AFLW: Lions maul Bulldogs, West Coast stun Collingwood
After a shaky start to the 2024 season, the Lions have now win three games on the trot, after dismantling the lowly Bulldogs in Springfield on Wednesday night.
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The Brisbane Lions have made it three AFLW wins in a row on Wednesday night after they crushed the bottom-placed Western Bulldogs by 47 points in Springfield.
The Lions burst out of the blocks with the first five goals and never looked back. The 11.15 (81) to 5.4 (34) result saw them provisionally move up to third on the ladder as their recovery from their first-round thumping at the hands of North Melbourne continues.
Not only did Brisbane register their fifth-biggest score, but it was also the third-biggest score the Dogs have ever conceded and the baptism of fire for their first-year coach Tamara Hyatt persists as her new club has started a season 0-4 for the second year in a row. Their finals hopes are already all but dashed.
The Bulldogs were always going to be up against it against the reigning premiers, especially without their injured champion Ellie Blackburn (foot), and the first quarter was one-way traffic in favour of Brisbane.
Even without star forward Dakota Davidson (illness), who was a late withdrawal, the Lions mercilessly flexed their muscles and unleashed the full fury of their premiership capabilities against the lowly Bulldogs.
LIONS ROAR EARLY
Powered by enormous pressure, Brisbane battered the Dogs into submission as they kicked three goals to open up a 22-point lead at the first change while the visitors failed to register a score.
Four rounds in, it was already the Dogs’ 10th goalless and third scoreless quarter for the season.
Brisbane dominated every aspect of the contest with a staggering 17-1 lead in forward entries while also smashing the Bulldogs in disposals (64-37) despite also hammering them in tackles (18-8).
There was absolutely no respite for the hopelessly outclassed Dogs, and the pain continued into the second term as the hosts scooted out to a commanding 34-point lead, having helped themselves to the opening five goals of the match.
The Bulldogs belatedly came alive and lifted their intensity, and managed to limit the damage on the scoreboard with five of the last 11 majors, but it was a case of too little, too late and they probably avoided a heftier defeat considering Brisbane almost tripled them for scoring shots (26-9).
CONWAY, ANDERSON STAR
Sophie Conway and Ally Anderson were the chief architects of the massive win. Conway finished up with 22 disposals (11 contested), eight tackles and two goals, while Anderson racked up 25 possessions (13), six tackles and five clearances. Meanwhile, Taylor Smith had a night out with four goals.
The hosts ended up pummelling the Bulldogs in disposals (253-162), contested possessions (111-91), tackles (67-49), inside 50s (44-21) and marks (40-25) and their blistering running game was underscored by their domination of handball-receives (86-25).
BRILLIANT BELLE
The highlight of the first quarter came at the 14-minute mark when Brisbane star Belle Dawes burst clear of Bulldog would-be tacklers Jorja Borg and Lauren Ahrens and her snap over her shoulder from 25m out bounced through perfectly to put her team up by 22 points.
BUMBLING BULLDOGS
You just knew it wasn’t the Bulldogs’ night early in the second quarter when Lauren Ahrens ran into debutant Kaylee Kimber as she was bending over to pick up the ball in the Lions’ goal square. The collision between teammates led to spillage in a very dangerous area and Brisbane’s Courtney Hodder pounced to kick the easy six-pointer from point-blank range and put her side up by 34 points.
GRIGG OFF THE MARK
Bulldogs youngster Elaine Grigg kicked her first AFLW goal in bizarre circumstances in the third quarter as the ball hit the deck after the ball-up in the Bulldogs’ goal square, then after bouncing through the congestion, it clipped the back of her calf on the goal line and went through for a comical six-pointer.
SCOREBOARD
BRISBANE LIONS 3.4, 6.5, 8.13, 11.15 (81)
WEST. BULLDOGS 0.0, 1.2, 3.3, 5.4 (34)
RONNY LERNER’S BEST
Lions: Conway, Anderson, Dawes, Smith, Svarc, Smith, Koenen.
Dogs: Hartwig, Pritchard, Edmonds, Ahrens.
GOALS
Lions: Smith 4, Conway 2, Dawes, Hodder, Svarc, Hartill, Yoshida-Martin.
Dogs: Hartwig 2, Grigg, Bennetts, Berry.
LATE CHANGE Dakota Davidson (illness) replaced in Brisbane’s selected side by Luka Yoshida-Martin.
UMPIRES Nund, Maher, Jankovskis.
