By Hannah Kennelly
Carlton survived a pre-Halloween scare from Collingwood on Sunday afternoon, beating their injury-plagued rivals in a four-point thriller at Victoria Park.
The Blues held firm in the muggy 26 degree-heat to win 5.2 (32) to 4.4 (28) during the tightly contested AFLW Indigenous round.
Carlton’s Amelia Velardo kicks long against Collingwood.Credit: Getty Images
It’s the first time Carlton have beaten Collingwood in the competition since 2019.
Former Pies player Amelia Velardo blitzed past her former colleagues to notch a goal for Blues in the first few minutes of the first quarter.
Collingwood came alive in the second half and a stunning snap from Lauren Butler put them in front late in the fourth term.
However, a goal from Blues Dayna Finn ended the Pies’ short-lived hopes of scoring a win and climbing off the bottom of the ladder.
The Blues players get around Keeley Sherar after her goal.Credit: Getty Images
Carlton coach Matthew Buck praised Finn’s goal, highlighting her growth over the past year.
“She’s tough, as all the Irish [players] are, and it’s great that she got the reward at the end,” he said.
Buck also gave credit to the Pies, noting their challenging season with injuries.
Collingwood captain Brianna Davey is sidelined for the rest of the season due to a tibia injury and key forward Eliza James was ommited last week because of concussion protocols.
Not even a cameo from AFL great Brendan Fevola at Collingwood’s training session on Thursday could change their luck.
The ex-Carlton star switched allegiances and made a surprise appearance at the AIA Centre, running drills with Pies forwards.
Sunday’s win was welcome news for the Blues who had their finals hopes extinguished a week earlier when they suffered a disappointing 33-point loss to the Bulldogs.
Meanwhile, Collingwood languishes at the bottom of the ladder, with only one win from 10 games – the club’s worst AFLW season on record.
Bombers, Tigers draw to complicate finals race
Essendon and Richmond drew the AFLW’s inaugural Dreamtime in Darwin clash, adding an extra layer of intrigue to their finals hopes.
With seconds left, Richmond’s Caitlin Greiser had a shot at goal, but the Bombers were able to prevent her from scoring, leaving the game tied at 6.6 (42) apiece.
Eileesh Sheerin was outstanding for the Tigers in Darwin.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
The pulsating duel on Saturday ended in high drama, with Richmond unable to land the knockout blow despite having the last five inside-50s of the game.
With less than three minutes remaining, Richmond’s Sarah Hosking was forced off with a hamstring injury.
Then Steph Wales’ right knee buckled in a ruck contest and the Essendon player was stretchered from the field.
“I don’t know what to feel ... at least we take away two points,” said Bombers co-captain Bonnie Toogood, who kicked two goals.
The draw left Richmond sixth with one game left, and by the end of the round their hopes of a top-four finish were quashed.
Essendon remain vulnerable in eighth, half a game ahead of Melbourne. Geelong are also only a game behind, but have a superior percentage.
Georgia Nanscawen of the Bombers and Poppy Kelly of the Tigers compete for the ball.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
The Bombers’ last-round opponents are Carlton, who would love nothing more than to derail their arch-rivals’ season.
Midfielders Georgia Nanscawen and Maddie Prespakis starred for Essendon, while Tigers star Eileesh Sheerin was in fine form.
In her 50th game, Essendon’s Daria Bannister won a free kick with less than four minutes left, but sprayed her shot at goal for a behind.
Then Richmond captain Katie Brennan scrambled a point with less than two minutes left to tie the scores.
Richmond’s Ellie McKenzie kicked the only goal of the last term.
Conditions were typical of the Top End – hot and humid, forcing officials to provide extra facilities, such as mist fans and cool rooms, for the players.
Brennan had been in doubt for the game after she suffered an ankle injury last week in her team’s loss to Melbourne.
But the Tigers captain was outstanding on Saturday, kicking her team’s two first-quarter goals and dishing off another at the start of the second.
