Oh, and for anyone on Facebook groups (looking at you @CJohns) please feel free to share the team list doc on your groups too. Let’s get the whole crowd calling their names at the game. CARN KENNY, HIT UP FEDE!
Let’s look at the Bombers and Saints featuring in the top ten stats for the league. The top ten is based on total stats (apart from goals) but I report them below as averages.
We have of course played two more games than non-finals teams, and the Saints have one extra game over that on us.
We were coming off a 72 point loss up in Darwin and were 0-3. Saints were 2-1.
We jumped them early to lead 7-1 at the first break (the goal to Quigley).
… unfortunately, I forgot to mention above that we had the Sandy wind helping us in that first quarter.
The Saints struck back quickly but we weren’t dropping off. Quigley got her second goal and Beth Kearney, the world’s slowest ruck, quite deftly toe-tapped another goal through.
19-27 at half time.
With the wind we proceeded to kick five points to one goal in the third quarter to trail 24-33 at the last break… and then the Saints make that 24-60 by the end.
We lose Georgie Patrikios and debut some replacement chick called Alana in the “23rd player” slot for juniors.
By this stage Ugle has broken her leg, and Nalder is fill-in captain. As part of the Towards Zero road safety program, she drops a 3 and wears 0 only.
Quigley knows the script vs the Saints, and kicks the first goal. DeMatteoooooooooooo is right in there after her. And then Quigley again! And then DeMatteooooooooooo AGAIN!
We lead 24-3 at quarter time, and wind isn’t a big factor. Pffft indeed, I say.
Stepnell marks at the top of the goal square! It’s 30-3: WHAT IS HAPPENING?
In the last ten minutes before half time the Saints wake up, and at the main break we only lead 30-22.
The second half starts well, as Jess Stassi snaps a goal from forty out on the boundary.
BRING BACK THE TIWIS NEXT YEAR, EFC.
And then another by her! 43-28 we lead at the final break.
Saints kick three straight goals in the last, and then, with a minute left… this happens.
CBomb needs to make the Saints pay the ultimate price this Sunday.
We lost but it was absolutely us as a team announcing we can beat anyone: the other teams we don’t fear . Two weeks later we smashed top-of-the-ladder Kollingwood.
The week before this we smashed Darebin in a practice match, with some newbie called Mia-Rae Clifford kicking 5 goals for us.
In this game we’re missing Sim Nalder (off getting married, caught out after the AFL abruptly brought the season forward).
Early in the game day thread I express my disgust at Barba not being drafted to the AFLW. She starts in the middle along with Frew and Nanscawen (and, unfortunately, Taylor Moss as ruck).
The first half is one of the worst I’ve ever seen from this team. We’re massively out-sized but more importantly we’re simply not applying our trademark pressure, and we bomb indiscriminately forward. We trail 4-34 at halftime.
In case you haven’t noticed, there’s a pattern to our games vs St Kilda. Quigley goes BANG BANG, and kicks two goals in two minutes.
And the pressure is BACK. We keep them scoreless in the third quarter.
With the wind and two utterly dominant rucks (hit-outs 49-7), the Saints hit back to make it 17-47 early in the last.
Clifford and Ugle get injured by Saints in the last quarter. Barba moves to FF and goals, and Quigley kicks her third goal, but it’s too late. We lose 29-47, winning the second half 25-13 once we started applying pressure.
My bests: Frew, Quigley, Nanscawen, Barba, Ugle, McIntosh