AN interesting Round 3 of VFL Women’s ensued over the weekend with ladder positions taking shape as three sides remained undefeated, while four sides suffered big losses yet again to sit down the bottom of the ladder. NT Thunder sat out of this round with the draw in a round that saw more bigger margins than not.

GEELONG 0.2 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 2.3 (15)
COLLINGWOOD 1.1 | 1.2 | 2.4 | 3.4 (22)

GOALS

Geelong: R. Webster, J. Ivey.
Collingwood: J. Lambert 2, M. Shevlin.

BEST

Geelong: J. Ivey, R. Webster, G. Rankin, M. Maguire, R. Caris, C. Blakeway
Collingwood: J. Lambert, R. Schleicher, K. Lynch, S. King, B. Bonnici, N. Hales

Little could separate the traditional rivals in the opening match of Round 3, staying neck and neck before the Magpies held on for a seven point win. Despite the low-scoring affair, the intensity and pressure was pulpable with both sides only having managed one win on the board. However, it was the Magpies’ clean hands under pressure that was far too strong for the Cats in the end, finishing with a whopping 43 marks to 16 as they used posession to their advantage. Jaimee Lambert starred across the board, racking up an enormous 30 disposals, two goals, eight marks and six tackles as she dominated in all areas of the field. Also among the best were fellow Pie, Britt Bonnici with 22 touches and 10 tackles, while Geelong’s Amy McDonald picked up 24 and seven tackles to lead her side. Also high in the stats were Collingwood’s Mikala Cann with 17 disposals and 11 tackles, almost equalled by Geelong’s Jordan Ivey with 15 and 11 respectively. Collingwood dominated the hitouts with 48 – 39 courtesy of Sarah King – while also maintaining posession for a larger portion of the game despite the Cats’ attempts to whittle down the lead. Collingwood’s Maddie Shevlin and Geelong’s Rebecca Webster were also solid, picking up 15 touches, four tackles and a goal apiece as they cancelled the other out with their respective efforts.

DAREBIN 1.0 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.1 (19)
HAWTHORN 1.3 | 3.6 | 6.10 | 8.13 (61)

GOALS

Hawthorn: J. Sibley 2, N. Cormack , P. Peschke, M. Hutchins, E. Gilder, S. Carroll, O. Flanagan.
Darebin: E. Buckley, S. Simpson, S. David.

BEST

Hawthorn: O. Flanagan, A. Tanner, R. Dillon, N. Cormack , E. Gilder, P. Peschke
Darebin: A. Lister, L. Pearce, R. Hicks, L. Szigeti, S. Simpson, C. Byrne

The blowout of the round saw a severely depleted Falcons side go down by 42 points to the Hawks – who thus far have sat towards the bottom of the ladder with no wins on the board. This loss could be a huge wakeup call to the Falcons as they let Hawthorn run wild inside 50, with 21 scores on the board from 34 inside 50s. The Hawksd lead the stats in all but rebounds, but while Darebin took five more rebounds that their opposition they were unable to use the ball to their advantage with only ten inside 50s less than the Hawks (24) but ultimately unable to get a score on the board after half time. What looked to be a tight match in the early stages saw the Hawks take control in parts before the Falcs wrestled back some momentum, but inconsistency cost the losing side as Hawthorn played their own game to win the match. Dominant ruck, Lauren Pearce was well matched by Hawthorn’s Abbey Tanner, with the pair unable to be seperated in hitouts. Darebin looked to have a fight on their hands with some strong tackling pressure from the likes of Reni Hicks (10 tackles) and Annalyse Lister (eight), while Rachel Hibbert collected five marks and 14 touches. Ellen Buckley, Samara David and Stephanie Simpson all got goals on the board early before the Hawks tightened up and the Falcons’ defence fell apart. It was a shared effort with posession that got the Hawks over the line, with no clear standout stat separating Olivia Flanagan (17 disposals, eight tackles, one goal), Rebecca Beeson (17 disposals, three marks, three tackles) and Meg Hutchins (17 disposals, four marks, one goal). Jess Sibley was the sole multiple goalkicker with two majors to her name among 11 scorers for the Hawks.

