Round Seven… you get the sense that this is where business starts to pick up.
The contenders are starting to flex their muscles and the pretenders are falling by the wayside. It started with a slaughter and ended with a shot after the siren. As always, The Mongrel does the work and has every game of the weekend right here for you.
BRISBANE (12. 13. 85) DEFEATED GOLD COAST (2. 4. 16)
REVIEWER – HB MEYERS
What promised so much delivered so little… for one of the teams involved in the latest instalment of the Q-Clash, with the Brisbane Lions laying waste to the Gold Coast Suns and reminding the league that when they play their best footy, it is THE best footy.
The reigning premiers comprehensively dismantled their closest geographical rivals, stepping around and running through them like witches hats as they got to within one straight kick of the AFLW record score, and established their own highest score in the process.
Here’s some of the standouts.
THE SVARC THAT LIGHTS THE FLAME
That is the most impressive two-way game I have seen at this level. The work of Cathy Svarc had me shaking my head in this game, as she not only nullified the impact of the Suns’ number one midfielder, Ali Drennan, but tore the game apart with her scintillating runs through the middle of the ground.
Svarc was almost vicious in the way she busted through the attempted tackles of her opposition, swatting them away like annoying insects as she tucked the ball under her arm and cut a swathe through some efforts that I can only describe as pathetic. The tackles were falling off her as Svarc pumped those bloody impressive thighs and powered through the guts. And those thighs are not impressive “for a woman” – they are the thighs of a beast – a power athlete. That was what Cathy Svarc provided in this one.
Looking at stats and seeing 12 touches does not do her influence justice – she was a complete and utter powerhouse in this one.
POWER RUNNERS
The Lions have them in abundance and the Suns are lacking them desperately.
This game had a hot start and you could tell it meant something to both teams, but the running of the Lions was so far ahead of that from their opposition that by quarter time, you could see the writing on the wall – the Lions were creaming the Suns both in the contest and on the spread. It was like night and day watching the two teams go about it – Brisbane with clean hands, hard run and repeat efforts – Gold Coast were one-and-done with most things; a hack kick, an errant handball… from there the Lions would possess the footy and be away again.
Orla O’Dwyer was everywhere, often running from one contest to another and sending the Lions inside 50 what seemed more often than any other player on the ground. Her running power is the best in the league right now as she often motors past two or three others to find the footy whilst everyone else is catching their breath. In her third season of footy, she is a star right now and unlike 90% of players in the game, she simply does not slow down until the final siren.
Ali Anderson is a workhorse and finished with 17 touches in another excellent outing. She was one of the players who initially caught my eye when I started watching the women’s league. She has great hands, excellent repeat efforts, and I was glad to see her rewarded with a goal along the way.
Emily Bates is a machine. Her leadership is apparent and the way she cracks into contest after contest is something to be admired. She led all players with 23 touches and won some hard footy along the way. Her six clearances were also the highest of any player, as she burrowed in to get the loose ball.
But there is more to the Lions than just these three and their run. Jade Ellenger is a running machine as well. Less prolific than the others mentioned, her efforts are often unsung because her run is used to stifle the opposition. Sh works from the back fifty up through the wings and middle and you never, ever see her sucking air.
And how about the efforts of Sophie Conway in this one! Though her legs gave out on her late in the game when she attempted to take on Sarah Perkins, her clean hands and ability to drop the hammer and put distance between her and the would-be tacklers gave the Lions so much drive around the wing and half forward.
And then there is Isabel Dawes, who casually went about clocking up 17 touches and a goal. Her work through the middle and toward the forward half was first class, as well.
THE WARNING SHOT
This was a Brisbane team that a few started to question. They did just about everything they could to lose to St Kilda last week, yet still managed to fall over the line in a scrappy affair, but if you were one of the people that started to doubt their ability, this was the wake up call.
This was power football at its finest by the Brisbane Lions. With winners all over the park, they exposed a Gold Coast team hopeful of making finals as a pretender in this game. They went to the Suns’ home deck and tore them to shreds, and I reckon there would have been a couple of raised eyebrows and maybe a nervous glance or two from people involved with Melbourne, Freo, Adelaide and North as they watched this game.
The Lions are back… and really, they never went anywhere, did they?
THE HEADMISTRESS
I don’t know why I am using that title – I guess Greta Bodey looks like the kind of woman I would see as the chancellor of a prestigious girls school, whipping those wayward girls into shape. I’m sure she’s not, but she just looks stern… almost harsh when she plays footy.
Once again this week, Greta did her best work in the first hlf, laying the groundwork for the Lions to go onto win the game. She is a no-nonsense player that makes the play, tackles hard and always looks dangerous around the forward fifty. She didn’t hit the scoreboard in this one, but her presence around the 50m arc creates havoc and her ability to find the right place at the right time makes her a constant threat.
During the game, I heard one of the commentators say that Orla O’Dwyer will tear a game apart one day. I feel the same about Bodey. She has a real presence about her and though her long shots at goal were wayward in this one, there has to be a game coming soon where she snags three or four.
THE FORWARD PRESSURE
Courtney Hodder left the field in the final quarter with what looked to be a broken nose. If so, she’ll get a couple of nice shiners out of it – wear them with pride, young lady… they were bloody well earned in this game!
Hodder is the dream small forward in AFLW. Between her and Rachelle Martin at Adelaide, you have a pair of absolute dynamos that attack each contest as though it is their last. Hodder had 17 touches, two goals and four tackles in this one to be the most effective small forward on the park by a long way. Her ferocity in the contest caused the footy to bounce her teammates’ way far more than stats indicate, and she seemed to have a bit of the Midas Touch in this contest.
Her second goal of the game came after she basically outworked five other players after overrunning the footy initially. Her ability to recover, get back into the contest, and get a boot on the ball was Brisbane’s game in a microcosm. She outworked everyone and Brisbane outworked the Suns.
ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT THE SUNS?
Anything nice?
Not really.
Constructive criticism?
How about hitting those tackling bags this weekend? Cathy Svarc treated you guys like she had disdain for you. That has to sting. I hope it does – use it to drive your performance. The Lions had 55 more disposals and nine more tackles – that is the indicator that you were just outworked.
The midfield were seen walking or jogging into defensive fifty to “help”. Not good enough. Your opponents exposed your and showed up your lack of run. If they’re just fitter, then so be it, but you were shown what is required to be a good team. Now you have to emulate, or better it… and that is built on hard work.
THE PILLARS
I have to give a shout out to two really impressive defenders.
When Kate Lutkins went down with her season-ending knee injury in Round One, many may have thought it was time to put a fork in the Brisbane defence, but backed by a hard-running, defence-oriented midfield, the work of this defence was brilliant in this one.
I don’t think Shannon Campbell is going to be lauded as the reason for the Lions’ success, but her job attacking the footy, leaving her opponent and rebounding was crucial in this game. She was consistently reading the ball better and using her initiative to start the ball rolling for Brisbane.
Her partner in crime, Nat Grider, had yet another stellar outing, as well. She tends to pick the exact moment to float across and disrupt the play for her team each and every week. This was her lowest disposal output of the season, but in terms of importance, her work was right up there with anyone else on the park.
Throw in the work of Phoebe Monahan (great pick up), Indy Tahau, and Bree Koenen, and you have a defence that is as hard as a cat’s head. I look forward to seeing what they can do against the Dees, and which one of them has the job of putting Tayla Harris on her backside. Seriously, she does that to enough players, herself – time for someone to dip the shoulder into her.
OTHER BITS
All the way down here and I get to Taylor Smith. Maybe she could have kicked a bag, but I genuinely feel for Viv Saad… I am not sure she is a defender, but she is in the role of KPP for the Suns and might be better served in the ruck for a while.
