Don’t Explain The Jokes.
1 Like
By Celie Hay
The VFLW Bombers have been left to rue a goalless final term in a heartbreaking four-point defeat to North Melbourne at Windy Hill on Saturday.
The Bombers led until the final moments, but the Kangaroos came from behind to run away with a 4.5 (29) to 3.7 (25) win.
Energy was high early with Lauren Caruso and Emma Yassir starting strong from the first bounce with hard tackles and fast ball movement.
Defender Alex Morcom was awarded a 50-metre penalty, which she converted to get the Bombers on the board and her first goal of the season.
After a goalless opening term, the Kangaroos came out firing to score their first major and tightened the pressure on the Bombers.
Lauren Ahrens used her AFLW experience to provide guidance across the backline while taking strong contested marks to stop the Kangaroos’ run towards goal.
A late goal to Alana Barba gave Essendon a much-needed spark and a nine-point lead heading into the main break.
Returning from half-time, the Kangaroos started quickly and hit the scoreboard in the opening minutes.
Natalie MacDonald applied strong pressure across the forward line while Georgia Nanscawen and Eloise Ashley-Cooper contested through the midfield, fighting hard to send the ball towards goals.
After multiple third-quarter goals for the Kangaroos, Barba converted for her second with a snap on the run, giving the Bombers a two-point lead at three-quarter time.
Despite fighting hard until the end, a scoreless final term for the Bombers saw the Kangaroos claim a four-point win.
Final-quarter heartbreak
After controlling the game for majority of the day, a drop in intensity left Essendon fighting for its narrow lead.
The Bombers struggled to get the ball into their forward line with the Kangaroos’ tall defence cutting off multiple attempts.
Barba was a shining light up forward, not only hitting the board twice but using her speed and clean hands to move the ball into space.
Ahrens, who was named second best on ground, said her side dropped its intensity in the final term, allowing the opposition to take control.
“We probably just dropped our pressure. They sort of started to connect a bit more and our skills started to fall to pieces a little bit,” Ahrens said.
“We didn’t really capitalise on our opportunities and that was probably the biggest thing.”
Midfield stands strong
Essendon’s midfield fought hard for four quarters to stay in the game, with Calder Cannons player Yassir stepping up at the next level.
With the support of captain Nanscawen and Ashley-Cooper, Yassir used her clean skills and pace to send the ball into space while also fighting hard against bigger bodies at the contests.
Another NAB League debutant in Georgie Prespakis stepped up to VFLW level, with the 18-year-old looking comfortable in the Bombers’ midfield.
Prespakis impressed Ahrens with her ability to withstand her strong opponents, while the younger generation of players excited Ahrens for the future.
“I was really excited to see a few of our kids out there. Georgie Prespakis, she’s a little gun and to see her run around in the women’s is really good,” Ahrens said.
“Everyone has grown so much over the last couple of years so for me to see that is just awesome.”
Embrace opportunities
With only two home and away games left before finals, the Bombers will hope to keep their place in the top six for a maiden finals berth.
After three consecutive defeats, the Bombers will hope to return to the winners list and regain some confidence when they take on Darebin next Saturday.
Ahrens said Essendon would focus on taking opportunities and capitalising when it has possession.
“I think just getting our touch in and hoping we can capitalise a little bit more next week,” Ahrens said.
“If we can capitalise a little bit more next week it’s going to obviously be a really important thing for us, so we need to take our opportunities when they come.”
The VFLW Bombers will hope to regain their winning form when they take on Darebin next Saturday at Bill Lawry Oval from midday.
ESSENDON 1.3 2.5 3.6 3.7 (25)
NORTH MELBOURNE 0.2 1.2 3.4 4.5 (29)
Goals: Barba 2, Morcom
Best: Yassir, Ahrens, Caruso, Ashley-Cooper, MacDonald, Nanscawen
Willy had a go versus the Hawks (who have got monster Sue Perkins back) but… shoot straight, you bastards!
2.9.21 loses to 6.7.43 – Willy with 3.19 for the last two weeks!
The Saints did the same thing and made the race for sixth wide open: losing 3.9.27 to Footscray’s 5.3.33. A sensationally brave mark running back with the ball got the Saints in range with 100 seconds left, but the umps took forever getting the ball back to the middle as the clock ticked away…
| Team | Games | Points | For | Against | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pies | 12 | 48 | 609 | 225 | 271% |
| Cats | 12 | 36 | 534 | 278 | 192% |
| Port | 12 | 36 | 497 | 399 | 125% |
| Casey | 12 | 28 | 553 | 364 | 152% |
| Essendon | 12 | 24 | 437 | 320 | 137% |
| Footscray | 12 | 24 | 376 | 458 | 82% |
| Saints | 12 | 20 | 401 | 378 | 106% |
| Fark Carlton | 12 | 20 | 353 | 485 | 73% |
| North | 12 | 20 | 356 | 504 | 71% |
| Hawks | 12 | 16 | 422 | 455 | 93% |
| Willy | 12 | 10 | 212 | 496 | 43% |
| Darebin | 12 | 6 | 226 | 614 | 37% |
Let’s look at the key games left:
- we play Darebin then Willy, so it’s really (touch wood) just a question of whether we can move up a spot and therefore get a home final.
- the Cats play the Pies and Hawks / Port play the Hawks and Norf / Casey play Footscray and Darebin. So Port could move to second or fourth – the former being more likely given the Cats face the Pies.
- for us to get to fourth we likely need Footscray to maul Casey next week. That seems plausible. But we also need to have percentage boosters versus the ladder-propper-uppers.
Sixth place is still up for grabs. The matches that will determine that are:
- Hawks are rank outsiders: they play Port and Geelong.
- Norf play Saints and Port. Unlikely.
- Fark Carlton play Willy and the Saints. That’s a really good combo, but they need Footscray to lose at least one game (likely, see below) and make up that 9% percentage gap.
- Saints play Norf and Fark Carlton. Sixth is definitely do-able, given the percentages.
- Footscray control their own destiny, but it’s gonna be hard: Casey and the Pies.
So very likely we’ll be waiting till the final round (Pies vs Dogs + Fark Carlton vs Saints) for an answer.
I note that Dojiok copped an ankle injury very late in the Vic Country destroyation of Queensland today, so may not be available in the coming weeks. That hurts Footscray.
They haven’t started entering stats for any games yet, so we’re going backwards this week…
Nattie is not going to kick it to you, Nalder. Either that, or Ashley-Cooper is unimpressed by the “it was this big“ joke.
There are a zillion VFL/VFLW Ess/Nrf phots at the below link. I include some below.
1 Like
Even when on the bench, Mia-Rae Clifford won’t shut up. Friswell tries to protect the ball from a roo.
Make that “??? play footy”
There were a lot of Barba photos… but she did kick two-thirds of our goals. Yassir and Friswell join in on the celebrations.
