All the news and updates from across the AFLW’s round 5: Roos’ win over the Lions, Crows’ down the Hawks
North Melbourne has sent a massive message to the rest of the competition with a big win over the Lions in the grand final rematch, while the Crows have taken down the Hawks in Frankston.
The 2025 AFLW premiership is increasingly looking like North Melbourne’s to lose after the powerhouse side comfortably won their grand final rematch against the Brisbane Lions by 29 points on Sunday in Springfield.
The 10.5 (65) to 5.6 (36) result extended the Kangaroos’ record winning streak to 17 consecutive matches, and they are now unbeaten in their last 19 outings. In the words of pro wrestling legend Goldberg: “Who’s next?”
It has been 652 days since North last tasted defeated, coincidentally against Brisbane in the 2023 grand final, and they have retained top spot on the ladder as the last undefeated team left standing after the round began with four unbeaten sides.
After an arm wrestle of an opening term, which produced four lead changes, the Kangaroos stamped their authority on the contest with five consecutive goals propelling them to a 26-point lead halfway through the second quarter.
And while the Lions managed to stop the bleeding for the remainder of the first half, the damage was done and North flexed their considerable muscle to end the contest with another three consecutive majors in the third term.
The visitors absolutely dominated inside 50s, winning that stat 44-26, including the first 10 of the decisive second period, and were able to do so on the back of big advantages in disposals (294-224) and tackles (66-57), as the Lions were uncharacteristically sloppy and tentative.
Jas Garner is back like she never left 🤩#AFLWLionsNorthpic.twitter.com/wJj9xvQB34
— AFL Women's (@aflwomens) September 14, 2025
KING REIGNS
Mia King was tremendous, registering a career-high 32 disposals (13 contested) as well as 10 tackles and seven clearances, while ball magnet Ash Riddell continued her unbelievable season going with another 35 touches (13) and Jasmine Garner returned from her ankle injury in fine style, recording 24 possessions (11), nine tackles, seven clearances and a goal.
DAVIDSON IN HOT WATER?
Brisbane forward Dakota Davidson might come under scrutiny from the MRO for a strong bump to Kangaroo Tess Craven’s face in the process of winning a contested ball in the first quarter. Craven jumped back up soon after, which could assist Davidson in avoiding a suspension.
LIONS LOSE DUO
Things got worse for the Lions in the second quarter when they lost vice-captain Nat Grider due to concussion, and early in the third period, Ellie Hampson came straight from the field cradling her shoulder after attempting to bump Eilish Sheerin.
But the Kangaroos didn’t escape unscathed either with Tayla Gatt (ankle) and Vikki Wall (elbow) taking no part in the final term.
GARNER MAKES AMENDS
Garner showed she is human after all in the first quarter when she sprayed her set shot from directly in front terribly and sent it out of bounds on the full. However, regular transmission resumed in the second term when she converted a brilliant snap from 25m out with strength while being tackled by two Lions to put her team up by 20 points.
RANDALL GIFTED GOAL
The Kangaroos were gifted a goal on the quarter-time siren after Tahlia Randall took a mark on the boundary line 35m out. But instead of being forced to take a pot shot from a severe angle, she was paid a 50m penalty for being dragged to the ground by Jade Ellenger. A tough set shot was turned into a certainty from the goal square.
CROWS SWOOP ON IMPORTANT WIN
— Meg Saultry
Adelaide has swooped on an important win in its first-ever trip to Frankston, and delivered Hawthorn its opening loss to the AFLW season to the tune of 21 points.
The Crows solidified their standing inside the top eight after a narrow loss to Brisbane last week, clicking into gear in the second quarter and never looking back.
After a low-scoring arm wrestle in the opening quarter, the Crows got on top by dominating uncontended possessions (+96) to get the ball forward through the likes of Ebony Marinoff and Anne Hatchard, where Eloise Jones and Danielle Ponter went to work to help seal the 7.6 (48) to 4.3 (27) win.
Though the Hawks hit the scoreboard late to keep the margin respectable, it’ll be a wakeup call for a side who was 4-0 heading into the game but yet to look at their attacking best with the likes of Aileen Gilroy and Kaitlyn Ashmore sidelined through injury.