RICHMOND 3.2 | 3.4 | 7.10 | 8.10 (58)
ESSENDON 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.1 | 3.5 (23)

GOALS

Richmond: L. Bailey 2, K. Brennan 2, T. Stahl, J. Colwell, E. Gunn, A. Makur Chuot.
Essendon: A. Moreen 2, M. DeMatteo.

BEST

Richmond: A. Edmonds, A. Makur Chuot, K. Brennan, J. Colwell, G. Campbell, L. Bailey
Essendon: M. Collier, A. Anderson, E. Ashley-Cooper, A. Morcom, K. Hicks, G. Nanscawen

In Katie Brennan‘s first match in the yellow and black, this match was always looking to be a confidence booster for the Tigers. True to expectations, Brennan stormed out of the blocks with 23 touches, two goals and eight tackles to lead her side to victory, working well with fellow Western Bulldogs-turned-Richmond teammate, Monique Conti (22 touches, four tackles), while Laura Bailey also switched on for two goals and four tackles. The scoreline could have been far worse with the likes of Tayla Stahl-Smith unable to kick straight, with the leading goalkicker only managing one goal from five attempts. Also among the goalkickers was Akec Makur-Chuot with one major and 17 touches, while Jenna Colwell was also solid with one goal, 12 touches, three marks and five tackles. The match was won and lost in hitouts, with Alice Edmonds a star in the ruck with 45 hitouts alone compared to the Bombers’ combined number of 14, while there was no shortage of forward 50 entries for the Tigers as they outnumbered Essendon 38 to 19, scoring from 18 entries. In a disappointing day for the Bombers, Georgia Nanscawen (14 disposals, three marks, five tackles), Alexandra Anderson (13 disposals, three marks, three tackles) and Maighan Fogas (11 disposals, nine tackles) put in the hard yards around the ground while the usual suspects in Arthurina Moreen and Monique De Matteo combined for three goals. Essendon have little to be excited about given the scoreline, but should at least be happy keeping Richmond to only one goal in the final term.

WESTERN BULLDOGS 0.0 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 3.4 (22)
MELBOURNE UNI 0.1 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 1.6 (12)

GOALS

Western Bulldogs: D. Marshall 2, A. Scott.
Melbourne Uni: V. Saad.

BEST

Western Bulldogs: T. Dinuccio, N. McMahon, L. Bibby, E. Mackay, B. Toogood, M. Ward
Melbourne Uni: A. Riddell, K. Gillespie-Jones, A. Runnalls, H. Whitford, K. Ebb, K. Cox

The Bulldogs brought an end to Melbourne Uni’s dominance so far this season with a 10 point win to land them second on the ladder and knock the Muggars into fourth. The Dogs were dominant across the ground, ultimately having less of the footy but doing more with it as they kicked straight under pressure. Uni lead the stats in all but two categories – hitouts and rebounds, telling a tale of the defensive structure put in place by the Bulldogs to take control and force errors from the usually composed side. Leading the stats on the day was Uni’s Ashleigh Riddell, finishing with an exceptional 34 touches, 6 marks and nine tackles, followed by fellow ball-magnet Kate Gillespie-Jones with 31 and eight tackles, putting in a valient effort that ultimately was undone by the dominance of the Western Bulldogs’ efficiency under pressure. Nicole McMahon dominated the hitouts with 30 – compared to the Muggars’ overall number of 21 – largely putting the ball in the safe hands of Eleanor Brown (20 disposals, eight tackles), Emma Mackay (20 disposals, six tackles) and Bonnie Toogood (18 disposals, eight marks). Danielle Marshall got hands to the ball well with eight touches and two goals, while Annabel Scott slotted the final major of the day with minutes left in the match. Vivien Saad slotted Uni’s only goal for the match in the third term to keep the side in reaching distance after keeping the Bulldogs scoreless in the third, before the Dogs took back control in the final quarter.

