World Footy News

 

 

(Image Source: Michael Wilson and AFL Photos)

 

 

Geelong Cats (2.1.13) v Richmond (9.6.60)

Fri, Feb 26

No international players participated in this game. 

 

 

 

Western Bulldogs (7.5.47) v GWS Giants (3.4.22)

Sat, Feb 27  

Danielle Marshall (pictured above), #26, rotated into the front line again on Saturday. Her pressure on the ball was good in the forward line and she ended the day with 4 tackles, matching her career high. She also had season high stats for disposals (6), kicks (4), and meters gained (32). Her most exciting moment came in the 2nd quarter, where she picked up a free bouncing ball just outside the fifty meter arc. Under pressure she turned to the inside of the field, held the ball away from tackle and, with a GWS player hanging onto her waist and guernsey, Marshall managed a banana kick on the outside of her boot that bounced into Bonnie Toogood’s hand. Toogood took the space and the goal. 

Cora Staunton, #13, once again used her body and knowledge of the game to her advantage. As a full forward, she covers a lot of ground. Often working her way further upground than would be expected. Marks come from solid body usage  in the contest and good read of the ball or short sharp leads to space, as opposed to flying in the air Tayla Harris style. She ended the game with 11 disposals, a season high of 4 marks, and one behind. 

Fremantle Dockers (1.8.14) v Brisbane Lions (3.7.25)

Sat, Feb 27

Orla O’Dwyer, #9, had another best on ground performance. Her hustle up and down the field is almost unmatched, and the wicked left footed kicks are dangerous coming from the wing. O’Dwyer matched her disposals for round 4 and put through her first goal of the season this round. Let’s set the scene: It is the third quarter, Freo is down on the scoreboard 0.7 to 1.3 and O’Dwyer is on the right wing. The Lions have the ball and are moving it up the left wing. Sophie Conway, #12, has it controlled at the boundary outside the 50 and is looking at her full forwards at the top of the square. At this point, Fremantle has already forgotten to cover O’Dwyer who is streaming down the middle with eyes for the back of the contest. When the Docker defenders knock eachother out of position and the ball works it’s way over the pack, O’Dwyer is running through at speed, tries to grab the ball, drops it, and soccer it through for a goal.  Because she was at speed, and read the play before the kick, the defenders couldn’t stop her or hold onto her. An excellent demonstration of what she brings on the wing and a reward for five rounds of hustle.

North Melbourne Kangaroos (9.5.59) v Carlton Blues (6.1.37)

Sat, Feb 27

Aileen Gilroy, #8, had a great weekend of football, and while not rewarded by a Best for the team, she was in the AFLW team of the week as a defender. She had a career high for both marks (5) and disposals (16), and a solid 429 metres gained for her team. While Carlton was on attack, she could be seen holding a wall position outside the offensive fifty, trying to lock the play into the forward fifty. When Carlton midfield was trying to penetrate the defense, she marked on talls and had some good spoils. She made several aggressive overlapping runs to provide forward movement and break Carlton’s wall, her long boot moving the ball to the forward line. In the second quarter, she had an excellent smother and showed control with a short 15 meter kick. Just a solid backline game from Gilroy on Saturday.

 

Adelaide Crows (8.13.61) v St. Kilda Saints (1.2.8)

Sun, Feb 28 

Ailish Considine was named as an emergency for this round, but did not play.

 

Collingwood Magpies (7.7.49) v Melbourne Demons (1.8.14)

Sun, Feb 28

Sarah Rowe, #7, is out for a few weeks with a shoulder injury sustained in the previous game. 

Aishling Sheridan, #14, remains a threat in the forward line. She looked dangerous against Melbourne, and finished the game with a goal and a behind. She’s running hard to support her team, and transitioning well if they lose the ball in the forward line. In fact her goal this week came from that transitional effort. Melbourne’s Daisy Pearce got a mark in front of the goal, looking to move quickly up the field, she kicked soft to a teammate, except Sheridan was already running to cover that space. She picked an easy mark, played on and took a textbook shot right in front of goal.  Last season Sheridan finished 2 goals 4 behinds for the season, and after round five she already has 6 goals and 6 behinds. We love the stat improvement and the threat she provides, showing teams they can’t just cover Davey and Molloy and hope to win. 

