ROUND 5 in the VFL Women’s really had it all – first wins of the year, and even a draw. Here is all the excitement of what went down over the weekend.

This week’s Match of the round was one of the matches of the season. After a tight encounter all the afternoon we saw the first draw of this year’s VFLW season, as Essendon and the Southern Saints could not be split at 7.4 (46) apiece.

It was the Saints who got the first goal of the match through Hannah Stuart, but the Bombers then responded minutes later through Kendra Heil.

It was very free flowing footy for much of the opening ten minutes, and was very much coast to coast footy even though the score wasn’t being put on the board by either side.

A late goal to the Bombers was equalled by the Saints with a goal after the siren, which saw the sides go into the quarter time break with the scores level.

A sneaky goal from Jordan Zanchetta saw the Bombers get the first goal of the second term. Another goal from Federica Frew saw the Bombers extend their lead out further and start to really get on top of the Saints. At half-time the margin had stretched out to 14 points.

Then in the third term, things really started to shift in favour of the Saints. They came out after half time a completely different side, and a stellar mark from Kayla Ripari six minutes in resulted in the first goal of the term going to the Saints.

Another goal to the Saints from Tessa Boyd only minutes later meant the margin was back down to one. Gabriella De Angelis goaled 12 minutes in and the Saints took the lead for the first time since the opening term. Olivia Flanagan then kicked her second to see the Saints take a 14 point lead of their own into the final break.

It was a very even first 12 minutes of the final term, but Heil then got her second for the Bombers to reduce the margin back down to seven points. A late 50m penalty then resulted in a goal to Courtney Ugle and the scores were dead even.

Both sides tried their hardest late to break the deadlock, but ultimately neither were successful and the match finished a draw. Stuart was definitely best on ground for the Saints. She finished with 22 disposals, kicked a goal, and was instrumental in keeping her side in the contest.

Meanwhile for the Bombers, Danielle Marshall was particularly impressive down back. Her intercept work and long kicks out of defence saved the Bombers on a number of occasions.

In other results:

• Darebin nabbed their second win in a row, defeating Carlton and remaining within striking distance of the top six. It was a tight affair all afternoon, with the Falcons kicking a goal late to take the win by eight points. Angelica Gogos won plenty of the ball for the Falcons, finishing with 22 touches, while Emma Mackay kicked two goals in the win. Meanwhile for the Blues, Ashlee Thorneycroft finished with 19 touches.

• After nabbing its first win last weekend, Port Melbourne came crashing back to earth this week and lost to Collingwood. After the Borough registered the first score of the morning, the Pies led for the rest of the afternoon and went on to win by 21 points. For the Pies, Mollie Emond finished with 23 touches, while Matilda Zander kicked two goals. For the Borough, Olivia Barton was the main ball winner for her side with 21 touches to her name.

• Hawthorn registered another strong win, this time over the Western Bulldogs. The Bulldogs did score the first goal of the match, but that would ultimately be their only goal of the match as the Hawks would then go on to run away with the match and win by 101 points. Tamara Luke had another great game for the Hawks, finishing with 24 touches, while Kristy Stratton finished with four goals and Dominique Carbone finished with three. For the Bulldogs, Lucy Schneider had a great game and finished with 24 touches.

• Geelong slumped to its second loss in a row, this time at the hands of Casey, who kept their undefeated run in tact. In a sea sawing affair, the Dees took back control in the final term and went on to take the 11-point win. For the Dees, Lauren Magee finished with 25 touches and a whopping seven tackles. Alison Dowler led the goalkicking for the Dees with two majors. For Geelong, Carly Remmos also finished with 25 touches, while Georgia Clarke and Mia Skinner both kicked two goals.

• North Melbourne is finally on the board in 2022, defeating Williamstown by 34 points. North had a slow start, but recovered to ultimately run away with the win in the second half. Jess Duffin was excellent for North in the win, finishing on 21 touches, while Alice O’Loughlin kicked three goals in the win. Meanwhile for the Seagulls, Jasmine Kawa finished with 28 touches, while Elsa Mangan kicked two goals.