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Alex Dochrerty

Guess Who’s Back: League BnF Winner Makes A Statement As Crows Deal Dogs Their First Loss Of The Sea


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Western Bulldogs    2.1    3.1    5.3    5.4.34

Adelaide                  1.1    2.2    4.4    6.5.41

Goals

Western Bulldogs: Brennan 2, Kearney, Lochland, Utri

Adelaide: Phillips 4, McCormick 2

Alex Docherty’s Best

Western Bulldogs: Kearney, Brennan, Conti, Lochland, Blackburn, Scott

Adelaide: Phillips, Marinoff, Randall, S.Allan, Perkins, Rajcic, McCormick

The Western Bulldogs’ winning run came to a screeching halt, as Adelaide have kept their faint chances of securing back-to-back premierships alive, securing a come-from-behind seven-point win at the Norwood Oval on Saturday afternoon in what fans and footy experts alike are calling it the best AFLW match in the short history of women’s football.

The Dogs’ quest to start the 2018 season with three wins from three games hit a massive hurdle in the form of Erin Phillips. Last year’s league best and fairest marked her 2018 debut in dominant fashion, kicking four of the Crows’ six goals to virtually carry her team over the line. Having missed the last two weeks due to a quad injury, Phillips’ inclusion came at a badly needed time for the Crows, who were staring down the face of going 0-3 and have their hopes of defending their title dashed by a determined Bulldog outfit.

The Dogs got the opening two goals of the match through star ball-magnet Emma Kearney and the impressive Aisling Utri. For most of the first term, it all went the Bulldogs, they were getting first to the footy and they had applied stifling pressure similar to their last two games. Dayna Cox found herself reported for what only looked like an open-palm shove to the gut of Ellie Blackburn late in the opening term to add more spice to what was an intense first quarter as both sides showed plenty of physicality early.

Just as it looked as though the Dogs would keep their opponent goal less for the third successive week, an errant kick from Nicole Callinan found its way onto the arms of Phillips who went back and kicked truly on the quarter time siren. As she was mobbed by her team mates at the first break, it looked crystal clear that the Adelaide girls missed her out there in the opening two weeks.

The Dogs had many opportunities to pull away from the Crows in the second quarter, but from their 10 inside 50s they accumulated that term, they could only register the one goal, that coming to Katie Brennan around halfway point of the term, it was cancelled out straight away by Phillips who continued to have such a presence down forward and was proving to be too good for young Libby Birch who lined up on her before the opening bounce.

The Dogs margin at half-time was the same as what it was at quarter-time – one straight kick. The Crows got the lead eventually, when Jenna McCormick goaled within the opening few minutes, but the Dogs weren’t going to roll over so easily as Brooke Lochland responded within a matter of minutes to give the Bulldogs back the lead. The Dogs again tried to pull away with the lead when captain Brennan slotted through her second to give her side a two goal advantage before Phillips again came up with a goal when the Crows needed one the most.

Five points down at the final break, the Crows needed someone to step up early after what has been a taxing game of football, and – as if it was going to script – Phillips snapped a sensational goal from the pocket to give the Crows back the lead. The Dogs tried as hard as they could to get the goal they were after, but the defence from Adelaide proved to be too good on this day. Anytime a Dogs’ forward got their hands to the ball, they were greeted by at least one Adelaide player.

With the scores tied late in the game, it became this tough contest took a pulsating twist in the game as both sides tried their best to get a score late in the game. Just as it looked though the Dogs might get a chance to get the win, an innocuous twist – no contact whatsoever – in Katie Brennan’s right ankle region sent the Dogs’ captain hobbling off with the game on the line. A point by Rachael Killian late in the game gave the Crows the edge, before a mark and goal after the siren from Jenna McCormick sunk the Doggies and breathed life into their own premiership aspirations.