Sinead Goldrick, #23, was back again this week after missing round 4 with concussion symptoms. She covered Sheridan and winger Mckala Cann, #25, when resting forward. She still worked to be front on the contest, and had some tough body work against a physical forward line.  Goldrick provided some aggressive pressure up the field when Melbourne was attacking goals and even saw a shot from inside the fifty. Unfortunately after playing on and under pressure, it was out on the full. Overall, a tough matchup for Melbourne, and good efforts from Goldrick in a tough first game back. 

Lauren Magee, #26, was out of the AFLW side this week, but could be seen on the VFLW side on the weekend.

Niamh McEvoy, #17, had a quieter game against the tough Collingwood with only 5 disposals, but still managed to put herself in dangerous positions. Just inside the fifty, she was able to lead a streaking Goldrick with a handpass, but just led her a little far, which didn’t turn into anything for the Demons. She took an open mark at half field, played on and moved the ball to her forward line who just couldn’t hold onto it. 

West Coast Eagles (5.4.34) v Gold Coast Suns (4.9.33)

Sun, Feb 28

Aisling McCarthy, #11, was listed to play but a late out for the Eagles. Listed to play was a good sign after a knee injury and we hope to see her round 6.

Grace Kelly, #15, had the best game of her season and there is no question about that. Her performance earned her a spot on the best for the side and her first goal of the seasons, second at the AFLW level. She traveled the field with more confidence and attack on the ball than we’ve seen this season. She was up in the air contesting the ball, and going for balls on the ground. Kelly got her goal in the first quarter.  Starting her run from the defensive part of the center square, even with the ball, she made the long run up the field managing to get front and center of the contest on the goal square. She picked the ball up after it rebounded off the contest, and facing the left of the field, she kicked it off her left and around her body. It was a beautiful play, where she wasn’t necessarily closest to the pack, but rather just running hardest and putting herself in the right position. 

Niamh Kelly, #12, was back after missing a few rounds with a finger injury and while it was a quieter day in terms of stats, N.Kelly used her speed to cover ground and could be seen providing support for middies stuck in a contest. She had an opportunity at goal after a beautiful setup by G.Kelly. A ball batted by N. Kelly, found its way over to G.Kelly who kicked a bullet from the fifty to around 30 meters out for N. Kelly’s first mark. While it was touched by the man on the mark, Melissa Caulfield was able to put the ball through for a goal. N.Kelly, she had a season record for disposals (10) and kicks (7), and matched her career high for marks (2).

 

 

 Round 5, Internatianal Statistics 

 

 

#	Name	Team	Position	K.H	Disposals	Contested	Metres	Marks	Hitouts	Tackles	Scores
16	Ailish Considine	Adeleide	Emergency	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
9	Orla O’Dwyer	Brisbane	Left Wing	8.6	14	5	225	1	0	1	1.1
7	Sarah Rowe	Collingwood	OUT	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
14	Aishling Sheridan	Collingwood	Right Half-Forward Flank	8.4	12	8	172	3	0	2	1.1
13	Cora Staunton	GWS	Full Forward	7.4	11	5	321	4	0	0	0.1
17	Niamh McEvoy	Melbourne	Interchange	1.4	5	2	27	2	0	1	0.0
23	Sinead Goldrick	Melbourne	Right Half-Back Flank	3.5	8	3	29	1	0	1	0.0
26	Lauren Magee	Melbourne	Out- Played VFLW	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
8	Aileen Gilroy	North Melbourne	Right Half-Back Flank	13.3	16	3	429	5	0	2	0.0
11	Aisling McCarthy	West Coast	Late Out	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
12	Niamh Kelly	West Coast	Right Half-Forward Flank	7.3	10	4	88	2	0	2	0.0
15	Grace Kelly	West Coast	Right Forward Pocket	11.3	14	8	294	4	0	3	1.0
26	Danielle Marshall	Western Bulldogs	Interchange	4.2	6	5	32	1	1	4	0.1