ROUND 10 of the VFLW really had it all. Undefeated runs came to an end, some teams improved their finals chances, while others had theirs increase in difficulty.

In this week’s match of the round, Collingwood bridged the gap on the top six with a win over Darebin.

The Magpies got the first centre clearance of the game and converted into maximum value when Monique DeMatteo slotted through a goal in the opening minute.

Sarah King got the Pies’ second seven minutes in, and the visitors had built a nice lead for themselves.

The Falcons certainly had their opportunities in the first term, but could only muster a single behind to show for it.

At the first change, the Pies held a 13-point lead.

The second quarter was quite the stark contrast to the first.

Neither side managed to get any score on the board for over 14 minutes – not even a behind.

Despite playing the majority of the quarter in its forward 50, Darebin just could not convert until Nicole Callinan managed to mark in the goalsquare and kick truly, bringing the margin back to seven points.

Eloise Chaston then slotted one through late for the Pies to stretch the margin back out to 14 points at the major break, but it still felt like the game could go either way.

It did not take either side anywhere near as long to start scoring after half time.

Just two minutes in, and a clever set up from Stephanie Simpson saw the Falcons get the first major of the term on the board.

The Pies then responded with the next two from Matilda Zander to restore a handy buffer.

Emma Mackay got one back for the Falcons before Grace Matser kicked one three minutes later for the Pies, and as the teams turned for home the margin sat at 20 points.

The last quarter was all Collingwood. They kept the Falcons to two behinds and piled on two goals of their own to take the win.

For Collingwood, the likes of Elisabeth Jackson, Marla Neal and Nicole Hales all starred in the win, while for the Falcons Callinan and Sally Lynch both starred in another tough loss.

This result makes the race for the finals very interesting. For the Magpies, it narrows the gap between them and the sixth placed Falcons to only one game. They do not have the easiest run home, but finals is still very much on the cards for the black and white army.

For the Falcons, they are in real danger of missing out on finals. They have a tough run home, and the teams chasing them have much easier runs home, so they are going to have to pull off some huge upsets if they want to make finals.

AROUND THE GROUNDS:

North Melbourne improved its finals chances while hindering Carlton’s, defeating the Blues by 27 points. The margin could have been much closer, but Carlton missed a number of chances in front of goal.

For the Roos, Molly Eastman was a workhorse all day, while Elizabeth McGrath was dominant in the ruck.

For the Blues, Lily Goss racked up the touches, while NAB Leaguers Rylie Wilcox and Brooke Plummer both impressed in their first VFLW games for the season. Wilcox provided one of the highlights of the day with an excellent running goal from the boundary.

Hawthorn did what no other side has managed to do yet all season, and that is defeat the Casey Demons. It was a tight opening term with only a single point separating the sides at the first break, but the scoring stopped for Casey after that, and the Hawks ran away with the win.

For the Hawks skipper Tamara Luke snapped three majors, while Jordan Mifsud topped the disposal count with 20 touches.

Meanwhile for Casey, Rebecca Grant was a workhorse, finishing with 22 touches in a tough afternoon for the Demons.

Geelong registered another good win, this time over Port Melbourne. The Borough actually led for most of the first quarter, but then Geelong kicked into gear and ultimately ran away with the match.

The star of the match was Laura Gardiner, who finished with a whopping 49 touches. Mia Skinner also booted two majors.

Meanwhile for the Borough, Kaitlyn O’Keefe was the top ball winner with 21 touches.

Essendon beat the Western Bulldogs comfortably for the second time this season, this time by 45 points.

The Bulldogs may have not scored until the second half, but they conceded only about half as many points as they did last time around.

Joanne Doonan and Cecilia McIntosh both booted two majors for the winners, while usual suspects Amelia Radford and Georgia Nanscawen both racked up plenty of the ball.

Meanwhile for the Bulldogs, Eliza Morrison had 24 touches in another heavy loss for her side.

The Southern Saints further entrenched themselves in the top six with a win over a gallant Williamstown. Things were evenly poised at the final break, but the Saints were too strong in the end, running away with the win.

On the goalkicking front, Caitlin Greiser booted three majors for the Saints, while Ella Baxter booted two for the Seagulls.

On the disposal front however, Hannah Stuart finished with 24 touches for the Saints and Emily Eaves finished with 19 for the visitors.