AFLW Week 6: All the news from the final games of the round
Hawthorn has recorded a gutsy win against Fremantle after losing three players to injury, while Bomber Maddy Prespakis hits back after being body-shamed on social media. AFLW WRAP
AFLW
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFLW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Hawthorn has conjured one of the most courageous AFLW wins in recent memory to retain its top-four spot with four weeks to play.
Travelling to Perth to face Fremantle at the end of a testing compressed fixture block, the Hawks lost three players to injury before halftime to injury, including young star Mackenzie Eardley, who was stretchered off in the first quarter after a collision.
But Hawthorn had the resolve to rally after a lengthy delay and grind out a nine-point win with just two fit players on the bench in the second half.
Official word from Hawthorn is that Mackenzie Eardley has suffered a neck injury. She's heading to hospital now for precautionary scans but is conscious and alert. #AFLWFreoHawks
— Eliza Reilly (@ByElizaReilly) October 6, 2024
Fremantle threatened to overrun the Hawks after Orlagh Lally made it a two-kick game early in the final quarter. But Hawthorn absorbed the Dockers’ pressure and made them pay when defender Madeleine Scanlon gave away a free kick at a stoppage with less than four minutes to play.
Jess Vukic calmly slotted the sealer after Scanlon blocked her run in the ruck, securing a memorable 5.4 (34) to 3.7 (25) win at Fremantle Oval.
HAWKS DOWN
There were scary scenes in the first quarter when the game was halted for more than five minutes as club doctors rushed to the aid of young Hawk Mackenzie Eardley.
Eardley collided with Dockers ruck Mim Strom in a seemingly innocuous marking contest on the far wing and went to ground. Play continued for a brief period until the Hawks called for a stretcher when it became clear that Eardley was injured.
Doctors conducted a series of spinal/neck tests on the ground before Eardley was carried from the field. The Hawks said that Eardley had suffered a suspected neck injury and would be taken to hospital for precautionary scans. The 20-year-old was conscious and alert.
The Hawks also lost Laura Stone to an ankle injury after she failed a fitness test at halftime and Kristy Stratton was also ruled out with an ankle problem.
It left Hawthorn with just two fit players on the bench for the second half.
Hawthorn coach Daniel Webster was unsure whether Eardley would fly back to Melbourne with the team but said that she was in good spirits post game.
“Mack’s got a sore neck, so that was more precautionary being the nature of that injury,” Webster said. “I think she was feeling reasonably well once taken off the ground.
“It’s always difficult (to see a player stretchered off) but I thought our players handled it well. We’ve got really good leadership within the group and they took control of the situation.”
FAMILIAR PATTERN
Fremantle has not won a first quarter this year and that trend continued against Hawthorn, finishing the first term 10 points in arrears.
The Dockers conceded 3.0 to the Hawks as the visitors capitalised on their crisp ball use and efficiency inside 50.
Fremantle did get one goal back through Tunisha Kikoak, who crafted her kick perfectly from a mark in the pocket. It’s just the second goal the Dockers have kicked in first quarters this year, entering Sunday’s clash with a combined total of 1.3 across their first six games.
What Fremantle has lacked in first terms, they’ve typically made up for in final quarters, kicking 13.10 this season. And that pattern looked set to continue when Orlagh Lally kicked the opening goal of the final quarter to bring the margin back to nine points.
But a costly ruck infringement gave Jess Vukic the chance to kick the sealer.
SUBDUED SARAH
Fremantle needs to figure out how to get the best out of Sarah Verrier and quickly.
The prodigious talent has been billed as a big part of Fremantle’s future for several years now with coach Lisa Webb even comparing her to Collingwood champion Scott Pendlebury in the way she seemingly slows time.
But since returning from lower leg soreness in round 3, Verrier has struggled to have an impact this season. The 22-year-old is averaging just seven disposals per game and had two to her name at halftime against Hawthorn.
It prompted the Dockers to send Verrier forward in the second half, a lever Fremantle pulled against Geelong on Tuesday night which resulted in seven disposals and a goal after the main break.
Verrier’s biggest strength is her elite kick and the Dockers need to do more to get the ball in her hands if she’s struggling to win it herself. She did spend a bit of time on Hawks playmaker Tilly Lucas-Rodd.
