COLLINGWOOD had its second straight thrashing of an opponent in a top-of-the-table clash against Western Bulldogs, making it five consecutive wins, while Darebin Falcons won their first game of the season in the clash of the two winless sides at the other end of the ladder.

GEELONG 3.1 | 4.7 | 5.7 | 8.8 (56)
CASEY 1.1 | 2.1 | 3.3 | 4.3 (27)

GOALS

Geelong: D. Orr 3, R. Benham 2, S. Van De Heuvel, R. Cranston, J. Crockett-Grills.
Casey: H. Cordner, G. Speedy, A. Johnson, C. Emonson.

BEST

Geelong: M. Keryk, J. Crockett-Grills, S. Van De Heuvel, A. McDonald, D. Orr, R. Garing
Casey: C. Emonson, H. Cordner, K. Bentvelzen , N. Garner, S. Heath, A. Johnson

A slow start for Casey ultimately led to yet another loss on the board after an impressive start to the season, but full credit to the Cats who had control from the get-go at home on Saturday. The Dees tried valiantly to fight their way back into the contest but defensively didn’t have the pressure needed to get the job done, going down by 29 points. Danielle Orr proved hard to stop with three goals and two behinds from 20 disposals, while Amy McDonald (25 touches) and Renee Garing (25 touches, 12 tackles) pitched in around the ground. The Demons shared the ball around well but were unable to capitalise, only getting four goals on the board from 20 inside 50s, while the likes of Maddy Guerin was back in the side finishing with 19 touches and seven tackles but unable to mark her mark on the scoreboard. The Dees were competitive through the middle of the ground dominating the ruck with 27 more hitouts than the Cats, credit to the likes of Harriet Cordner (15 disposals, 19 hitouts, six tackles) sharing the load with Taryn Orgill (17 hitouts) in her first match for the season.

COLLINGWOOD 3.0 | 7.1 | 9.2 | 13.5 (83)
WESTERN BULLDOGS 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 1.3 (9)

GOALS

Collingwood: J. Lambert 4, S. Livingstone 3, S. Layton 2, M. Shevlin 2, S. Casey, K. Lynch.
Western Bulldogs: L. Dundon.

BEST

Collingwood: J. Lambert, B. Bonnici, S. Livingstone, P. Nash, J. Ferguson, M. Shevlin
Western Bulldogs: C. Moody, V. Laloifi, B. Hunt, J. Davies, T. Dinuccio, K. McLeod

The Magpies may have been without fan favourite, Chloe Molloy over the weekend, but the side certainly was not lacking star power as they handed the Bulldogs a 74-point smashing in a phenomenal team effort. The Pies shared the ball around, dominating possession and finding the goals with ease as four players notched more than one goal. Jaimee Lambert kicked four from 26 touches in a best on ground performance, while Stacey Livingstone kicked a bag of three and ex-Australian netballer, Sharni Layton slotted her first career goal towards the end of the second quarter, following up with another in the final term. Without Bonnie Toogood in their midst the Bulldogs all but fell apart, unable to capitalise under the Pies’ immense pressure. Similar to Casey, the Dogs dominated the hitouts with 42 to the Pies’ 26, but were unable to get through Collingwood’s solid defensive unit.

HAWTHORN 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 2.2 (14)
SOUTHERN SAINTS 0.1 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 2.5 (17)

GOALS

Hawthorn: P. McWilliams, E. Gilder
Southern Saints: F. Steiert, K. Shierlaw

BEST

Hawthorn: P. Randall, P. Peschke, T. Radan, P. McWilliams, R. Dillon, J. Membrey
Southern Saints: A. Brown, C. Fitzpatrick, T. Lucas-Rodd, S. Johnson, F. Steiert, K. Shierlaw

The Hawks put in an impressive performance to challenge the Southern Saints over the weekend, only losing by three points after mounting a final quarter comeback to give the Saints a scare. It was a low scoring affair at Box Hill City Oval, with the Hawks finding some good form and piling on the pressure at every turn. Tilly Lucas-Rodd and Jayde Van Dyke were among the best on ground, collecting 25 and 21 touches for their respective sides. It was a tale of inaccuracy for both sides, with Hawthorn unable to challenge the ball in their attacking 50 while the Saints were lucky to get away with a win after the Hawks started chipping away at the margin. Philippa Peschke collected 17 touches and eight tackles in yet another strong performance, while Pepa Randall was solid as ever with 12 touches, four marks and five tackles. For the Saints, Olivia Vesely may have missed a shot on goal but still played her part with 19 touches and eight tackles.

DAREBIN 0.1 | 2.3 | 3.5 | 4.7 (31)
WILLIAMSTOWN 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 1.5 (11)

GOALS

Darebin: L. Pearce, E. Honybun, S. David, B. Kennedy.
Williamstown: T. Merrett.

BEST

Darebin: K. McNiece, E. Honybun, G. Lawson-Tavan, M. Eastman, C. Byrne, B. Patterson
Williamstown: J. Heard, E. Straford, E. Crawford, T. Merrett, E. Gardner, J. Paten

It was a battle of the cellar dwellars in this match as the Falcons ran away with a solid win to hopefully jump-start their season. For Williamstown this match will surely come back to haunt them, after challenging a few sides over the past weeks before going down to the confident Falcons. Lauren Pearce proved her dominance in the ruck, collecting a whopping 44 hitouts as she fed her teammates the ball when required. Pearce also managed a goal from 15 touches to lead Darebin’s disposal count, while Annalyse Lister (12 touches, 10 tackles) was also up there. For Williamstown, the regular names stood up once more with the likes of Mo Hope (27 disposals) and Nikki Wallace (10 tackles), while Sharnie Whiting was unlucky in front of the big sticks with two behinds from nine touches.

NT THUNDER 4.0 | 9.3 | 11.3 | 12.4 (76)
ESSENDON 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 1.6 (12)

GOALS

NT Thunder: S. Thompson 3, D. Ponter 3, J. Hewett 2, J. de Melo 2, J. Hickey, K. Streader.
Essendon: A. Moreen.

BEST

NT Thunder: H. Martin, D. Cox, J. de Melo, N. Gore, J. Hewett, M. Breed
Essendon: G. Nanscawen, M. Collier, L. Stepnell, L. Ahrens, S. Nalder, E. Ashley-Cooper

NT Thunder are finally back on the winners list this week after recording a comprehensive win over the Bombers in Darwin to finish off the round. Multiple goal hauls from Stevie-Lee Thompason, Danielle Ponter, Jasmyn Hewitt and Jade de Melo saw the Thunder completely outshine the Bombers who only kicked the one goal for the game courtesy of Arthurina Moreen. Georgia Nanscawen (22 disposals) and Simone Nalder (17 hitouts) were reliable as always for the Bombers, while Hayley Bullas was solid with 16 touches and eight tackles. Thunder’s Nikki Gore put in the hard yards with 10 tackles while the shared effort across the board saw Lisa Roberts sit highest on the disposal count for NT with 16.

BYE: Carlton, Richmond, Melbourne Uni.