Jamie Stanton playing on after the Tara Bohanna free kick 30 metres out… she’d like that decision over again. She usually displays a lot more level-headedness than that.
Kalinda Howarth started well in defence, but seemed to drop her bundle a little when she botched the cross-goal kick early in the second. Like most of her teammates, she was rarely sighted following that.
Overall, a magnificent statement win from the Lions, re-establishing them as a genuine premiership threat, and giving them a very healthy percentage boost. As for the Suns, it was a huge reality check for them and an indicator of where they need to get to.
ADELAIDE (5. 15. 45) DEFEATED GWS (0. 5. 5)
REVIEWER – HB MEYERS
Well, this was a game between two teams at different ends of the spectrum.
The Crows will contend for the flag and the Giants made it seven out of the last eight quarters without posting a goal. Any way you slice it, the Giants flat out sucked and simply lack the class to compete with good teams.
Adelaide made it interesting by simply refusing to convert opportunities, but the difference in the two sides was abundantly clear. One was a team stacked full of hard runners, class, and ferocity at the contest. The other was the GWS Giants.
Forgive me if this is a bit of a quicker review. The cliff notes version is the Crows monstered the Ginats but made the game wrse by missing too often. It’s hard to make that sound good.
BAD KICKING IS BAD FOOTY
Would Adelaide have been this lucky against Freo? How about Melbourne? How about North Melbourne?
It’s not often you run out 40 point winners and still manage to look unimpressive, but the Crows managed it in this game. They squandered opportunities around goal to the point that they kept the struggling Giants in the game, and I cannot help but think that a better opposition could have made them pay for their mistakes.
Whilst the Giants did themselves no real favours, kicking 0.5, including a hack off the deck from Alyce Parker in the last minutes that just missed, the Crows were all over the shop in terms of their shots at goal. Danielle Ponter finished with six behinds for the afternoon. She was the main culprit, but Caitlin Gould was also guilty of wasting several chances that should have been bread and butter.
Yes, the Crows have wins against the Dees and Roos in the rear vision mirror, but if they fail to hit the scoreboard like they did today, a good side will make them pay. And it could be in one of the biggest games of the season.
IS THERE NO BETTER OPTION?
I’ll preface this by saying that Pepa Randall is an excellent defender and I rate her one on one efforts to stifle some of the biggest names in the game. Seriously, she’d try to run through a brick wall for this club, but is she the best option to take kick ins?
In a team that offered very little in the way of skill, Randall was charged with taking the kick ins… and there were a heap of kick ins to be taken. The thing is, I don’t trust Randall’s skills by foot at all. She strikes me as the type of player that requires someone to run past her whenever she gets the ball and she should be under strict instructions to dish off to a better ball user at every opportunity. Why Alan McConnell would choose her to bring the ball back into play is completely beyond me, but it begs the question – do the Giants have anyone better in defence?
What are their options?
Bec Privitelli is providing bugger all across half forward. The Giants are constantly falling down, and if there is one area of her game that can be relied upon, it’s her kicking. Why not trial her as the player to get the ball rolling from defence? She finished with zero touches in this game. None. Nada. Zilch!
Sadly, outside of Privitelli, I can’t see a better option in their current team unless Alicia Eva or Alyce Parker ensures they drift back into defence to help out.
But they do enough, already. There are a lot of battlers out there for the Giants and not much of anything else.
THE MILESTONE WOMAN
In case you missed it, Ebony Marinoff became the first player to hit the 1000 disposal mark in this game. I mean, they only mentioned it on commentary about two or three… hundred times!
She was one of the Crows’ best in this game. Her combination with Anne Hatchard once again powered Adelaide through the middle and gave the team a reliable pair of ball winners through the guts. Hatchard’s hands were excellent as always, and you can see why she is the league leader in marks, whilst Marinoff’s ground work was the best on the park outside the skills of Danielle Ponter.
Marinoff appeared to reach the milestone on the three-quarter time siren, but Champion Data decided not to count her shot at goal from 40 metres because… they felt like it, and ‘Noff was forced to wait until the last quarter to notch it. She finished with 24 touches and added a Marinoff special of 16 tackles to cap off a nice day at the office.
THE PHILLIPS INJURY
It looks as though the Crows have dodged bullet with a knee injury to Erin Phillips resulting in a sprain and not something more serious.
Phillips muscled her way into a marking contest against Pepa Randall and tweaked the knee as she struggled to establish position. Looking very sore, she was quickly helped to the bench with what was initially termed as a “corkie”, however, any thoughts that it was such a minimal injury were quickly dispelled.
As we start to wind down toward finals, or gear up if you prefer, Phillips’ presence in the forward half for the Crows will be vital. Even if she is not performing to her optimum – and let’s face it, she has been a litl down in recent weeks – she draws a crowd and gives the other forwards – Woodland, Ponter – more room to move.
Whilst there is no timeline on her return at the moment, the wear and tear on her body is beginning to show. You get the feeling that one way or another, this may be her last season in Adelaide colours.
OTHER BITS
The work of Teah Charlton is improving all the time and she was one of the better performers in this game. Her run is good and she is reaching the level now where she is trusting her skills a little more. She has clean hands, which is so important in a league where fumbles occur so often, and looks to be becoming the player of the future of this Adelaide team.
I really enjoyed the hard run of Justine Mules as she covered ground all the way from deep forward to deep back in this game. She busted a gut to provide the Crows plenty of pressure around the footy.
GWS’ forward entries… what a disaster. Cora Staunton is a bit in the Mitch Robinson mould, inasmuch as she tries to kill the footy whenever she kicks it. Unfortunately, she kills it straight to the opposition when she is out of range of the goals. Nicola Barr did the same – ran toward the half forward line, looked up and banged it long to a murder of Crows. Whatever system the Giants are employing, it is not working.
The Giants really miss the run and carry of Bec Beeson. She gives them another option with composure and they simply don’t have that many. That said, I liked the hard work of Brid Stack in this one – might have been the only time I have ever said that.
This was not a game of highlights. It was a slog with a copious amount of misses and it detracted from the game as a spectacle. If you got through this one and have the fortitude to do so again, you’re a better person than I am.
WESTERN BULLDOGS (3. 10. 28) DEFEATED GEELONG (2. 4. 16)
REVIEWER – ALEX DOCHERTY
American football coach Al Davis famously once said: “Just win baby.”
I’m not a big American football fan, I didn’t even watch the Superbowl this past Monday – how cool am I right? But what I can do and will do is take his quote into this game.
This was an ugly game, I feared this would be this case when we previewed this on the A3 Footy Podcast this week. But it was a game that the Bulldogs needed to win and win it they did – as of Friday night, the Bulldogs are sitting in seventh, a game behind Collingwood in the top six
Geelong is a frustrating team to watch and with every game they play, they make the opposition frustrating to watch too. There is no doubt that they have got elements to how they want to play right – they pressure around the contest, and it was evident with the amount of unforced errors the Dogs made on this night.
However, they continue to lack the fundamentals required of them to win games of football on their own back. I watched their win against West Coast a couple of weeks back and honestly, they were fortunate to get away with it, given how much they broke down with the ball forward of centre.
The Cats do not know how to kick a winning score, it is that simple – we’ll break it down as we go along in this review, but credit where it’s due for Geelong, because they showed a lot of spirit in the middle against a Bulldogs midfield that just five nights prior, took one of the best midfield’s in the competition to task.
However, forward of the ball is where the Cats will continue to get crucified until their ball movement gets a massive overhaul.
SO LET’S TALK DIFFERENCES.
