P.S. You may be seeing scores of 1.10.16 for Hawthorn. SportsTG is confused (and doesn’t know our players that well either!)
LIVE LADDER as Casey and the Cats slug it out in the third quarter:
| Team | Games | Points | For | Against | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port | 6 | 24 | 278 | 114 | 243.9% |
| Pies | 5 | 20 | 240 | 121 | 198.3% |
| Essendon | 6 | 16 | 241 | 152 | 158.6% |
| Cats | 6 | 16 | 192 | 123 | 153.6% |
| Casey | 6 | 12 | 222 | 150 | 149.3% |
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That was the free kick count on Thursday night with 7 sec to go!
Geelong win 32-30, just about perfect.
We have already beaten Casey and meet Geelong later, so win that game and top three may be ours.
Pies to kick Fark Carlton further out of the six tomorrow?
| Team | Games | Points | For | Against | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port | 6 | 24 | 278 | 114 | 243.9% |
| Pies | 5 | 20 | 240 | 121 | 198.3% |
| Essendon | 6 | 16 | 241 | 152 | 158.6% |
| Cats | 6 | 16 | 205 | 139 | 147.5% |
| Casey | 6 | 12 | 238 | 163 | 146.0% |
| Saints | 6 | 12 | 198 | 165 | 120.0% |
| Fark Carlton | 5 | 12 | 178 | 213 | 83.6% |
| Willy | 6 | 8 | 137 | 199 | 68.8% |
| North | 6 | 8 | 175 | 256 | 68.4% |
| Hawks | 6 | 4 | 169 | 269 | 62.8% |
| Footscray | 6 | 4 | 136 | 257 | 52.9% |
| Darebin | 6 | 4 | 113 | 260 | 43.5% |
Meanwhile, Ally Anderson leads the Bears-Pies AFLW final on 12 disposals. We’d take her back…
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Stepnell our best? Politely, no. She scrapped well for a tall in the wet, though.
The VFLW Bombers celebrate their come-from-behind win over Hawthorn. (Photo: Celie Hay)
The VFLW Bombers have returned to the winners list after defeating Hawthorn by 14 points at Box Hill City Oval on Saturday.
The Bombers struggled in the wet conditions and spent the majority of the game chasing the Hawks, but a late last-quarter surge allowed them to run away with the 4.5 (29) to 1.9 (15) victory.
Both teams fought with intensity from the opening bounce, with the ball being locked in contests for majority of the first quarter.
It took 15 minutes for the first goal to be scored through an off-the-ground kick from Mia-Rae Clifford giving the Bombers an early lead.
With the rain settling in, the Hawks quickly took control of the game early in the second quarter, locking the ball in their forward half and converting for their first major.
Midway through the second quarter, the Bombers suffered a significant blow with captain Georgia Nanscawen coming off with a calf injury.
Eloise Ashley-Cooper stood up to cover the loss of Nanscawen through the midfield, but the Hawks continued to pressure the Bombers and took a three-point lead into the main break.
The wet weather caused havoc during the third quarter as both teams were locked in contests and struggled to convert on the scoreboard.
The pressure was on the Bombers’ backs as the Hawks attempted to go forward. Eloise Gardner and Cecilia McIntosh didn’t give the opposition any space and cut off multiple scoring attempts with strong marks.
Ruck duo Lori Stepnell and Simone Nalder combined well to tackle the height of their opponents while Alex Morcom provided excellent run off the backline.
Debutants Zali Friswell and Kasey Lennox, who came up from the Calder Cannons’ NAB League side, didn’t look out of place in the Bombers’ side and were influential across the forward and back lines respectively.
After a goalless third term, the Bombers’ forwards were determined to overturn the deficit and came out with intent.
Federica Frew converted from a set shot to give the Bombers a two-point advantage before Natalie MacDonald snapped a goal from the pocket to further extend the lead.
The Bombers’ victory was sealed when Clifford scored her second major for the day late in the quarter.
Alana Barba (L) and Courtney Ugle ® celebrate a final-term goal. (Photo: Celie Hay)
Nanscawen was proud of her team’s attitude throughout the game and the way they continued to fight even when they were behind on the scoreboard.
“I’m super proud of the team. Personally, it was disappointing to not be able to get through the game, but the way the girls stayed in the game with their heads held high and fought right to the end (was pleasing),” Nanscawen said.
“We were down for quite a bit of the game and to see the character that we showed to get back into it and to be able to hold the lead, it makes me really proud.”
Nanscawen attributed the fourth-quarter resurgence to her teammates’ confidence in each other and their ability to stay composed under pressure.
“I think just the belief that we knew we were in it even though we were down. We knew they would throw everything at us and we were able to hold it,” she said.
“It was about being composed and playing smart in the rain as well. We really did that and some girls really stood up in that last quarter.”
