CARLTON 5.5 (35) def COLLINGWOOD 4.8 (32)
CARLTON revived its fading finals hopes and opened the door to several other clubs after stunning a fast-finishing Collingwood by three points in the rebel VFLW at Ikon Park on Saturday.
The Blues had not beaten the Magpies in four previous attempts but stuck with their more fancied opposition before making a move in the third quarter and holding on in the last for one of the best wins in their short history.
Carlton’s 3.1 to 0.1 third quarter was one of the most significant it has had against an archrival that won 18 matches in a row before this season but now finds itself on the brink of missing the finals unless it can rediscover its mojo.
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Millie Klingbeil was the star for the Blues, racking up 21 disposals, eight clearances and five inside-50s, Thomay Nicolaou had her best VFLW game with 19 possessions, Ally Bild had 18, five marks and six tackles, Ashlee Thorneycroft led the defence with 16 touches, seven tackles and five rebound-50s and Steph Lawrence kicked two goals from 15 disposals.
Matilda Zander was the most prolific player on the ground as she desperately tried to get Collingwood over the line, earning 22 disposals, six marks and five tackles, while Georgia Ricardo impressed down back with 18 touches, five marks and nine rebounds, Demi Hallett was her usual harassing self with nine tackles, Marla Neal had 15 touches, seven tackles and six clearances and Nyakoat Dojiok bobbed up for two goals.
WILLIAMSTOWN 7.10 (52) def PORT MELBOURNE 3.4 (22)
WILLIAMSTOWN landed one of the best wins of its VFLW history and left Port Melbourne’s season on life support with a 30-point triumph at Wilson Storage Trevor Barker Beach Road Oval on Saturday.
The match was played further down the bay due to cricket commitments at both home venues, and after the Borough led for the most of the first term, the Seagulls hit the lead through Ellie Cleland in the shadows of quarter time and booted six goals to two after the break to run away with it.
Aimee Whelan was best-on-ground for Hawthorn in the two games before the general bye before making a surprise return to Williamstown after being signed by Sydney’s new AFLW team, and she picked up where she left off with a dominant 29 disposals, five tackles, five clearances and seven inside-50s.
Jasmine Kawa (21, four marks, five tackles, six inside-50s) and best-and-fairest Ruby Tripodi (16, five tackles, five clearances, five inside-50s) were also impressive, while Sophia McCarthy and Sharnie Whiting had 16 and kicked two goals each.
Olivia Barton tried hard to keep Port in the game with 19 touches, six tackles and five rebounds, Kaitlyn O’Keefe laid nine tackles, Kate Dudley had 23 hitouts, Sarah Dargan five clearances and Sophie Locke snagged two of her team’s three goals.
GEELONG 1.5 (11) lost to ESSENDON 13.11 (89)
ESSENDON gained a modicum of revenge and showed just how far it has come in celebrating Cecilia McIntosh’s 150th VWFL/VFLW game and Kendra Heil’s 50th VFLW appearance with a brutal 78-point thrashing of Geelong at Deakin University on Sunday.
The Bombers dominated the game from start to finish, overwhelming the Cats with sheer weight of numbers – +118 in disposals and +20 in inside-50s, despite losing clearances 24-21 – to bank their biggest away victory and Geelong’s biggest ever defeat.
Federica Frew was again a star for the Bombers – and it would be a surprise if she wasn’t quickly signed for their inaugural AFLW squad – booting four goals to take the lead in the competition’s goalkicking.
Georgia Nanscawen made a triumphant return after missing two games with a knee injury, running the Cats a merry dance in earning 28 disposals, five tackles, five clearances and eight inside-50s, while ex-Brisbane Lion Jordan Zanchetta (26 possessions), Amelia Radford (22) and Danielle Marshall (21, seven marks) provided excellent support.
Geelong easily dealt with Essendon in last year’s preliminary final but has now fallen out of the top six with three straight home defeats, although that is no fault of an outstanding Laura Gardiner (31 disposals, seven marks, 10 clearances, five tackles, five inside-50s), while the defeat would have been greater without Madeleine Boyd (20 possessions, five marks), who had a remarkable 11 rebound 50s, and Tamara Smith, who had 23 touches, with no other Cat touching the footy more than 10 times.
CASEY DEMONS 14.13 (97) def SOUTHERN SAINTS 1.2 (8)
UNDEFEATED Casey Demons made a similar statement, equalling the highest score in club history in crushing giantkiller Southern Saints by 89 points at Casey Fields on Sunday.
The Saints have beaten grand finalists Collingwood and Geelong and drawn with Essendon – all away from home – but were no match for the Demons, who had 98 more disposals and 39 more inside-50s in recording a defeat 67 points heftier than the previous biggest in their history.
Casey kicked 2.4 to nothing in the first term and 4.4 to 1.2 in the second to lead by 36 points at the main break before holding the Saints scoreless in the second half, finishing with a six-goal final quarter blitz.
