A three goal first quarter from Western Bulldogs spearhead Moana Hope helped set up a maiden win for the Bulldogs against Melbourne in their AFL exhibition game encounter Sunday at Highgate Recreational Reserve in Craigieburn. Despite a 33 disposal game from Demons’ captain Daisy Pearce, the Bulldogs had all the answers up forward to run out 20-point victors in the fifth meeting between the two teams, as Michael Thompson reports.
The teams were vastly different since the last time they met in August 2015, but with 50% of first time players taking to the field the standard was still at a high level that has come to be expected from these games. A gruelling preseason in the AFL Victoria Women’s Academy showed its rewards, with players keen to impress for their new clubs.
The game was played at an entertaining fast pace right from the get-go, with both sides getting opportunities to lock the ball inside 50 very early in the contest. However, despite kicking against a strong breeze, it was Melbourne who were able to hit the scoreboard first, when Darebin teammates Daisy Pearce and Jessica Dal Pos combined for the first of the afternoon.
Both teams were well structured with ball in hand, choosing to utilise slick movement with the use of handball. It was the Bulldogs who utilised their run-and-carry game style in a much better vein, allowing St Kilda's Hope to kick three quick goals to give the Bulldogs a 15-point margin at quarter time. Hope was simply outstanding, outpointing both Tiarna Ernst (Diamond Creek) and Melissa Hickey (Darebin), and commanded the forward 50 to herself. Additionally, Hope helped opened up numerous packs throughout the game, generating more opportunities for the Bulldogs which undersold her seven disposals and four marks for the game.
Kicking with the wind in the second quarter, the Demons needed to kick some quick goals in order to put pressure on the Bulldogs. However, despite dominating much of the play, the Demons were unable to find an avenue to goal. They were only able to hit the scoreboard once – with Geelong’s Madeleine Boyd snapping a clever goal from 40 metres out late in the term. The Dogs, despite being held scoreless for the quarter, led by eight points at half time.
The Demons needed to kick the first goal of the quarter to be any chance of staying in the game, having had to kick against the breeze again. However, again, it was the Bulldogs who were dominating the game, spending most of the first five minutes of the quarter inside their forward 50 without reward. Finally, six minutes into the quarter, Cranbourne’s Bianca Jakobsson was able to break the shackles put the Bulldogs two goals up. She soon added her second, benefitting from the Bulldogs’ ball-use off half-back. It was also the work of Hannah Scott (Eastern Devils) and captain Steph Chiocci (Diamond Creek) who set the tone defensively, laying desperate tackles to prevent Melbourne from getting back into the contest. Their work allowed Darcy Vescio (Darebin) to set up the biggest lead of the game for the Bulldogs, her first goal extending their lead to 28 points nearing three-quarter-time.
Despite that, Melbourne were willing to run out the game in an effort to keep their winning streak against the Dogs alive, and their efforts against the wind were rewarded when Sarah D’Arcy (Eastern Devils) kicked the Demons’ third. Pearce was edging towards 30 disposals, and Ellie Blackburn (Melbourne Uni) took her disposal count to 18 as the Demons faced a 21-point deficit at three-quarter-time.
However, it was their conversion with the wind during the game which was Melbourne’s downfall. Despite adopting a strategy which saw them play on at all costs, the Demons were unable to convert inside forward 50, with Sarah Perkins and Elise O’Dea only able to manage two behinds for the quarter, as the Dogs were able to hold out for their 20-point win.
Clearly best on ground in a losing effort was Daisy Pearce. Pearce spent the first and third quarters playing behind the ball as the Demons tried every measure to prevent the Bulldogs from getting on the scoreboard with the wind, and then thrust into the midfield when the Demons had the wind. Pearce collected 33 disposals and had 11 marks. Ellie Blackburn was also a good ball-winner, collecting 18 disposals, but her game was disappointingly cut short due to injury in the final quarter.
The Bulldogs’ scoreboard dominance came about despite collecting 32 less disposals than the Demons and losing the clearances 27-24. Instead, the Bulldogs’ work was typified by their tackle count, which saw them lay 21 more tackles than the Demons (71-50), contributing to a lop-sided free kick count of 21-9.
Aside from Hope’s match-breaking three opening-quarter goals, Lauren Arnell was prominent in the middle for the Bulldogs, collecting 14 disposals to be their equal-highest possession getter. Jamie Lambert matched Arnell’s effort, while Jakobsson added 13 disposals to her two goals.
Players from both teams will regroup for a series of AFL Victoria Women’s Academy games over the next two weekends, before the exhibition series continues for both Melbourne vs Queensland on May 22 and Western Bulldogs vs Western Australia on June 5 prior to their next head to head battle on September 2.
WESTERN BULLDOGS 3.3 3.3 6.4 6.5 (41)
MELBOURNE 1.0 2.1 3.1 3.3 (21)
GOALS
Western Bulldogs: Hope (St Kilda) 3, Jakobsson (Cranbourne) 2, Vescio (Darebin) 1
Melbourne: Dal Pos (Darebin), Boyd (Geelong), D'Arcy (Eastern Devils) 1
BEST
Western Bulldogs: Arnell (Darebin), Keryk (Melb Uni), Hope (St Kilda), Scott (Eastern Devils), P.Randall (Eastern Devils)
Melbourne: Pearce (Darebin), O'Dea (Darebin), Ernst (Diamond Creek), Blackburn (Melb Uni)
Last Modified on 06/03/2016 22:55