Moana Hope looking to replicate her last game at Whitten Oval, this time as a Magpie
MOANA Hope’s last game at Whitten Oval was the making of her as an AFLW star. On Saturday, she returns fighting to regain her elite reputation.
IN Moana Hope’s last visit to the Whitten Oval she kicked six goals for the Western Bulldogs. It was the making of her as a football figure.
On Saturday night, Hope returns to the scene of her triumph a Magpie fighting to maintain her standing among the game’s elite.
Hope has kicked 1.2 in three games for Collingwood, who have been an underwhelming presence in AFLW01 and sit winless on the bottom of the ladder.
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Hope has had just 10 touches for the season.
She showed signs of her matchwinning ability early against Melbourne in Round 2 when she collected the ball in front of her opponent and twisted and turned before snapping a goal.
A brilliant one-on-one player, Hope hasn’t been afforded that luxury in AFL Women’s.
She’s been double-teamed and even when left one-on-one, her space in front has been quickly clogged by a loose defender.
And the Magpies’ ball movement and delivery has been far from ideal.
“We’ve just got to continue to support her and help her,” Collingwood coach Wayne Siekman said.
“The ball use into the forward line, if we can get it in quicker and to her advantage, it’s going to help too.
“We’ve just got to get around everyone, the whole team and say let’s have a great team effort this week.
“It’s probably a positive she gets to go back to the place where her last game there she was best on ground in the all-stars exhibition game, where she kicked six.”
Hope’s 106 goals in VFL Women’s last season were kicked in a team featuring brilliant half-back Brianna Davey.
One can only imagine Davey, now Carlton’s star playmaker, bombing it long to an open forward line where Hope was stalking.
The small St Kilda Sharks’ Peanut Farm Oval is also more conducive to goal scoring than the expanses of say, Ikon Park, where she has played two of three games.
Hope started high half-forward against Brisbane last weekend. She got her hands on the footy early before she hurt her knee and was forced from the ground.
She could again start higher up the ground against the Bulldogs.
But it’s a conundrum for Siekman.
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“When she kicks goals she energises the side and everyone is buzzing from it,” he said.
“If you push her up high she gets a couple of marks and it’s good for her confidence. But if she gets it in deep and we don’t score, are you saying ‘I wish we had Mo down there’.”
The knee issue is a niggle she’s carried since a training mishap earlier this season. It’s believed to be nothing too major, but a hindrance all the same.
There’s been suggestions a turbo-charged midfield role could help Hope get into games.
But given the powerful onball combination of Emma Kearney and Ellie Blackburn, the Western Bulldogs probably isn’t the team to try it against.
Whatever the plan for Hope, she and Collingwood need a breakthrough performance at Whitten Oval, something like the marquee Magpies’ stirring September night when she announced herself to the football world.
Originally published as Moana Hope looking to replicate her last game at Whitten Oval, this time as a Magpie
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