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Jacqueline Parry ran rampant in a breakout game for Casey, gathering 20 disposals, taking seven marks and kicking four goals, last year’s Debbie Lee Rising Star Eliza West (20, seven tackles, six clearances, Tahlia Fellows (21, one goal) and Brenna Tarrant (20, six marks) were also irrepressible, Maddison Gay (18, nine inside-50s) and Krstel Petrevski (19, six inside-50s, one goal) dominated, Shree Fairchild laid nine tackles and Maggie Caris had 25 hitouts.
Grace Buchan was the Saints’ best player as she tried to hold back the tide, finishing with 23 disposals, seven tackles and seven rebounds, Hannah Stuart (20, six tackles, five clarances) and Winnie Laing (20, five tackles) provided solid support and Amelia Peck (seven marks), debutant Claire Keohane (nine tackles) and Lucy Burke (five rebounds) also did some good things.
WESTERN BULLDOGS 0.4 (4) lost to DAREBIN 12.12 (84)
DAREBIN is in the VFLW top six midway through a season for the first time since 2018 after hammering the Western Bulldogs by 80 points at VU Whitten Oval on Sunday.
The Falcons’ revival under club legend Kate Tyndall continues to gather steam with a fourth win in six matches as they jumped into fourth spot on the ladder, putting any thoughts of an upset to bed with a devastating 6.4 to 0.0 opening quarter.
The Bulldogs fought back in a gutsy second term, holding the Falcons scoreless, but weren’t able to hit the scoreboard themselves (0.3), and the visitors took control again in the second half.
Interestingly, the home team matched Darebin on the stats sheet, finishing only -9 in disposals, -4 in clearances and -2 in inside-50s, but they were always under pressure.
Angelica Gogos (23 disposals, 12 tackles, seven clearances, one goal) and Nicole Callinan (18, nine inside-50s) starred for Darebin against their former club, while Alyssa Mifsud was unstoppable up forward with 18 touches, six marks and four goals, ruck Sally Lynch took six marks and had 22 hitouts, Naomi Celebre and Sabine Cowley Du Parquet harassed all day with seven tackles apiece and Simone Ruedin (five rebounds) regularly turned the Bulldogs back.
Lucy Schneider was tireless for the Bulldogs in winning a game-high 29 disposals and seven clearances, while Eliza Morrison (24, five marks), Eliza Vale (23) and Mara McSweeney (21) also earned plenty of the ball, Tahlia Meier and Louise Bibby had seven tackles each and Jaimee-Lee Morrow had 26 hitouts and five tackles.
HAWTHORN 8.9 (57) def NORTH MELBOURNE 1.4 (10)
HAWTHORN kept the pressure on the top two and marked its 50th rebel VFLW match with a comfortable 47-point win over North Melbourne in the first match of Saturday’s Wilson Storage Trevor Barker Beach Road Oval double header.
The Hawks struggled to shake the plucky Kangaroos in the first half, leading by just three points four minutes before the break, but Jade Wise kicked a goal on debut to earn the ascendancy and they kicked away with 6.2 to 0.1 in the second half.
Dom Carbone is getting better with every match and she led the way for the Hawks with 20 possessions, six tackles and a goal, with strong support coming from Jordan Mifsud (18, five inside-50s), second AFLW signing Zoe Barbakos and Nadia von Bertouch (four marks each), Isabelle Porter (five inside-50s) and Kristy Stratton (two goals).
Elizabeth McGrath was a clear winner in the ruck for North Melbourne, recording 17 disposals, 26 hitouts and seven clearances, Annabel Scott had 23 and six tackles to lead all comers, Jess Mourney had 18 touches, Sarah Skinner grabbed 16 and five marks and another Swans AFLW signing in Molly Eastman had five rebounds.
Twitter: @BRhodesVFL
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THIS WEEK
ROUND 7: Saturday, April 2: Collingwood v Casey Demons (AIA Centre, 10am); Southern Saints v Port Melbourne (Wilson Storage Trevor Barker Beach Road Oval, 12pm); Williamstown v Darebin (WFG, 2pm). Sunday, April 3: North Melbourne v Essendon (Aegis Park, 10.05am – AFL.com.au); Western Bulldogs v Geelong (VU Whitten Oval, 11am); Hawthorn v Carlton (Box Hill City Oval, 12.35pm).
NEXT WEEK: ROUND 8: Saturday, April 9: Port Melbourne v Western Bulldogs (ETU Stadium, 9am); Darebin v North Melbourne (Bill Lawry Oval, 10am); Hawthorn v Southern Saints (Box Hill City Oval, 11am); Geelong v Collingwood (Saturday, April 9, 11.05am); Essendon v Carlton (The Hangar, 12pm); Williamstown v Casey Demons (Williamstown, 3pm).
THEN: April 16-17: General bye.
In a first for VFLW, all matches in 2022 will be live streamed free. One VFLW feature match per week can be watched live via afl.com.au and the AFL Live Official App. All remaining games will be streamed live and available on demand via the VFL/W YouTube channel (youtube.com/AFLVictoria).
To access live scores, results, ladder, stats and to link to live streams/replays, download the VFL/W Official App from the Apple or Google app stores.
