IT was a good old fashioned scrap in the make-up game for the Western Bulldogs, who took it right up to the undefeated Fremantle. Despite the best efforts of the home side at Whitten Oval, the Dockers, through a late goal managed to hold on and get up by six points, 25-19 to make it five from five to start the 2022 AFL Women’s season. Here are some of the key talking points to come out of the match.

TALKING POINTS

Antonio provides the match-winner

Though Ebony Antonio had already been amongst the best players on the ground, she was the one who stood tall when the Dockers needed a saviour. Running hard towards a ball inside 50, she uncharacteristically dropped a mark credit to young Western Bulldogs defender Sarah Hartwig. Though it looked like the Dogs defender had halved the contest, unfortunately she just slipped at the wrong time, and Antonio had enough polish to regather herself, and the ball, and run into goal to kick the match winner in the late stages of the game. Antonio finished with 16 disposals, two marks, three tackles, three inside 50s, two rebound 50s and that goal on the night.

Amy Franklin makes her mark

On debut, the highly touted West Australian certainly made her presence felt. On paper, she booted two goals from five touches, and whilst both were fairly regulation goals, it was the intensity at which she lead and commanded the ball inside a forward 50 featuring Gemma Houghton and Roxanne Roux. Franklin kicked her first midway through the second term when she received a 50m penalty and kicked it from the top of the goalsquare for the first major of the match. She then took another contested mark 15 metres out and had two in a row to give her side a 14-point lead before the Dogs had managed to get one on the board.

How good is Bonnie? Toogood

In response to Franklin’s spark, it was Bonnie Toogood up the other end who gave the Dogs some life. She opened their account with a clever goal on the end of a nice passage of play down the field in the second term. Not long after, it was Toogood’s ruck stoppage nous that saw her win the hitout, and get it to Kirsty Lamb who kicked the Dogs’ second major. A strong contested mark in the fourth term and subsequent behind showed she had presence throughout the match.

Fremantle’s forward ferocity

Fremantle has always been known as a fierce, tackling side, and last night was no exception. Despite having more of the ball (197-191 disposals), the Dockers laid 30 more tackles (75-45). Most impressive was the fact that 22 of them came inside their forward 50. Whilst Kiara Bowers (12 tackles) is always going to put up double-digit tackles, the other leaders in Gabby O’Sullivan (eight) and Hayley Miller (seven) also lead the way. First year player Airlie Runnalls (six), debutant Mikayla Morrison (five) and young gun Mikayla Hyde (five) also bought into that defensive culture at the Dockers.

Promising signs for young Pups

The Western Bulldogs coaching staff would be pleased with the effort against an unbeaten Dockers side. Though both teams had plenty of young talent, the Western Bulldogs were coming off a game against GWS GIANTS on Friday, one less day’s break compared to the Dockers since Fremantle’s win over the Pies on Thursday night. Few teams will beat Fremantle at the clearances, but the Dogs won them comprehensively (30-20), with a 27-16 stoppage advantage. It was the Dockers’ pressure once the ball was free that hurt them, with the extra tackles causing more turnovers (57-48) and less free space, having just 24 marks to 48 for the match. The Dogs’ defence held up though, and Nathan Burke would be pleased with the effort.