World Footy News

Adelaide Crows put on a demolition job of Melbourne by 61 points at the Casey Fields on a sunny day in Melbourne. 

The Crows were ruthless and tough, whereas the Dees struggled to play their brand of football all day.

This win means the Crows will definitely be in the Conference A finals and the Dees will miss out again on a AFLW finals series for the third consecutive year. 

The Dees recorded the lowest ever AFLW score.

Marijana Rajcic was solid in defense for the Crows for the entire match.

Harriet Cordner was the shining light for the Dees with 19 disposals.

Crows were well and truly on their game plan for the whole match at Casey, the Dees could not wrestle back the momentum.

At start of the match there was a minute of silence for Christchurch, New Zealand for yesterday’s terrorist attacks.

The win was set up with the Crows impressive first half, as they kept the Dees scoreless and all their players were working hard for each other.

Image Source: Michael Wilson

The GWS Giants pulled off a comprehensive win by 30 points over the Geelong Cats at the UNSW Canberra Oval in a fine cool night. 

This win by the Giants has spoilt the Cats chances of making the finals in AFLW 3.0 and the Blues will take part in the Preliminary Finals next week.

At the start of the match there was a minute silence for the lives lost in the terrorist attack in Christchurch, New Zealand today.

A highlight of a dark day in our world came when the first Muslim women's player to ever play AFLW Haneen Zreika notched up her first ever AFLW goal in the first quarter. 

Image Source: Matt King 

When you take a look at the cold, hard data, the Dubai Dragons will today win through to The AFL Middle East grand final next week against the Multiplex Bulls. Everything points to that result playing out, including logic. Better form, home ground, history, talent – it all adds up to a win for the Dragons.

But that is what makes footy so much fun – the unexpected. The two teams have met twice this year, both times seeing a Dragons win. But dig a little deeper under the surface and there are nuggets of information that suggest that the Abu Dhabi Falcons are not out of this race yet.

Round 2 at the Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi saw the Falcons desperately unlucky to lose to the Dragons by just two points. The Dragons held the lead all day until the Falcons produced a stunning last quarter fightback to nearly take the game. A reproduction of that form today could certainly change a result.

Round 7 teams have been released below

GWS Giants Vs Geelong, Friday 15th March 7:15pm at UNSW Canberra Oval

GWS Giants Squad

Position	Name	#	Name	#	Name	#
Backs	P.Randall	21	E.Brush	10	A.Farrugia - C	18
Half Backs	P.Monahan	28	T.Hetherington	9	N.Barr	8
Centreline			R.Beeson	6
Half Forwards	Y.Bonner	27	J.Dal Pos	7	E.Bennetts	22
Forwards	D.Gisu	30	C.Staunton	13	C.Bernardi	4
Followers	E.McKinnon	23	A.Parker	3	A.Eva	2
Interchange	L.Stephenson	12	H.Zreika	24	L.Whiteley	15
	C.Gum	26	B.Perry	19
Emergencies	T.Mackrill	32	M.Collier	14

In: - P.Monahan, D.Gisu, H.Zreika

Out: - J.Hicks (Injured), J.Barclay (Injured), I.Nielsen (Omitted) 

Geelong Cats Squad

Position	Name	#	Name	#	Name	#
Backs	C.Blakeway	4	R.Goring	44	M.McMahon	24
Half Backs	M.Hickey - C	18	M.McDonald	11	D.Taylor	27
Centreline			R.Cranston	30
Half Forwards	J.Ivey	5	M.Boyd	26	S.Van De Heuvel	27
Forwards	K.Darby	8	P.McWilliams	23	D.Orr	2
Followers	E.Hoare	46	R.Garing	12	O.Purcell	16
Interchange	A.O'Connor	14	M.Clifford	7	H.Burchell	3
	J.Crockett-Grills	6	M.Keryk	45
Emergencies	M.Fogas	13	G.Clarke	17

In: - S.Van De Heuvel, A.O'Connor, H.Burchell

Out: - R.Caris (Omitted), G.Rankin (Omitted), G.Clarke (Omitted)

Melbourne vs Adelaide Crows, Saturday 16th March 4:45pm at Casey Fields 

Melbourne Squad

 

Position	Name	#	Name	#	Name	#
Backs	M.Downie	2	H.Cordner	21	K.Smith	13
Half Backs	S.Lampard	8	C.Phillips	35	C.Emonson	11
Centreline			E.O'Dea	5
Half Forwards	M.Gay	3	K.Hore	10	S.Scott - C	12
Forwards	E.Zanker	29	T.Cunningham	1	A.Newman	16
Followers	L.Pearce	15	L.Mithen	14	K.Paxman	4
Interchange	B.Jakobsson	7	T.Hanks	28	M.Guerin	22
	A.Kemp	36	S.Heath	30
Emergencies	J.Hickey	31	B.Patterson	24

In: - A.Kemp

Out: - B.Patterson

“Ducky? I’m not really sure, it’s just a family nickname I was given as a child. You might have to ask my mother! However, one of my earliest memories is of my brother teaching me how to solo on the run in the back garden when I was like three or four years old. He had me running around my mother’s washing basket which was almost the same height as me!”

