Blast as fatigued players battle through AFLW fixture

The AFLW’s condensed fixture has come under fire after Friday night’s dour clash between Essendon and the Western Bulldogs, as player exhaustion took a toll.

Essendon regained a top-eight spot after grinding their way to a 23-point win over a Western Bulldogs side which set some unwanted history at Whitten Oval, but the first AFLW match between the clubs was a mistake-ridden affair, with the Bombers notching a fourth straight win, 3.8 (26) to 0.3 (3).

It was Essendon’s fourth AFLW match in 15 days, while the Bulldogs were playing their third game in that time. The AFL condensed the fixture this season with clubs having four games within three weeks, scheduled throughout the week.

Former Bulldogs AFLW coach Nathan Burke said the compressed schedule should be abandoned.

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“We wondered what 4 games in 14 days would do for the game and the players. Well now we know. So don’t do it again,” he said on X.

The Dogs became the first AFLW side to be held goalless three times in a season and recorded their lowest score for the second straight game, after recording just four points against the Kangaroos last week.

Wind and fatigue did not help, with scores at a premium, with Essendon gifted the first two goals of the game after receiving 50-metre off the ball free kicks.

“We weren’t able to move the ball, particularly inside 50, how we were trying to, but sometimes you just grind those wins out,” Bombers captain and former Bulldog Bonnie Toogood told Fox Footy.

“We won three games in nine days in the condensed fixture, and then to top this off I think it’s four wins in 15 days. We’ll take that any day off the week.”

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Free-scoring Hawks dent Eagles’ AFLW finals hopes

Hawthorn’s AFLW “hokball” has shot them to top spot after they belted West Coast by 11 goals. The free-scoring Hawks dominated after quarter-time on Saturday at home in Frankston, mauling the Eagles 11.8 (74) to 1.2 (8).

It was five points short of Hawthorn’s highest score, kicked in round five against Geelong, and the equal-third lowest score for West Coast.

Just as the Hawks lit up the AFL late in the season with “hokball” – a high-octane style of play with rapid ball movement and equally energetic celebrations – their women are doing the same under new coach Daniel Webster.

Captain Emily Bates, who starred with 22 disposals and two goals, was rapt with how they played in their fourth-straight win.

“I’m really proud of the group - just being able to put more speed on the ball, play our way,” she said.

“It was good to play more our brand, a bit of hokball.”

The Hawks continue to show they are premiership contenders after finishing 15th and 16th in their first two AFLW seasons.

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A screamer and a Port winning streak

Matilda Scholz’s ruck masterclass, highlighted by one of the AFLW’s great marks, lifted Port Adelaide to an eight-point win over Collingwood and into the top eight.

The Power’s 4.9 (33) to 3.7 (25) victory at Alberton on Thursday night gave them their first three-game win streak since entering the competition in 2022.

Their joy was tempered, though, with Julia Teakle finishing the game on the sidelines after limping off with a right knee injury early in the third quarter.

Teakle will undergo scans on Friday, the club confident she has avoided serious damage.

The ruck-rover combination of Scholz (15 possessions - all contested, 20 hit-outs, nine clearances) and Abbey Dowrick (20 disposals, nine clearances) was dynamic all evening, while defender Molly Dowrick and winger Shineah Goody also impressed.

Mikala Cann (21 disposals, 10 tackles, one goal) starred for the Magpies, who were overwhelmed after half-time.

“It certainly felt like a gritty win,” Port coach Lauren Arnell said. “Really pleased with our midfield and the way they stuck it out and reset at half-time.

“Our mids were able to grind it out when it was an overly contested game of footy.”

Caitlin Wendland’s goal-line toe-poke was the only six-pointer of a dour opening term, at the end of which the Power led by eight points.

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Port had 17 of the first 20 clearances but couldn’t generate anything on the outside, taking only five first-half marks, Ella Boag pouching three of them.

Conversely, the Magpies were swift outside the contest and controlled territory in the second term, while kicking to the wind-assisted northern end.

First-round draftee Georgia Clark, playing her third game, booted her maiden AFLW goal - and Collingwood’s first of the night - in the 13th minute of the second before Cann added a second, 45 seconds out from the halftime siren to put the Pies in front.

The Power had the breeze in the third stanza and completely swamped the Maggies, dominating clearances (15-3), inside-50s (14-2) and contested possessions (33-20).

The home side recaptured the lead on a Gemma Houghton gem, the Port spearhead ripping a ruck contest out of the air, spinning and snapping from a tight angle.

Acting captain Justine Mules-Robinson stretched Port’s buffer to seven points, before Scholz had the home fans on their feet when she soared for a spectacular mark over a six-player pack.

Scholz, who modestly described her stunning grab as a “bit of a fluke”, converted to give the Power a 14-point three-quarter time break.

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