Dockers Bounce Back, Demons Stay Perfect
Fremantle recorded their first win of the AFLW season with a 20-point victory over Collingwood on Sunday, while Melbourne strengthened their unbeaten start with a thumping 48-point win over GWS. The results were reported by The Canberra Times, drawing on Australian Associated Press dispatches.
At Victoria Park, the Dockers responded after their round one loss to Port Adelaide. Collingwood opened the scoring, but Fremantle quickly seized the lead and never surrendered it, finishing 8.2 (50) to 4.6 (30). The win left the Magpies winless at 0-2 after they lost to Richmond in the opening round. Fremantle's Mim Strom was a standout with 28 disposals, 28 hit-outs, nine clearances, six tackles and a goal; Gabrielle Newton (26 disposals), Kiara Bowers (26), Aisling McCarthy (25) and Orlagh Lally (24) were also prolific, while Bella Smith kicked three goals and Eden Zanker two. Collingwood's Brianna Davey made her first AFLW appearance in 682 days after a horror run of injuries, recording 22 disposals, and Ruby Schleicher kicked two goals. Maisie Nankivell suffered a hamstring injury in a disappointing end to what The Canberra Times called an impressive display in defence.
At Casey Fields, Melbourne snapped GWS 9.6 (60) to 1.6 (12). After a slow start against Hawthorn and holding a 21-point lead at half-time gone when they won that game, the Demons clicked into gear with a burst of four unanswered goals in 11 minutes to lead by 30 at the break. Ryleigh Wotherspoon kicked three goals, Olivia Purcell had 36 disposals and four clearances, Eliza McNamara 24 disposals and a goal. For GWS, Alicia Eva kicked a goal and Alyce Parker was busy with 26 disposals and seven clearances. Melbourne’s 2-0 start kept them unbeaten under new coach Tom Wilson, and GWS, now 1-1, have not beaten Melbourne since 2017.
Individual Accolades in Focus
Beyond the team results, the round also proved significant in the AFL Coaches Association’s Champion Player of the Year award. Both Sydney’s Ally Morphett and Melbourne’s Liv Purcell received the maximum 10 votes from the senior coaches in their games – Morphett from Sydney’s win over Essendon and Purcell from Melbourne’s defeat of GWS. Having also earned perfect scores in round one, the duo now sit level atop the leaderboard with 20 votes, as reported by afl.com.au.
North Melbourne’s Ash Riddell and Richmond’s Mon Conti each collected nine and eight votes respectively: Riddell from a win over Brisbane and Conti from a loss to the Western Bulldogs. Both sit on 18. In round two scoring, Isabelle Pritchard, Mim Strom, Erone Fitzpatrick and Lucy Wales also had perfect games, joining Morphett and Purcell. The voting system sees two senior coaches per game assign votes on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis, so 10 is the maximum any player can earn in a round. The player with the most votes across the home-and-away season will take home the AFLCA Champion Player of the Year Award.