Western Bulldogs 1.0 1.0 1.0 2.0.12
Melbourne 2.3 2.6 4.8 4.8.32
Goals
Western Bulldogs: Berry, Toogood
Melbourne: Emonson, Paxman, Sherriff, Gay
Alex Docherty’s Best
Western Bulldogs: McCarthy, Blackburn, Ferres, Spark, Lamb, Newton
Melbourne: Paxman, Scott, Hore, D. Pearce, Gay, Birch
The Hampson-Hardeman Cup returns to the Melbourne Demons for another year.
The latest installment to the prestigious cup played between both Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs every year didn’t quite deliver on its past two matches, but the Demons have showed plenty in its first two weeks why they should be considered a premiership fancy in season 2020. Not even a week after pipping fellow contenders North Melbourne, the Demons came to the Dogs’ home ground of Whitten Oval and from the word go, they did what they pleased.
On what was a rainy evening around the Melbourne area, the 20-point win to Melbourne was somewhat flattering for the Bulldogs. Given the amount of inside 50 entries and scoring shots that the Demons had in comparison to their rivals. Overall, Melbourne’s class around the footy and ability to adapt to the wet conditions better in the early stages proved to be the deciding factor. A lot of talk was about the uncontested possession count and at the end of it all, the Demons had way too much of it as opposed to their counterparts.
After the opening 10 minutes of the game, which saw most, if not all, of the play directed Melbourne’s way, the Bulldogs’ found a way to swing halt momentum. After a Deanna Berry tackle on former Dog Libby Birch was penalized for holding the ball just outside the Dogs’ attacking 50. Irish recruit Sinead Goldrick picked up the ball and then dropped to at the umpires’ feet, thinking it was their ball, giving away 50 metres in the process, giving the Dogs an easy goal.
That was about as good as it got for the Bulldogs as they struggled mightily to even get it past halfway after quarter time. And the times they did manage to get it inside 50, they were swiftly cut off by the likes of Birch, Daisy Pearce and Meg Downie - experienced heads that know how to get it done. The Demons should’ve had the game sewn up by half time, but only added three behinds to their quarter time total - those shots were all quite gettable.
But they put the match to rest in the third quarter, once again, playing footy that was just a class above the Bulldogs. Casey Sherriff got the Demons third through sheer gut-running, as the ball was pumped inside attacking 50, completely unguarded. Maddie Gay made it a 26-point game moments later as she was awarded a free kick for a shove in the back that was completely unnecessary.
Credit where it is due for the Dogs as they stuck the game out in the final term and they managed to put another goal on the board before full time. But they were just too far back and the weather meant that it was always going to be difficult for the any side, let alone a young Bulldogs team to string together goals at a quick rate. But as I mentioned earlier, the 20 point deficit was definitely flattering to them, given how dominant Melbourne were.
Whichever way you look at it, I like to of it as a nice read to see where the Dogs are truly at against a side that is established and well-experienced in Melbourne. Overall the effort was there, but the Demons proved how good they can and will be come the pointy end of the AFLW season. Perhaps it’s also a sign of things to come next week, when the Dogs host last year’s Grand Finalist Carlton at the Whitten Oval.
Leading The Way
As good as Ellie Blackburn and Kirsty Lamb were, I thought Aisling McCarthy was the standout Dog for mine. In conditions where the tough thrive on the contested footy, she was in her element. 15 disposals, eight tackles and two marks and did everything in her power to make a contest of things in the middle. Blackburn (13 disposals and six tackles) and Lamb (11 disposals and five tackles) also did their best to try and will the Dogs forward at stages throughout the dire situations.
I was really impressed with Naomi Ferres’ game for the second straight week. I mentioned on the A3 Footy Podcast this week that Hannah Scott was fast becoming my favourite player for her tough approach to the contest. Well, Ferres is steadily catching up to her as she isn’t one to shy away from a contest. She had 14 disposals as she did her best to try and stem the tide across the back line. Also big ups to Lauren Spark who looked like she was doing everything she could to stop the Demons from scoring in defence.
Gabby Newton’s first two weeks, whilst she hasn’t played a starring role by any means, she has been a very solid contributor across half-forward and at times in the middle in the past two games. I thought as the game progressed, she got better. She finished with 11 disposals and six tackles on the night. It’s probably hard to get major minutes in the middle with the likes of Blackburn, McCarthy, Lamb, Scott and perhaps a couple of others running in the square, but I like the idea of seeing her play more in the middle.
The Opposition
Whenever Melbourne come up against the Bulldogs, I shudder at the thought of Karen Paxman giving out a vintage performance in the middle. She’s done it every game since the league came into existence and last night, she did it again. She had 16 disposals, five tackles and kicked a very nice goal in the opening term. In the wet, she was handling the footy like it was a dry day in Footscray. I also thought Daisy Pearce (15 disposals, three tackles and two marks) showcased her experience in the wet across half-back. You wouldn’t have thought she’d missed a whole season the way she read it and used it.
Up forward, it was the considered the Shelley Scott and Kate Hore show, despite the fact neither managed to score a goal. As a matter of fact, the pair combined for four behinds. But the fact remains that both were so completely dangerous up forward and the Dogs just no answers for either. Hore (14 disposals, four marks and four tackles) was lively early, whilst Scott (16 disposals, six marks and a tackle) was perhaps the more consistent and playing a bit more as a half-forward, was also playing that role of linking up with other players for scoring opportunities.
Libby Birch was again impressive down back. It was never going to be an easy night in her first game against her old club since requesting a trade to Melbourne last year. Her interview citing her exit in the half-time program on Channel 7 was interesting to say the least and her ex-teammates let her know about it, with a few hard tackles and hits throughout. She finished the game with 13 disposals, two marks and two tackles and between her and Pearce, were the two that often drove it out of defence when it needed to be.
Also spare a thought for Ainslie Kemp, who looked to have ruptured her ACL in the final 10 seconds of the contest. The look on her face at the final siren told the story - she was fighting back tears and the way the knee went as she went to tackle Katy Herron looked similar to the way others have done their ACL in the past. As a fan of football in general, seeing stuff like that happen that late in the game is genuinely heartbreaking.