AFLW round 2: Latest news, scores and key talking points
The Dees were inspired to victory by one of the great AFLW quarters, while the Bombers took care of business at their spiritual home of Windy Hill. See the full AFLW results here.
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One of the great quarters in AFLW history from Kate Hore has inspired a second straight win from Melbourne to open their premiership defence and set the equal third highest score in the competition’s history.
The Demons overpowered GWS in the nation’s capital by a whopping 77 points to compound the Giants early season woes and it was Hore’s opening stanza that set the tone.
Melbourne skipper kicked three goals to quarter time along with 12 disposals and seven marks to provide her team with a two goal break early that they built on throughout the game.
The two-time All-Australian would finish with five goals, 23 touches and 11 score involvements in a superb individual display as the Demons went two from two to start the season in their quest to go back to back.
HANDY HANKS
When the football is in the hands of Tyla Hanks it’s proving to be quite the weapon for the Demons.
The young gun, who won the AFLW rising star award in 2021, had 9 score involvements in the thumping of the Giants to go with the seven she managed last week in the big win over Collingwood.
The 23 year old had 30 possessions all up in another big game in what’s been a hugely influential start to her season.
The likes of Olivia Purcell and Sarah Lampard who kicked two goals each and Alyssa Bannan with three all profited from Hanks’ quality, forward of centre, in the Dees big win.
BARR’S BIG NIGHT
It wasn’t the performance the Giants were after but in her milestone game Nicola Barr was outstanding.
The 2016 number one draft pick for GWS stepped out for game number 50 in the AFLW and was valiant in a losing effort with 23 disposals and 9 clearances.
The old firm combination of Alyce Parker and Alicia Eva both had 19 and 21 touches respectively but the two superstars are in desperate need of some high end support around them if the 0-2 Giants are to reverse their ailing fortunes in season eight and challenge for a finals spot.
GWS 2.1, 2.1, 3.3, 3.4 (22)
MELBOURNE 4.1, 7.5 8.7, 15.9 (99)
BEST:
GWS: Barr, Parker, Beeson, Eva
MELB: Hore, Hanks, Purcell, Lampard, Pearce
GOALS:
GWS: Garnett, Eva, Doyle
MELB: Hore 5, Bannan 3, Purcell 2, Lampard 2, Zanker, Mithen, Mackin
PRESPAKIS’ DAY OUT LIFTS BOMBERS
- Shane Jones
It was another day out for Essendon’s Madison Prespakis as she guided the Bombers to a historic win at Windy Hill.
Essendon defeated St Kilda by 12 points in their first ever AFLW clash at their spiritual home ground with Prespakis leading from the front with 29 disposals, four marks, six tackles and five clearances to guide the team to their second straight win of the season.
It was a special win for the 22-year-old who grew up watching Essendon train at Windy Hill, not thinking that one day she could play there herself.
“As a little girl I came here all the time and spent a lot of my childhood on Saturday morning watching the boys train,” Prespakis told Fox Footy.
“There hasn’t been a game of footy here for so many years so for us to create our own history and win our first game here is incredible.”
In an inspired performance from the Dons the team kicked the first three goals of the contest before St Kilda fought back to level scores in the third term.
Essendon kicked the final two goals of the game, in the third quarter, to lead by 12-points at three-quarter-time.
A scoreless final quarter gave the Bombers the valuable win.
DREAM START
It has been 32 years since an Essendon team in seniors, men or women, played a national contest at Windy Hill but it didn’t take long for the Bombers to celebrate a goal.
And who better to kick the first goal than Jacqui Vogt.
The former Saints player, now playing for Essendon, snapped the first goal from 20 metres out, after a throw in, to get the Bombers faithful cheering early.
Vogt was also clearly happy with the goal, grabbing her shirt to indicate which side she was clearly on now.
The 29-year-old will forever be etched in history as the first Essendon women’s player to kick a goal at Windy Hill.