ANOTHER STAR MAGPIE SIDELINED AS EAGLES MAKE HISTORY
- Blair Burns
It was an insult to injury for Collingwood as they slumped to a 0-4 record after falling 17 points short against the Eagles, losing another star player to injury in the process with captain Brianna Davey entering concussion protocols.
The star midfielder will miss the next two matches with the condensed fixture, a huge hit to the side who will also be without Britt Bonnici.
Davey stood in front of a big pack early in the second quarter and was crunched as Eagles’ Ella Roberts leapt at the ball and collected her from behind. The 29-year-old had started the game well collecting eight disposals and two clearances before she left the ground to take no further part in the match.
The Magpies were already battling to keep players on the park and have been forced to utilise top-up player Jordan Ivey the last two matches, a result of not having the required 24 primary-listed players.
Collingwood will regroup and look to claim their first win of the season on Sunday when they travel to Whitten Oval to take on another winless team in the Western Bulldogs.
EAGLES FLYING HIGH
Daisy Pearce has got her troops absolutely flying and breaking records everywhere you look.
The Eagles have now won three of their first four games which makes it their most successful winning season in AFLW history. It is also the first time the club has ever secured back-to-back victories.
The side will be riding a huge wave of confidence when they host Brisbane at Perth on Sunday and will be looking to cause a huge upset.
Pearce said before the game that the focus would be on bringing the pressure and an elite work rate, and they did just that.
Despite being comprehensively beaten in the first term around the stoppage, they responded and lifted their tackling pressure.
Mikayla Western, Jess Hosking and Kellie Gibson all had three tackles each inside forward 50 and helped lock the ball in and help the side generate repeat entries.
PIES FADE AFTER HOT START
Collingwood started like a house on fire as they won the first four clearances of the game and quickly established dominance around the stoppage despite the absence of Britt Bonnici. Davey (eight disposals) and Mikala Cann (four clearances) led the way for the Pies in the first quarter, but a disappointing fade out was soon to follow.
Pies’ Eliza James booted through the first goal of the game with an elegant snap around the body, while Imogen Barnett extended the lead to 13 points with the first goal of her career from a set shot.
While some Kellie Gibson brilliance kept the ball alive in the forward 50 and resulted in a Jess Hosking goal, the Magpies still held the upper hand around the ground early.
They led the clearance count 11-5 at the first break, while also starting well in key areas such as tackles (+8), contested possessions (+11) and inside 50s (+5).
Collingwood coach Sam Wright said he was pleased with the way the team started the game.
“The intent and urgency were definitely there, what I’m most proud of at the moment is the game system is starting to come through,” he said at quarter time.
But it was West Coast who owned the game and dictated play from quarter time onwards restricting Collingwood to just one goal for the rest of the match.
MIDS SET THE TONE
Ella Roberts (19 disposals, seven tackles), Alison Drennan (25 disposals, four clearances) and Isabella Lewis (19 disposals, one goal) led the way for the Eagles in the engine room.
After a slow start to the match, the trio fought back to control the game and carry the side to a 17-point victory.
Lewis was a workhorse and never took a backwards step, she was at the bottom of every pack and continually put her body on the line for the team.
The ever-reliable Drennan delivered again and is putting together a consistent season offering great experience to many of the young stars in the team.
Roberts is one of the competition’s brightest young stars and continues to go strength to strength averaging almost 20 disposals per game. Her ball-use was particularly impressive on the night.
MID-WEEK FOOTY FIXTURE
It may have felt a little bit unusual to have AFLW football on a Tuesday night, but the exciting mid-week fixture will not be disappearing anytime soon.
West Coast and Collingwood was the first game of an action-packed AFLW fixture which has been condensed with 11 games to be played across the 10-week season. Games will be played six days per week with Monday the only exception.
While some teams may see short five and six-day breaks as opportunities to manage players or blood youth, injury-riddled teams like Collingwood will be tested as they struggle for depth.
SCOREBOARD
PIES 2.1, 2.1, 2.1, 3.1 (19)
EAGLES 1.1, 3.3, 5.4, 5.6 (36)
BEST
Pies: Rowe, Cann, Frederick, Barnett, Schleicher
Eagles: Lewis, Roberts, Drennan, Hosking, Britton
GOALS
Pies: James, Campbell, Barnett
Eagles: Hosking 2, Lewis, Gibson, Franklin
INJURIES Pies: Brianna Davey (concussion). Eagles: nil.
Venue Ikon Park, Melbourne
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: BLAIR BURNS’ VOTES
3 Isabella Lewis (WCE)
2 Sarah Rowe (COL)
1 Jess Hosking (WCE)
Originally published as AFLW: Lions maul Bulldogs, West Coast stun Collingwood
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