Erin Phillips dominant in return to lead Adelaide to first win, Bulldogs sweat on Katie Brennan injury
ADELAIDE star Erin Phillips has made a triumphant return by leading the Crows to their first win of the season with four goals against the Bulldogs, who are sweating on the fitness of captain Katie Brennan after she was injured late in the last term.
AFLW
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFLW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
BEST and fairest Erin Phillips has underlined her importance to the Crows as Adelaide kept its aspirations to defend the inaugural AFLW premiership alive with a thrilling seven-point win over Western Bulldogs at Norwood Oval.
But the news wasn’t as good for Bulldogs captain and star Katie Brennan who suffered an ankle injury late in the final term.
Brennan, who had been one of the Bulldogs best with two goals, had to be helped from the field by trainers.
The Bulldogs confirmed after the match Brennan is experiencing pain in her right ankle but are unsure of the severity of the injury. She will require scans this week.
The star forward missed most of last year’s AFLW season with an ankle injury before tearing her quad as she attempted to make a comeback in the final rounds.
The Bulldogs will be sweating on Brennan’s injury given it has already lost fellow forward and No.1 draft pick Isabel Huntington to a serious knee injury. Huntington tore her ACL last weekend against Brisbane and requires a knee reconstruction.
Phillips was dominant in her return from injury and it is impossible not to wonder where the Crows’ season would sit had she not missed the first two matches.
The Crows look like they have got its act together and the longer they played on Saturday afternoon, the better they — and best afield Phillips — looked.
As much as the Crows came into this match under intense pressure it was the Western Bulldogs who came out with the intensity of somebody running late for a train.
They were first to the ball, more desperate in the adrenaline fuelled first passages and in just a minute Emma Kearney had drifted forward to kick the first goal of the match and silence the crowd.
There was a sinking feeling at Norwood Oval until Phillips changed the atmosphere.
She had been held tightly by specialist tagger Libby Birch — watching the pair of them was seeing a game within the game — but as Phillips regained her feel for the game she was getting more and more of the ball and handled it cleanly.
She kicked the Crows first just inside the first-quarter siren and when she pulled down the hanger of the match halfway through the second the Crows were walking around with the strut and intent that was a hallmark of their premiership season.
There were players to like everywhere. Rhiannon Metcalfe was peerless in the ruck and damaging around the ground, Ebony Marinoff didn’t shirk a contest, Sarah Allan read the ball and played with grace in the backline and Jenna McCormick was dancing around players the way she does on a football field.
When the team looked like it would slip away, co-captain Chelsea Randall and little Georgia Bevan refused to give an inch.
She also kicked a nice goal to add to Phillips two on the board.
The game swung back in the third quarter, when the Bulldogs regained both the lead and their confidence before a steadier — from Phillips, you guessed it — and it was again five points in it ahead of the final quarter.
Star Dogs midfielder Ellie Blackburn was among the side’s best again, while Kearney was also prominent and Monique Conti continues to improve as a half forward.
Then the Crows turned up the heat a notch in the final quarter and began looking like a premiership threat again.
CROWS 1.1 2.2 4.4 6.5 (41)
BULLDOGS 2.1 3.1 5.3 5.4 (34)
GOALS
CROWS: Phillips 4, McCormick 2
BULLDOGS: Brennan 2, Utri, Kearney, Lochland
BEST
CROWS: Phillips, Randall, Marinoff, McCormick, Metcalf, Sarah Allan
BULLDOGS: Blackburn, Brennan, Kearney, Conti, Utri
REPORTS: Dayna Cox (Adel) for striking Ellie Blackburn (WB)
UMPIRES: Matthew Young, Jamie Broadbent, David Newell
CROWD: 4900 at Norwood Oval
Originally published as Erin Phillips dominant in return to lead Adelaide to first win, Bulldogs sweat on Katie Brennan injury
Huge shift to AFLW’s Pride Round a hallmark of new fixture
The long-awaited AFLW fixture will be released this week and include a big change to the league’s Pride Round celebration. Find out what you can expect here.
Abbie’s road: Father’s challenge as McKay leads new Blues era
The McKay name is steeped in Carlton history. Now, Abbie McKay has the chance to make her own history after being elevated to the Blues’ AFLW captaincy. This is how she’ll do it.