Summary
MELBOURNE kick-started its AFLW season in Round 2, knocking over Collingwood in a gutsy 17-point win on Saturday afternoon.
In the first ever AFLW game at Victoria Park, the Demons looked on from the start, winning the ball in the centre and gathering 76 more disposals than the Pies throughout the match.
But it was far from an easy victory. Windy conditions made scoring tricky, with just two behinds apiece registered to quarter-time.
Melbourne eventually broke the game open with back-to-back goals in the dying stages of the second term – opening up a 14-point half-time buffer.
Scoring was scarce again in the third, playing into the Demons hands as they defended intently all afternoon.
And although the Pies slotted a major in the final quarter of play, Melbourne secured the four points in convincing style with 19 more inside 50’s for the game.
Demon vice-captain Sarah Lampard had 11 disposals off half-back and played a crucial defensive role for her side. She recaps the Round 2 clash below.
The numbers
DISPOSALS: O’Dea 26, Paxman 18, Mithen, Pearce 16, Emonson 14, Hanks, Lampard 11
GOALS: Hanks, O’Dea, Pearce
Where it was won
“I think we got on top right from the start just by executing our fundamentals.
“We just got in there and got our head over the football and that went a long way to us being able to get it on the outside and move it forward.
“There were times where it was pretty scrappy and that was hard with the wind, but when we came back to those basics, we really got on top of them.”
The standouts
“Junior (Elise O’Dea) was phenomenal for the whole game. She kept putting her head over the football and getting it forward.
“But besides that, I think Loz Pearce had a very good game. Often she’s overlooked because she’s a ruckman and she’s one of our only ruckman, but she has arguably the toughest role in the team. She has to play defensively and she has to attack as well, so I think she had a great game.
“And then Tyla (Hanks) was really good – she’s a star. She’s so creative when she get’s the football. There’s some things she does where I just shake my head and wonder how she did that.”
Defensive unit
“We brought in two players (Ainslie Kemp and Ashleigh Guest) that were able to compete and have a bit of experience in football.
“It was great to have Kempy back – she’s been out for a long time.
“I think everyone just played their role really well. When it was the players time to attack the football or to compete or to kill the football, they went and they impacted.
“I think we worked better together than we did last week so that was reassuring.”
Improvements from last week
“We definitely had a defensive focus this week, making sure we win our one on one contests and shut them down defensively.
“We didn’t want them scoring a whole lot after what we conceded last game.
“And there was a focus on just consistently executing the basics and making sure we did that for the whole game.”
In the rooms post-game
“It was super exciting to get that first win. It was like a combination of all the hard work from the off-season, so it was good to get that reward for effort.
“We fought through the entire game so to hear that final siren and get in the rooms and celebrate with everyone was a great feeling.
“We had all 30 girls on our list in the circle for the second song in the rooms so that was pretty special.”
Mick’s message
“He was really stoked about how we came out and attacked that game, especially off the back of last week where we didn’t particularly play a consistent brand of football.
“He was really happy that we came out and turned that around with four consistent quarters.”
Looking ahead
Round 3 v Brisbane @ Hickey Park – Sunday, 17 February, 4:35pm AEDT
“I’m looking forward to heading off to ‘Bris-Vegas’.
“It should be good to get away with the girls and spend some more time together.
“It’ll be a good game and I’m looking forward to the challenge Brisbane pose.
“They’ve got a pretty stacked forward line so it’ll be good to compete against.”