Richmond led by 13 points in the second quarter, with the Bombers falling down in attack and the Tigers excellent on turnover.
Georgia Gee and Toogood then combined superbly twice late in the half, with Toogood kicking one goal and Wales another to tie the scores.
It was a gallant comeback from the Bombers, who led the clearances 17-8 and the inside-50s 23-13 at the main break.
Essendon threatened to kick clear with two goals in the third term as they opened up an 11-point lead.
Tigers star Mon Conti took an excellent contested mark and goaled from an acute angle to keep her team within six points at the last change, setting up a frenetic final quarter.
Six of the best from top Cat helps sink West Coast
Star Irish forward Aishling Moloney is on track to win this year’s AFLW goalkicking award after bagging a career-high six majors in Geelong’s 33-point win over West Coast in Perth.
Moloney was unstoppable throughout Saturday’s match, kicking a club-record 6.0 to go with her 18 disposals and seven marks in the 9.2 (56) to 3.5 (23) win.
Geelong’s gun forward Aishling Moloney.Credit: Getty Images
The result kept Geelong’s slim finals hopes alive, but West Coast’s fourth loss on the trot means their hopes of reaching the top eight are now officially quashed.
Moloney has a league-leading 21 goals for the season, and has the chance to add to that tally when Geelong complete their home-and-away campaign against Adelaide next week.
Brisbane’s Taylor Smith is Moloney’s closest rival with 16 goals, and was closing the gap ahead in her team’s match against Sydney late on Sunday.
Geelong led West Coast by 14 points at three-quarter-time, and kicked three goals to nil in the final term against the breeze to cruise to victory, with Moloney kicking two of them.
“It was a massive day on the office,” Moloney told Fox Sports after the win.
“I’m delighted to get the win. We dug it out in the end.”
Pumped with victory: Fremantle’s Ariana Hetherington.Credit: AFL Photos
Fremantle too good for Giants
Irish sharpshooters Ash McCarthy and Orlagh Lally have starred as Fremantle shored up their AFLW finals prospects and remained unbeaten away from home this season with a 20-point win over GWS.
McCarthy goaled inside the first minute and the Dockers never trailed as they charged to a 7.13 (55) to 4.1 (25) victory at Sydney’s Henson Park.
Five of Freo’s seven goals were kicked by McCarthy (three) and Lally (two), all of them well executed, though their teammates were more wasteful.
The result gave the Dockers a 6-0 away record for the season, a stark contrast to their 1-3 run at home, where they can clinch a finals position next week with a win over the Western Bulldogs.
GWS, playing their final home fixture of the season, suffered a seventh straight loss and stretched their winless streak to nine. McCarthy also topped her team’s disposal count with 22 and totted up a game-high 456 metres gained.
AAP
Garner a ‘generational’ talent for unbeaten Kangas
North Melbourne coach Darren Crocker has labelled Jasmine Garner a generational player, saying her selflessness and hot form are helping drive his team forward.
The unbeaten Kangaroos were one win away from securing the minor premiership after beating Adelaide by eight points in a hard-fought contest at Norwood Oval on Friday night.
Garner starred in the 6.5 (41) to 4.9 (33) win, tallying 27 disposals, five clearances, eight tackles, 529m gained and two goals.
It marked the seventh consecutive game Garner has scored a goal.
The 30-year-old is on track to earn a seventh consecutive All-Australian jumper this season, and she’s also a four-time best-and-fairest winner at North Melbourne.
Garner’s hot form has put North Melbourne, with nine wins and a draw from 10 games, in the box seat to win their maiden AFLW premiership.
“She’s a generational player,” Crocker said.
“I’ll look back in a number of years’ time and say I was extremely lucky to coach probably one of the best players – if not the best player – to come into the competition at its infancy.
“The beautiful thing about Jas is she’s so humble. She’s so driven, she just keeps working hard.
“She just wants to keep getting better. It’s not so much for herself, but it’s to try to take this team forward.
“That’s what we all love about her. She’s a great person and as we all know, a terrific player.”
AAP
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