Russell and Richardson tackle Stepnell.
Wales had a couple shots from (just) inside fifty where you might expect her to score. This was her lead to the centre clearance.
Lily-Rose started slow but eventually ended up as third highest disposals for the game (both teams).
Here’s some further context: we also had only 54 AFLW games and even fewer VFLW games (190 or 169 – not sure if the figures above were before today’s game).
QUARTER ONE
- This is gonna be painful: Busch misses from 20m out three minutes into the game. No excuse, was running straight in and could have gone further.
- Jordan and Wales (~40cm difference in height)
- 10:30 Wowee, that blind turn at the centre stoppage and perfect pass to the leading Wales by Adams. Gun!
- But holy ■■■■, that kick. A point wins us the game…
- Adams is little but can slot goals from 44m out.
- It’s worth mentioning we had a lot of set shots from 40 out, and converted not enough of them.
- 13:00 kid Gaylor bumps hard-arse veteran Julian to the ground. Nice.
- 14:20 Adams from 15m closer; touched a centimetre from the line.
- 15:20 I’m screaming here. Manfre would almost always slot that.
- 17:30 Manfre wasn’t pinged for a push a la Stringer – it was Jayda being the bull-in-the-china-shop* who whacked the non-involved Seagull. FFS.
- 18:50 the vision is a bit blurry, but geeeeeez Richo was hard done-by not to be paid that mark 35m out.
*Shut up; yes, I have seen that Mythbusters episode where bulls run precisely through aisles with zero damage,
QUARTER TWO
- “ESSENDON EDGE”
- Orritt has taken a step up this year. Still not sure she’s a forward, but she’s getting to the ball much more.
- Manfre is usually a very reliable set shot kick.
- I n her first AFLW season, vanLoon took on the best in the league and looked like a future star. But since then… watch her from 13:00 where she starts 5m in front of her opponent, then completely ignores her to concede a mark by 15 metres just 15 seconds later. Something very wrong here. Willy get a draw-achieving point from this.
- Gaylor is a big bigger and a big faster than most mids at this level. Has very decent skills by hand and foot.
- 19:20 Richo marks and is put on a completely wrong angle. I think the ump legit got confused and lined her up between the goal and the point post, Malcolm Blight style. That almost certainly costs us the win.
QUARTER THREE
- As called at the time, a Seagull runs five metres past the mark at 0:30. Not paid.
- 9:25 everyone keeps saying Ava is Uber-talented but, well, short. She does get to the ball better than Leah Spargo did last year, but her disposal is wildly variable. This is a shocking kick to not convert and win us the game.
- 11:00 really obvious high tackle on Ava. NOPE.
- 13:30 Carris-Brett called as a “Courtney Ugle look-alike”. Either great minds think alike, or feel free to credit me.
- 14:00 ball bounces across the face of goal and into the point post. Game lost. We do get a game-tieing point from the Orritt rundown tackle immediately afterwards.
QUARTER FOUR
- Lily-Rose has taken a decent number of contested marks in this game.
- 11:00 I’d label that a sling tackle. That’s why I’m not an ump, apparently.
- 13:20 That was one hell of a clunk by Richo. When she gets her kicks right she can do close to forty range… but she intermittently drops/contacts it badly. Including this time.
- 19:00 agree that Chaston made an “outstanding” kick – having seen the long dump was going to fail.
- 19:50 I was 150 metres away and I could see that drop. Mahony should have been kicking for the win after the siren…
I don’t claim to be perfect (and certainly my second eye is pretty murky) but holy hell there are some bad reports out there. That’s worse when you’re almost the only reporter.
Olivia Manfre was lively in attack for Essendon … Lori Stepnell was a workhorse in midfield
Manfre had 4 disposals and 1 mark, and Stepnell was CHB with 16 disposals and 5 marks … and they were often on each other.
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Busch had a great game and from the glimpses I saw, she was playing more of a midfield role?
Also do we know when Bernardi, Perkins, Hunt etc. are available?