ROUND 12 saw a number of big matches take place, with results that could change the course of the competition given the closeness of the ladder at this late stage of the season. Darebin got their third win on the board while Collingwood dealt Richmond their fourth loss in a row with a goal after the siren to win the tight match, keeping the Magpies in top spot on the ladder. Meanwhile, a smattering of young talent put their names in the spotlight with some impressive form following the AFL Women’s Under 18 Championships.

WILLIAMSTOWN 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.1 | 1.2 (8)
ESSENDON 1.0 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 7.5 (47)

Williamstown: M. Hope.
Essendon: A. Quigley 2, J. Stassi, F. Frew, M. Collier, S. Audley, S. Wilson.

BEST

Williamstown: M. Williamson, R. Tripodi, J. Thomson, D. Pedersen, N. Wallace, M. Hope
Essendon: A. Quigley, G. Patrikios, M. Collier, S. Audley, S. Nalder, E. Ashley-Cooper

It was a rough day at the office for Williamstown as they were dealt yet another big loss, going down to Essendon in the opening match of the round. With both sides sitting towards the bottom of the ladder the Seagulls were hoping for a better performance, but the Bombers found their form to run home 39 point winners after solid second and fourth quarters. It took the struggling Seagulls almost three quarter to get a goal on the board through Mo Hope, who also collected 19 touches and four tackles, aided by Megan Williamson who also managed 19 touches and eight tackles. Ashlea Melinkas (10 tackles) and Ruby Tripodi (15 disposals) provided valuable backup around the field with the Bombers all but running rampant for much of the game. For Essendon, young gun Georgia Patrikios backed up her phenomenal NAB League form with 20 touches, seven tackles and a behind to be named among the best along with Alex Quigley (two goals, five marks), Shae Audley (22 disposals, nine tackles, one goal) and Simone Nalder (16 disposals, 38 hitouts).

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DAREBIN 2.0 | 2.1 | 3.3 | 6.5 (41)
GEELONG 1.0 | 2.1 | 3.1 | 4.1 (25)

Darebin: N. Morris-Dalton 2, S. Simpson, L. Arnell, E. McLaughlin, G. Hammond.
Geelong: D. Orr, J. Ivey, R. Webster, L. McEvoy.

BEST

Darebin: L. Arnell, L. Pearce, E. O’Dea, G. Lawson-Tavan, N. Morris-Dalton, S. Simpson
Geelong: D. Taylor, J. Ivey, R. Cranston, R. Webster, R. Caris, D. Orr

The Falcons got another much-needed win on the board on their way up the ladder, capitalising in Lauren Arnell‘s two-hundredth game and getting an important win against the Cats who continued their frustrating post-bye form with another loss. For the most part it was an even match, with neither side able to take control before a stellar final quarter from the Falcons saw them soar to their third victory of the season. In her milestone match, Arnell racked up 17 touches, seven tackles and a goal, while Lauren Pearce was influential with a season-best performance of 39 hitouts and 24 disposals, leading Darebin’s tally for the day. It was a game of inches for Darebin, who found many players doing the little things right with eight players managing five or more tackles, while Northern Knights’ premiership player Nell Morris-Dalton was the only multiple goal kicker with two majors from eight touches and six tackles. For the Cats, Jordan Ivey (19 disposals, 12 tackles, one goal) and Renee Garing (26 disposals, seven marks, six tackles) impressed while Richelle Cranston racked up 11 tackles and 23 disposals.

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MELBOURNE UNI 5.3 | 8.3 | 10.6 | 12.9 (81)
CARLTON 0.1 | 1.3 | 4.5 | 5.5 (35)

Melbourne Uni: K. Angelis 3, K. Ashmore 3, C. Saxon-Jones 2, S. Abbatangelo, J. Duffin, K. Gillespie-Jones, J. Garner.
Carlton: A. Downie, S. Cubasch, G. Newton, N. Plane, B. Gurr.

BEST

Melbourne Uni: J. Trend, S. Abbatangelo, K. Ebb, K. Gillespie-Jones, K. Angelis, K. Ashmore
Carlton: M. Clifford, S. Wright, A. Downie, C. Bromage, A. Prins, G. Newton

Melbourne Uni bounced back from its Round 11 loss to Collingwood in the best way possible, beating Carlton by 46 points to jump back into the top four. It always looked to be a big game for the Mugars, who kicked five goals to one in the first to stake their claim on the match before extending their lead in every quarter despite every attempt the Blues threw at them to reduce the margin. Maddy Prespakis was among the best for Carlton in an otherwise uneventful match, leading the charge with 18 disposals, five marks and six tackles and well aided by the likes of Alison Downie (23 hitouts, 17 disposals, five tackles, one goal). For Uni, it was a battle of the forwards with Kaitlin Ashmore (17 disposals, six marks, four tackles, three goals), Katie Angelis (10 disposals, three goals) and Cleo Saxon-Jones (two goals) kicking a bag each, well aided by Jenna Bruton (28 disposals, four tackles) and Sophie Abbatangelo (24 disposals, six marks, one goal) who were influential coming down field.