FREMANTLE: 1.2 2.2 2.5 3.7 (25)
HAWTHORN: 3.0 4.2 4.4 5.4 (34)
BEST
Dockers: McCarthy, O’Driscoll, Strom, Newton, Brazill, Hetherington.
Hawks: Bates, West, Wales, Lucas-Rodd, Everist, Fleming.
GOALS
Dockers: Kikoak, Antonio, Lally.
Hawks: Fleming, Bodey, West, Locke, Vukic.
INJURIES
Dockers: Nil. Hawks: Eardley (neck), Stone (ankle), Stratton (ankle),’
Crowd: 2259 at Fremantle Oval
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
ELIZA REILLY’S VOTES
3. Eliza West (Haw)
2. Emily Bates (Haw)
1. Aisling McCarthy (Fre)
PRESPAKIS’ MESSAGE TO BODY SHAMERS AS DONS ENTER TOP EIGHT
Essendon has secured seventh spot on the AFLW ladder at the end of week six following a hard-fought nine-point win over Gold Coast on Sunday afternoon.
On a hot day at the Suns’ home, People First Stadium, the Dons maintained a lead – albeit small – for the entire game to improve their record to 4-3 in Bonnie Toogood’s comeback game.
Madison Prespakis burnt off a tag and made a pointed goal celebration by lifting her jumper and pointing to her stomach after she was the victim of offensive social media comments during the week.
Pointed celebration after Prespakis was the victim of body shaming comments on social media this week. Cop that keyboard cowards. https://t.co/DitHw7awCl
— Eliza Reilly (@ByElizaReilly) October 6, 2024
Georgia Nanscawen was immense for the Bombers with a game-high 28 disposals and eight inside-50s.
The pair played a major role in Essendon’s dominance in inside-50s (44-26) and possessions (264-221), as the Dons led by single-digit margins for most of the game a part from a short period either side of three-quarter time.
Toogood had some strong moments early in her return game from a MCL injury and finished with five disposals and three marks.
Cameron Joyce’s Suns remain winless with a 0-6-1 record this season and continue to have issues with their forward line structure.
NO-POLISH DONS
The Bombers had the ball in their front half for most of the opening term but couldn’t capitalise, taking just a 7-0 advantage at the completion of the term.
If it wasn’t for an Amber Clarke snap goal late in the quarter, the Dons would have lead by a point in a term that they dominated.
The Dons had 12-4 inside-50s and took five marks inside 50 too as they also dominated possessions (75-49) with Prespakis and Nanscawen leading the way with six touches each.
A strong tackle on Paige Scott at half-back from Suns defender Daisy D’Arcy with four minutes left in the term kept the Suns alive. Niamh McLaughlin also put in a spoil deep in defence late to deny a Dons goal.
The Suns scored against the run of play in the opening minute of the second term to cut the margin to one point.
Later in the game, the Dons got more fluency into their play to get out to a game-high 19-point lead after scoring three straight goals in the third term.
BOMBERS’ INJURY BLOW
Essendon’s win came at a cost with midfielder-forward Amber Clarke going down with a knee injury late in the third term.
The No.4 pick from the 2022 draft looked to be in pain after being pinned in a tackle deep in the forward line.
Clarke was having an excellent performance, kicking two crucial goals in a low-scoring affair.
The 19-year-old was seen on the bench in the fourth term with ice on her left knee and a knee brace on.
PRESPAKIS TOO GOOD FOR TAG
Bombers star midfielder Maddy Prespakis had close attention on her from Suns tagger Elise Barwick but she managed to fight through the tag superbly.
Prespakis scored a brilliant dribble goal early in the second term with her eighth touch of the game and had another shot on the halftime siren after receiving her fifth free kick.
She missed the shot but kicked the first goal of the second half to give the Bombers a 22-15 lead.
Prespakis finished the game with 22 disposals, two goals and equal game-high nine clearances.
HOT DAY, HOT FOOTY
It was scorching hot at People First Stadium and the home side would have no doubt benefited from the conditions, having spent countless hours in them compared to Essendon.
The temperature at the opening bounce was 30 degrees and reached a high of 32, making it a real contested battle for players. The fact both teams came off Wednesday night encounters also caused fatigue to set into the game.
Suns midfielders Charlie Rowbottom and Lucy Single led the way with 14 and 13 contested possessions respectively while Prespakis was best for the Dons with 13.
