DESPITE the contrasting margins across the VFLW, there were plenty of non AFLW listed players that still made their mark on the game across all the sides.

North Melbourne (4.5.29) defeated Carlton (1.2.8)

North Melbourne:

#12 Maddie Di Cosmo (Midfielder)
11/2/2002 | 169cm

Stats: 18 disposals, 18 tackles, four clearances, three marks

Continuing to thrive at her new club, Di Cosmo was on fire in the midfield for the Roos on Friday.

Landing as many tackles as she did disposals, she created plenty of run while also ensuring her opponents could not enjoy the same thing.

#40 Nyakoat Dojiok (Forward)
7/1/2003 | 174cm

Stats: 21 disposals, four clearances, four tackles, three marks, three goals, two hit outs

Someone else thriving at their new club, Dojiok was again lively in North Melbourne’s win. She was not afraid of the contest or afraid to put her body on the line for her team.

She even pushed up the ground to further stretch her involvement, and also pinch hit in the ruck and held her own.

#46 Sarah King (Ruck)
4/6/1998 | 185cm

Stats: 31 hit outs, six disposals, three marks

A third Roo who has moved to the club this season, one thing that was particularly impressive with King’s game on the weekend was her endurance.

The number one ruck for the day after a suspension to Kate Reynolds, she did the bulk of the ruck work and did not seem to tire all game.  She competed really well with Carlton’s ruck rotation and the fact the game was played in the heat did not seem to affect the ex Pie.

Carlton:

#18 Hannah Bowey (Midfielder)
9/10/1998 | 165cm

Stats: 13 disposals, two marks, two rebound 50s

In what was a tough affair for Carlton, Bowey really stood tall.

Playing a more defensive role, she took a number of important defensive intercepts and provided plenty of rebound power for her side.

#21 Danika Di Santo (Midfielder)
23/8/2002 | 168cm

Stats: 10 disposals, three marks, one tackle

The energiser bean of midfield, Di Santo was everywhere at times, not resting until she had positively contributed to the forward momentum of her team. She was also not afraid to throw her body around in a contest, diving under plenty of packs to get the ball out.

#51 Octavia Di Donato (Defender)
23/02/2004 | 172cm

Stats: 18 disposals, four marks, four rebound 50s, three tackles, one clearance

Similar to Bowey, Di Donato’s defensive skills were impressive and critical for stopping North Melbourne’s march.

Her intercept marking was particularly on show, landing a number of strong and important marks on the last line of defence.

Port Melbourne (9.7.61) defeated Collingwood (3.3.21)

Port Melbourne:

#14 Federica Frew (Forward)
16/6/1996 | 169cm

Stats: 13 disposals, six marks, three tackles, two goals, one behind

After an okay performance last week, Frew really lifted her game on the weekend, returning to the kind of levels that saw her on the AFLW radar a few years ago.

She was regularly taking strong marks – both in the forward 50 and further up the ground – and those marks in the forward 50 often resulted in goals.

#17 Emily Harley (Forward)
4/12/2001 | 172cm

Stats: Nine disposals, four marks, two goals

Teaming up with Frew, Harley was part of a forward line partnership that was proving just about impossible to stop.

Her strong marking and powerful kick meant that even though she only finished with the nine disposals, she really made them count.

#36 Ava Seton (Midfielder)
19/4/2004 | 165cm

Stats: 22 disposals, 14 tackles, five clearances, 1 mark

Playing through the midfield, Seton had another starring performance. She got plenty of the ball and also had a lot of influence with it, creating plenty of run and drive out of the middle.

She also had plenty of influence without the ball in handing, landing a whopping 14 tackles and really shutting down any easy path out for Collingwood’s midfielders.

Collingwood:

#47 Kasey Lennox (Defender)
7/8/2003 | 177cm

Stats: 20 disposals, four marks

Certainly not short of things to do in a well battered Collingwood defence, Lennox found influence particularly late in the piece, with several intercept marks showing the kind of impact she can potentially have on a game. In this particular instance it was a case of too little too late, but her efforts did help Collingwood avoid a potentially even wider margin.