Might as well continue from this, because ultimately – as dire of a game as this was – it’s what separated the two sides in the end.
The Bulldogs are a side that love to take the game on at every chance they get, they did a lot of it against Adelaide last weekend in the opening half and tore them apart in the first half on the back of it. Despite kicks falling a few centimetres short or going completely over the head, the Bulldogs continued to work on the method of spreading the defence and moving the ball through the corridor off the half back line.
If Geelong switched the ball or tried to work the angles, then they must have done so sparingly, because every time I saw them get the ball off half back, it was the same sort of option; kick it long and down the line.
Looking at the uncontested possession stat line, the Dogs were a massive +76 – in actuality, they doubled Geelong’s uncontested possession count. Particularly as the game progressed, the Dogs opened them up on the counter attack numerous times, the more I think about it, the more that I think that the 12-point winning margin was flattering.
Did I swear when I watched players like Eleanor Brown, Naomi Ferres or Katie Lynch botch kicks to try and open the play? absolutely I did, but at least I know they’re trying to do what Nathan Burke is requiring them to do.
I look at players like Maddy McMahon and Meg McDonald – veterans, or in the case of Meg, the captain of the team – and they play conservative football. They are good at reading the play and plucking off inside 50 entries, but when it comes to using it, It’s slow, it’s not going anywhere and within two kicks it becomes a Bulldogs ball again.
I look at a player up forward like Phoebe McWilliams and has good as she’s been over the years, I believe she’s readily becoming too slow for the game, I say this because there were a couple of times where she got on the end of it at half forward and needed to get it moving quickly to unsettle the Dogs’ defence and just simply waited.
Is it any wonder they went goal less for three quarters?
HOT LIZZY
Hands down, this was the best game I’ve seen from Elisabeth Georgostathis in her three seasons of AFLW.
There will be votes heading the way of both Ellie Blackburn and Kirsty Lamb again for their performances, and I feel like everyone who reads the reviews here on the Mongrel will grow weary of me waxing lyrical of their work week in and week out, but this was Georgostathis’ breakout game – it’s been in the making for some time now.
Georgostathis has always been this dogged kind of player. For her size, there’s very little chance she can out body players like Rebecca Webster, Nina Morrison or even Amy McDonald, but the heart she shows and the work rate she presents when the ball is in general play is almost as good as any player in this competition.
There is another aspect of her game that I will touch on here and that’s her awareness. There aren’t many analysts and critics who will talk about awareness because it is an incredibly hard thing to measure – it counts as one of those ‘little things’ that people in football always like to talk about.
The Dogs had some good moments with the little things – Georgostathis’ reaction times to the umpire calling play on had the Cats on the back foot. Normally players are either slow to react to the umpire’s call, or they’ll just willingly concede the kick, because they believe they can’t get there and make the impact.
Not Lizzy though, she’s quick enough to barrel down the player and try to force into a turnover and there were a couple of passages of play that enabled this. None more important than the last quarter, with Geelong in control with ball on the wing, when she was off the mark the nanosecond the umpire called play on and affected the kick by the Geelong player – that’s what she brings to this team.
She took some nice overhead marks too and found a lot of the football, her goal in the second quarter was off the back of a kick inside 50 that was hers (credit Sarah Hartwig with the forward pressure though). Liz finished with 23 disposals and six tackles to go with that 1.1 in a breakout performance.
SCHEER BRUTE FORCE
Last week I criticised Alan McConnell at the Giants for his matchups in the defensive half – that was my idea of what bad coaching decisions or selections look like.
We found ourselves on the end of a smart coaching decision and a good move change this week, with Dan Lowther electing to play Chloe Scheer through the middle in the last quarter, and you know what? It was a move that actually paid off.
Of course, we will fondly remember Scheer’s three-goal bag against the Lions a few weeks ago in Maroochydore, but apart from that, she’s being horribly underutilised as a deep forward option. Don’t get me wrong, she can produce magic, but at a phase when Geelong struggle to find targets inside 50, either by design or through their own wrongdoing, Scheer playing deep does them no favours at all.
Last week, there was something about Scheer playing as a higher forward option that worked in bursts for the Cats, she was able to get her hands on the football and with that, she was able to set up her teammates for goals.
Seeing Scheer play in the midfield just gives them a big body to throw around and it looked like it worked for a little while there, because the Bulldogs midfielders looked as if they had little answer to the contested game style that she brought to the fore.
Rebecca Webster plays at her best when she’s free-wheeling from the contest and Amy McDonald is a very good in-and-under player who can give it to the outside runners and both players were vital to the Cats being well on top of the clearance count when all was said and done, combining for 11 between them.
But when the Cats needed a spark and a lift forward of centre, Scheer looked like the clearance beast of the operations in the last quarter and was invariably a massive presence when the Cats looked ominous and threatening to steal the win in the last quarter.
She was well on her way to having one of those games where she only got the ball four or five times, but she finished with 12 disposals, five tackles and four clearances for the match and invariably, one of Geelong’s better players.
I know there was a bit about Chief Mongrel last week about players lacking penetration with their kicks, well I don’t think Scheer has much of an issue with that, because she showed with her goal in this game that she can take just one step and thump it long and hard through the big sticks.
RUCK SUPREMACY
The ruck work and follow up work of the ever-improving Celine Moody and the player we’ve dubbed on the A3 Footy Podcast as “The Big Show” Alice Edmonds was outstanding.
The pair combined for 37 hitouts to the pair of Rene Caris and Kate Darby’s 12. In truth, they’ve been pretty good as a tandem all year, but a part of me can’t help but feel that the Cats have a glaring hole in their ruck department.
I recall writing about Darby after their loss to the Blues that she is not a ruck, a very good key position player, but she is not someone I would want at a ruck contest, she’s too undersized for that and it showed a lot here.
Where is Olivia Fuller? She was Geelong’s number one ruck at the start of the season and hasn’t played since the Cats’ win over the Eagles a couple of weeks ago. She’s a player that has got potential to be something in this league and in terms of her ruck craft, has been solid in her first year at AFLW level.
I look at Caris and she was second best in a lot of the contests and failed to really provide much of an option around the ground for the Cats. Meanwhile, Moody and Edmonds were providing roles around the ground for the Bulldogs after the initial ruck work.
It is beggars’ belief that the Cats were able to shark the hitouts and win clearances, considering that the hitout count was so lopsided. Perhaps the Cats’ midfielders should be given some more credit, they were +7 in overall clearances and were firmly in control around the stoppages.
But the next step for Fuller and Caris is to hone their craft in an area around the ground. Gabby Seymour at Richmond is great example of this, playing behind the footy. At the Dogs, Edmonds is developing nicely as a pinch-hitting forward (please work on your ball drop) and Moody is doing a bit of everything around the ground.
Breaking down the stats from the Bulldogs’ rucks, Moody had the 11 disposals with her 17 hitouts. Edmonds had 7 disposals, and eight tackles (led all Bulldogs on the ground) to go with her 20hitouts for the match.
THE TACKLERS’ CLUB
I’ve read something in the reviews about Chief Mongrel branding a group of Geelong players as the ‘Blonde Ponytail Mafia’ – sounds very good like that but allow me to indulge myself with a group of my own – ‘The Tacklers Club.
Geelong, for all their flaws moving the ball up the field, have nailed one aspect of their style of play and that’s the defensive side. They enjoy stoppage football and it might sound a bit methodical and boring or whatever negative term you may like to use. But the thing with this team is that they look to apply crunching tackles while they do it.
Those that tune in frequently here on The Mongrel will know that I love the physicality side of the game, so I’ll allow this until they perfect there ball movement – for their sake hopefully isn’t too far away.