SAINTS HANG TOUGH
Just like their male counterparts, the Saints defence held firm in the second term to keep them in the contest.
Essendon kicked three goals from their first eight inside 50s before the Saints stemmed the tide with just three behinds from the next 12 for the Dons.
It allowed St Kilda to rebound and have six scoring shots themselves, keeping the margin to just five points at the main break.
But it wasn’t enough as Essendon found another gear late in the third term to secure a decisive margin.
FINALS BOUND?
Since the introduction of a six or eight team finals series in the AFLW, all but one team has made the finals after starting the season 2-0.
St Kilda, who started last season 2-0, are the only team to miss finals after a perfect start to the season after two rounds.
Overall, since 2020, 19 out of 20 teams have made the finals after starting 2-0.
Essendon has a great chance of being the first team from those included in the competition last year to make it.
DONS: 3.1, 3.3, 6.4, 6.4 (40)
SAINTS: 1.2, 2.4, 4.4, 4.4 (28)
JONES’ BEST:DONS: Prespakis, Toogood, Vogt, Alexander, Gee; SAINTS: Lambert, Xenos, McDonald, Kelly, Priest
GOALS –DONS: Toogood, Vogt, Clarke, Gee, Wuetschner, Radford; SAINTS: Xenos, Lambert, McDonald, Vesely
INJURIES:DONS: Cain (concussion). SAINTS: None.
VENUE: Windy Hill
ROOS PICK APART BLUES
Carlton failed to register a score until the 12-minute mark of the last quarter and its scoring woes on the back of poor connection will make it a long season for the Blues faithful.
The Blues still appear to be heavily reliant on star forward Darcy Vescio, who booted three goals last week but was forced up the ground to get their hands on the ball against North.
Without any other big names in the forward line, Carlton looked lost going forward at times, their midfield’s solid work going to waste in a 60-point loss.
The Blues didn’t look to have a brand going forward, with neither their smalls able to lock the ball in or their tall players take a mark.
Only a late free kick handed them a goal, recording the club’s lowest AFLW score in its history, just avoiding becoming the first side in competition history to go scoreless in a game.
KING’S MILESTONE
Emma King’s sixth hit out of the game elevated her to where only one other player had gone before.
The towering North Melbourne forward, who now pinch hits in the ruck, notched the 1000th hit out of her career against the only other woman to have achieved the feat, Breann Moody.
The former Magpie, who became a Roo in 2019, booted two goals and finished with 13 hit outs for the game.
SHEER DELIGHT
Kate Shierlaw looks like she can help take North Melbourne to the next level in 2023 after an impressive outing for the Roos.
Coming over from St Kilda at the end of last season, Shierlaw has slotted into North’s forward line seamlessly, kicking another two goals to go with her one last week.
The addition of Shierlaw, who has joined Tahlia Randall (four goals), Emma King (two), and Bella Eddey (one), has last season’s preliminary finalists looking more dangerous than ever.
MIDFIELD DUO’S FEAST
Ash Riddell and Jasmine Garner have torn great sides apart, so pulling the Carlton midfield to pieces was light work for the star duo.
It wasn’t just the big numbers they both accumulated – 36 touches each – but what they did with the ball as they put together 1068 metres gained between them.
Their hardness around the contest was also on display with a combined 20 tackles and 14 clearances.
NORTH 1.1 3.1 5.4 10.6 66
BLUES 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 6
MOTTERSHEAD’S BEST North: Garner, Randall, Riddell, Shierlaw, Eddey, Kearney. Blues: Cordner, Hill, McKay, Pound.
GOALS North: Randall 4, Shierlaw 2, E.King 2, Eddey, Garner. Blues: Fitzpatrick.
INJURIES North: nil. Blues: nil.
BLISTERING PIES ROLL OVER DOCKERS
Collingwood’s Irish contingent was crucial to their blistering ball movement and executing coach Steve Symonds’ new game plan.
