Ash Brazill suffers knee injury during Collingwood’s AFLW clash with Melbourne
Ash Brazill appears to have suffered a serious knee injury in the Magpies AFLW clash with Melbourne, throwing her plans to play for the Australian Diamonds on Sunday into disarray. WATCH
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It was the double blow felt across two sports.
Magpie Ash Brazill had spoken in the week of her pride in playing AFLW on Friday night and then hopefully backing up with the Australian Diamonds in Sydney on Sunday.
Instead, Brazill’s immediate playing future is in tatters after going down with a left knee injury in Collingwood’s loss to Melbourne at Marvel Stadium.
The netball and football star’s knee buckled as she changed direction while attempting to lay a tackle late in the third term.
Brazill had to leave the field on a medicab, raising fears she is the latest ACL victim in the AFLW ranks.
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If it’s an ACL tear, Brazill would become the 10th AFLW player to have suffered one so far this season.
“We’re just waiting to hear back on what that’s all about,” Collingwood coach Steve Symonds said.
“I can’t really tell you much more than that as we’re just waiting to hear more.
“Hopefully fingers crossed, but it probably didn’t look like what we wanted to see so we’ll wait and see.
“She’s a pretty strong character and she’s full of life so she’ll always look at the positive side of it, so we still have our fingers crossed it might work out okay.
“Our thoughts are with her at the moment.”
Melbourne coach Mick Stinear said it loomed as a huge blow for the competition.
“She’s such a great player and I know we were worried about her rebound out of the defensive 50 and she’s hurt us in the past,” he said.
“It’s a disappointing part of the comp because it’s such a short competition and there’s been too many serious knee injuries that deprive fans of watching their best players.
“Our thoughts go out to Collingwood and to Ash.”
Brazill was not the sole Magpie casualty, with Ruby Schleicher also sporting a sling as she sat on the bench during the second half.
DEES ON THEIR WAY
The hype had been there all week.
It had been built up as arguably the most important game of the AFLW to date, with the two inaugural teams both on two wins heading into the clash.
The stakes were high, particularly given both are inaugural AFLW teams and both have failed to make finals in their first three seasons.
That looks like being a thing of the past, at least for Melbourne.
The Demons punched the Magpies in the face early and weathered a second term fightback to score a resounding 7.4 (46) to 4.2 (26) victory.
The win puts Melbourne tantalisingly close to securing a finals berth after three years of near misses.
For Collingwood, it’s a loss they would not have seen coming.
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BETTER UNDER THE ROOF
What a luxury it would have been for players of both sides.
Playing under the roof of Marvel Stadium, in front of an official crowd of 21,528 spectators, would have felt like heaven given the amount of windswept venues the AFLW players endure almost every week.
It was to be the ultimate skills test, and there was little doubt it led to a better showing.
It may be time to stage more games at the Docklands venue.
It might not look good with empty seats at the venue, but there was no doubt the conditions under the roof helped the product.
NO MORE DEES INJURIES
The win was good on two counts for Melbourne.
As well as securing the four points, the Demons suffered no new major injuries.
And thank heavens for that.
The club’s injury crisis means they have just 24 available players.
It had been feared that the Demons may have had to call on a train-on player for Friday night’s game.
That didn’t eventuate, and thankfully were no fresh concerns.
THE NEW ERIN?
It was not the Magpies’ night, but the reputation of Jaimee Lambert continued to grow.
She’s quickly gaining the reputation of the closest thing we have to Erin Phillips after another impressive display.
Lambert finished with 22 disposals, six inside 50’s and a goal in her side’s defeat.
It’s been a career-best season, and it’s not over yet.
The Magpies will next face the Western Bulldogs in Morwell next Sunday, while the Demons will host West Coast on the same day.
SCOREBOARD
COLLINGWOOD 0.1 2.1 3.1 4.2 (28)
def by
MELBOURNE 2.1 4.2 6.3 7.4 (46)
GOALS
Collingwood: Rowe 2, Layton, Lambert, Rowe
Melbourne: Parry, Hore, Zanker, Cunningham, Sherriff, Scott, Gay
BEST
Magpies:Lambert, Davey, Bonnici, Chiocci
Demons: Paxman, Hanks, Birch, Pearce, O’Dea, Hore
NICK SMART’S VOTES
3 — Karen Paxman (Mel)
2 — Tyla Hanks (Mel)
1 — Jaimee Lambert (Coll)
INJURIES
Magpies: Schleicher (arm), Brazill (knee)
Demons: Nil
REPORTS
Magpies: Nil
Demons: Nil
CROWD
21,528 at Marvel Stadium
Originally published as Ash Brazill suffers knee injury during Collingwood’s AFLW clash with Melbourne
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