Early injury blow
The Crows were up against it in the opening minutes when star forward Caitlin Gould came off with a left wrist injury sustained by breaking her fall after an attempted pack mark.
A main target forward - leading Adelaide’s goalkicking in 2024 for maiden All-Australian honours - Gould was soon taken to hospital for scans as the Crows were forced to shuffle their forward line mix.
CROWS SHIFT MOMENTUM
Adelaide couldn’t capitalise with the wind at their back in the first term, but instead wrestled control and the lead going against the breeze in the second.
Winning inside 50s, 10-6 for the term, the Crows converted their first through Jones, whose mark in front of goal came off some impressive body work, before Hatchard hit the scoreboard soon after to give the Crows an important eight-point buffer - a lead soon out to two goals as the Ponter sunk the first major of the second half in the opening minute.
HARD-WORKING HAWK’S SOLO EFFORTS
Hawks key forward Aine McDonagh nailed an important second goal for her side, earned off the back of an impressive run-down tackle inside her side’s forward arc.
But it was an eyecatching play soon after that epitomised McDonagh’s workrate and competitiveness, starting a chain of play through the midfield, changing lanes around two opponents before kicking into an empty forward line and putting on the burners to get forward and contest the ball across the line in the Hawks’ pocket.
A brilliant chase down tackle and goal from Aine McDonagh keeps the Hawks in touch 💪#AFLWHawksCrowspic.twitter.com/BnpYazxeCi
— AFL Women's (@aflwomens) September 14, 2025
LOCAL FAVOURITE’S SPECIAL MOMENT
It was Elli Symonds’ first goal in the AFLW and fittingly it came at her childhood home ground at Kinetic Stadium, the Hawks’ number 45 pick in last year’s draft coming up through the Frankston Dolphins.
WOUNDED BOMBERS TORN APART BY WEBSTER
— Ronny Lerner
A sensational performance from St Kilda superstar Jesse Wardlaw in her milestone 75th AFLW game has inspired the Saints to a stunning 52-point win over Essendon at Windy Hill on Sunday.
Wardlaw was unstoppable, finishing with three goals and a goal assist from her 21 disposals (nine contested) and six grabs, including a brilliant pack mark on the wing against three Bombers in the final quarter, as the Saints stormed to a comprehensive 9.6 (60) to 1.2 (8) victory to deliver Essendon their biggest loss and hold them to their second-lowest score.
Conversely, St Kilda registered both their fourth-biggest win and score in the process and the result put their finals hopes back on track after they snapped their three-game losing streak.
Jesse Wardlaw SOARS in the pack 🙌#AFLWDonsSaintspic.twitter.com/V8GZxorYBx
— AFL Women's (@aflwomens) September 14, 2025
The Bombers (seventh) are now at risk of dropping out of the top eight nearing the halfway mark of the season with Adelaide (eighth) and the Brisbane Lions (ninth) still to play later in the day.
The massive win could be soured for the Saints, however, with Jaimee Lambert possibly facing MRO scrutiny for a sling tackle on Bonnie Toogood that saw the Bomber’s head driven into the turf on the wing in the final quarter.
The Saints were superior all day as they dominated the territory with 18 more inside 50s (46-28) and out-hustled the Dons with ferocious pressure, finishing with a huge advantage in tackles (83-64) despite also comfortably winning the disposals 289-246.
Ashleigh Richards had a big say on proceedings too, racking up 19 touches (10 contested), five marks and two goals and Lambert starred as well with 26 possessions (14) and nine tackles.
Just when you’re about to totally rule a line through Saints W they pull out that…enigma wrapped in a riddle.
— Daniel Cherny (@DanielCherny) September 14, 2025
SKIPPER LETS DONS DOWN
Essendon co-captain Steph Cain showed poor leadership early in the second quarter when she gifted the Saints a goal just after the Bombers got some momentum back.
Cain was harshly penalised for holding the ball, despite getting a kick away while being tackled, and then immediately showed her frustration by forcefully shoving her tackler Georgia Patrikios while she was on the ground on the 50m line. The ill-disciplined act brought the Saint to the goalsquare and turned the free kick into a certain six-pointer.