The Pies looked to put pace on the game at all costs, flying out of stoppages and backing contests ahead of the ball in the interest of playing quickly.
It was the difference in Collingwood’s 21-point win, and Sarah Rowe and Aishling Sheridan were vital cogs in the Magpies’ machine.
The Irish duo’s ability to overlap run and dominate the wings of Victoria Park was a highlight, with Sheridan’s move around the footy at times a masterstroke from Symonds.
Sheridan had six clearances to go with a team-high 21 touches, while Rowe had a team-high 323 metres gained.
BRI DAVEY
Coming off a career-best outing in Collingwood’s opening game, Bri Davey continued her red-hot start to the season with another commanding midfield performance.
Fremantle had clearly planned to give the 28-year-old plenty of attention and did its best to clamp the 2021 league best and fairest, with three Dockers piling on top of her at the second stoppage of the game.
Seconds later she was held as the Dockers struggled to deal with Davey.
While she wasn’t as prolific as last week, she was just as effective, finishing with 19 disposals, 10 tackles, four clearances and a goal.
HYPHEN HEAVEN
Collingwood recruit Nell Morris-Dalton gave the Pies the perfect start with the game’s first two goals.
The recruit from the Western Bulldogs proved too much to handle for the Dockers’ defenders, getting the job done with her size but showing she is also handy at ground level.
The 22-year-old’s first goal came thanks to a free kick, her size and movement causing headaches for her opponent, before she judged her set shot from a tight angle to perfection.
Her second goal was a ripper, roving the pack and running onto the ball to snap it through.
BOWERS BACK
Kiara Bowers returned with a vintage performance, laying 18 tackles to add some much-needed grunt to the Dockers’ midfield.
The 31-year-old was sensational in helping put a stop to an at times rampant Collingwood midfield, and had she not been out there the margin could have been much larger.
Fremantle will need to find Bowers some help, however, as they looked slow around the contest and their ability to break away from stoppage was questionable.
Bowers finished with a game-high 23 touches and six clearances.
PIES 3.1 4.3 7.4 7.4 46
FREO 0.0 1.3 1.3 3.7 25
MOTTERSHEAD’S BESTPies: Davey, Cann, Sheridan, Bonnici, Rowe, Casey, Morris-Dalton. Freo: Bowers, Miller, Strom, Kauffman.
GOALS Pies: Morris-Dalton 2, Rowe, Morris, Campbell, Davey, Frederick. Freo: E.Antonio, Stannett, Lally.
INJURIES Pies: Barnett (ankle). Freo: O’Sullivan (shoulder).
DAVIDSON LEADS LIONS AGAIN
- Shane Jones
An inspired performance from new Hawthorn recruits, Emily Bates and home town player Kaitlyn Ashmore has helped the Hawks to their best win in AFLW with a seven point win over the Western Bulldogs at Mars Stadium.
Returning home to Ballarat to play for the first time, Ashmore was one of the best, with 19 disposals and five tackles to help the Hawks beat one of the original AFLW teams.
Not even a heavy bump on her in the second term, which winded the 31-year-old, could stop her and the team in their tracks.
She was joined by former AFLW best and fairest, Bates, who had 22 disposals, six tackles and three clearances in her best performance for the club after moving from Brisbane in the off-season.
The Hawks came back from a three-point deficit at the final change to end their four game losing streak, stretching back to last season.
Using the breeze to their advantage in the final term the Hawks kicked two final quarter goals to stun a Bulldogs outfit who are now winless after their first two games for the second time in their history.
SLOW STARTS HURT DOGS
If the Western Bulldogs are to be any part of finals this season it must look at their starts to quarters. The Hawks kicked two of their first three goals in the contest in the early stages of the first and second term.
In the first three minutes of play of each quarter, the Hawks kicked a goal, which put them on the front foot.
With the margin so close, it cost the Bulldogs the game, as the team was forced to chase the game.
After doing the same, conceding goals early, in the first match against Geelong, it will be something Bulldogs coach Nathan Burke looks at in future contests.