But I will highlight the trio of Nina Morrison, Georgie Prespakis and Julia Crockett-Grills here. They didn’t have the best of games; Morrison made an enormous number of uncharacteristic fumbles with the ball at ground level, Prespakis hardly saw the football, did you know that she was battling a back injury? If you didn’t, then Leigh Montagna sure as hell made sure you did every five minutes the game went on, and Crockett-Grills was outperformed by her direct match-up in the middle, often was Ellie Blackburn, but she was stationed against Kirsty Lamb too at times.
But what all three of them brought was pressure – it may not be your day on the offensive aspect of things, but you can still control what you do when you don’t have the football and credit to these three, because they did their best to tackle the opposition and make it the real dogfight that it was.
The trio combined for 30 of Geelong’s 90 tackles: Prespakis 11, Crockett-Grills 10 and Morrison the nine.
OTHER BITS
Bonnie Toogood continuing to enjoy a career-best year up forward for the Bulldogs – 2.1 on the back of 15 disposals and seven marks, plenty of them being contested. Too strong in the air for both Georgie Rankin and Meg McDonald.
Chantel Emonson played perhaps one of the best games I’ve seen from her throughout her AFLW career. Made some goal-saving efforts on the last line and her rebound out of defence was solid as well.
I’m a big fan of Rachel Kearns, but she needs to clean up her approach to the contest, because she gives away free kicks too easily. Also, her 50 metre penalty to Elizabeth Snell was very poor awareness.
Issy Grant won a couple of very important one-on-ones in the defensive half as the game progressed, quietly putting together a very solid, yet underrated season.
Sarah Hartwig playing up forward was unusual, but her pressure was very good, forced the Cats into turnover a few times in this match. Wouldn’t seeing her try to take the game upon herself and have a ping, gave away a few possessions when she didn’t exactly need to.
Would Geelong be better suited if they played through Sophie Van De Heuval more? A few weeks ago, when she was getting the ball and taking off on the wing, she looked like a million bucks and the Cats were looking a better side, but with only five disposals in this one, she struggled to get into the game and the Cats suffered.
Welcome back Ellyse Gamble! Some rusty moments, but all in all, it was a very strong defensive game from her, adds one more element to a defensive unit that has already been most impressive this season.
Rebecca Webster’s 15 contested possessions is a new career-high for her, played a massive game and has been massive for the Cats all season long, could make a genuine argument for her to be among the league’s most improved players.
And with all that said, it’s me done for this review. Not one for the time capsule, but the Bulldogs did what they needed to as they continue to surge up the ladder. Next stop for them is Metricon Stadium on a Tuesday night to take on a Gold Coast Suns side looking to make amends for a very dismal QClash performance – it should be a cracking game.
Geelong will head down to Punt Road to take on Richmond next Saturday in a game that they will be eyeing off as a very winnable clash. The Cats aren’t far away from turning the corner, they just need to find some potency and consistency on the scoreboard.
CARLTON (7.6. 48) DEF ST KILDA (0.2. 2)
REVIEWER – JB EDDY
Saints fans can sum this game up in one word: “Ouch”.
Well, a few may choose more colourful language, but no matter how you express it, this one hurts. A comprehensive loss that equals the lowest AFLW score ever, a (dis)honour they now hold in both the men’s and women’s league. The upside is that with the coming expansion, they may not hold that mantle for long… Hey, I’m attempting to be positive here for you guys. Believe me, it’s not easy.
In a week where the Carlton faithful might be feeling particularly down about their men’s team future star Sam Walsh going down with an ankle injury, this dismantling of St Kilda will be a dose of hopium that they needed to dull the pain of disappointment. It was a clinical display of a well-drilled side that can threaten just about any team when they pull it all together like this. Now that they know how it feels to “click”, I think it’s fair to expect them to show a lot more than they did for the first half of the season.
For the Saints… Well this is about their worst game for the season. St Kilda fans will be hoping it was just a case of their stars all having an off day, and that they’ve had a tough early draw this year. Their run home is easier in terms of match ups than their early-season games, but with a catch-up game next Wednesday, a Gold Coast team needing to win for a chance to make finals, and an Adelaide side that has shown themselves to be utterly ruthless for most of the season, there’s a real chance they may see out 2022 without a victory, which is a shame for a side that has shown immense courage and belief at times.
FAST START TO NOWHERE
The first bounce was a good ruck contest, with Moody winning the tap for the Blues, but brilliant timing from Hannah Priest saw her streak away with the ball and deliver a lace-out pass to Kate Shierlaw about 35 out. It was as clean a centre clearance as you’d like to see, and Nick Dal Santo must have been delighted at the play. Shierlaw sat back on the kick a bit though, and pushed the ball wide for a point.
St Kilda kept up the pressure though, with a sharp re-entry that allowed Jessica Matin to take prime position for a mark by forcing her opponent under the ball. The Blues crowd were calling for some hands in the back, and to be fair they had a good point as it did seem like Matin had her palms full of numbers, but that’s the way it is for the defenders in this game most days—For whatever reason, they’re held to a higher standard than forwards. Maybe it’s because the AFL loves a good goal so they can fill the gap with ad breaks, or maybe it’s all a ploy to discourage kids from playing in the back line. Who knows? Either way, Matin ran a bit too close to the mark and hit the post from 20 out.
And that, Saints fans, was about where you can turn off the replay. While there were some players who tried hard all day, it would take a very even-keeled individual who could watch the whole match again without contemplating some sort of scarf-burning ritual. In fact, I recommend every Saints fan consider putting a handful of dencorub into their underwear and trying them on, just to take their mind of the mental anguish this game may have caused them.
Carlton deserve the credit for their relentless attack and smart structures, but St Kilda looked lost after the first five minutes, and lacked the on-field leadership to pull them o0ut of their funk.
Let’s have a look at their match ups:
MIDFIELD BATTLE
St Kilda had quite a few players running through the midfield, but relied heavily on Tilly Lucas-Rodd, Catherine Phillips Nicola Xenos and Jess Matin. Matin and Xenos were off the boil for a lot of the game, and while Phillips and Lucas-Rodd tried hard, even when off the ball and in defence, they also struggled.
A play that exemplified that was just before half time when the Saints finally had some space and were transitioning into attack. They had Phillips with a mark on the wing, and Jakobsson running wide to give her the one-two option for a quick transition into attack. Phillips took the option, but her looping handball made Jakobsson stop her run to take possession of the ball. Jakobsson realised this, so tried to loop a handball back to Phillips over the head of Daisy Walker, which was at least forward enough to draw Phillips to the ball, but Gee had that play sized up from 30 metres away, and quickly came in to shut down the easy entry into the forward 50. Phillips tried to sidestep, but Gee read her movement, wrapped her arms and stripped the ball while throwing Phillips to the ground, allowing Gee to accelerate away and move the ball forward (albeit not in the cleanest way).
It’s the sort of play where the Saints coaching staff would have been raising papers to their face so they can drop every swear word they know, and the worst part is that they couldn’t think about benching Phillips to let her get her head refocused, as she was at least getting some of the ball, racking up 22 touches, the second most on the ground behind teammate Lucas-Rodd with 24.
Prespakis, Gee and Hill however looked like they were playing the game as if they wrote the script themselves. At times it looked like they simply knew where the ball was going to be. So often players flew for a mark well under the ball, and it was Gee or Hill who were just loitering behind (and occasionally in front) of the pack to take an uncontested mark or collect the loose ball and stroll away.
Normally, you would think of tagging a dominant midfielder, and Prespakis would be the likely target, but I don’t think Dal Santo had anyone he could spare with the power needed to match Maddie at the coal face.