WILLIAMSTOWN 1.1 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 2.1 (13)
CASEY DEMONS 0.0 | 2.2 | 5.4 | 7.6 (48)

GOALS

Williamstown: J. Kawa 2.
Casey: T. Tatterson 2, K. Smith, E. Archer, E. Birch, E. Zanker , L. Davies.

BEST

Williamstown: J. Kawa, M. Hope, S. Dixon, R. Dardengo, E. Meade, A. Newman
Casey: T. Hanks, C. Emonson, K. Smith, A. McDonough, B. Winbanks, G. McLean

A slow start for Casey saw the side ultimately get up against the Seagulls to land top spot on the ladder, with an immense defensive effort leaving the home side scoreless after half time. Casey’s start to the season is still unblemished with three wins under their belts, and the side’s composure to dig deep and get the match on track in the second half should be commended. To Williamstown’s credit, they kept the Demons scoreless in the first term to scare the side into action, staying even until after half time when the Dees kicked five goals nil. Seagulls’ Jasmine Kawa was the lone goalkicker for the side with two majors to her name while Sharnie Whiting put a behind on the board. Solid defence from ther Demons saw Melbourne AFL Women’s teammate and speedster, Aliesha Newman pick up 14 touches and five tackles but kept scoreless, while Mo Hope took charge to lead the disposal count with 19 and four tackles, improving remarkably from her five touches in Round 2. The Demons all but dominated posession, largely aided by the ruck work of Bridie Winbanks (32 hitouts) and Eden Zanker (15 disposals) while the likes of Libby Birch (17 disposals, four marks and a goal), Chantel Emonson (15 disposals, 11 tackles) and Katherine Smith (14 touches, 12 tackles and a goal) found some good space to share the ball around. Tayla Tatterson had little posession but made the most of it with two goals, while six others made a dint on the scoreboard for a well deserved win.

SOUTHERN SAINTS 0.0 | 2.3 | 2.4 | 4.10 (34)
CARLTON 0.2 | 0.2 | 1.4 | 1.4 (10)

GOALS

Saints: J. Vogt, C. Greiser, T. Lucas-Rodd, A. Brown.
Carlton: N. Plane.

BEST

Saints: O. Vesely, C. Phillips, K. O’Neill, C. Fitzpatrick, D. Jolliffe, T. Lucas-Rodd
Carlton: G. Wright, S. Wright, A. McKay, S. Hosking, M. Clifford, N. Plane

A valiant effort by Carlton to stay in the match fell short in the final game of the round, with the Saints dominating posession in the final quarter to take home their second win for the season. Carlton spent majority of the game within touching distance of their opposition, before the Saints unleashed a final quarter peppering of the goals (2.6) to come home with a 24-point win. Natalie Plane was Carlton’s sole goalkicker with one major to her name, along with 18 touches and four tackles as she did what she could to fight her way into the match, while Jess and Sarah Hosking led the stats with a combined 41 touches, six marks and 13 tackles. In the ruck, Breann Moody and Poppy Kelly were almost split down the middle with 22 and 23 hitouts respectively, though Saints’ Cat Phillips and Alison Drennan arguably did more with and off the ball, racking up a respective 25 and 23 disposals and nine and seven tackles. Alison Brown and Jacqui Vogt kicked 1.2 apiece as two other goalkickers in Tilly Lucas-Rodd (20 touches, three marks, four tackles) and Caitlin Greiser (seven touches) made their way onto the board, while four other players registered behinds. The Saints’ inaccuracy in front of goal could be an issue next week as they take on top-of-the-table Casey Demons, whose pressing defence and ability to use the ball efficiently makes them a huge threat.