3 minute read
Brisbane flexed their muscle in a thrashing of Sydney as the 'Dreamtime in Darwin' clash between top-eight rivals Essendon and Richmond ended in a draw.
A SNAPSHOT OF WEEK NINE OF THE AFLW SEASON
THEY SAID IT: "She's a generational player. I'll look back in a number of years' time and say I was extremely lucky to coach probably one of the best players - if not the best player - to come into the competition at its infancy." - North Melbourne coach Darren Crocker was full of praise for Jasmine Garner after the AFLW superstar racked up 27 disposals, five clearances, eight tackles, 529m gained and two goals in Friday's eight-point win over Adelaide.
THE MOMENT: Richmond captain Katie Brennan had been dangerous all night against Essendon, recovering from last week's ankle injury to kick two goals. With less than two minutes left, her scrambled shot on goal tied the scores and the inaugural Dreamtime in Darwin match ended as a draw. That complicates the top-eight permutations with one round until the finals.
STAT THAT MATTERS: Former triathlete Jo Miller joined the "first kick, first goal" club in her AFLW debut. The forward kicked the first and last goals of Port Adelaide's win over Gold Coast. At one point in her 70th game, Power star Gemma Houghton had kicked 70 goals and 70 behinds in her AFLW career.
TALKING POINT: Don't rule out the Brisbane Lions just yet. A week after their surprise loss to Geelong, Craig Starcevich's side flexed its scoring muscle with a 68-point thumping of Sydney to stay in the hunt for a top-two berth. The Lions' premiership defence is well and truly alive.
PLAYER OF THE ROUND: Geelong's Irish star Aishling Moloney was unstoppable against West Coast on Saturday, kicking a club-record six goals to lead her team to a 33-point win. Moloney was also accurate, nailing 6.0 to go with her 18 disposals and seven marks.
INJURIES: K Hore (Melb, quad), G Colvin (Melb, concussion), A Brazill (Frem, ankle), J Crockett-Grills (Geel, ankle), Z Friswell (Geel, ankle), R Roux (WC, back), D D'Arcy (GC, knee), S Wales (Ess, knee), S Hosking (Rich, hamstring), B Jakobsson (StK, knee).
WHAT'S NEXT: Geelong can put themselves in a top-eight position with an upset over Adelaide on Friday night, before Melbourne try to do the same when they take on Collingwood. North Melbourne should extend their unbeaten season against Gold Coast, while Essendon can lock in a finals berth when they play Carlton. A bumper Sunday schedule has finals ramifications in all four matches, with the sixth-versus-second clash between Richmond and Hawthorn a highlight.
