AFLW: 3/4 of the way there
An honourable loss in tough conditions in Cairns
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ROUND 6: HAWTHORN 4.6 (30), RICHMOND 6.5 (41)
📝 Main recap:
The Hawks headed up to Cairns for what’s becoming our AFLW team’s home away from home. Our preseason camp was held in this community and the Hawks had plenty of support from the locals in the far north.
Cairns turned on some great tropical weather presenting us with a hot and humid evening with humidity sitting at 70% or above for the game. These conditions were set up perfectly for whoever could control the ball.
It was a match in which our boom recruit and superstar forward Greta Bodey played her 50th AFLW game; a stellar effort for players in the competition to reach this milestone.
This was the second time these two teams have met, with the Tigers giving the Hawks a hiding 9-44 in Season 7. To give some context to this result, it was the Hawks third ever AFLW game together with a short pre-season against a team who have played four seasons together and eventually finished top 4 for the season. While Richmond sat outside the eight before the match, their credentials are among the competition’s best teams.
Friday night under lights in Cairns was sure to be a fierce contest as the Tigers needed to win to keep their finals hopes alive, while the Hawks momentum was building.
The First Quarter
We started fast and had a goal within the first couple of minutes of play. Mackenzie Eardley with a superb intercept mark and then setting up a set shot for McDonagh was incredible. Richmond bounced back with a couple of their own in quick succession, but the Hawks really held their nerve and started to steady the ship with their trademark pressure game.
Ainsley Kemp and Jenna Richardson were two of our backs who were holding down the fort well and ensuring the Tigers' scoring dried up for the rest of the quarter. Our midfield dialled up another notch to make entry into the 50 difficult for the Tigers. As the quarter came to a close, the momentum was well and truly starting to swing the way of the young Hawks with relentless pressure and repeat inside 50 entries.
McDonagh was unable to hold a couple of really tough contested marks, but when the clearance kicks came, the Hawks structure was perfectly placed to make sure that our team had another bite (or three) of the cherry. The inside-50 count was even for the quarter, with eight-a-piece.
The Second Quarter
Some amazing play to help lock the ball in our front half. We had the first seven entries inside-50 for the quarter and looked absolutely dangerous. Sadly, the team was unable to convert. We ended up with 10 inside-50s for this quarter to Richmond’s four and broke even for goals scored for the quarter.
Emily Bates was awesome for the entire quarter, her intensity around the contest was unreal to watch. The Hawks were relentless as always around the ball carrier and we were starting to look really dangerous.
The momentum shifted when the Tigers won a dubious 50m penalty as Sarah Hosking decided to run into the brick wall that is Sophie Locke. Naturally she fell, earning the penalty and an easy goal 🙄
The Hawks, determined to right this wrong, responded quickly with a slingshot goal that’s worthy of a team goal of the week nomination (watch below). It was a good flex of the muscles from a Hawks team fighting hard.
Going into halftime we were one point up against last season’s 4th place finisher. The downside? It could’ve been a lot more, with all the forward territory dominance the Hawks held for the quarter. The on field ascendancy and improvement from the Hawthorn team was incredible to watch over the first half and the team went in full of confidence that they could pull off a win.
The Third Quarter
The third term was well fought out by the team and the pressure, as always, was intense. The Hawks held the Tigers to a solitary point for the term and kicked 1.3 in response. The quarter was not without its scares from our opposition as they were relentless in their forward pressure accumulating eleven inside-50s to six. It showed just how hard our backs worked with the entire team lifting for this quarter. It was another solid third quarter showing from our Hawks team.
Some highlights to note for this quarter:
💥 Kaitlin Ashmore having two shots on goal after a smother. It was great to see the second efforts and putting more pressure on the Richmond team.
💥 Not long after this, Ashmore had another shot out of the pack to kick a point.
💥 One-two two play from our two midfield guns — Bates and Fleming. This was definitely a sign of things to come
💥 Strong intercept marking from Eardley to help spring the Hawks forward and ward off a Tigers attack.
💥 Mattea Breed outworking her opponents to save an almost certain goal.
💥 The second coast-to-coast goal for the game. (Gee it’s nice to watch out team fly out of the backline.)
The final change saw the Hawks in front 29-20 and there was an amazing sense of excitement going into the final quarter. The Tigers were fighting hard to get back in the game, but the Hawks defensive pressure was winning the day. The Hawks were deserving of their lead and were now tasked with finishing the job.
The Fourth Quarter
The final quarter saw Richmond start hard and fast which resulted in their easiest goal of the day. From there, the Tigers kept their foot on the accelerator until the end of the game. The inside-50 count reflected the change in momentum e with Richmond boasting 13 for the quarter while the Hawks could only manage to drum up five.
In what is a quarter of footy we really lowered our colours in, the Hawks fought hard with some amazing tackles and some good run and speed out of the backline, but it was clear they had spent all their petrol tickets with some simple errors and miskicks.
Some highlights included:
💥 Gilroy with a superhero effort from the back line. The punch from behind, the run off the back line, and the long kick out of defence.
💥 Great pressure from Tamara Smith to force just a point from Emelia Yassir (one of Richmond’s potent forwards)
💥 Makur Chuot’s tackling pressure to help quell the Tigers’ advances.
The Final Word
It was a game that ended up going into the honourable loss category. Which is hard to write (again) as a die hard supporter as a win was so close. The team were up and about for three quarters against a team who are genuine finals contenders, but we just couldn’t hold on in that final quarter.
