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| Venue: | IKON Park, Carlton. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date: | Sunday 6th March, 2022 (5.10 pm). | ||||||||||||||||||
| Result: | Won by 30 points. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Crowd: | 1,052 (restricted capacity) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Goalkickers: | J. Good 2.0, N. Stevens 2.0, C. Jones 1.2, D. Vescio 1.1, G. Gee 1.0, B. Moody 0.1. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Reports: | Madison Prespakis charged with striking Daisy D'Arcy, (Suns), during the third quarter - she can accept a reprimand with an early plea. The incident was assessed as careless conduct, low impact, high contact. The incident was classified as a $400 sanction as a first offence, can accept a reprimand with an early plea | ||||||||||||||||||
| Umpires: | Gen Devenish, Martin Rodger, Leighton Rowe. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Injuries: | Nil. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ladder: | 8th. | ||||||||||||||||||
Match Review
Suns' finals hopes shattered as Blues' late-season surge continues.Carlton has snuffed out Gold Coast's hopes of an AFLW finals berth, beating the Suns by 30 points at Ikon Park to win its third game in a row. Mimi Hill (25 possessions) and Gab Pound (23) were prolific for the Blues, who ran out 7.4 (46) to 2.4 (16) winners. "I love being back with the Baggers. It's been great the last few weeks - there's a really good energy around the group. It's so exciting," Hill said post-match. The Suns headed into the final AFLW match of round nine needing a win to keep their finals chances alive, but it was the Blues who looked cleaner and more desperate early. The ball was locked in Carlton's forward half for much of the first quarter, with the Blues kicking three goals to none to lead by 18 points at quarter time. Carlton forward Nicola Stevens - who hadn't kicked a goal since round three - was the star early, nailing two classy left-foot snaps, with Jess Good kicking the only other first-quarter goal.
The Suns lifted their intensity in the second term, evening up tackles and clearances and eventually reaping the rewards on the scoreboard. Tara Bohanna marked strongly then converted from 40 metres out, before Ellie Hampson kicked the Suns' second to put them back in touch. The margin could have been trimmed further had Sarah Perkins taken advantage of a free kick straight in front of goal before halftime, but the star Suns forward could only manage a behind. A strong contested mark at the top of the goal-square from Jess Good saw the Blues wrestle back momentum to start the second half, with a fierce Courtney Jones tackle and goal minutes later pushing the margin back out to 19 points. The Suns fought hard in the final quarter, turning the contest into a scrap, but couldn't break through on the scoreboard and eventually ran out of legs. A brilliant Georgia Gee snap from the boundary and a late Darcy Vescio goal blew the margin out to 30 points. Vaomua Laloifi was outstanding in defence for Carlton, intercepting and rebounding to set up plays from half-back all day, while Maddy Prespakis' grunt work was pivotal. The Blues will meet Melbourne at Casey Fields in their final match of the season next Saturday night, while the Suns will take on the Dockers at Fremantle Oval on Sunday. - AFLW website.
Blues late-season surge continues.
The Game Changers made it three on the trot with a commanding 30-point victory in their final home game of the season - Gabrielle Keegan, Carlton Media.
The Game Changers celebrated Indigenous Round at home in style, recording their third win on the trot with an impressive 30-point victory over the Gold Coast Suns. In a game of swinging momentum, Carlton stood firm to give the home crowd something to cheer about in the Blues’ final game at IKON Park for the season.
Quarter one
The Game Changers got off to the perfect start, holding the Suns goalless in the opening term while managing to boot three majors of their own. Nic Stevens was the difference, slotting two of Carlton’s goals and providing headaches for the Gold Coast defence as soon as the ball hit the deck. Jess Good provided a tall target, adding a goal of her own to the Blues’ tally. Mimi Hill continued her strong run of form with an impressive nine touches at the first break, ably supported by Abbie McKay through the middle. After doing the damage offensively in the early going, the Blues – led by Gab Pound and Daisy Walker - were strong down back, with the defensive unit limiting the Suns to just one shot on goal.
Quarter two
Momentum swung in the second term, as the Blues were unable to capitalise on their early dominance which opened the door for the Suns to pounce. It soon proved that the Legends Stand was the scoring end, with the visitors locking the ball inside their forward half and the Blues unable to generate the ball movement which was so effective in the first term. Tara Bohanna and Ellie Hampson hit the scoreboard for the away side, who closed the gap to just one straight kick at the major break.
Quarter three
The Blues regained momentum on the other side of the break, with Jess Good adding her second goal of the day. Courtney Jones was rewarded for effort, finishing off from a hard-earned free kick: just one of a number of rundown tackles produced throughout the afternoon. The back-end of the quarter turned into an arm wrestle, with the game played between the arcs. Paige Trudgeon continued to piece together an impressive performance against the dangerous Sarah Perkins while Pound provided vital dash from defence, with her disposal count mounting to 18 touches by the end of the term.
Quarter four
Gold Coast returned to the scoring end of IKON Park but the Blues’ relentless defence held the Suns at bay. Brea Moody provided plenty for the highlights reel while Mua Laloifi continued her solid season down back. Some Georgia Gee magic and a classic Darcy Vescio finish added two more goals to the Game Changers’ tally to see the final margin stand at 30 points.
Moment of the match
Georgia Gee. You always know that something exciting is bound happen whenever Gee gets near the football but this goal exceeded even the highest bar. A mercurial goal from the pocket put an exclamation point on a commanding performance for the Blues.
Best: M. Hill, M. Prespakis, G. Pound, B. Moody, V. Laloifi, N. Stevens, C. Jones.
Team
| B: | 8 Vaomua Laloifi | 6 Gab Pound | |
| HB: | 25 Keeley Sherar | 26 Paige Trudgeon | 23 Daisy Walker |
| C: | 10 Mimi Hill | 1 Grace Egan | 9 Kerryn Harrington (c) |
| HF: | 3 Darcy Vescio | 15 Jess Good | 7 Brooke Walker |
| F: | 21 Nicola Stevens | 18 Maddy Guerin | |
| Ruck: | 16 Breann Moody | 4 Madison Prespakis | 19 Georgia Gee |
| Interchange: | 5 Abbie McKay | 46 Elise O'Dea | 32 Natalie Plane |
| 2 Jess Dal Pos | 22 Courtney Jones | ||
| Coach: | Daniel Harford | ||
| Emg: | 12 Lauren Brazzale | 20 Charlotte Wilson |
Changes;
In; Brooke Walker
Out; Lucy McEvoy (calf)
AFLW Coaches Votes
9 - Gabriella Pound (CARL)9 - Mimi Hill (CARL)
3 - Daisy D'Arcy (GCFC)
3 - Courtney Jones (CARL)
3 - Vaomua Laloifi (CARL)
2 - Jess Good (CARL)
1 - Breann Moody (CARL)
AFLW Team of the Week
Defenders: Vaomua LaloifiInterchange: Nicola Stevens
AFLW Best and Fairest Votes
3. - Breann Moody (Carl)2. - Mimi Hill (Carl)
1. - Jess Good (Carl)