Ruthless Cats’ record win in Suns shellacking; coach’s AFL swipe after odd call: AFLW wrap

Geelong made an emphatic statement with a record win over a hapless Gold Coast Suns.

Plus North Melbourne coach’s blatant swipe for the AFL and the Dockers suffer an injury scare.

Get all the latest news and updates in the AFLW wrap!

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GEELONG 15.9 (96) def GOLD COAST SUNS 4.3 (27)

They say a week’s a long time in footy – and this certainly rang true for Geelong on Saturday as they trounced the Gold Coast Suns 15.6 (96) to 4.3 (27) on their home turf at People First Stadium.

You could’ve been forgiven for thinking it was Gold Coast who were held goalless last week, not Geelong, after the Cats came out firing to hold the Suns scoreless in the opening half and take a whopping 50-point lead into the main break.

The 69-point win was a far cry from Geelong’s 24-point loss to Carlton last week where they kicked 0.5 (5) for the day. It was Geelong’s second-biggest win and second-highest score in its AFLW history.

The Cats had the ascendancy all day and thrashed the Suns in the inside 50 count as they locked the ball in their forward half time and time again.

The Cats’ pressure was immense as they limited Gold Coast’s ability to find clean disposals and build momentum with chains of possessions. Geelong was also potent in transition, taking the game on up the middle and getting it forward quickly.

Geelong coach Dan Lowther credited the turnaround in performance to going “back to basics” after the disappointing loss last week.

“We couldn’t get the ball last week against the Blues so this week against the Gold Coast Suns the method was our application in contest to get the footy and obviously going forward off the back of that’s been really positive,” Lowther said to Fox Footy at three-quarter-time.

The win was Geelong’s first win of the season and will no doubt give them a major boost moving forward as they look to rescue their season and mount a finals charge.

Nina Morrison impressed in the middle with 26 disposals and a goal, while Mikayla Bowen was exceptional at half-forward. She was involved in a ton of scores and had three goal assists to go with her one goal and 25 disposals. The only thin that let her down was her finishing with several missed chances.

Shell-shocked Suns

After the promise that last season’s elimination final berth presented to the Gold Coast Suns, 2024 is shaping as a major disappointment.

There was a slither of hope after Jamie Stanton’s after-the-siren goal clinched a draw against GWS, but the Suns remain winless and will now have some serious soul searching to do following the annihilation on their home turf.

Gold Coast coach Cameron Joyce said at quarter time that his side had won enough of the ball, but needed to be cleaner with footy in hand.

“In terms of our ability to move the ball between the arcs, some execution in terms of skills and also us being more bold and brave with the ball, that’s what we’re looking to do now,” Joyce said to Fox Footy.

Unfortunately, his side’s struggles would continue for much of the clash, although it must be said that they salvaged some momentum late with three last quarter goals.

The Suns were also hampered by the loss of key cog Lucy Single, who was ruled out with concussion. The loss will have major ramifications for the remainder of the Suns season with their finals hopes all but dashed. They have an 0-1-3 record, and would need to win at least six of their last seven matches to crack the top eight.

60m bomb

It’s not every day you see a drop punt and rooted from beyond 60 metres and trickle through for a goal, particularly after the siren, but that was exactly the fate of Kate Kenny’s kick as it cleared the last Suns defender and skipped through the vacant space.

Adding to the moment, the siren had sounded as the ball was in mid-air. Kate Darby’s work also didn’t go unnoticed as she put in a crucial shepherd to allow the footy to remain untouched.

Goals galore

It was raining goals for the Cats as they managed 15 majors at People First Stadium, and 10 came from the boots of Aishling Moloney, Shelley Scott and Jackie Parry.

It was a special day for Parry, who celebrated her 50th match with an equal career-high three majors.

Moloney led the way with four goals, and was simply superb up forward for the Cats. Despite her height, she did the bulk of her work at ground level. Her first goal was particularly special as she showcased her exceptional pace to leave late inclusion Katie Lynch in her dust.

Kievit’s first

On a testing day for the Gold Coast Suns, it wasn’t all doom and gloom, with Annabel Kievit kicking her first career goal the day before her 19th Birthday.

Despite the 71-point deficit the Suns were staring down after the goal, the entire team made an effort to get around Kievit and ensure it was a moment to remember for the Suns Academy product.

NORTH MELBOURNE 6.6 (42) def PORT ADELAIDE 1.0 (6)

North Melbourne’s sublime midfield double act of Jasmine Garner and Ash Riddell is lifting the AFLW to new heights on the field.

It rained sideways at Whitten Oval on Friday evening, but the Kangaroos duo were tough, clean and made an impact at almost every contest in a comprehensive 36-point demolition of Port Adelaide.

Garner (30 disposals and a goal) and Riddell (30) will again be their own worst enemies when the umpires’ votes are counted at the season’s end, but the Roos’ brilliant on-ballers are currently the competition’s best selling point – making the decision to schedule this game at 5pm on a Friday utterly mystifying.

