MELBOURNE women’s team coach Michelle Cowan says she was “stoked” with her side’s eight-point win over the Western Bulldogs at the MCG on Sunday.

The game was the closest of the three AFL Women’s Games to date, with the Bulldogs pressing to run away with the match late in the fourth quarter.

A late goal to West Australian forward Kira Phillips sealed the match for Melbourne and Cowan praised her side’s ability to hold on under pressure.

“I’m stoked with the win but the Bulldogs certainly competed really hard,’ she told melbournefc.com.au.

“I’m rapt with the way the girls went about the business and really dug deep to make sure we got the win.”

Melbourne was left with just three players on the interchange bench early in the first quarter, after Cecilia McIntosh went down with a knee injury.

With midfielders Kirby Bentley and Ellie Blackburn also hampered in the second half, and Blackburn taken off with an ankle issue, Cowan praised her side’s ability to run out the game on spent legs.

“It was a hard game and we ended up having two on the bench and one at the end there so our backline didn’t rotate for three quarters,” she said.

“They just fought so hard in the backline and dug really deep to make sure that we could get that win.”

Midfielder Kara “Juddy” Donnellan was named best on ground after picking up 23 possessions on the day.

Cowan praised Donnellan’s resilience to bounce back and perform, after she’d been restricted by illness in the 2014 game.

“Juddy’s really taken her footy to a whole new level, taken her leadership to a whole new level and I knew that she would be out to be hungry today,” Cowan said.

“The way she goes about her footy and her preparation is just brilliant, so I love having her in the team.”

Cowan said the experienced trio of Melissa Hickey, Kiara Bowers and captain Daisy Pearce had played an important role in setting the standard for the team.

“They’re part of our group of girls that have been around the club for the past three years,” Cowan said.

“They really drive the culture and what we want and what we’re about… they’re really consistent footballers, elite footballers.

“But even the young ones like Brianna Green, I was just really impressed with the way she went about her football today.

“She’s an 18-year-old and did not look a step out of place, she played really well.”

Cowan praised her side’s willingness to put their bodies on the line and highlighted a defining moment for Melbourne.

Late in the fourth quarter, Bulldog Emma Zielke was streaming into their forward 50 and seemed set to put her side in front, before Emma Swanson dragged her down, earning a game-saving free kick in the process.

“It (Swanson’s tackle) was huge and that’s what we ask of the girls – just do the team acts and the team things,” Cowan said.

“Lay the tackles and the scoreboard will take care of itself if we do that – and we did that really well.”