PRITCHARD SHINES
One of the questions for the Bulldogs this season has been who can help Ellie Blackburn in the midfield.
Blackburn was once again the leading player for the Dogs, dominating in the midfield with 20 disposals and nine clearances, the most of any player on the field.
But joining her with an impressive performance was Isabelle Pritchard who had her best game in Dogs colours.
The 21-year-old has 26 disposals, the most on ground, and her most in an AFLW game.
She also had five clearances and four tackles.
It might be a disappointing loss for the Dogs but they have found a young star in the making.
HAWKS MORE EFFICIENT
The Western Bulldogs dominated most categories, winning clearances, contested possessions, marks and disposals but the Hawks won where it mattered most, on the scoreboard.
In tough conditions where mistakes needed to be at a minimum, the Hawks did that, making less turnovers and applying more pressure on the Dogs with more tackles.
It led to more inside 50’s and more chances for the Hawks to attack, which they took advantage of to secure an important win.
HAWKS: 1.3, 3.6, 4.9, 6.10 (46)
DOGS: 2.2, 2.3, 5.6, 5.9 (39)
JONES’ BEST: HAWKS: Bates, Ashmore, Lucas-Rodd, McDonagh, Baskaran; DOGS: Blackburn, Pritchard, Lamb, McLeod, Georgostathis.
GOALS – HAWKS: Bodey 2, Lucas-Rodd, Gilroy, McDonagh, Hipwell; DOGS: McLeod 2, Newton, McFarlane, Hartwig
INJURIES: Dogs: None. Hawks: None.
VENUE: Mars Stadium
DAVIDSON LEADS LIONS AGAIN
- Jason Phelan
A commanding four-goal performance by Dakota Davidson and a prolific display by midfielder Ally Anderson spurred the Lions to an emphatic 50-point win against Port Adelaide at Alberton Oval on Saturday.
Davidson equaled her career-best mark in a masterclass of forward craft that also saw her pull down six contested marks, one short of the AFLW record, while a busy Anderson was everywhere, gathering 35 possessions.
The two sides met at AFLW level for the first time and the Lions were a class above for the most part, jumping out to an early lead and finishing off their hard work with a three-goals-to-one final term to register their first win of the season.
Port coach Lauren Arnell, a premiership player with Brisbane in 2021, saw plenty of positives in last week’s season-opener, and while there were fewer against Brisbane there were still patches of good play to build on, in particular the fine ruck work of youngster Matilda Scholz.
CONWAY KICKS OFF
Stung by their last-gasp loss to Richmond in their season-opener, the Lions came out snarling.
Sophie Conway had a dream start to her 50th AFLW game, coolly slotting Brisbane’s first goal on the run just over a minute into the contest.
The switched-on Lions registered the first eight inside 50s of the game before Port ventured inside its own attacking arc.
Gemma Houghton gave the home fans something to cheer about with a fine running goal, but the dominant Lions had 11 more inside 50s in the opening term, Analea McKee and Cathy Svarc hitting the scoreboard to help put their side 21 points up at the first break.
DAKOTA TAKES FLIGHT
Davidson provided one of the highlights of the match when she took flight and pulled down a superb contested mark inside the last minute of the first half.
A pack of about 10 players went up for the ball, but Davidson wanted it more, the star forward rising above the jostling throng to clunk a commanding one-grab mark just outside the goal square.
Having kicked her first goal inside the first minute of the second quarter, Davidson added her second to lead Port, goalless for the quarter, by 31 points at the main break.
TERRIFIC TEAKLE
After a bright first half against Adelaide in the season-opening Showdown, the Power faded in the second, but Arnell’s side dug deep at home to take the challenge up to Brisbane after the restart.
Ange Foley gathered a loose ball and banged through her side’s second goal and Julia Teakle made it back-to-back majors in fine style.