Crammed in before a men’s preliminary final and before people could arrive from work, the wild weather did its best to keep anyone else away as the clash returned a season-low crowd of 943.

Roos coach Darren Crocker said the scheduling decision “wasn’t ideal” and suggested he would have preferred a day game at the club’s Arden Street home.

“You probably should be asking the AFL that one, but a Friday night game at five o’clock out at Whitten Oval … we regularly pack out Arden Street given the right fixturing and times,” he said after the game.

O’Dangerous tackle

The Kangaroos shattered the all-time tackles record (109) by laying 123, with their pressure so fierce that the Power could only muster 40 uncontested possessions for the entire game.

Dynamic forward Alice O’Loughlin led the way with an uncompromising attack on the ball as she finished with 15 disposals, six tackles and two goals, but could face a second suspension this season after a dumping tackle on Port Adelaide’s Ebony O’Dea in the second quarter.

The Roos young gun was handed a 50m penalty and a second goal after O’Dea shoved her in the chest in response, but the incident could prove costly at the MRO after she was already handed a one-match ban for a tackle on Brisbane’s Shannon Campbell in round 1.

Crocker said he saw a replay of the incident and thought O’Loughlin, who also sprained her thumb just before halftime, should not have “anything to worry about”.

“(O’Dea) bounced up straight away … we’ve spoken about Alice after her previous one. At the time we thought she was a little bit unlucky, but we also do understand that she’s just got to temper her tackling technique a little bit,” Crocker said.

Could Port use star better?

Blossoming as a specialist key forward, 21-year-old Julia Teakle has been the shining light for Port Adelaide in the first month of the season.

She entered the clash with seven goals from three games and emerged with the Power’s only goal after another classy set shot finish during the third quarter.

But with coach Lauren Arnell desperate to arrest the Kangaroos’ midfield momentum, the Power rolled a forward up to the ball, leaving their star forward to battle two defenders on the rare occasions they went inside 50.

Asked whether a move into the ruck had been considered for Teakle, one of the Power’s most skilful players, Arnell said she had no reason to change a forward line structure which had been working for her side.

HAWTHORN 11.8 (74) def ST KILDA 2.5 (17)

All good things must come to an end.

For St Kilda, their hot start to the season is over after they were stunned by a methodical Hawthorn outfit and Greta Bodey masterclass, suffering a 57-point defeat at the hands of Hawthorn on their home turf at RSEA Park in the inaugural AFLW Spud’s Game.

After a goalless opening term, Hawthorn responded emphatically in the second quarter with four goals to one to establish a crucial 16-point half-time lead. From there, it was a brown and gold onslaught.

The Hawks started spreading the footy superbly once they overcame their slow start and were dominating the uncontested game while their fleet-footed forward line worked wonders.

St Kilda had no answers for the Hawks’ calculated spread and finished with 98 less disposals.

Bodey stars

Greta Bodey take a bow.

After starting on the wing, she tore it up at Moorabbin to kick a career-high six majors. She finished as the standout forward.

Her first goal was especially eye-catching as she worked wonders from the pocket to squeeze the footy between the posts and keep the Hawks newfound second quarter momentum rolling.

She’d added her second of that term after the half-time siren when she converted coolly, and she finished with a wet sail in the final quarter slotting another three goals in a rampant seven-minute patch.

Aine McDonagh was also pivotal up forward for the Hawks. The dynamic tall slotted two goals and when she wasn’t kicking them she was wheeling around to set up goals or bringing the ball to ground for her smalls.

The Irishwoman had a big say in plenty of her side’s majors, particularly Bodey’s.

Lambert’s hot start

In game 75, St Kilda milestone star Jaimee Lambert came to play. She was simply everywhere in the opening term to rack up 11 disposals and was involved in two of the Saints’ three scores.

Her early involvement was crucial in St Kilda wrestling the early ascendancy as it managed the only goal of the term to take a slender six-point lead into the first break

Hawthorn responded well to nullify her in the second term and she only managed five touches, before finishing with 22 disposals.

Lambert willed and willed all day, and kept the Saints alive as three-quarter-time neared when she hunted down Kaitlyn Ashmore with a desperate lunge – it was just enough to keep the Hawk from splitting the sticks and kept St Kilda in the game at that point.

Wardlaw or bust

Jesse Wardlaw looked dangerous up forward for St Kilda all day, so much so that she was targeted with what felt like every forward 50 entry.

As good as she was – kicking two goals, plucking seven marks, bringing the ball to ground on countless occasions, and even barrelling opponents to create space for her teammates – it was a case of Wardlaw or nothing for much of the day for St Kilda.

There was even an instant where she surged forward to take a mark 55m from goal, and turned to look at a completely vacant forward 50. The opportunity amounted to nothing as Wardlaw booted the footy to space and it was aptly swept up by Hawthorn.

The Saints need a ‘plan b’ when kicking inside 50 moving forward, or at the very least a greater crumbing effort from their smalls to cash in when Wardlaw crashes a pack and brings the footy to ground.