Molloy heroics seal Swans’ finals
Five-goal Sydney star Chloe Molloy has exploded against West Coast to deliver a 22-point victory that seals a finals berth and keeps the Swans in touch with the top four.
Molloy’s terrific bag of five, including three final-term majors, proved the difference at Henson Park as Colin O’Riordan’s Sydney prevailed 12.6 (78) to 8.8 (56).
“Colin challenged us at the start of the week to seize the moment,” Molloy told Fox Footy.
“Sometimes you can shy away from the bigger moments and an opportunity to lock in the finals.
Suns lose Baron after being overruled on head knock, but win game
Gold Coast coach Rhyce Shaw was surprised and frustrated at the circumstances around Dekota Baron’s removal from their narrow AFLW win over Richmond.
But Shaw was also adamant that player welfare must come first.
Baron, a Rising Star nominee this season, was floored by a nasty collision with Tigers opponent Montana McKinnon in the first quarter of Saturday’s match on the Gold Coast.
Baron’s head cannoned into McKinnon’s hip. After initially being cleared by doctors to keep playing, the ARC (AFL review centre) intervened and ruled that she needed a head injury assessment.
The round 11 weekend results
Demons do a job on Bulldogs
Melbourne are closing on a AFLW top-four berth after grinding their way to a massive win over the Western Bulldogs on Saturday night.
In wet conditions which hit Victoria hard this weekend – there were fears the game might be delayed because of lightning – the Demons beat the Bulldogs 5.7 (37) to 2.8 (20) at Whitten Oval.
Melbourne are third ahead of next weekend’s trip to Adelaide, while Gold Coast’s narrow win earlier on Saturday meant the Bulldogs dropped to fifth.
The Bulldogs now have another big game on Friday night in Geelong against the Cats, who are on a 10-game winning streak. Star Bulldog Isabelle Pritchard also finished Saturday’s game on the bench with a knee injury.
The Bulldogs did not kick a goal from 15 minutes into the first term until seven minutes into the last.
The latest scores
Cats win bruising AFLW clash with Dockers as Lions roar
Geelong have secured an AFLW qualifying final at “our house” with a 30-point win that also put a massive hole in Fremantle’s top-eight hopes.
There could be major injury ramifications out of Saturday’s physical clash at GMHBA Stadium, which the Cats won 9.10 (64) to 5.4 (34).
A heavy collision early in the last quarter put Geelong’s Rachel Kearns out of the game, while Fremantle player Noa McNaughton needed help from two trainers when she also went off in the final term with an ankle injury.
Geelong forward Chantal Mason suffered an ugly cut to her face in a marking contest. Fremantle’s Aoife Healy, Aisling McCarthy and Kiara Bowers, plus Cats player Aishling Moloney all needed injury treatment during the game.
Lions easily account for Saints
Brisbane had successive wins for the first time in their tough season, mauling home side St Kilda by 52 points at RSEA Park on Saturday.
The Lions’ 11.9 (75) to 3.5 (23) win ended a tough few days for the Saints under interim coach Matt Brewer.
He dropped Jesse Tawhiao-Wardlaw and Maya Louvel-Finn for not meeting team standards.
Tyanna Smith’s second goal reduced the margin to 13 points at halftime and the Saints looked a chance. But they only managed two behinds in the second half as the Lions took control.
Pictorial highlights from RSEA Park
The results this round so far
Magpies at their lowest point after goal-less loss
Collingwood’s horror week got worse as they were kept goal-less in a 48-point loss to Port Adelaide at Alberton Oval on Friday night, which leaves them second-last on the AFLW ladder.
Compounding a miserable week in which they learned captain Ruby Schleicher is returning to her native Western Australia, Collingwood kicked their lowest-ever AFLW score by three points with the one bright spot a 29-disposal game from young star Ash Centra.
The 48-point winning margin easily eclipsed Port’s previous best this season of 21 and they equalled their biggest team score of the campaign.
AFLW commentator Kate McCarthy didn’t spare the Magpies, who have also faced questions around how seriously the club’s hierarchy treats their women’s side while the loss came in the club’s 100th game in the AFLW.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
