ROUND 8 of Victorian Football League (VFL) Women’s saw some big matchups and some even bigger results as we hit the midway point of the season. Williamstown managed their first win of the season, while early flag contenders in the Western Bulldogs and Melbourne Uni fell to sides they should have beaten with ease. Ladder leaders, Collingwood still sit at the top of the ladder on percentage after a bye this week.

CARLTON 1.0 | 1.0 | 3.2 | 4.2 (26)
GEELONG 2.0 | 3.1 | 4.2 | 5.3 (33)

GOALS

Carlton: N. Stevens 2, B. Moody, S. Craige.
Geelong: D. Orr 3, M. Boyd, S. Van De Heuvel.

BEST

Carlton: C. Bromage, B. Gurr, B. Moody, C. Wilson, A. McKay, C. Dalton
Geelong: D. Orr, J. Ivey, J. Crockett-Grills, M. Keryk, R. Webster, M. Boyd

The opening match of Round 8 was a close one, seeing the Blues host the Cats in a tight tussle – the tightest margin of the round. It was a relatively even battle, with the Cats taking the lead early but Carlton unwilling to give up, gradually lowering the margin throughout the match befor drawing even early in the final term. An accurate start from both sides saw only majors kicked in the first term, while Danielle Orr (18 disposals, five tackles) kicked two of her three goals in the opening term to stake a claim on the Blues’ turf. While the first half was all Geelong, Carlton took control early in the second half with the likes of Nicola Stevens generating some excitement with a scoring opportunity 30 seconds into the second, but missing to the side. Stevens took her pressure back up, however, lowering the scoreline with her two goals from 11 touches and seven tackles. Regular ball magnets, Abbie McKay and Maddy Prespakis lead the disposal count for the Blues with 24 apiece and combining for 10 tackles while Courteney Bromage (seven touches, 12 tackles) and Natalie Plane (15 touches, 10 tackles) provided some much needed assistance piling on the pressure. Breann Moody also put in a solid performance with 18 disposals, 22 hitouts, five marks and a goal. For Geelong, Olivia Purcell (20 touches, seven tackles) and Jordan Ivey (19 touches, eight tackles) impressed in the win.

WILLIAMSTOWN 0.1 | 0.1 | 3.2 | 4.2 (26)
NT THUNDER 0.1 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.9 (15)

GOALS

Williamstown: J. Kawa, J. Heard, M. Williamson, G. Anderson.
NT Thunder: J. de Melo.

BEST

Williamstown: R. Dardengo, J. Heard, R. Tripodi, J. Kawa, E. Crawford, M. Williamson
NT Thunder: D. Varnhagen, E. Jones, N. Gore, T. Thorn, S. Miskin-Ripia, K. Irvine

A surprise win from the Seagulls all but set the tone for the weekend, beating the NT Thunder to move off the bottom of the ladder. A slow start from both teams only saw minor scores in the first half of the game before the Seagulls pulled out all the stops in the second half to win by 11 points. Despite a final quarter fight back, the Thunder were unable to capitalise in front of goal with five behinds (two rushed) while the harried Williamstown side piled on the pressure, desperate for their first win of the season. Mo Hope put up another fantastic performance, racking up 32 touches (28 kicks) and providing valuable ball forward toproduce scoring opportunities. It was the Seagulls’ ruck effort that got them over the line, with Jedda Heard putting up a solid performance with a goal, 11 disposals and 21 hitouts – more alone than Thunder’s combined effort of 20. Rebecca Dardengo racked up 21 touches, five marks and four tackles, while Ruby Tripodi piled on the pressure with nine tackles. For Thunder, Deni Varnhagen (23 touches, six marks) and Nikki Gore (13 touches, seven tackles) put in strong performances, while Jade de Melo kicked the only goal from her seven touches. Eloise Jones (eight touches, nine tackles) put in the hard yards forward but didn’t reap the reward with three behinds to her name.

WESTERN BULLDOGS 0.0 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.2 (8)
HAWTHORN 2.6 | 2.6 | 4.9 | 4.9 (33)

GOALS

Western Bulldogs: B. Hunt.
Hawthorn: P. McWilliams, R. Dillon, P. Peschke, S. Perkins.

BEST

Western Bulldogs: K. Lamb, E. Gavalas, M. Sandral, N. McMahon, L. Spark, S. Jolly
Hawthorn: J. Van Dyk, G. Bevan, R. Beeson, S. Perkins, R. Dillon, K. Henderson

Early contenders, Western Bulldogs have slowed down in recent weeks, going down by 25 points to Hawthorn on Saturday and dropping to sixth in the process. The Hawks dominated the first term, with eight scores on the board to nil as they forced their way inside 50. It was an inaccurate start, however, with only two goals on the board and six behinds leaving an opening for the Bulldogs to come back. Fortunately for the now fourth ranked Hawks, the Dogs piled on the pressure in the second to deny scoring opportunities but only put one goal on the board – their only major for the game, courtesy of Bailey Hunt (10 touches, six tackles). Hawks’ Rebecca Beeson was among the best with 26 touches (18 kicks), eight tackles and a behind proving her dominance around the ground, while Rosie Dillon found plenty of the ball to finish with 17 disposals, 11 tackles and a goal for a solid performance. Hawks ruck Lou Wotton only had the four touches but applied plenty of pressure around the ball with 13 tackles and 34 hitouts. For the Dogs, Emma Mackay lead the disposal count with 18 touches and six marks, while Kirsty Lamb was not far behind with 17 disposals and nine tackles.