Casey (7.8.50) defeated Western Bulldogs (11.5.71)

Casey:

#14 Lauren Jatczak (Ruck)
25/9/2004 | 181cm

Stats: 20 hit outs, 18 disposals, four inside 50s, three marks, two tackles

Continuing to show versatility and mobility beyond the stereotypes of a ruck, Jatzcak was really important for Casey on the weekend.

More mobile than a ruck typically is, she used that to her advantage to help out in defence, but also to drive into attack. She also took the number one ruck role, and her endurance was put to the test but she never looked tired.

#4 Tylah Burn (Midfielder)
26/10/2004 | 166cm

Stats: 14 disposals, three marks, two tackles, one clearance, one inside 50, one rebound 50

One of a few drivers out of midfield, Burn was quite active across a lot of the ground, making her presence very felt. From taking strong intercepts in defence to racking up forward drive further up the ground, she was quite impactful.

#5 Siobhan Sheerin (Midfielder)
13/3/1996 | 163cm

Stats: Five disposals, two goals, one tackle

In her second season in the competition, Sheerin is starting to come into her own and make a real impact for the Dees.

Playing mainly out of midfield, she did plenty of work getting the ball free, but also was lively and dangerous up forward, and was rewarded with a pair of goals.

Western Bulldogs:

#35 Eleanor Bishop (Defender)
19/6/2003 | 177cm

Stats: 17 disposals, six tackles, four marks, four clearances, four inside 50s

Bishop provided great drive off half back, and plenty of rebound energy to help propel her side forward. She also snuck forward herself and manage to kick a goal from an impossible angle in the second term.

#36 Tallia Pulcino (Forward)
26/9/2002 | 154cm

Stats: Seven disposals, six tackles, four inside 50s, three marks, two goals

After getting on the scoreboard last week, Pulcino was even more impactful this week.

Not on the taller side, Pulcino still showed that height is just a number, playing like someone much taller than her in terms of her strong marking ability. She was also sneaky in her movement and positioning, showing off her strong game awareness.

#63 Jaimi Tabb (Forward)
2/9/2001 | 169cm

Stats: 15 disposals, three tackles, three goals, two inside 50s, one mark

The game’s highest goal kicker, Tabb provided a tall but mobile presence in the Bulldogs’ forward line, which was particularly important when some others were not there to provide a role.

She also showed off her selflessness and good forward thinking skills, with her long kick into the forward line in the second term setting up other quicker team mates to run onto it and kick the goal.

Essendon (4.11.35) drew with Williamstown (5.5.35)

Essendon:

#61 El Chaston (Defender)
23/02/2002 | 170cm

Stats: 14 disposals, four clearances, three marks, two tackles, two inside 50s, one rebound 50

Much like Robinson, Chaston provided a strong rebounding presence off half back, playing slightly more in front of Robinson.

A lot of Essendon’s late attacking charge came from Chaston, whose accurate and powerful kick allowed them to help Essendon generate plenty of inside 50s.

#80 Marnie Robinson (Defender)
8/6/2005 | 171cm

Stats: 10 disposals, two inside 50s, two rebound 50s

Growing into some confidence as she adjusts to VFLW level, Robinson really played a solid role on the weekend. Although the stats might suggest otherwise, she was playing a strong goalkeeper like role in Essendon’s defence, collecting the ball off half back and rebounding it out and up the ground into attack.

Williamstown:

#25 Sharnie Whiting (Forward/Defender)
23/8/2000 | 172cm

Stats: 16 disposals, three marks, three rebound 50s, three goals, two behinds, one clearance

The goal scorer that started the whole charge back from the brink for the Seagulls, the weekend’s clash was a perfect chance for Whiting to show her versatility on the football field.

