The opposition wrote an actual article.
North Melbourne’s tough run of fixtures in VFLW has continued, with the Kangaroos beaten by Essendon to the tune of 74 points at Arden Street on Sunday.
After a competitive first half, second-placed Essendon flexed their muscles in the third term and eventually went on to kick seven goals to zero across the second half.
With seven wins, one draw and a percentage of over 400, Essendon has built one of the strongest sides in the competition this season ahead of its AFLW entry. Roos coach Steph Binder says her side was simply outplayed by a powerful opposition.
“Unfortunately a better, more experienced Essendon side just ran over the top of us. I thought we were really competitive in the first half and we brought a lot of pressure, but it just didn’t happen for us in the second half,” Binder told North Media.
"It felt like a couple of tweaks to our ball movement could have brought us back into it, but we just weren’t able to play the brand of footy we wanted for the whole four quarters.
“That being said, we’ve been able to take positives out of every game and this one is no different. We know we’re capable, it’s just about us being more consistent.”
After a week off to mark the end of the AFLW season, Ella Maurer and Britt Gibson returned to the side to add some quality and experience to the group.
Binder says the way the pair have bought into the team culture makes them brilliant additions to the side.
“Ella is really clean around the stoppages, and she’s going to be so good for us when we can start unleashing her on the outside a bit more,” Binder said.
"It’s great that she’s able to come to training now and build that connection with our midfielders. It’ll help us utilise her qualities even more.
"I can’t overstate how important ‘Gibbo’ is for us. Her willingness to educate and share her experience is amazing, and you can tell she’s really bought into being a part of this VFLW team. It’s invaluable what she brings to us.
“She started forward for us and then we swung her back when we needed her down there. She played a really important role at both ends of the ground for us.”
Maurer and Gibson weren’t the only big inclusions to the side on the weekend. Midfield general Reni Hicks joined up with the group for the first time this season, after she won a club best and fairest at PINT Football Club in the Northern Territory.
Hicks marked her first appearance of the VFLW season with an elite showing in the middle of the ground, and finished the clash with 18 disposals, seven tackles and three clearances.
Binder says Hicks adds a tangible increase to pressure within the midfield group.
“Reni only got back to Melbourne on Monday and then she came straight to training. She’s already made her presence felt amongst the group by bringing that extra intensity,” she said.
“We knew for the weekend we were going to have to bring a lot of pressure and she was a tackling machine. She’s already lifted our side in that regard and we’re looking forward to seeing what she can produce from here on out.”
Liz McGrath has continued her immense campaign in the centre, with the ruck once again one of the top performers on the ground despite the scoreline.
Finishing with 18 disposals and 32 hitouts, McGrath was once again an unstoppable force at the stoppages.
“I’m like a broken record when I say Liz is absolutely dominant with her hitouts, but its her work-rate around the ground that’s so impressive.” Binder said.
"She’s consistently giving our mids first use of the ball and our stoppage work has been really good in recent weeks because of it. It fell apart a little bit in the third quarter but the girls were able to work it out and Liz was a huge part of that.
“AFLW clubs will have to be taking note of how she’s going because she’s just spectacular. She deserves all the credit that’s coming her way at the moment.”
The Kangaroos’ VFLW season continues this weekend against Darebin, and Binder is backing her team to get back onto the winners list after a pair of tough results in recent weeks.
“Hopefully we can take the confidence from the things we’ve been doing really well into this weekend, but also show the resilience to be able to bounce back,” she said.
"Darebin have been in cracking form so we definitely can’t go in thinking it’s going to be an easy game, it’s going to be hard-fought.
“I’m confident the girls will be able to get themselves in the right mindset to have a really strong performance and earn a good result.”
AFLW-listed
Britt Gibson: 10 disposals, six tackles
Ella Maurer: 15 disposals, five clearances, three tackles
Best of VFLW-listed
Liz McGrath: 18 disposals, 32 hitouts, three clearances
Reni Hicks: 18 disposals, seven tackles, three clearances
Jess Mourney: 20 disposals, four tackles, two clearances
Brooke Slaney: 15 disposals, one goal, seven tackles
Molly Eastman: 18 disposals, four tackles