THE ladder-leading team again changed in Round 8, as Waratah re-claimed top spot with a big win over Pint, who came into this game on top of the table and ended it sitting at fourth. Elsewhere, the Southern Districts continued to prove themselves as a key player in the premiership race, while the Palmerston Magpies strung together a good win against fellow contenders, Darwin. Despite being at the bottom of the ladder, St Marys and the Wanderers put on a good high-scoring contest, but it was not enough to secure the Wanderers’ first win of the season.

ST MARYS 2.0 | 4.4 | 6.5 | 8.7 (55)
WANDERERS 0.1 | 2.3 | 4.5 | 7.6 (48)

GOALS:

St Marys: K. Dann 2, M. Gunderson 2, J. Chisholm, D. Ponter, D. Bishop, A. Baptista.
Wanderers: Not supplied.

Despite these teams being closer to the bottom of the ladder, this match was one of the highest scoring games of the season. In the end, it was St Marys who got up by seven points, leaving the Wanderers win-less so far this season. The Saints got off to a fast start, kicking two goals to one behind in the first term. The Wanderers evened up the scoring in the second quarter, with both teams scoring two goals. However, it was the Saints who had the upper hand at that point, going into half-time with a 13-point lead. The Wanderers fought back in the third term, pegging the margin back to 12 points with a two-goal third term. They went one better in the last quarter, but it wasn’t enough to gain the lead, with St Marys adding to its margin with another two goals in the term. It was an even spread of contributors for the Saints, with Katherine Dann and Marlee Gunderson each scoring two goals. Danarra Bishop, Jadeen Chisholm and Advenia Baptista each kicked a major in the win, and were joined by a new AFL Women’s recruit in Danielle Ponter, who also scored a goal in her first appearance for St Marys this season.

PALMERSTON MAGPIES 1.1 | 3.3 | 5.6 | 6.7 (43)
DARWIN BUFFETTES 2.3 | 4.3 | 5.4 | 5.9 (39)

GOALS:

Palmerston: J. Stassi 2, T. May, N. Medbury, F. Puruntatameri.
Darwin: K. Duggan 2, J. Alley, Z. Anderson , M. Roberts.

BEST:

Palmerston: T. May, F. Puruntatameri, J. Baird, C. Marshall, L. Santo, B. Byers
Darwin: T. Docherty-Cole, Z. Anderson , M. Roberts, D. Ah Wang, D. Totham

Darwin has been dealt with a blow to its premiership chances with a loss at the hands of the Palmerston Magpies. The Buffettes started off as the better team, scoring two goals to one in the first term. They continued to have the upper hand in the second term, despite both teams kicking two goals, as they took a six-point lead into half-time. Palmerston then dug deep in the third term, kicking 2.3 to 1.1 to take a slim two-point lead into the main break. The Buffettes wasted their opportunities to retake the lead in the fourth term, scoring five behinds compared to 1.1, ultimately losing by four points. Jessica Stassi was Palmerston’s only multiple goal scorer, and was complemented by Natasha Medbury and Freda Puruntatameri, who each kicked a goal. Undoubtedly, the star of the day was Tabitha May. May, who also kicked a major, was named best-on-ground for the second consecutive week. For Darwin, Kylie Duggan was proactive inside 50 with two goals, while Jaala Alley, Zoe Anderson and Machaelia Roberts all did well to kick majors on the day. After getting on the scoreboard last week, Tikesa Docherty-Cole continued to shine in Round 8 with a best-on-ground performance for her side.

PINT 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 (6)
WARATAH 4.0 | 6.3 | 10.7 | 14.9 (93)

GOALS:

Pint: K. Smits.
Waratah: L. Miceli 5, L. O”Shea 2, S. Nalder 2, J. de Melo 2, A. Perkins, A. Chittick, A. Healy.

BEST:

Pint: Not supplied
Waratah: J. Kolodziej, L. Miceli, J. de Melo, A. Stanley, B. Martin

In the shock of the round, the top-of-the-table Queen Ants were thrashed by reigning premiers, Waratah. After coming off their first loss of the season last week, it was expected that the Warriors were going to be hungry for a win, and they were nothing short of clinical against the team that took their spot on the top of the ladder last round. Waratah stormed out of the blocks with four straight majors in the first term, putting the game out of Pint’s reach early. In the second term, the Warriors managed two more majors, still managing to keep the Queen Ants scoreless, which resulted in a 39-point half-time margin. The scoring continued in the third term with the Warriors kicking three goals to none. They finally conceded in the first quarter, with Pint scoring for the first time in the game. But that didn’t seem to faze Waratah, who scored four goals to extend its winning margin to 87 points. Lisa Miceli was back to her best up forward after a quiet game last week, kicking five goals in the big victory. She was complemented by Lauren O’Shea, Sue Nalder and Jade de Melo, who all scored two majors each. Joanna Kolodziej built on her good form from last week, as she was named best-on-ground for the Warriors. Her side managed to shut down in-form Pint forward, Kristen Smits, who scored the Queen Ants’ only goal of the game.

TRACY VILLAGE 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 (0)
SOUTHERN DISTRICTS 4.4 | 6.12 | 7.13 | 7.15 (57)

GOALS:

Tracy Village: N/A.
Southern Districts: T. Thorn 2, M. Wehipeihana 2, M. Clarke, I. Sleeth, C. Pember.

BEST:

Tracy Village: K. Irvine, Z. Clarke, K. McNeill, B. Angel, K. Hughes, I. Hoadley
Southern Districts: T. Thorn 2, M. Wehipeihana 2, M. Clarke, I. Sleeth, C. Pember

After a win over the Warriors last week, the Crocs gave the Razorbacks no chance of disrupting their winning formula. The Southern Districts held Tracy Village scoreless for the whole game, bursting out of the gates with a four-goal first term. The game looked finished at half-time when the Crocs extended their margin to 48 points, but it could have been much more, as they kicked 2.8 for the quarter. In the third term, the Razorbacks improved defensively, restricting the Southern Districts to one goal. They did even better in the last term, holding the dominant Crocs outfit to just two behinds. However, they were still on the end of a 57-point loss, giving the Southern Districts a big percentage-boosting win. NT Thunder forward, Tayla Thorn and Melody Wehipeihana were the dominant players inside 50 for the Crocs, with each player kicking two majors a piece. Maili Clarke, Indy Sleeth and Chelsea Pember rounded out the scoring for Southern Districts, kicking a major each. Despite no goal scorers for the Razorbacks, NT Thunder’s Kristy Irvine continued to impress with a best-on-ground performance, while Zhoe Clarke was able to back up her best-on-ground performance last week by being named second-best against the Crocs. Kate McNeill, Buffy Angel, Kate Hughes and Isabelle Hoadley were the other standouts for the Razorbacks on a disappointing day.