RUCKING AROUND
Rhiannon Watt could make a claim that she had the better of her opponent Breann Moody at the ruck contests. She managed some nice taps, but all to often they went to no one. She did follow up her own ball with some hard tackling though, so she’ll be one of the players that can look the coach in the eyes during the game review. Moody didn’t really have her colours lowered though, as despite having a few less taps, she did manage to float forward often and kicked two nice goals herself while some long kicks into attack also helped Carlton catch the Saints defence on their heels.
WASTEFUL IN ATTACK
Kate Shierlaw kept presenting in the Saints forward line, and did some good work to gain possession, but too often let herself down with poor execution on both passing and shots at goal. It looked like her early miss and the general scoring issues the Saints were having sapped her confidence, as she looked to pass or allow a teammate to gather the ball far too often for a key forward. This led to the Blues running the ball out of defence in an absolute canter, and few of the Saints forwards seemed in a hurry to pressure them into a mistake.
Contrast that with Darcy Vescio who was at their mercurial best. Floating into open space up the ground, weaving between opponents, presenting options and even putting on some very nice tackles when the opportunity arose. 14 touches and four marks is a great return from her, as well as two goals. She’s the barometer of her team, and Carlton look so much better when she’s able to influence the play as well as the scoreboard.
THE STAT THAT MATTERED
Statistics don’t tell the whole story most of the time, but there was one in this match that reflected the result perfectly. Carlton was running at 47.2% efficiency inside their forward 50, usually either finding targets or at least bringing the ball to ground and making a contest of it. The Saints however were going at only 12.5% efficiency in attack.
In a week where champion data’s statistical model saw some… interesting… choices for player rankings, it may seem weird to pick such a ‘fuzzy’ stat and point to it as the difference but watching the game it was obvious that the Saints lacked quality disposal into and within their attacking zones. In fact, I’d be hard pressed to identify a forward entry after the first minute of the game that wasn’t in some way either hesitant or hasty. They looked about as confident as a seventeen year old trying to get into a pub with their Dad’s ID, as in they were willing to give it a roll, but would probably have surprised themselves if they got away with it.
One other indicator of the state of the game was that 15 players had less than 10 touches, 12 of them from St Kilda. That’s just not enough contribution, and there will be many players that will need to show that will be playing for their career in the coming weeks if they don’t show some desperation.
OTHER BITS
Laloifi’s work out of defence was excellent, helped by a St Kilda forward line that were keen to do anything but chase her. She amassed 14 touches and even floated forward for a goal assist.
One other player that tried hard for the Saints was Molly McDonald. Her work to make space on the wing was obvious, but all to often she had to resort to long, blast kicks. It’s not entirely her fault, as she had very little protection or assistance to get into the open, but she was one of the few avenues that St Kilda had in the transition from defence to attack.
UP NEXT:
St Kilda take on a GWS side next Wednesday, who are coming off a loss even worse than St Kilda’s. While the margin was smaller, they did give up 20 scoring shots to Adelaide, though were dogged for much of the day. The short turnaround will hurt both sides, but the fact that a loss to Adelaide was expected for GWS while many thought the Saints had the ability to push or beat Carlton will make GWS feel confident that they can take the Saints when they travel to Blacktown.
Then a few short days later, St Kilda will take on the Gold Coast at Moorabbin. GC have their own catch-up game against the Bulldogs on Tuesday, but the extra days break combined with the fact they absolutely need to win for a good chance at finals will make it very hard to tip the Saints here. Reluctantly, I have to say I expect the Saints to go 0-2 next week, and with only Geelong and Adelaide to go, I think the game against the cats might be the best chance they have to salvage something out of 2022.
Carlton on the other hand, will receive an eight-day break and head to Canberra to battle GWS. Despite GWS looking a little sharper when on the park this season, the extra game while coming off a gruelling Adelaide match, combined with Carlton finally showing some class and self-belief will make them the favourite for this game, and I think they may have too much in their legs for GWS to match them. As a bonus, Darcy Vescio could become the first person to kick 50 career goals in the AFLW if she manages to boot two majors. While it might be a bit of a shame to do it away from home, it’s an honour they’ll enjoy anyway.
RICHMOND (10. 8. 68) DEFEATED WEST OAST (7. 3. 45)
REVIEWER – BRETT HODGSON
In conditions I deemed too hot to wash my car, West Coast hosted Richmond in a battle of single win teams. Richmond used an outstanding first quarter to put the Eagles on the ropes early, holding a comfortable lead that they would never relinquish. West Coast, to their credit, fought back and kept the scoreline respectable on the back of a few big games from their stars, however the Tigers first quarter heat was too much to overcome in the end, running away with a 23 point win.
Let’s see how this one played out…
TACTICS
Richmond used a direct approach, taking advantage of the “sweeper” at the back of stoppages (usually McKenzie) to setup play from behind the ball and create overlap if an Eagle committed to the tackle.
West Coast were forced wide early, yet looked to switch from defence regularly, it did lead to a few goals due to mistakes (goals to Stahl and Makur Chut) from switch turnovers, however when it paid off it opened things up for Mikayla Bowen on the far wing in particular, leading to some exciting passages.
RICHMOND’S FORWARDS STAHL NO MORE
After ditching the trademark helmet in this contest, Taylor Stahl looked like a completely different player. Full of confidence, she was a thorn in the Eagles side when the ball entered inside 50. Opposed by Courtney Gard early, Stahl kicked the opening two majors of the game- though one was from a downfield free kick. Her movement caused headaches, however this game she looked to take front spot and lead up at the football, opposed to bodying up and just attacking the back of the contest. Her third goal was benefited through some outstanding defensive pressure, chopping off an ill-advised Niamh Kelly switch late in the last quarter to convert truly and deliver a body blow to West Coast. If Stahl keeps on attacking the ball leading up, it reduces the pressure on Brennan to perform, and makes the Tigers forwards much more deadly. She kicked 3 goals from only four possessions, however it was her increased movement that stood out for me.
THAT LEFT PEG
Is there anything more beautiful in the AFLW than the left leg of Ellie Mckenzie?
The former number 1 draft pick has been great since her return from a calf injury. In this contest, she showed her pinpoint disposal and elite IQ on multiple occasions, not to mention a few nice evasive manoeuvres to get out of danger- one of those led directly to her much deserved goal. The troubling thing was that with the Eagles stoppage setup, they let Mckenzie roam free on the defensive side of the ruck contest, I counted two contests for the whole game in the middle of the ground where an Eagle decided to get touch on her and go body on body. I’m very much looking forward to the continued improvement of the AFLW as girls that have legitimate training start to filter through the competition and more players will have the skills and composure similar to her. The Eagles rotated a few midfielders on to her during the game, however there was never a legitimate tag ever applied, and she made West Coast pay. She had “only” 17 touches for the game, yet did damage with every single possessions.
LEAVING IT ALL OUT THERE
The West Coast midfield duo of Dana Hooker and Emma Swanson both put forth tremendous efforts in this battle. Hooker has struggled for impact during some of the season, however in this contest she did absolutely everything in her power to get the Eagles midfield up and going. Her clearance work, reading the opposition taps in particular was incredibly impressive, also considering the taps were somewhat nullified due to both rucks getting good purchase on the ball- makes them so much harder to read as they weren’t going to advantage. Outside of the contest, Hooker covered a lot of ground in general play, especially defensively, she can hold her head up high. She got caught a few times, trying to do too much, however it took real guts to approach the contest head on. 22 disposals (10 contested possessions), five marks, seven tackles and four score involvements, with Hooker providing 24 disposals (14 contested) and six clearances.
