CASEY DEMONS 8.4 (52)
GEELONG 1.3 (9)
CASEY Demons set up a mouthwatering Round 10 clash with Hawthorn after brushing fourth-placed Geelong aside by 43 points in their rebel VFLW clash at Casey Fields on Saturday.
After it took 10 minutes for Tahlia Fellows to put the first goal on the board, scoring remained hard to come by until the Demons produced a four-goal second quarter burst to put the game out of the Cats’ reach.
Geelong managed its only goal through Tamara Smith early in the third and held the game scoreless for the last 15 minutes but were never in the contest as the Demons stayed undefeated on top of the ladder ahead of their game against the Hawks (8-1) this Sunday.
The Cats actually had more disposals (+15), marks (+27), clearances (+2) and inside-50s (+1) – mainly due to another prolific outing from ball magnet Laura Gardiner (39 disposals, 10 clearances, five tackles) – but were strangled by a Demons defence led by Stephanie Wales (nine rebounds), while Eloise O’Connor (20 disposals, six clearances, six tackles), Emma Horne (19, nine tackles) and ruck Lucy Wales (24 hitouts) were strong in the middle and Fellows (14, five inside-50s, two goals) and Mel Hogg (14, two goals) starred up forward.
Paige Sheppard (24, six marks, six tackles), Maddie Boyd (21, nine marks, 12 hitouts) and Carly Remmos (21) were again good for Geelong, while Smith’s goal rewarded her outstanding effort at the coalface in grabbing 19 touches, five inside-50s and 16 tackles.
ESSENDON 14.10 (94)
COLLINGWOOD 3.3 (21)
ESSENDON continues to charge towards its huge late season clashes as it sent Collingwood’s season further off the rails in thrashing the Magpies by 73 points at The NEC Hangar on Saturday.
The Bombers piled on 14.10 (94) – a whopping 37 points more than the previous highest score conceded by Collingwood, while the winning margin was more than double the previous record of 35 points.
Essendon also had more than double Collingwood’s disposal count (285-137) and also dominated marks (78-29), clearances (31-16) and inside-50s (45-17), but more of a worry for the Magpies was the tackle count, which finished 47-46 in the Bombers’ favour.
Collingwood actually kicked the first goal and still led in the shadows of quarter-time before late goals to Mia-Rae Clifford and Renee Tierney opened the floodgates and the Bombers piled on 14 of the last 16 goals.
Essendon skipper Georgia Nanscawen (26 disposals, eight clearances, 10 tackles) and fellow midfielders Amelia Radford (19, five marks), Courtney Ugle (18, eight marks), Joanne Doonan (18, five inside-50s) and Jordan Zanchetta (20) took full advantage of the ruck dominance from 50th-gamer Simone Nalder (14, four marks, 23 hitouts), and forwards Federica Frew (16 disposals, five marks, four goals) and Tierney (18, eight marks, three goals) enjoyed the flood of opportunities with the support of Clifford, Grace Dicker and Cecilia McIntosh (two goals each).
Matilda Zander was terrific for Collingwood with 20 possessions, five clearances and five tackles, but it was a lone hand with no other Magpie managing more than mid-season recruit Olivia Meagher’s 12 touches, although Nicole Hales did have seven rebounds.
SOUTHERN SAINTS 9.4 (58)
DAREBIN 1.3 (9)
SOUTHERN Saints again showed they can’t be taken lightly after brushing aside fellow top six team Darebin by 49 points at Wilson Storage Trevor Barker Beach Oval on Sunday.
The Falcons stayed with the Saints for three quarters without being able to score, but two goals in 90 seconds to Chanelle Slater and Lucy Burke gave the home team the advantage in the first term and four majors to none in the last turned it into a percentage booster.
Father-daughter talent Alice Burke led the way for the Saints with 24 disposals, four marks and seven tackles, while Hannah Stuart (20, eight tackles, one goal), Winnie Laing (18, two goals) and Alana Woodward (19, eight tackles) were again prominent and Madi Capsalis (20), 50th-gamer Grace Buchan (17), Tayla Kearns (14, six marks, one goal) and Lucy Burke (two goals) also did well.
Veteran champion Nicole Callinan was again Darebin’s best in the absence of Angelica Gogos and Steph Simpson with 24 disposals, five inside-50s, five rebounds and 10 tackles and Sally Lynch (13, four marks, 27 hitouts) was also terrific, while Ellen Buckley (15, six tackles) and Mikayla Plunkett (nine tackles) could hold their heads high.
PORT MELBOURNE 3.4 (22)
NORTH MELBOURNE 4.11 (35)
NORTH Melbourne kept its faint finals hopes alive by seeing off a late challenge from Port Melbourne to win by 13 points at ETU Stadium on Saturday.