Deep in a pocket, hemmed in on the boundary line and on the wrong side for a right-footer, Teakle threaded the eye of the needle to slot a spectacular goal.
POWER 1.0 1.2 3.2 4.2 (26)
LIONS 4.3 6.3 8.6 11.10 (76)
PHELAN’S BEST POWER: Scholz, Foley, Phillips, Dowrick, Mules, Ballard. LIONS: Davidson, Anderson, Conway, Svarc, O’Dwyer, Hodder.
GOALS POWER: Teakle, Houghton, Foley, Tahau. LIONS: Davidson 4, Conway 2, McKee 2, Svarc, Smith, O’Dwyer.
INJURIES POWER: Nil. LIONS: Smith (hamstring).
ALBERTON OVAL
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
JASON PHELAN’S VOTES
3 Davidson (Bris)
2 Anderson (Bris)
1 Scholz (Port)
SCHEER BRILLIANCE LIFTS CATS OVER MUCH-IMPROVED SWANS
Daniel Garb
With the Swans riding a momentum wave from their historic first win last week, the Cats needed to extinguish any fire they had going at North Sydney Oval in the early stages and Chloe Scheer ensured that.
The Cats forward kicked five goals, four of which arrived before halftime, as the Cats made it two from two to start their campaign with a 27 point win.
It was Scheer who sparked them with two superb snaps in the first term – the first on her right foot from the pocket and the second just minutes later, spinning on her left from 25 metres out.
Scheer’s first half haul is just the third time in AFLW history that a player has kicked four goals to the main break and she was instrumental in setting her side up for victory.
SWANS MAKING STRIDES
With their maiden win in the bag over GWS last week, the challenge of taking on the Cats provided a sterner test for the Swans.
But they proved that they are a different unit in their second season in the competition.
The Swans finished their winless campaign in their first season with a 75 hammering at the hands of the Cats but in just their second game of their second season they stuck with one of the premiership fancies for large periods of the game.
Yet again it was the M&M partnership of young ruck gun Ally Morphett and superstar Chloe Molloy who led the way for Sydney. Both kicked superb goals on the run to keep the Swans in the contest.
Laura Gardiner also shone against her former side to continue her excellent start to the season finishing with 27 disposals and eight tackles.
GEORGIE GRINDS AWAY
After her stunning 34 disposal game against the Bulldogs last week, all eyes were on young Cats star Georgie Prespakis.
The Swans admitted they were likely to ‘put some work into her’ during the week and that plan worked out as they kept Prespakis to just the 15 disposals.
She toiled away despite not getting as much of the footy as last week to land 13 tackles and still have a baring on the contest.
MILESTONE TO REMEMBER
Aleisha Newman is a hugely popular figure in the Swans set-up and helped energise their miraculous win over the Giants last week. She stepped out for the 50th time in the AFLW competition against the Cats after previous stints with Melbourne and Collingwood and kicked three goals in an impressive individual display on a big day for her personally.
SYDNEY 0.4, 2.6, 4.8, 5.11 (41)
GEELONG 5.0, 6.1, 8.6, 10.8 (68)
GOALKICKERS:
SYDNEY: Newman 3, Morphett, Molloy
GEELONG: Scheer 5, Parry 3, Morrison, McDonald
BEST:
SYDNEY: Gardiner, Molloy, Newman, Morphett, C.Hamilton
GEELONG: Scheer, N.Morrison, Parry, M.McDonald, Prespakis, A.McDonald
SENSATIONAL STANTON PUNISHES EAGLES
Jamie Stanton bagged six goals in her 50th AFLW appearance as Gold Coast thumped West Coast by 73 points at Heritage Bank Stadium on Saturday.
The Suns passed their previous best score of 49 points before halftime and powered away with seven fourth-quarter goals to post the third-highest score in AFLW history.
Stanton had never booted multiple goals in a match prior to Saturday’s round two clash with the Eagles but had three in the first 15 minutes as the Suns put on a clinic at their home ground.