The Eagles skipper was the Yang to Hooker’s Ying, Emma Swanson would often push offensively, especially with teammate Hooker providing great coverage on the defensive side. Swanson tried desperately to inspire her side, and it worked for large portions, as despite not being able to hit the scoreboard, she lifted her teammates efforts around the ground. Following her lead after quarter time, the Eagles seemed energised by her, as she was able to push forward and kick two goals, giving a spark from the middle. Her second quarter in particular was absolutely exemplary, with 12 disposals and a goal- showing that she would not allow her side to give up without a fight,
CONTI ANSWERS
After Swanson fired back for the second quarter, Monique Conti lifted, bringing ascendancy to the visiting team. Once again, her gut running was a feature, kicking a goal after bursting forward from a stoppage in the middle of the ground. As sensational a player as Conti is, I’ve noticed in previous weeks that if you can limit her lateral movement, you are in with a chance at containing her around the ground- admittedly easier said then done. Conti’s third quarter restored some momentum to the contest, but also showed the desire that the Tigers superstar brings to the table. With nine tackles, Conti applied outstanding pressure, especially in the last half, when West Coast believed they were with a chance to pinch the game.
MILLER VS GILMORE
This might be an odd matchup to highlight, as neither really featured on the stat sheet, however the game of Andrea Gilmore in this contest was simply outstanding, as she worked extremely hard all game, keeping gun defender Rebecca Miller almost an afterthought, though admittedly- some of that had to do with Eagles “unorthodox” forward 50 entries. Miller was never able to fly unopposed, and Gibson- at 33 years old, deserves a massive amount of credit for not only her work as a linkup option at centre half forward, but also limiting the impact of Miller. Once again, the statline does not tell the full story- as Gilmore “only had” three disposals and two marks, however her work rate kept the star Tiger on her toes for this contest, and negated her trademark aerial dominance and rebounding efficiency.
QUICK TAKES
I believe, unless the AFLW shifts to a full time league- if it ever happens, talented players that don’t have access to the full time structure will sadly never reach full potential.. As harsh as it sounds, I believe that’s why we will never see the full output of some players in these “early years”
One of the players that I fear we will never see the full potential of is Imahra Cameron. Her defensive pressure has lifted tremendously since her recall to the team, and her actual instinct for the game is incredible. In this contest she put in a lot of work, and I can only imagine what a player of her calibre could accomplish in a full time surrounding and atmosphere.
It was a great football story for Akec Makur Chut to kick her first AFLW goal, after a great set shot, with Evie Gooch choosing to try to outmark her from the back position. She could have had her first minutes before, but her captain Katie Brennan tried to gather a goalward kick metres out, opting against the shepherd.
Great reward for effort with Aimee Schmidt booting three majors for West Coast, once they were able to take a more direct approach, Schmidt was able to feast on the ground ball for maximum return, massive credit to Gooch for attacking a half volley at the centre of the ground at pace, before going long and direct to the hotspot, to allow Schmidt to snap truly.
The evasiveness of Mikayla Bowen was an absolute thing of beauty, with two minutes in the third quarter, Bowen put the shimmy-shake on two Richmond players (who are probably still at Mineral Resources park looking for her) to escape trouble. The going might be tough now, but don’t worry WC fans, Bowen will be an absolute superstar…
I love what Meagan Kiely brings to the table… the 27 year old mature age recruit was fantastic off half back, especially when called upon to attack the footy, the former North Melbourne VFLW captain and F&B looks to be a very handy addition to the Tigers brigade, and appears to have formed an outstanding tandem with Miller and Lynch, giving Richmond an outstanding defensive foundation.
NORTH MELBOURNE (6. 2. 38) DEFEATED COLLINGWOOD (2. 3. 15)
REVIEWER – HB MEYERS
We were told before the game that this was the hottest organic rivalry in the game. Sadly, only one team showed the fire that you’d usually associate with a statement like that.
North Melbourne were a cut above the Pies in their annual clash, with their ball use and run and carry far surpassing anything Collingwood could throw at them. Their midfield was on-song, their defence solid, and when it came time to offer more than just words, the Kangaroos proved they’re the real deal in 2022.
THE DIFFERENCE MAKER
Jasmine Garner owned this game.
That’s about as bluntly as I can put it. From the first quarter to the last, her 26 touches, six marks and three goals were the clear standout in a game where North had plenty to be excited about.
A midfielder that kicks goals, or a forward that wins a heap of the footy? It really doesn’t matter how she is termed – she is a star of this league and goes about her business like she’s done it all before and expects to do it again.
Her hands are clean while others around her fumble, she is rarely caught with the footy, and from where I sat, she was easily the best clearance player on the park. When I have watched her at times, she seems to lack a sense of urgency that great players have, but then there are times like this – times when she decides to pluck a mark over the top of Jaimee Lambert rather than spoil. Times where she reads the ruck tap a split second before everyone else and gets a clearance. And times when she gathers the hot footy inside 50 and makes teams pay.
When she plays her best, is it THE best the league has to offer? It would have to be close, and she had it all on display in this game. If you pull her out of this side, North are still formidable and have options to cover her in the midfield, but you need two excellent players to do what she does. One in the middle and one up forward to hit the scoreboard.
In a competition where the top teams will be tough to knock over in the finals, Jas Garner playing good footy gives North a huge advantage – she is that good.
WALKING THE WALK?
So, I’m guessing a few of you reading this tuned in and heard Chloe Molloy talking about the rivalry with North and how it was a little personal for her? She spoke about loyalty and so on – they were the type of words that indicate that someone is ready to give things a red hot crack.
After all, this is the biggest organic rivalry in the game, right?
And then…. nothing.
Molloy started in the middle and couldn’t get near the footy. As we headed into the rooms for half time, Molloy had not had an effective touch. Bec Goddard on commentary attempted to cover for her, citing Covid and a back issue. Funny, they weren’t an issue last week when she kicked two goals and 18 touches, were they?
Nice try, Bec.
Molloy was moved back into the middle and into deep defence to get her hands on the footy in the second half. She ended up with six touches for the game, but in terms of impact, there was none.
RIVALRY?
Did anyone happen to see any instances that would lead you to believe that this game meant a heap to Collingwood?
The way they attacked the ball, perhaps? The way they tackled? Did they have an F-U attitude toward this team they supposedly hate?
Or did they just treat it like another game? Were they just not up for this game the way they should have been?
When you watch a Port Adelaide v Adelaide, Freo v West Coast, or even Hawthorn v Essendon game, there is a feeling that it means something extra. They are rivalries. They feel like a big time game irrespective of ladder position or time of year. This one did not.
North brought the pressure. North brought the hard run and carry. North brought the element of risk. Collingwood brought very little.
THE ROCK AT HALF BACK
I have a bit of a confession. When watching North from 2020-21, I may have had the feeling that Emma Kearney was slightly overrated. Not that I thought she was not excellent – she was, but I believed that others were just as important to North’s structure as Kearney was – some more so.
I’d like to take this opportunity to walk that back a little, as her role off half back has emphasised just how well she knows the game of footy.
Kearney has an innate knowledge of when to leave her opponent, when to power away up the wing, when to get back and lockdown. She just knows how to play footy. Watching her run and break tackles with a swivel of the hips gives just a small indication as to how powerful she is on the field. By her own admission, she had to check her ego at the door in 2022 to play her current role, but it will no doubt result in yet another AA berth for her.
So, not that I went on record with it at the time – it was just a thought I’d have – but Em… I’m sorry for thinking that. Whatever doubts I had have been well and truly dispelled.