Although normally a forward, she was thrown into defence a few times to help stem the tide of Essendon’s attacks, and although she was definitely more influential while in the forward line, there were still moments from her in defence.

#4 Lori Stepnell (Midfielder)
15/9/1995 | 174cm

Stats: 16 disposals, six rebound 50s, five marks, two clearances, one tackle

The midfield general, Stepnell was everywhere, particularly early. She saw plenty of the ball, and was really influential in helping to try and turn things around for the Seagulls after a poor start.

Geelong (0.2.2) lost to Box Hill (14.14.98)

Geelong:

#60 Jamilla Cranny (Defender)
24/2/1999 | 173cm

Stats: 12 disposals, four marks, three rebound 50s

On a day that was not much fun for Geelong’s defenders, Cranny stood tall. On club debut after some time away from VFLW, she stood tall on the last line of defence and took plenty of intercept marks, and ensured that Box Hill’s lead did not get even larger than it ended up being.

Box Hill:

#15 Mietta Kendall (Forward)
3/9/2002 | 163cm

Stats: Nine disposals, three inside 50s, two tackles, one mark

Although the stats perhaps tell a different story, Kendall showed a different side to her game over the weekend. She may have not hit the scoreboard in quite the way she would have liked, she was lively in the forward line, always being an option and making an influence on the game in other ways.

#32 Caitlin Thorne (Midfielder)
29/8/2003 | 171cm

Stats: 19 disposals, six inside 50s, five tackles, two clearances, one mark

In a match that was dominated by the AFLW listed Hawks, Thorne showed that the VFLW listed players can also be relied on. Leading her VFLW listed team mates for disposals, she created a lot of attacking momentum out of midfield and also made her presence felt with plenty of tackles to her name.

Southern Saints (5.4.34) defeated Darebin (1.3.9)

Southern Saints:

#29 Chloe Hunt (Forward)
2/12/1997 | 175cm

Stats: Eight disposals, six tackles, three goals, one clearance

Again proving why she should have perhaps taken on the challenge of the VFLW a little bit sooner than this, she was out of the gates quickly, booting two goals in the first five minutes of the match and a third one later on. She went a bit quiet at times as the match progressed, but that opening five minutes was again a sign of how dangerous she can be.

#17 Evangeli Nikolitsis (Midfielder)
17/6/1994 | 174cm

Stats: 12 tackles, 11 disposals, three clearances, one mark, one goal

Arguably best on ground for her side, the influence Nikolitsis was able to exude was noticeable. Creating plenty of attack out of the midfield, she was also influential without ball in hand, as evident by her high final tackle count.

#37 Georgia Foran (Defender)
17/10/04 | 174cm

Stats: 13 disposals, three marks, three clearances, two rebound 50s, one tackle

Despite the one sided scoreline, Darebin did have plenty of time in defence, which left the Saints defenders like Foran with plenty to do.

Foran was particularly dangerous across the half back line, taking plenty of intercept marks and rebounding the ball straight back out again.

Darebin:

#4 Georgina Gough (Forward)
9/1/2004 | 169cm

Stats: Eight disposals, six tackles, one mark, one goal

Darebin’s lone goal kicker, there was more to the young forwards’ game than that.

She provided plenty of energy in attack, creating a lot of movement and presented well.

#33 Caitlin Bunker (Midfielder)
28/8/1993 | 165cm

Stats: 19 disposals, 15 tackles, six clearances, four rebound 50s

It was a true captain’s game from the former Magpie in only her second match in her new colours. She was the driving force behind the growing increase in defensive pressure from her side as the match went on, and truly led from the front with plenty of effective use of the ball and plenty of defensive pressure.

#36 Sam Basis (Midfielder)
9/10/1996 | 165cm

Stats: 17 disposals, six tackles, five clearances, three marks

She may only be two games into her VFLW career, but Basis seems to be settling into the standards expected at this level. She created plenty of drive out of midfield, but did so with a calmness and composure of someone with a lot more games at this level under their belt than Basis has.