong a 12th-straight loss with a 57-point belting at ETU Stadium on Saturday evening.
The Borough’s class and efficiency was on show right from the start as they banged on four goals in the first term and never looked back to hold the Cats goalless in a dominant display.
Ava Seton started the engine for Port with 16 touches, 13 tackles, six entries and a goal, with 2023 Hardeman medallist Lauren Caruso riding shotgun for 23 disposals (10 contested), 10 clearances, seven tackles and eight entries.
First-year player Mia Caffry had her best game at the level with 13 contested possessions, while Kaitlyn O’Keefe and Georgia Alomes cashed in with three goals each, the former in her 50th VFLW game.
The Cats never gave up and won the third quarter, but just didn’t have the tools to match the Borough despite the best efforts of Mekah Morrissy (20 disposals, 10 contested, six rebounds) and Elise Cook (20 disposals, eight rebounds) behind the ball.
Meanwhile, Abby Favell and Mel Staunton had 10 and nine tackles respectively in the middle and Hayley Peck was good in the ruck.
BEST
Port Melbourne: Ava Seton, Jordan Mifsud, Mia Caffry, Jess Begg, Kaitlyn O’Keefe, Lauren Caruso
Geelong Cats: Mekah Morrissy, Elise Cook, Hayley Peck, Faith Qoon, Jemima Woods, Abby Favell
GOALS
Port Melbourne: Georgia Alomes, Kaitlyn O’Keefe 3, Lily Hart, Isabella Robson, Ava Seton
DISPOSALS
Port Melbourne: Lauren Caruso 23, Mia Caffry 17, Jordan Mifsud 17, Ava Seton 16, Charlie Anderson 15
Geelong Cats: Elise Cook 20, Mekah Morrissy 20, Abby Favell 18, Hayley Peck 16
SANDRINGHAM 0.0 2.3 3.4 4.4 (28)
WILLIAMSTOWN 1.3 1.3 2.4 4.5 (29)
WILLIAMSTOWN handed Sandringham its first defeat in the yellow, black and blue guernsey, coming from behind and then clinging on for a thrilling one-point victory at Wilson Storage Trevor Barker Beach Oval on Sunday.
In windy conditions, the Seagulls kicked 1.3 to nothing in the first quarter but conceded the only two majors of the second term to fall a kick behind.
Despite hitting the front midway through the third term, the visitors looked up against it when Grace Hodder re-established a six-point lead for the Zebras turning for home.
But after an early miss, Neve Crowley gave Williamstown the lead at the eight-minute mark of the fourth quarter and Camryn Bux pushed it beyond a goal from a contested mark three minutes later.
The visitors defended stoutly against waves of attacks from the home side to not concede another score until Arianna Clarke closed the margin to one point with the last kick of the game.
The Zebras had 34 more disposals but could only convert them into 20 inside-50s compared to the Seagulls’ 33 , as the visitors held firm.
The returning Ash Thorneycroft looked like she hadn’t been on the sidelines with 11 contested possessions and 13 tackles for Williamstown, while Emily Eaves had 13 contested touches and nine tackles, Megan Williamson put on eight tackles and six inside-50s and India Barker took five marks and kicked a goal from 14 touches.
Winnie Laing led all comers for Sandringham with 23 possessions and was well supported by Imogen Evans (17 disposals, eight tackles, one goal), Grace Hodder (15 disposals, 10 tackles, one goal), Erica Fowler (33 hitouts) and Courtney Aughtie (nine rebounds).
BEST
Sandringham: Imogen Evans, Deanna Jolliffe, Abbey Tregellis, Erica Fowler, Chloe Saultry, Winnie Laing
Williamstown: Ash Thorneycroft, Megan Williamson, Emily Eaves, India Barker, Krystal Russell, Sharnie Whiting
GOALS
Sandringham: Arianna Clarke, Imogen Evans, Grace Hodder, Chloe Saultry
Williamstown: India Barker, Camryn Bux, Neve Crowley, Sharnie Whiting
DISPOSALS
Sandringham: Winnie Laing 23, Imogen Evans 17, Grace Hodder 15
Williamstown: Emily Eaves 16, Ash Thorneycroft 15