RANDALL PROVIDES THE TARGET
If you looked at this North Melbourne team last season and thought about options inside 50, you were a little spoiled for choice. Abbatangelo, Bannister, Emma King,, Jas Garner… I’m not sure too many would have had Tahlia Randall at the top of their list.
That’s what makes her efforts this season so valuable.
Not only has Randall provided an aerial contest for the Roos, she has also given them an enormous amount of grunt or, if you prefer, “mongrel” inside 50. She competes hard in the air, has great second efforts and will never die wondering if there is a ball in dispute. She has become the type of forward that causes opposition mids to look over their shoulder when thinking of dropping into the hole in front of her.
She finished this game with two goals and four tackles, with the bulk of her work coming in the first half. She was big when the game was there to be won.
THE RUNNING MACHINE
I’ve been on the Ash Riddell bandwagon for a couple of years, now, and it feels gratifying that the rest of the AFLW world is finally catching onto what she provides this team. Other than stoppages, do you ever see her standing still? Always moving, always making her way to the next contest, Riddell provides the Roos with a fantastic outlet option all over the park and often goes head first into packs to win her own footy.
If you don’t know her history and how she was overlooked, you’re missing out on a great footy success story, but I am guessing you’ll be reminded when she picks up All-Australian selection number two following this season.
To see her hit the pack in the final minute of the game, powering through the centre to get to the fall of the ball, was her in a nutshell. The game was over. Others were running three-quarter pace. Not Riddell – she was still busting a gut for this team.
I’ve never met her, but far out, I am proud of the player she has become.
HALF OF SCHLEICHER’S BEST
Really enjoyed the intercept work from Ruby *checks how to spell her name for the 40th time* Schleicher. Her positioning and ability to read the ball cut the North attack off at the knees several times, particularly in the first quarter as the Kangaroos owned the footy and peppered the inside 50 area.
However, a lot of credit must go to Darren Crocker and his team for the way they were onto Schleicher as soon as she took possession of the footy. There were no searching runs out of defensive 50 for her in this game, as the Roos looked ready for her “wheel and go” rebound. As soon as she took a couple of steps, she was besieged by North players, forcing her to take quick, directionless kicks to ensure she wasn’t caught with the footy.
THE RUCK QUEEN
Before I get onto the work of Emma King, the recruitment of Kim Rennie to this North Melbourne team has to be commended. They lost Viv Saad to the Gold Coast but with her playing defence up there, it looks as though this was a wonderful way of replacing what she offered North as a back-up to King.
Rennie is big and bad enough to mix it with the best rucks in the game and permit King to play more of a role either forward, or as we saw toward the end of this game, in defence. King’s height and marking presence either provides a fantastic target inside 50 or a huge obstacle to navigate as the opposition attempts to enter their own attacking area.
King was close to her best form in this game, notching 20 touches around the ground and took five marks in a masterful performance. Whether she was being used as a “get out of jail” target, or finding the footy in the contest, King will pose a huge problem for any team if they choose to pay her scant attention.
OTHER BITS
Sam Lane sounds like a strict year eight teacher in the way she explains things… like she is talking to the slow kids. I find her pretty funny, even though I know she is being serious.
There are a lot of battlers on this Collingwood team. Someone like Breanna Davey makes players around her better, and you can tell a few of the lesser lights would love to have her out there farming the footy cleanly to them.
On that, North Melbourne’s handballs hit targets. So many teams increase the pressure on the next player with every poor disposal, but North hit targets. They are right up there with the best-skilled teams in the league – possibly the best.
Jamie Lambert had a solid game, but you could see her frustration at her teammates not working hard enough around her. Often, she’d get the footy, look up and have zero options, with North players moving into position and cutting off leading lanes immediately. She got some good help from Britt Bonnici, but North just had too many players willing to do the work the Pies were not.
MELBOURNE (5. 5. 35) DEFEATED BRISBANE (4. 8. 32)
REVIEWER – ALEX DOCHERTY
Before round seven kicked off on Thursday night with the QClash, this was the game AFLW fans and experts alike were circling as the one to watch before we made that transition into round eight the following day.
And boy, didn’t we get something special here?
It was about as traditional as the cliché ‘tale of two halves’ as it got in this encounter, as the Brisbane Lions – fresh off an outstanding team effort against the Gold Coast in their annual rivalry clash, headed into the break firmly in control of Melbourne on the scoreboard.
The lead was as much as 23 points before a late Alyssa Bannan goal saw the Lions head into the sheds of Metricon up 17 points. But something flicked during the main break, and the Dees had control of the play, dominated possession, and left the Lions looking for answers.
They found some of those answers, but it was left with a free-kick to Greta Bodey after the siren to win the game, almost a year after she was handed a similar situation when the Lions visited Melbourne at Casey Fields in the prelude to the Finals.
Before this game, I had doubts about the Demons’ finals credentials, having lost emphatically to the Crows a few weeks ago and having other sides attempt to cut off their short possession game by applying manic pressure everywhere they looked.
We may say that Brisbane’s short turnarounds may have finally caught up to them, but the Lions had moments in that game where they looked like they were going to nab the lead back themselves, so how much do you really believe that?
Regardless of how you answer that question, this was the win that the Demons needed to have, and with games against North Melbourne and Fremantle to come in the next two weeks, the time is now for the Demons to prove themselves worthy contenders to the title.
TAYLA’S STATEMENT GAME
I think it’s about time we properly gave Tayla Harris her dues for the season she’s currently producing.
I may have said something in the pre-season previews here on The Mongrel about how important her body of work will be to Melbourne’s premiership chances, and if the show she put on here is any indication to this, then the Demons will have a bit to say come the business end of the year.
The game she played sort of reminded me about Aaron Naughton a few years ago when he single-handedly demolished Richmond’s backline – he took an abundance of contested marks and piled on the goals and really was the difference between the two sides in the end.
Now, Tayla didn’t kick as many goals as he did that night, but she was far and wide the difference between the two teams when all was said and done. Every time the ball came her way, she was sticking the marks beautifully and if that wasn’t happening, then it was brought to ground for the crumbing small forwards to pick off.
She had both Shannon Campbell and Brisbane’s captain Breanna Koenen for company all throughout the night, and whilst it’s true that both players give up some height, we’ve seen in other matchups through the season that this excuse can only go so far, just go back and look at Shelley Heath on Cora Staunton for God’s sake.
These two are very good one-on-one players, but Harris played the pair of them like she was taking the piss; she worked the bodies well, lead to the ball seamlessly and she reaped the rewards as a result – seven contested marks for the night equalled an AFLW record that was set by Sabrina Frederick a good few years ago.
The 2.2 could’ve very well been a three-or-four-goal game, but it’s the other things she’s doing as well, she’s pushed up the ground to get an early handball in a contested space, which opened up the play, she delivered a lace-out kick to Eliza West inside 50.
And the great thing for Melbourne fans is that she is looking like she’s having a blast out there again and she’s confident in what she can add to this Melbourne side. Which means it’s pretty scary for the rest of us.
BAD LUCK BODEY
Can’t help but feel for Greta Bodey, for the record, I think she was probably the most dangerous forward Brisbane had in this game – Zimmie was locked in a very entertaining duel with Libby Birch for most of the night, Jesse Wardlaw did some very nice things, but ultimately had her hands full with the debutant Tahlia Gillard for a lot of the game.
However, with all the pressure that Bodey brings and all the times she looked so damaging when she had the ball in her hands, she’ll be remembered for two of the most critical moments in the game, and I’ll stress this largely – I am not saying that she is responsible for the loss.
Football is a team game, and there were many other moments that the Lions would like back, particularly in the first half when they sprayed many chances to go further ahead
However, with Dakota Davidson not playing due to the concussion she suffered last weekend (not the one we just had) against St Kilda, there had to be someone step up and provide something and Bodey’s lead up work, as well as her work at ground level was on full display.