In a few short hours she boosted her career goals tally from eight to 14 and became just the fifth AFLW player to kick five or more goals in a match.
Gold Coast responded to the narrow opening round defeat to Carlton and loss of superstar Kalinda Howarth to an ACL injury with its best performance in club history.
Star midfielder Charlie Rowbottom rewrote the record book for the Suns by setting new benchmarks for contested possessions (24), clearances (16) and goal assists (four) in a single game.
She finished with a game-high 33 disposals – as did fellow midfielder Claudia Whitfort, who was also one of five Suns goal scorers on a historic day for the club.
Gold Coast captain Tara Bohanna chimed in with four goals and Jacqueline Dupuy bagged three in what was a statement of intent from the Suns who fancy their chances at a finals berth this season.
Suns coach Cameron Joyce hailed a “complete performance” from his side and challenged it to continue that form on the road next weekend.
“We want to make sure it’s really difficult for any team that comes here to play and to get a win,” he said.
“We had a good record last year here and we want to continue that and we started on the right foot today.
“We go to Melbourne next week to play Collingwood who are a really experienced and good footy team and that’s where we need to get to … challenging those types of teams.
“The challenge will be for us to play like that next week.”
FREAK 75M GOAL HELPS CROWS SINK TIGERS IN WET
Brayden May
Adelaide has flexed its premiership muscle with a comprehensive victory over Richmond to kick start round 2 of the AFLW season.
The Crows had everything on their terms after quarter-time, managing to hold Richmond scoreless for the remainder of the game.
The visitors booted five goals to none after the first break.
Ebony Marinoff and Mon Conti went head-to-head in a brilliant battle in the middle of the ground.
GOULD ONLY GETTING BETTER
It was a career night for the Caitlin Gould in front of goal. The former state volleyballer booted a game-high three goals in another indication she’s set to go to another level this year. In tough conditions for forwards, the 24-year-old took several impressive marks to earn her shots on goal. “She’s a great presence, a really good target for them to get the ball forward to. This is what I’ve loved about her evolution as a player,” former Carlton AFLW coach Daniel Harford said on Fox Footy’s commentary.
CONTI STARS, AGAIN
Mon Conti is off to a flyer again to start the season and she will be right among the votes again for this one. She finished with 28 disposals and a goal as she led the way in the engine room for the Tigers. Her brilliant start with eight touches and her side’s first goal was a key to Richmond’s fast opening term.
CROWS’ SMART FOOTY
After trailing at the first break, the Crows showed why they’re again a premiership contender. They got the game on their terms through smart ball use. They often switched the ball when time and space allowed with Niamh Kelly finding plenty of the footy out on the wing. On other occasions, they simply got the ball forward at every possible occasion. In defence, Chelsea Bidell led the way, rarely beaten throughout the night.
YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE IT 🤯
— AFL Women's (@aflwomens) September 8, 2023
Danielle Ponter kicks it from the centre of Ikon Park!#AFLWTigersCrowspic.twitter.com/jT5TYWHUsL
PONTER’S GOAL OF THE YEAR CONTENDER
You may struggle to find a better effort than Danielle Ponter’s effort in the second term. After collecting the ball from a ruck contest, Ponter took three steps forward before slamming the ball onto her boot. The ball took the perfect skid forward about 25m, going over the head of a Crows opponent and Tigers defender, before rolling through. It’s an early goal of the year contender.
TIGERS 2.0, 2.0, 2.0, 2.0 (12)
CROWS 1.1, 3.1, 5.2, 6.5 (41)
MAY’S BEST: Tigers: Conti, Dempsey, Egan, Seymour, Sheerin, Miller. Crows: Newman, Biddell, Marinoff, Hatchard, Gould, Charlton.
GOALS Tigers: Conti, Kelly. Crows: Richmond: Gould 3, Ponter, Jones, Martin.
UMPIRES: Heffernan, Stark, Wallace
INJURIES: NIL.
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