The Borough kicked the first two goals of the game through Jessica Joyce and Emily Harley, but could only manage one more for the game as the Kangaroos hauled them in despite kicking six behinds in a row at one stage.
Harley’s second goal brought Port within three points early in the last term, but North answered immediately with Emily Paterno’s own second major and the game was done.
Tess Craven was best-on-ground for the Kangaroos with 23 disposals and seven inside-50s, while Sydney AFLW recruit Molly Eastman (19, four marks), Reni Hicks (18, four marks, five tackles), Jess Mourney (17, six marks), Annabel Scott (17, five clearances, five rebounds), Elizabeth McGrath (28 hitouts) and Hannah Ibrahim (seven tackles) were also important.
Olivia Barton (22, four marks, seven tackles) starred for Port Melbourne, while Kaitlyn O’Keefe (18, five marks, six tackles), Courteney Bromage (seven tackles) and Maddison Shaw (six rebounds) could also be satisfied with their efforts.
WESTERN BULLDOGS 1.5 (11)
CARLTON 5.9 (39)
CARLTON’s own finals chances remain dangling by a thread after it overcame Western Bulldogs by 28 points at Victoria University Whitten Oval on Sunday.
The Blues took control with two goals in the first quarter before the Bulldogs produced a gutsy second term to hold their opponents scoreless despite managing only two behinds themselves, with a Mia Cowan major just 26 seconds into the third term ensuring there would be no upset.
Lily Goss (20 disposals, five marks, nine tackles) was in fine fettle for Carlton, as was defender Bry Gurr (19, five marks, six rebounds) and Vanessa Murphy (18, seven marks, one goal), while Jennifer Lew (six marks), Thomay Nicolaou (six clearances) and Jorja Borg (34 hitouts) won their positions.
Bulldog Britney Gutknecht (22 disposals, five marks, six clearances, eight tackles) was close to best-on-ground as Naomi Ferres, Tahlia Meier and Lucy Schneider (16 each), Riley Christgoergl (six marks) and Mikayla Barnes (six tackles) all tried hard.
WILLIAMSTOWN 2.1 (13)
HAWTHORN 9.8 (62)
HAWTHORN registered its seventh win in a row ahead of its showdown with Casey, running away from Williamstown after quarter-time to win by 49 points at Williamstown.
The Hawks led by just a rushed behind on the siren at the first break, but eight goals in a row put paid to the challenge before Lori Stepnell got one back for the Seagulls with five minutes to go.
Dom Carbone (26 touches, six clearances, nine tackles, one goal) and skipper Tamara Luke (16, five marks, 25 hitouts, five inside-50s, five tackles, two goals) vied for best-on-ground honours for Hawthorn, with young gun Bridget Deed (18, four marks, five tackles, one goal), key goalkicker Jessie Williams (15, four marks, three goals) and second ruck Sarah Perrott (15 hitouts, eight tackles) also impressed.
Williamstown best-and-fairest Ruby Tripodi (22 disposals, nine clearances, eight tackles) was again her team’s best while ex-Hawk and future Swan Aimee Whelan (17, five clearances, 10 tackles) provided good foil, Kate Scott had 21 hitouts rucking one on two and Jasmine Kawa had seven tackles.
rebel VFLW LADDER AFTER ROUND 9
THIS WEEK
ROUND 10: Saturday, April 30: Darebin v Collingwood (Preston City Oval, 11am); Port Melbourne v Geelong (ETU Stadium, 1.10pm); Western Bulldogs v Essendon (Victoria University Whitten Oval, 2pm). Sunday, May 1: Southern Saints v Williamstown (Wilson Storage Trevor Barker Beach Oval, 9.45am); Carlton v North Melbourne (Ikon Park, 10.30am); Hawthorn v Casey Demons (Box Hill City Oval, 11.35am).
NEXT WEEK: ROUND 11: Saturday, May 7: North Melbourne v Geelong (Aegis Park, 9.30am); Southern Saints v Western Bulldogs (Wilson Storage Trevor Barker Beach Oval, 9.30am); Williamstown v Carlton (Williamstown, 10.05am); Darebin v Essendon (Preston City Oval, 11am). Sunday, May 8: Casey Demons v Collingwood (Casey Fields, 10am); Port Melbourne v Hawthorn (ETU Stadium, 2pm).
THEN: ROUND 12: Saturday, May 14: Collingwood v Western Bulldogs (AIA Centre, 10am); Darebin v Geelong (Preston City Oval, 11.05am); Port Melbourne v Casey Demons (ETU Stadium, 1.10pm); Williamstown v North Melbourne (Williamstown, 2pm). Sunday, May 15: Southern Saints v Carlton (Wilson Storage Trevor Barker Beach Oval, 11am); Hawthorn v Essendon (Box Hill City Oval, 11.30am).
Twitter: @BRhodesVFL
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