AWESOME ASHLEIGH
Richards exhibited tremendous skill on the halftime siren when she gathered the loose ball hard up on the boundary line magnificently before threading the needle to perfection for her second major from an acute angle to give the Saints a commanding 26-point lead.
Richards beats the half-time siren for her second!#AFLWDonsSaintspic.twitter.com/mVYYiyjJbz
— AFL Women's (@aflwomens) September 14, 2025
WASTEFUL ESSENDON
A goal on the quarter-time siren from Sophie Alexander seemed to lift Essendon who evened things up in general play in the second term, but they were let down by poor forward efficiency with three shots on goal in the quarter from Toogood, Maggie MacLachlan and Holly Ridewood all going out on the full. The Saints made them pay by booting the last six majors.
BOMBERS IN THE WARS
Essendon were two players down after quarter-time, as Georgia Gee (neck) and Jess Verbrugge (ankle), who finished the game in a moon boot, injured themselves early on.
The casualties added to their growing personnel crisis which has seen Emily Gough, Amelia Radford, Maddison Gay, Sophie Van De Heuvel and Brooke Walker all ruled out for the season due to knee injuries, while Daria Bannister (hand) and Brooke Brown (bone stress) remain sidelined too. Bess Keaney (pregnant) is also unavailable.
TIGERS’ HORROR SEASON CONTINUES WITH LOSS TO CATS
— Meg Saultry
Richmond’s horror start to the AFLW season has endured, last year’s finalists stuck on the bottom of the ladder as the only club without a win after five rounds, after a relentless Geelong overran the Tigers by 30 points on Sunday afternoon at Ikon Park.
For Geelong, a 8.11 (59) to 4.5 (29) win was an extension of last week’s breakthrough win against Essendon, the Cats dominating inside 50 entries with their link-up running game (+71 handballs) through the midfield.
The heat will be on Richmond and newly-re-signed coach Ryan Ferguson, as they face St Kilda next week followed by Brisbane and Adelaide, in hope of opening their season account.
Cats’ one-two punch
Jackie Parry picked up where she left off from a career-best performance against the Bombers (19 touches, eight marks and three goals) last round, the key forward marking everything in sight in the opening half, before finishing the game with 17 touches, nine marks and 2.3.
Half her first-half 14 touches were marks, while she also went down back late in the first term to pick off several of the Tigers’ own entries.
The 29-year-old didn’t get the reward early, kicking 0.3, but got on the board in the first half with the help of her forward partner in crime, Aishling Moloney, who took on two players in the pocket to get the handball over the top to Parry in an open goal square.
Parry and Moloney’s chemistry has continued to go from strength-to-strength this season, Moloney (17 disposals, five marks and 1.3) again impacting with her ability to wheel and go.
TIGERS LACK ATTACKING BITE
The Tigers’ inefficiency going forward has been their biggest blight this year, with little connectivity inside 50 troubling the side again.
Key forward Caitlin Grieser had little impact and went goalless for a third week, while Katie Brennan started brightly but faded out in the second half to finish with 0.2, in a stark difference to the Cats’ firing key forwards.
Draftee Sienna Grieves got her first goal in the AFLW, kicking the Tigers’ third late in the fourth in a bright spark in an otherwise dour day, and Maddie Shevlin got a fourth soon after, but it was otherwise too little too late for a team who finished with just nine scoring shots from 29 inside 50s compared to the Cats’ 19 from 37.
FIRST GOAL FEELINGS FOR ROUGH DIAMONDS
Blustery conditions at Ikon Park wreaked havoc for both teams early, as missed or minor scores accounted for early attempts.
But it was fifth-gamer Emma Kilpatrick who engineered the first goal of the day for Geelong, a booming kick on the run sailing through for the half-back’s first goal in the AFLW.
Later, it was teammate Caitlin Thorne, in her first game back in the Cats’ best 21 since round 1, who celebrated a first major at the top level, similarly smacking the ball from long distance.
Both players were replacement signings - Thorne in 2024 from the VFLW and Kilpatrick this year from the SANFL - in a pat on the back for the Cats’ scouting team.
Originally published as All the news and updates from across the AFLW’s round 5: Roos’ win over the Lions, Crows’ down the Hawks
Katoa breaks silence, call on NRL career