To me anyway, the second half of this match felt like watching two heavyweight boxers fight it out in a high-stakes fight. Both teams were just throwing everything they had at one another and whenever one team looked like they were going to run away with it, the other team kicked a goal to get themselves back in it. It was a physical contest all game long and it looked like the Dogs were the more exhausted team in the final minutes.

It might seem disappointing and frustrating given that the Dogs held the lead for virtually most of the contest, but this side can hold their heads high knowing that they can mix it with some of the league’s best sides.

Leading The Way

For the second-straight week, Emma Kearney was the Bulldogs’ best midfielder on the ground, accumulating a team-high 20 disposals to go along with her six tackles and one goal in another great performance from the Melbourne Stars cricketer, whilst her partner-in-crime Ellie Blackburn had 17 disposals and five tackles in a very good showing. Before going down with her injury, Captain Katie Brennan was influential up forward, I kicking two goals from nine disposals and five tackles after hard-fought battles against both young first-year player Jasmyn Hewett and co-captain Chelsea Randall.

Promising draftee Monique Conti continued to impress and would have to be among the considerations to be the next Rising Star nominee to come out of the Western Bulldogs. She recorded 15 disposals, five marks and four tackles playing as a high half-forward role and looked very dangerous throughout the day. Another Bulldog that continued her impressive start to 2018 is former Speed-Skater Brooke Lochland, who recorded 16 disposals, six marks and a goal playing as the small forward and like Conti, looked dangerous whenever she had the ball in hand.

Hannah Scott was again at her brilliant best in defence, recording 11 disposals and seven tackles in a massive effort to hold off a fired up Adelaide forward line, whilst Angelica Gogos (10 tackles and eight disposals), Aisling Utri (10 disposals and a goal) and Hayley Wildes (10 disposals and four marks) also tried their best to get the Dogs over the line.

The Opposition

I’ve already spoken plenty about Erin Phillips and what she brought to this contest – 15 disposals and four goals – she was no doubt the best player on the ground. There is no doubt that her presence lifts everyone else around her, which is good because that’s what got the Crows their premiership last year, but it’s also worrying that if she goes down again, then it will be left to Ebony Marinoff, Chelsea Randall and a bunch of role players, and it’s those role players that looked like they were nowhere near premiership contention just a week ago. That’s how hugely relied upon Erin Phillips is to her team. The Bulldogs had no answers for her up forward, and she was destructive when she was in the midfield.

Speaking of both Randall and Marinoff, both ladies were superb. Marinoff lived up to her moniker as the game’s premier tackling machine, registering a whopping 15 tackles to go along with her 21 disposals, whilst Randall switched between half-back and midfield to record 24 disposals and six tackles and did a very good job on Katie Brennan in the second half. Another tall defender in Sarah Allan was also solid in defence, particularly in the last quarter, when nothing could get past her, she was influential in that final quarter, when the Crows needed someone to stop the Dogs from scoring.

After a week of intense and perhaps unfair scrutiny by the media, Sarah Perkins looked a lot more involved than her first two weeks combined. Starting the game in the middle of the ground, Perkins had 11 disposals, three tackles and two marks rotating between half-forward and midfield. Jenna McCormick’s two second half goals were instrumental to the team’s win whilst I thought Marijana Rajcic’s debut game was impressive – she got involved early and finished with the 11 disposals, two marks and two tackles.

Next Week

The Western Bulldogs are back on home deck next Friday night as they host the Carlton Football Club at the Whitten Oval in what is their second of three home games this season. It’s set to be a huge night for both clubs as they will play in the first-ever pride game. This game will is to promote inclusion and show support for the LGBTI community, and if the last time these two sides met will be any indication of what’s to come Friday night, then we could be in for a belter of a contest.

But the Bulldogs will be sweating on scans from their captain, and whether or not she can play again this season could almost determine the Dogs’ season. If scans confirm the worst, then the Daughters of the West have hit a huge string of rotten luck and they will face a mighty task to get to the Grand Final from here.

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