So.Much.Pride

The Hawks book their place in the finals during a very special round 🏳️‍🌈

Oct 15, 2024

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ROUND 7: HAWKS 11.8 (74) def EAGLES 1.2 (8)

📝 Main recap:

A massive 66-point win over West Coast at Frankston Oval has booked us a place in the finals for the first time ever in our AFLW history. Clear your calendar for the second weekend in November because we will be there.

The 66-point margin marks yet another record broken this season, as we achieved our biggest margin for the fourth time. It's also the first time we have ever held an opponent to a single-digit final score.

We rocked our beautiful rainbow hawk guernsey to celebrate Pride Round in style, designed by Hawks Tilly Lucas-Rodd and Louise Stephenson (who got to celebrate with two goals).

🌯 Wrapping up Round 6

We saw out the end of the compressed fixture and wrapped up our double-game Round 6 with a solid nine-point win over Fremantle after flying to Perth on a brutal four-day break.

Eliza West backed up her great game against Gold Coast with another best on ground performance. It's getting harder to understand how she got dropped from Melbourne's midfield in the 2023 finals series. She finished the day with 19 disposals, 13 tackles and one goal.

The win was only soured by a trio of injuries to Mackenzie Eardley (neck), Laura Stone (ankle) and Kristy Stratton (ankle), all of whom missed the game against West Coast.

🤩 Best on ground – Captain rises to the occasion

It was another great outing for our captain Emily Bates in a clear best on ground performance, collecting two goals, a team-high 22 disposals and a team-high 426 metres gained. It's no wonder she polled a perfect 10 votes in the AFLCA AFLW Champion Player of the Year voting.

👀 Things we like to see – Gilroy's tricksy trio

Aileen Gilroy kicked three brilliant goals: two on the run in the opening minutes of the first and third quarters and a post-siren set shot to seal the victory. She finished the day with three goals, 13 disposals, six score involvements and 392 metres gained.

👀 Things we like to see – McDonagh kicks career best

Fellow Irish player Áine McDonagh has now kicked a career-best 11 goals for the season, surpassing her previous record of 10 goals from last season. She's done it with three games still left to play for the season.

She currently sits in fifth place on the overall leaderboard for the AFLW Leading Goalkicker Award.

👀 Things we like to see – Frankston fortress

Despite its reputation for strong winds and therefore see-sawing momentum depending on kicking direction, we held firm at our Frankston fortress. We adapted well to conditions and refused to let the wind subdue us into a defensive mindset when we were kicking against it.

😇 Unsung hero – Jenna Richardson

In such a big season for the Hawks with lots to celebrate, there are lots of players who are getting lost in the shuffle even though they're playing their role well. Defender Jenna Richardson has been having an excellent season, proving to be an essential part of our backline.

She recorded 16 disposals and a career-best 12 intercepts against West Coast. She picked up her first votes for the year in the AFLCA AFLW Champion Player of the Year voting last week with three votes against Gold Coast, and another two this week against West Coast.

🪜 Ladder check in

We are currently sitting in second place on the ladder, only behind last year's runners up North Melbourne who are yet to lose a game. Can we finish out the season in the top four and give ourselves a double chance in finals?

We are also sitting in second place for the McClelland Trophy, the $1 million prize for the best-performing team across both the AFL men's and women's competitions. Brisbane currently lead on 114 points but we are not far behind on 112 points. It seems a shame that we will not play Brisbane in the women's home and away competition this season.

🆙⏭️ What's up next

It's another outing at Frankston Oval as we host the GWS Giants on Saturday afternoon (October 19, 1:05pm).

We have faced GWS once before, losing by one point at Henson Park in 2022 (Season 7). They have struggled so far this season, securing only a single win over the Western Bulldogs back in Round 1 and a frustrating draw with Gold Coast after leading for the majority of the game.

Defender Mackenzie Eardley will hopefully return to the side after sustaining a concussion against Fremantle in Perth and missing the West Coast game.

Players to watch include reigning club Best and Fairest and league Rising Star winner Zarlie Goldsworthy and inaugural Giant and current captain Rebecca Beeson.

Stay tuned to HI for more AFLW and post season coverage including the PCM.

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