No reports from this game, or any of the VFLW finals.
If you prefer YouTube, the Elimination final can now be watched at:
I might take advantage of that and scatter some cued clips in the below.
QUARTER ONE
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Wow. I can see the other side of the ground.
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Matser is, in fact, not playing full-back. She starts in the middle and the named ruck, Bella Gray, ultimately has zero hit-outs for the game.
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Bella Clarke outmarks Mietta Kendall a minute into the game. The non-bleached no-blue-stars haired Mietta is all but invisible this game, finishing with 7 disposals and no score.
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Nice kick-and-mark work up the ground: Bella, Hurrell, Sutton, dodgy kick but Dicker marks, Ryan. Kick from well outside fifty bounces through for a point. We need more of that (except for the miss at the end).
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Ryan’s kick was not particularly wind-assisted, as can be seen by von Bertouch’s kick-out afterwards.
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La Presidenta complained at 2:40 (game time, not video time) when Ryan wasn’t paid the mark. As the person with the binoculars I had to explain it was only 10 metres and it was a handball.
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After Clifford marks and goals, our centre crew swap out Morrow and Sutton for Ryan and Prpic. Dicker and Chaston the constants.
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Commentary can’t distinguish Morrow and Ryan
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Really good contested collect by Huta at 6:15
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Wait… is Tia’s surname pronounced Darv-idge or Davv-idge? I’d just assumed the latter till now, and still believe I am correct.
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Meg booms another point from >55m out.
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Wait… is Chloe’s surname pronounced Purr-pitch or Prip-itch? I’d just assumed the latter till now. Goes searching, hears both Prep-eck and Peer-pick.
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8:45 per the Laws of the game, Ryan should have had a third shot at goal, but from 30 out: Matser drops the ball to the ground rather than to her.
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At 11:30 you can see Bella is a free player in our backline, with the Hawks stacking their backline instead.
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LOL at Abbey Holmes declining the set shot at goal and “passing” instead. The ball gets one metre off the ground and lands one metre behind Clarke on the mark.
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Ford has had a bunch of nice rebounds in this quarter.
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Pearson in plenty of contests, even if it results in no stats.
QUARTER TWO
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We start this quarter with Morrow, Dicker, Chaston, and Prpic in the middle.
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Molan and Chaston over-complicate things, and get caught.
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We love a defensive winger, and Kendra proves why by getting a finger on what was otherwise a goal.
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“Muir” is also pronounced “Murr”.
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It’s a tiny sample of four centre throw-ups, but now Dicker is our sole survivor in the middle.
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Orritt making big tackles. This last one is up son their fifty line.
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12:25 Ryan just grabs it from the throw-in and kicks 40. She is dangerous.
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13:10 I love a player who know the rules re: out of bounds (Bella Clarke).
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Our defenders (full team) did bloody well to hold the lead until 15 minutes into this quarter. All at the Hawks’ end.
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Chaston has spent most of the quarter as a forward. Kicks to the contractually-obliged Davidge clunk.
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Hurr-ell or Ha-rell? Either way, she take two good marks of Hawk rebounds, and weights a lovely kick to a Davidghe lead with the second one.
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Davidge’s kick is at least as good, and hits the fast-leading Richardson with 80 seconds left in the quarter. Goals, and we never again relinquish the lead.
You can watch the last 135 seconds of the quarter (RED AND BLACK TIME) below, starting from Hurrell’s first mark.
QUARTER THREE
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We have the wind (kinda; it’s more across the ground) and Molan appears in the middle for the first time (replacing Prpic). Chaston swaps with Dicker.
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I was watching for it, but never saw when Pearson hurt her leg.
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Oh crap. Pass pass pass, Holmes marks 15m out. But the kick is
– so many ways Essendon could have been winning their second game in seven days from a kick after the siren. -
Wilson does the shoulder at 2:20 from an innocuous-looking bump after she kicks.
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Watch Chasten enter the pack from 4:00 to see the very obvious jumper hold that the distant ump picks up. LOL at all the confusion, though El is quietly confident it is hers.
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Kick and collect so good, and shot at goal so bad. Could have been a lot less stressful if Liv had converted the rush of chances she gave herself.
- They turned the audio down on the yobbos yelling BALL all the time. But seriously, WTF was that forearm fend-off to the throat? Luckily the Hawk then gets Graced with a Dickering.
- Liv is playing with our emotions, hard. Another great collect, but misses.
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And another point for Liv (high snap around the corner) at 13:10
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Dicker has shown really good hands in this game. She is building her game, working her way to a complete midfielder.
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It did occur to me after our rush of behinds that we might end up on the dreaded 3.9.27.
QUARTER FOUR
- Ryan explicitly starts the last quarter as a big-bodied midfielder. Morrow tap straight to her, and we get the clearance. Sutton and Davidge get it further forward, and BANG Liv runs down the Hawk. Then the reliable set shot kicker plays on and gets smothered. Aaaaaaaaaargh.
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I’m happy to see anyone getting half-a-dozen shots at goal. But yikes, my heart.
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With 17 minutes to go, the margin is cut to 3 points. Eek.
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“There’s no reason to think that Box Hill couldn’t just run away with it here”
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Grippo-hands tackle by Courtney at 3:55
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Prpic’s mark at 5:00 is no mistake, Grace, and don’t you forget that. The kick doesn’t accomodate the wind, though.
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It’s not called holding, BFY,TW. The funny bit is Dicker being thrown away by two Hawks, and she goes straight back at them.
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The below is representative of the umpiring in the last quarter. Fend-off = opportunity. That is pinged every day of the week, ya nuffie.
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Commentary politely agrees with my opinion.
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If you watch on, you’ll see Dicker repeat tackling and eventually in frustration slinging an opponent… and the ump pings her for that. Get ■■■■■■.
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Jayda is playing back in the last quarter, as is Molan.
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Marks in their fifty, kicks, starts ripping tape off at 12:35, finishes that in time to mark again.
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Bella saving mark with 5:15 left, and 4 points to protect.
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You’d be disappointed if the free at 15:00 was the one to determine a final. Misses, thankfully.
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FINALLY, at 16:35 we get a freaking tackle free. Nice corral and grab of the arm by Kenny, and then BANG you got Dickered.
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Now Jayda is forward. I’m confused.
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Huge drop by von Bertouch at 18:15, killing their rebound, and Kenny drills her to the ground.
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“Is this Olivia Manfre’s moment?” – no. Be patient.
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This is an incredible last quarter by Dicker, but she can’t snap on her left. 25-21 with 45 seconds left.
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von Bertouch kicks as far as she can, but Hurrell soars to mark at the back of the pack.
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LIV CLUNKS!!! Siren, goal, win.
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Respect shown by both teams at the end of a brutal quarter
Click through for multi-frame at Nigel Barrie Photography on Instagram: "Olivia Manfre send the Bombers into the Semi Finals @oliviamanfre @essendonwvfl #essendonvflw #mightybombers #essendonfc #donthesash"
I asked a Croatian and he says Purr-pitch (keep the Purr short).
GET HYPED FOR TOMORROW.