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WESTERN BULLDOGS 4.3 | 6.7 | 10.10 | 13.13 (91)
NT THUNDER 0.0 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 2.1 (13)

Western Bulldogs: D. Berry 3, M. Sandral 2, M. Ward 2, K. Lamb, T. Dinuccio, B. Lochland, S. Molan, E. Georgostathis, D. Marshall.
NT Thunder: T. Hart-Aluni 2.

BEST

Western Bulldogs: V. Laloifi, D. Berry , B. Lochland, K. Lamb, S. Molan, A. Guest
NT Thunder: S. Armitstead, K. Streader, L. Roberts, T. Hart-Aluni, S. Riley, J. Baird

In a match that all but summed up the inconsistency of Thunder’s season, the Western Bulldogs started strong and finished stronger to record the highest score of the season so far with a 78-point win over NT Thunder. However, Thunder were fortunate to come away with the margin they did, with the Bulldogs missing as many goals as they attempts, with 13 behinds equalling their 13 goals and getting agonisingly close to 100 points. In a hard game it was young gun Tayla Hart-Aluni who picked up the slack in front of goal, putting two on the board in the second to help put her side back in the contest, before the side continued to struggle capitalising in front of goal and going scoreless in the second half. Sophie Armitstead (18 disposals) was among the best for the losing side, aided by Lisa Roberts with 15 touches and six tackles, one of seven players with over five tackles on the board. Kirsty Lamb was influential for the Bulldogs, getting a goal on the board to go with her 27 touches and eight tackles, finding plenty of the ball while also presenting a valuable option through the midfield to create opportunities forward for the Dogs. Deanna Berry (22 disposals, five marks, three goals), Mary Sandraal (two goals) and Mikayla Ward (12 disposals, two goals) were the side’s main goalkickers, while Elisabeth Georgostathis impressed with 16 touches, five tackles and a goal on debut.

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RICHMOND 0.3 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 3.4 (22)
COLLINGWOOD 0.3 | 1.5 | 1.7 | 3.8 (26)

Richmond: J. Kennedy, S. Frederick, C. Wakefield .
Collingwood: S. Alexander, J. Lambert, M. Cann.

BEST

Richmond: A. Woodward, P. Monahan, K. Dempsey, J. Colwell, S. Marsh, T. Stahl
Collingwood: J. Lambert, S. Alexander, S. Livingstone, B. Davey, S. Lawry, G. Lagioia

In what was ultimately the biggest match of the round, Collingwood found themselves in a sticky situation unable to convert in front of goal, before pulling out a big four-point win in the dying moments with a goal after the siren to Sophie Alexander who kicked true. However while a win to the Pies keeps them atop the ladder for another week, the four-point loss sees the Tigers with their fourth consecutive loss to drop out of the top four, needing some big wins in the coming weeks to return to the top, with teams hot on their heels. Bri Davey had a big impact in her fourth game for the club, racking up 28 touches, four marks and five tackles, while Gemma Lagioia and Jaimee Lambert found plenty of the ball with 20 touches apiece. For Richmond, Alice Edmonds was impressive with 28 hitouts while Sabrina Frederick (15 disposals, one goal) and Alana Woodward (nine disposals, eight tackles) put in the hard yards across the field to deny ball to the Magpies. With plenty of opportunities in front of goal for both sides that went unconverted, both teams will look to pick up their game in the coming weeks regardless of ladder position.

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SOUTHERN SAINTS 1.3 | 2.8 | 4.11 | 5.14 (44)
CASEY 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.3 | 2.3 (15)

Southern Saints: T. Bohanna 2, C. Jones, M. McDonald, H. Stuart.
Casey: K. Smith, N. Webber.

BEST

Southern Saints: S. Johnson, A. Drennan, D. Guttridge, C. Munn, A. Brown, M. McDonald
Casey: S. Heath, H. Cordner, K. Smith, S. Scott, T. Hanks, B. Jakobsson

It was yet another match with a big margin, however Casey are fortunate to come away with only a 29-point loss given the Southern Saints’ volume of ball inside 50, finding plenty of space and opportunity to go forward to kick goals but ultimately missing majority of their shots. However the Dees also had plenty of opportunities, only trailing inside 50s by six, but failing to head for goal to finish with only five scores on the board to speak of for the match. Samantha Johnson (19 disposals, five tackles) and Alison Drennan (15 disposals, seven tackles) were phenomenal for the Saints, while Jemima Kelly (30 hitouts) was almost unstoppable in the ruck causing plenty of rotation headaches for the Demons. Tara Bohanna was the sole multiple goalkicker with two to her name. Despite a frustrating match, Melbourne AFL Women’s trio Bianca Jakobsson, Lily Mithen and Libby Birch put in the hard yards collecting majority of Casey’s possession, combining for 59 disposals, 15 marks and 15 tackles. Meanwhile, Kate Hore lead the tackle count with eight and 13 touches, along with two behinds.