And so begins the interview with Ailish Considine, recruited by the Adelaide Crows last year after she impressed enough to catch the eye of recruiters at the CrossCoders program. Like so many before her, Ailish has a story of curiosity which became desire, commitment and now success.

Her journey began in Ireland, “playing with West Clare Waves at home was really the first time I was introduced to playing the game. Rosie Currane recruited a few of us to play a tournament in November 2017 because her brother Mike had organized it. Obviously the Irish girls already playing Australian football over in Australia made me more aware of the AFLW.”

 

Last year, AFL Cairns lost its annual AFL Premiership match to fierce rival, Townsville. After a proud history of hosting pre-season cup AFL matches, the city received a VFL match in 2010 between the Gold Coast Suns and the Bendigo Bombers (affiliated then with Essendon). 

From 2011 to 2018, Cazalys Stadium then hosted AFL Premiership matches featuring the Gold Coast Suns – a regular, linked heavily to the club’s talent academy in Cairns. Their opponents, Richmond, Western Bulldogs and North Melbourne, put on a show which captivated Cairns’ audiences on and off the field – but now that match is gone and questions remain as to the impact that will have on the local game, especially at grassroots level.

But four past and present VFL/AFL players use their knowledge of their time involved in Cairns footy, and on the bigger stage, to consider the state of Cairns footy – past, present and future.

The inaugural season of the AFL England National University League came to a close last weekend with the Oxford University team taking the honours in the men’s grand final, whilst the University of Birmingham women’s team won their title.

The grand finals bring to an end a season of fun and enjoyment for the university teams of Oxford, Cambridge, Birmingham and southern Wales, but more than that it was a showcase of talent within the universities. Players who are not already aligned with clubs for the upcoming season now have a pipeline in place with a successful first season at university level.

The success of the program has already prompted interest from other university-based teams across England and beyond and it will be interesting to see whether the competition expands further next season.

The Round Six NAB AFL Women's Rising Star Nominees are Carlton's Georgia Gee, 19 and the Brisbane Lions' Jacqui Yorston, 18.

These two midfield nominations have come from the same match over the weekend.

Gee was selected by the Blues in the 2017 NAB AFL Draft at pick no.12 from Beaconsfield JFC and Dandenong Stingrays.

Gee's nomination has been coming for weeks now, as she has had many solid performances for her Blues throughout the season.

Image Source: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images & Herald Sun

In Round Six, Gee accumulated 12 disposals, eight kicks and two tackles in the Blues 16-point win over the Lions at Ikon Park last Sunday afternoon.

Carlton secured a 16-point win over the Brisbane Lions on a typical Melbourne weather day with rain and shine at Ikon Park.

In a match that was similar to a elimination final for Conference B, the contest was hot all day.

The Blues decisive win was steered by Maddie Prespakis, Amelia Mullane and Tilly Lucas-Rodd.

This win was set up by the Blues in the second half, where the Blues took full control over the Lions scoring four goals to two.

Image Source: @FoxFooty

The mighty Adelaide Crows thumped a bold Greater Western Sydney Giants by 32 points in hot conditions at Unley Oval.

It was the first ever AFLW match played at Unley Oval.

The Giants took it right up to the formidable Crows outfit making for an entertaining contest.

In the second half of the match, the Crows ran away with the match especially in the final term where they scored four goals to the Giants none.

The young guns of the Crows in Danielle Ponter, Anne Hatchard and Chloe Scheer handled the high-pressured match extremely well.

Image Source: Mark Brake

Both the Paris Cockerels and the ALFA Lions have strengthened their chances to play in the CNFA Leo Legrange finals series later this year, coming away from their trips to Toulouse with victories. It was a tough day for both Stade Toulousain teams with defeats that will certainly put pressure on their own finals chances.

In the opening match, the Paris Cockerels were too good for the Stade Toulousain 1 team, winning by 22 points. The victory certainly puts the Cockerels into flag favouritism and a chance to seek back to back titles. Despite a hiccup when they went down narrowly to the Bordeaux Bombers, the Cockerels have looked the goods again this season.

The ALFA Lions have been determined to put their rollercoaster journey behind them. After winning the 2016/17 flag and missing the finals altogether in 2017/18, the Lions have worked hard to get back into finals contention. Their victory against the Stade Toulousain A team by 24 points keeps them inside the top four and a good chance to hold their ground throughout the remainder of the season and play finals.

Next Saturday the NTFL Premier League season will come to a close when the Southern Districts Crocs attempt to retain their title and win back to back flags. Their demolition of the Tiwi Bombers last night at TIO Stadium saw them back into another big dance with a chance to seek their fourth flag.

Just last weekend, the Tigers trounced the Bombers to advance to the grand final. They looked a shade better than the rest. But Southern Districts have sounded an ominous warning to the Tigers after a blistering second half against the Bombers – they have told the Tigers outright that to win the flag you have to beat us.

After a tight first term, the Crocs got a little break on the Bombers by half time – a five goal break and a big rescue mission for the Bombers if they wanted to get back in the game. The 31-point deficit for the Bombers was significant, but not insurmountable.