SOUTHERN SAINTS 4.5 | 5.5 | 6.7 | 6.7 (43)
DAREBIN FALCONS 0.0 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 2.4 (16)

GOALS

Southern Saints: C. Greiser 3, S. Johnson, A. Silver, D. Guttridge.
Darebin: L. Arnell, G. Hammond.

BEST

Southern Saints: K. Shierlaw, C. Greiser, K. O’Neill, L. Olsen, C. Phillips, C. Munn
Darebin: G. Hammond, J. Stanton, A. Lister, L. Arnell, R. Hicks, M. Eastman

The outcome of this match was all but sorted early, with the Saints just too good attacking the ball in the first quarter, dominating to lead by 29 at quarter time and keeping Darebin scoreless. The Falcons came back hard in the second, only allowing the one goal and kicking two, but it wasn’t enough after giving the Saints the confident start, unable to kick any more goals for the rest of the match. Caitlin Greiser was among the best for the Saints with three goals, providing a valuable target up forward while Olivia Vesely (22 disposals, six tackles) and Cat Phillips (14 touches, 10 tackles) were dominant around the ground, pushing forward and sharing the footy around. For Darebin, Reni Hicks topped the tables in both disposals and tackles with 25 and 13 respectively, while Lauren Arnell (16 touches, five tackles) and Georgia Hammond (16 touches, six tackles, 12 hitouts) kicked a goal apiece. Falcons’ Jamie Stanton managed seven tackles and nine touches but put two behinds on the board, unable to provide the scoreboard pressure needed to push the Saints. The combined ruck efforts of Poppy Kelly (22 hitouts) and Rhiannon Watt (11 hitouts) was too much for the Falcons, who despite leading the tackle count were unable to produce opportunities inside 50.

RICHMOND 2.5 | 3.10 | 4.10 | 9.11 (65)
CASEY 2.0 | 3.0 | 4.2 | 4.2 (26)

GOALS

Richmond: T. Stahl 3, L. Bailey 3, J. Kennedy, K. Brennan, I. Milford.
Casey: C. Sherriff, A. McDonough, C. Emonson, E. Zanker.

BEST

Richmond: G. Campbell, L. Bailey, T. Stahl, A. Makur Chuot, K. Dempsey, R. Miller
Casey: C. Emonson, C. Sherriff, E. Zanker , S. Heath, B. Pratt, H. Cordner

Another disappointing week for Casey saw the Demons lose their fourth match on the trot to be three from seven midway through the season. Though Casey fought valiently, they couldn’t apply the scoreboard pressure to keep in the contest despite the Tigers peppering the posts, inaccurate with nine goals and 11 behinds from 31 inside 50s. Laura Bailey and Tayla Stahl switched on, kicking three goals apiece as they disassembled the Demons’ defensive unit and created opportunities early. The first quarter saw an inaccurate start from the Tigers, kicking two goals and five behinds while Casey was accurate with two goals from two attempts. Katie Brennan (23 disposals, one goal) was in among the action early with three scoring shots in the first quarter before being shut down in attack. However, Casey’s defensive pressure on Brennan inside 50 allowed both Bailey and Stahl better access to the ball, firing again and again. For the Demons, Eden Zanker found plenty of the footy with 19 touches, three tackles and a goal while Nicole Garner (15 disposals, 11 tackles) and Bianca Jakobsson (14 disposals, seven marks, six tackles) applied some much needed pressure around the ground. Despite the margin it was a relatively even ruck battle, with Richmond finishing with only four hitouts more than Casey and lower on the tackle count.

MELBOURNE UNI 0.1 | 1.3 | 2.4 | 3.9 (27)
ESSENDON 2.1 | 3.1 | 4.4 | 6.4 (40)

GOALS

Melbourne Uni: B. Gibson, E. Hay, J. Grierson
Essendon: J. Stassi 2, S. Wilson 2, C. McIntosh, L. Stepnell

BEST

Melbourne Uni: J. Trend, K. Gillespie-Jones, B. Gibson, C. Daniec, S. Abbatangelo, V. Saad
Essendon: C. McIntosh, K. Hicks, J. Stassi, S. Audley, M. Collier, K. Heil

A fast start from Essendon saw the side nab a surprise win over Melbourne Uni, who came into the match off the bye in Round 7. Not limited in the scoring department, Uni all but kicked themselves out of contention with a 1.5 final quarter while Essendon finished well in the 13 point victory. Though Uni certainly were not at their dominant best, all credit to the Bombers who put on a solid performance worthy of the win, starting strong courtesy of first quarter goals to Lori Stepnell and Jess Stassi, their respective first of two. While Jas Grierson kicked the first of the second to pull Uni back into the match, Essendon’s Sian Wilson followed shortly to take the lead to 10 points by the main break. It was a shared effort from the Bombers, with no one player standing out. Kendra Heil put out her best performance of the season so far with 17 touches and six tackles, while Shae Audley and Georgia Nanscawen combined for 27 touches and 18 tackles. For Uni, Jess Trend (24 disposals, four marks, three tackles), Jess Duffin (23 disposals, six marks, six tackles) and Brittany Gibson (23 disposals, three tackles and a goal) all put in the hard yards across the board to no avail. While Uni put on a stronger effort in the second half, it wasn’t enough against the hungry Bombers who have now lifed to tenth with their second win of the season.

COLLINGWOOD: BYE