CATS KEEP FINALS HOPES ALIVE
Geelong has kept its final hopes alive after holding on for a narrow three-point win over Sydney at a packed Henson Park on Sunday.
On a windy day, the Cats capitalised on a strong breeze behind their backs in the opening term but were made to work for their second victory of the season after scoring just one goal when they had the wind in their favour again in the third quarter.
But the Cats did enough in the final term to contain a rampant Swans who pilled on three goals and threatened to steal the game.
Cats tall forward Aishling Moloney was influential with two goals, including some big moments late to help get her side over the line, while Georgie Prespakis was equally as strong with 20 disposals and four inside 50’s and clearances.
The win to go 2-4-1 breaks a two-game losing streak for the Cats and pushes them up to 11th spot on the table. They now sit a game and a half outside the eight with four matches to go in their season.
Meanwhile, the loss for the Swans almost spells curtains on their season as they fall to a 2-5 record.
SWANS FIGHT BACK
After three-straight behinds in a disappointing finish to the third term for the Cats, Aishling Moloney gave her side the perfect start with a set-shot goal to gain a game-high 21-point lead at the start of the final quarter.
But the Swans stormed back into the game with goals from Bella Smith (on her club debut), Rebecca Privitelli, and Alexia Hamilton to cut the margin to four points.
HOW DID HAMILTON DO THIS!?#AFLWSwansCatspic.twitter.com/2PVF2aUaMx
— AFL Women's (@aflwomens) October 6, 2024
A costly miss from Brooke Lochland 20 metres out on a slight angle made the scores 41-44 with five minutes left as the Cats regained possession and managed to hold on for the win. Privitelli’s strong mark, Smith’s quick thinking and Hamilton’s versatility in the ruck for the key Swans goals, however, was a positive for Scott Gowans’ side.
WIND FACTOR
It was the Cats winning the first quarter by three goals and the Swans winning the second by 11 points, but rather than both sides having dominant patches, it was the wind that was having a factor.
The Cats, however, would have been disappointed not to make the most of seven scoring shots against the breeze in the second term which were all behinds. Meanwhile the Swans had just three scoring shots and they were all goals.
The Swans ended up kicking more goals than the Cats in the end, marking just how inaccurate the Cats were, particularly in the second term.
MCCARTHY MAGIC
Paris McCarthy hadn’t kicked a goal in her first six AFLW games but made it three in no time in the second quarter to give the Swans a huge spark.
A spectacular goal over her head was her third major and the best of the lot as the Swans got back into the game at half time after being goal less and 18 points down at the first break.
MCCARTHY JUST KICKED IT OVER HER HEAD!#AFLWSwansCatspic.twitter.com/yn3vjxyCwK
— AFL Women's (@aflwomens) October 6, 2024
DARBY SMART
Kate Darby has a moment to remember in her 50th AFLW game after virtually winning the game for the Cats with some brilliant game awareness in the dying stages.
After taking a mark from 49 metres out with 53 seconds left on the clock, the tall forward went back and took plenty of time off the clock as if she was about to have a set shot.
Then she intelligently passed the ball off to Aishling Moloney in the pocket who ran the clock down to the have a shot at goal on the final siren.
In another time, a player could have blasted the ball long in Darby’s case and given the ball back to the Swans who could have gone end-to-end in 35 seconds to potentially score a matchwinning goal.
FAKE 50
Paris McCarthy thought she gained a 50-metre penalty in the middle of the ground when her opponent pushed the boundaries when going on the mark.
Despite the umpire not making the call, McCarthy still ran forward as if she had a 50-metre penalty, fooling the Cats before the umpire called play on and the Cats eventually caught onto the cheeky act.
“I’m not sure that was a 50,” Jason Bennett said on Channel 7 commentary.
“Everybody stopped as if it was, Paris sold it beautifully and the umpire just called play on.”
More Coverage
Originally published as AFLW Week 6: All the news from the final games of the round
Join the conversation
Why Cats will gain much more than four points from Swans thriller
With their finals hopes on the line in Sydney — with another loss sure to put the nail in the coffin — the Cats showed a side of themselves they hadn’t yet this season in the dying minutes.
Read more
Clubroom pic exposes what had to change
Clubs buckling under the lofty weight of ‘old school’ values turned a major corner when they made one big change.
Read more