The two debutants, Friswell and Lennox, also impressed Nanscawen in the way they seamlessly fitted into the side and played their roles.
“They showed why they deserved to pull on the jumper, they both fought really hard. Obviously, some tough conditions for a tall back (Lennox) but both of them kept fighting right through,” she said.
“It’s exciting to see players like that in our team.”
After her injury, Nanscawen was pleased with the team’s ability to be flexible and the way the way they quickly adapted to her absence on the field.
“I was exceptionally proud of how they adapted. It would have been easy for them to drop their heads when you lose anybody in the team, but they didn’t do that at all,” she said.
“They fought right to the end and I’m super proud.”
The Bombers will return home for to the NEC Hangar round seven next Saturday to host Williamstown from 11am.
ESSENDON 1.1 1.2 1.3 4.5 (29)
HAWTHORN 0.4 1.5 1.8 1.9 (15)
Goals: Clifford 2, Frew, MacDonald
Best: Stepnell, Gardner, McIntosh, Morcom, Ashley-Cooper, Nalder
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Note the inclusion of the correct score 
As the coach said to her with a minute to go as she came off the ground “Lori, that’s the best game you’ve ever played”
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That would be two of them, then.
(first was vs Casey)
I’d like to watch a replay to confirm, but…
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Hawks had the three top possession getters (with a max of 22).
OK, Stepnell had a few touches (and very few hit-outs; but we’ve had few hit-outs all year, and only in the first game did it actually matter).
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Barba had 9 clearances as well.
Am I allowed to sook about her not making the top six?
A few more photos by Celie Hay at:
I only had to make two corrections below…
Picking themselves off the canvas after skipper Georgia Nanscawen‘s injury left them without a star midfielder, Essendon ground out a win at Box Hill City Oval against Hawthorn by 13 14 points. The Bombers started the stronger of the two sides thanks to a goal from Mia-Rae Clifford, but it was Hawthorn who managed to put all the scores on the board over the next two terms. The home team could not capitalise through the big sticks, with only Eloise Chaston‘s second quarter major the sole six-pointer. It meant the Hawks led by five points at the final break, but a flurry of three goals in the final term saw the Bombers overrun the Hawks and sit pretty in third spot.
Despite Nanscawen going down, it was the field tackling of Alana Barba and Eloise Ashley-Cooper (22 tackles apiece between them) who provided the grunt work, and Lori Stepnell, Eloise Gardner and Cecilia McIntosh who held up in the overcast conditions. Hawthorn had plenty of chances, with Eastern Ranges duo, Isabel Khoury (22 disposals, seven tackles) and Eloise Chaston (14 disposals, three marks, 1.3) lively, with the pair kicking 1.5 of the Hawks’ 1.10 score between them. Jess Grace shared the ruck work with Kate Dudley and Tamara Luke, while Gold Coast Suns’ Georgia Bevan teamed up with her ex-Crows coach Bec Goddard to have an impact for the team in a losing side.
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Oh AFL, you keep doing you. A report written from the stats, and the wrong stats in the headline at that.
Hawthorn 1.10.16 defeated by Essendon 4.5.29 at Box Hill City Oval
Essendon kicked the final three goals of the game to come away 13-point winners at Box Hill City Oval. Hawthorn wasn’t without its chances and will rue missed opportunities, having more scoring shots than its opponent. It was a tight contest for three quarters with each side kicking one goal, until the Bombers broke away in the final term.
Mia Rae-Clifford kicked two crucial goals for the Bombers and was lively in the forward line creating opportunities. Georgia Nanscawen was well held by the Hawks and well down on her usual output, but in her place Eloise Ashley-Cooper, Alana Barba and Lori Stepnell found plenty of the football to keep Essendon in the contest.
The Hawks’ new inclusions had plenty of influence, with Tamara Luke and Nadia Von Bertouch playing a role in the contest, while returning Gold Coast Sun Georgia Bevan had 19 disposals and nine tackles. Eloise Chaston kicked Hawthorn’s only goal and almost had three more in her first game for the club.
Right…okay… So, what game was the reporter actually watching?
Speaking to her Dad, Georgia went into Saturday with the injury & took a punt get through the game.
Came up a little short unfortunately.
This weeks game, Hangar or Windy Hill?
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Hangar next two weeks (including Collingwood’s home game 
) and then Windy Hill for our home games after that.
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It’s not hard for us to set records, but hey, not complaining.
Random photo from the Hawks website. As shadows are visible, it was taken in the last quarter… Ugle works to give Barba a clean chance at the ball, with Nalder watching on.
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Some extra photos being uploaded by Celie Hay while we are in purgatory. The below is from the last quarter of the Hawthorn game: Nattie McDonald jumps onto Mia-Rae Clifford as we storm home to victory.
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