She looked so convinced when she kicked what would’ve been the goal to give them back the lead and looked fired up when the goal umpire said otherwise. Some Brisbane fans will complain about the decision, personally, it’s a hard call from the camera angle we got here in Melbourne; the only person that genuinely had an inkling and had the perfect position to call it was the goal umpire.
But surely there will come to a point soon where the score review gets a look in at AFLW level. I know that there are local grounds like Casey Fields and Maroochydore that might not be sustainable for the technology or there’s probably some other reason behind it, but if this organisation was serious about lifting the standard of women’s football (let’s be honest that’s wishful thinking at the best of times), then they’d do something about this.
And again, I’m not saying this cost Brisbane the match, but it helped play a deciding factor.
As for her shot on goal at the final siren, talk about rotten luck, her shot in the corresponding game was a similar distance and required something herculean from about 40 metres out, fair play to her for giving it a shot though and falling a few metres short.
THE RETURN
This was Olivia Purcell’s first game back in the AFLW after about a year on the sidelines, and it looked like she hadn’t missed much of a beat in the process.
I watched her VFLW performance last week for Casey against Port Melbourne and there was a lot in her attack for the ball that suggests that she’d be back in the team sooner rather than later.
Despite her past achievements at Geelong, no one is expecting the world from her in these first few games of the season. Melbourne’s engine room has been humming along quite nicely all year and we saw a vintage performance from Karen Paxman once again, whilst the work of Tyla Hanks was solid once again.
Purcell finished the game with 14 disposals. A lot of them were from contested situations, which would explain the 10 handballs, it wasn’t a flashy game, and it didn’t need to be. There’s always a heart in mouth or something like that when a player comes back from the dreaded ACL injury, she got through the game unharmed and that’s good for footy.
In terms of what she can bring to this team, there’s a role for a player like Purcell; a true, ‘see ball, get ball’ kind of player, something that I thought she showed a lot of. This can allow a player like Hanks to play a little looser and provide as a balanced midfielder.
Puts a bit of pressure off a player like Eliza West, who just quietly racked up another very solid performance, showing off her quick hands in the congestion, and breaking clear for her first goal in AFLW football.
The Dees will have a few weeks left to really leave an imprint on the competition, but if they pull it off, then the injury management of Purcell will go down as one of the best decisions the club has made through the season, maybe just behind the acquisition of Tayla Harris.
TAHLIA HICKIE V LAUREN PEARCE
Sarah Hosking doing the special comments for this game on Fox Footy made mention of it early in the game that this match-up was one to watch out for.
Lauren Pearce has had a lot of fanfare for her work around the ground, going from spare midfielder to playing in other areas around the ground too, but Tahlia Hickie is a player that is quietly in the background doing her thing in games whilst others gleefully take recognition for their ruck craft and what they do following it.
I’m not sure how much we take the hit-outs into consideration following this game, Hickie had 18 and Pearce had the five, but if you’ve studied the Melbourne All-Australian’s game closely, you’ll notice that there are many instances in games where she plucks it from the contest and dishes it out to the runners like Paxman, Lily Mithen or Eliza McNamara.
When the Lions had the game on their terms, Hickie was prominent in helping Brisbane set themselves up as that wall outside 50, she took a few intercept grabs and didn’t waste any time in sending it back inside 50.
At halftime, you’d have said the points were well and truly in favour of the Brisbane ruck, but much like her team did, Pearce turned it around with a very impressive second half.
Her clearance work was more noticeable, and when the Lions had their opportunities to push the ball forward, her abilities to push back and play as that spare behind the ball, really worked in both her favour and the teams.
You’d say on that, the final decision on a winner must go to Lauren Pearce, she recorded five clearances to Hickie’s none, but also was instrumental in Melbourne’s second-half comeback.
SLIDING DAWES
I thought the first half of Belle Dawes was important to Brisbane setting up their lead in the first half.
With special mention to Emily Bates’ drive and burst out of stoppages, and Nat Grider’s exquisite positioning across the half back line and some impressive rebound work to go along with that, Dawes’ ability to go pound-for-pound against Melbourne’s midfield unit, was something that I was left quite impressed with, given the amount the star power the Dees do possess.
Amongst the star power of Bates, the blue-collar efforts of Ally Anderson and the god-like strength and tackling prowess of Cathy Svarc, Dawes remains one of the more underrated figures at Brisbane. She attacks the ball at every opportunity and does all she can in her power to make sure it stays moving.
She had 12 disposals up to half time, and like most of the players, tapered off in the second half, but you can see in the first half that every time she got hands on the ball, something good was likely to come from it, and there was a passage where that desperation and urgency with the ball led to a goal for the Lions, their third one of the match if I’m not mistaken.
Regardless of the second-half fadeout, 17 disposals, two clearances and four marks is a very good return from a player that was a former first-round draft pick a few years ago. I have been a big fan of her work as a midfielder since her draft year, and to see it coming to fruition is nothing but positive signs ahead for the Lions.
OTHER BITS
Alyssa Bannan is going to be some player in the years to come, right? Her speed has been much talked about and in this one, was very good again, but it was her marking hands that I thought were worth mentioning, she can take a very good, contested grab, two goals from six touches is a great return.
Orla O’Dwyer is continuing to play red-hot football on the wing for Brisbane, might have even seen her have a stint or two inside the centre square to win the centre clearances, her goal in the opening quarter was just something that oozed of class.
The decision to swing Daisy Pearce into the defensive half was a move that changed the dynamic of this game. In the first quarter she got around the footy enough, but didn’t feel impactful with her touches, playing back as a defender, she was able to peel off and intercept very well.
Ruby Svarc would want that kick again in the first quarter; basically, on top of the goal-square she just rushed it onto the boot without thinking – Starcevich mentioned in the post-game presser that the Lions should’ve been 5.3 – it’s that kind of kicking that does it.
Wasn’t her best night out on the park, but Eden Zanker had some moments in the second half that the club will be pleased with, some strong contested marks when the game was up for grabs and some smart decisions to go along with that too.
The passage of play between Jesse Wardlaw and Zimmie Farquharson in the third term was brilliant to watch – Wardlaw had the time and space to assess and the fact she attracted two Melbourne players to the footy before opening to Zimmie to the goal-square is great football.
Two touches from Shelley Scott in this one, really struggled to control the ball and made a lot of uncharacteristic fumbles inside the forward half.
Cathy Svarc was very impressive last Thursday night against the Gold Coast and showed a lot more offensive run and dare through the middle of the ground in this one too, but even still, she managed seven tackles, so she’s continuing to harass during stoppage play.
Speaking of battles in battles, enjoyed watching Shelley Heath and Courtney Hodder once again, Hodder had some good moments, Heath laid some big tackles and a good smother inside the attacking 50 in the last quarter to help the Dees get over the line.
Kate Hore went goalless in this game but showed a lot of promise with her link up work through half forward and was dangerous at the feet of Tayla Harris as well – five marks from 11 disposals and three tackles is a solid night’s work without putting a goal on the board.
Some of Brisbane’s kids got a bit of a lesson this game – Taylor Smith, been impressive this year, looked as if she couldn’t catch a cold out there in this one, and Yoshida-Martin had moments where she got sucked into the play too much and allowed her opponent to break away too easily.
And with all that said, that’ll do me for this cracking game. A great win for the Dees to keep themselves in striking distance of the top two, whilst the Brisbane Lions will need to regroup on another short turnaround, when they travel to West Coast’s Mineral Resources Park to take on the Eagles on a Sunday evening.
