HISTORY has repeated in the AFL Ireland Women’s competition, as the Cork Vikings defeated the South Dublin Swans to win the 2024 Premiership, in a repeat of the 2023 result. The Vikings were dominant all match, but a particularly high scoring first half combined with a strong defence saw them walk away 76-14 winners.

Cork got its scoring off to a quick start, taking a mere minute to get its first goal on the board through the avenue of Ailish Dunne.

Although the Swans were applying plenty of pressure around the ground, the Vikings were winning the ball out of the middle which allowed them to lock the ball in their forward half.

It was not long before a second Cork goal came along, with Shannon Stevenson pouncing on an intercept opportunity deep in the Vikings’ forward line and making the Swans pay for a poor kick out from defence. Stevenson had her second minutes later and things were already looking ominous for the Swans.

Although the Swans did eventually find their way to their forward 50, the Vikings’ defence was too strong, restricting the Swans so much they could not even get a shot away.

Stevenson found her third goal for the quarter and continued to dominate the opening term, and then Amanda Brosnan got in on the goal scoring fun to keep piling on the pain. Stevenson had a fourth goal by the time quarter time came around and the Swans just could not stop her.

Quarter time then came, and the Vikings took a 38-point lead into the first change as they kept the Swans scoreless in that term.

The Swans got off to a very fast start and got the ball inside their 50 quickly, but could not keep it in there as the Vikings’ defence continued to prove to be far too strong for the Swans’ forwards. The Vikings then made them pay up the other end as Marie Keating converted for Cork’s seventh of the match.

South Dublin then finally got a goal on the board when Daire Power was able to break free of a tough Cork defence and kick truly. However the resistance did not last long as Eadoin McKeever converted up the other end to add more pain on the scoreboard.

Kate Ormsby did kick a second goal for the Swans but the Vikings had already added another goal after McKeever’s goal so when the teams went to the half time break the margin was out to 45 points. Unfortunately for the Swans things did not improve for them after half-time.

Although they were able to reduce Cork’s scoring rate significantly, they were unable to add more than two behinds to their own score, resulting in the comfortable win to the Vikings.