Bec Goddard spoke candidly in the press conference about us losing the contest, and it’s obvious from the team’s demeanour that they’re sick of losing games.
BUT we have to look at the progress of our team, Richmond scored similarly to last year and we increased our scoring potency three-fold. We almost took home the biggest scalp in our short history.
Adding to the progress and development is the resilience to perform our first full three quarter effort on a second interstate trip after just a six-day turnaround. This was always going to be a tough ask.
A notable difference was the confidence the team showed with their run and carry game. The glimpses of great play are there and the momentum is growing.
✂️ Snippet of the match #1:
Hard not to love a milestone match player kicking a goal. Greta Bodey with all the class to find space on the lead and then kick true from a set show. Magic.
✂️ Snippet of the match #2:
Coast-to-Coast. In response to that dubious 50m call, the Hawks bounced back quickly to take back that goal. Eardley intercepted in defence to start the chain that ended up with Bridie Hipwell on forward flank boundary.
Hipwell’s work was the highlight of the chain. She found Stratton with a penetrating kick, who in turn dished off to Fleming, who found Tahlia Fellows alone in the goal square.
✂️ Snippet of the match #3:
Coast-to-coast again. Eardley got it over the flanks to the run of McDonagh, whose one-two play with Fleming to then deliver it perfectly to the lunge of Hipwell, who kicks true from a set shot in the pocket. It was so smooth to watch.
🍔 Key takeaways:
The Hawks' pressure was once again elite. We laid 91 tackles for the game showing we are among the competition's best. Coming into this game we averaged 81.2 tackles per game.
The slingshot plays are starting to come together. When the Hawks are off and running, it’s exciting footy to watch. Elite sport is a game of inches and our pinpoint accuracy is improving each game.
Kaitlyn Ashmore was easily our BOG for the day. Her second and third efforts where awesome, her positioning to get the ball and move quickly was a really game changer for us. She finished with 15 disposals (seven contested), five marks, three tackles, 370m gained, two inside-50s and three score involvements.
Jenna Richardson was just consistent as always, reading the play and taking some much needed intercept marks when they were required. 13 disposals, four marks, four tackles, seven intercept positions and 84.6% efficiency with the ball. Full credit to a great game played under a lot of pressure.
Jasmine Fleming ended up with a team high six inside-50s and two score involvements. She boasted an equal team high 18 disposals, five tackles, five intercept possessions, 323m gained. As always, her dash through the middle and into the forward line is something teams will fear in years to come.
Emily Bates just battled all day and it was a great return to the spotlight after receiving a hard tag last week. She helped set up a lot of great plays and nearly iced a goal herself. Her stat sheet is super impressive, equal team high 18 disposals, equal game high eleven tackles, equal team high four clearances, 348m gained, four inside-50s and four intercept possessions.
Sophie Locke is just a strong unit! She copped an off the ball bump and barely moved and every tackle she begins, sticks. Her defensive efforts were simply brilliant to watch
Charlotte Baskaran tackles are impenetrable. Once she has a player in her grasp, there is no escape. She is a great pressure player with some amazing speed, finishing with eight tackles.
Tamara Smith needs to be mentioned more often and recognised for her efforts. She had the tough job of keeping potent key forward Yassir quiet. Her final stats were nine disposals with 88.9% efficiency (off both feet), four intercept possessions, and eight fierce tackles.
Aileen Gilroy was also incredible all game, getting back quickly to stop the Tigers first inside-50 for the 2nd quarter was one highlight. She ended up with 15 disposals, a game high nine intercept possessions, five tackles, three inside-50s, and team high 406m gained.
Aine McDonagh is stamping herself as one of the Hawks most important players. This game saw her rack up a game high six score involvements, three inside-50s, 13 disposals, three tackles, and a goal. When Aine is near the ball, good things happen for the Hawks.
⭐️ Superstar - Greta Bodey
Hard to go past our 50-game champion. She has been a great contributor to AFLW footy and deserved to be celebrated for all of her efforts.
💫 Rising star - Mackenzie Eardley (again)
Eardley had an epic game. She defended so well off CHB. There was great intercept marking (eight intercept possessions for the game), really solid tackling (four for the game), great kicking to advantage for her team (three score involvements and 243m gained), and really good decisions with the ball in tough conditions.
🪜 Ladder check in
Round 8 sees us sitting in 14th position on the ladder and with the teams above us pulling away, it is unlikely that we will climb any higher. Our next game is against fellow expansion team Port Adelaide in Frankston. The good news is the team aren’t travelling interstate and have a nine-day break, so plenty of time to plot out a Power demise.
🎤 Bec Goddard & Jas Fleming press conference highlights
“We lost it in the contest.”
“Our work rate really dropped off.”
“Not the result that we wanted.”
“We’re looking at four quarters of play. It’s been an issue all season, really”
“There were some exciting moments of footy and incredible goals kicked from our D50.”
“Keep getting excited if you’re a Hawks fan, we are coming and growing and getting better.”
“Every game is good game experience for all our young players.”
🗣️ What they said - Greta Bodey
“Disappointing result, I think we played really good footy for three quarters and then credit to Richmond they wanted it more than us in the fourth quarter and they came away with the win, which is disappointing considering we started so well.”
“For Port Adelaide next round, we have a nine day break, so it will be really important that we start recovery well and if we play our way for the full four quarters I have full confidence we will get the job done next week. We just have to be diligent for all four quarters.”
 | A guest post by
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Tackling pressure was awesome
We are on the right path.