McLeod injury sours Dogs’ AFLW win
Shayne Hope |
A horror ankle injury to Kirsten McLeod has taken the gloss off the Western Bulldogs’ dominant 32-point AFLW win over West Coast.
Kirsty Lamb, Sarah Hartwig and Deanna Berry shone as the Bulldogs posted an 8.7 (55) to 3.5 (23) victory on Saturday that all but locked in their finals spot.
But they were a player down in the opening stages when McLeod – playing her first game since March last year because of concussion issues – badly twisted her left ankle in a tackle.
The game stopped for several minutes while the 28-year-old forward was assessed by medical staff and helped off the field at Perth’s Mineral Resources Park.
“For her to go down in her very first contest is just cruel,” Bulldogs coach Nathan Burke said.
“She’s off to hospital … we’ll use her as a fair bit of inspiration for the rest of the year.”
The Bulldogs quickly composed themselves, kicking three unanswered goals in the first quarter to grab the early ascendancy.
Lamb (21 disposals), Berry (14, two goals), Hartwig (two goals) and Celine Moody (19 disposals) were all prominent in the crucial victory.
It put the eighth-placed Bulldogs one win and percentage clear of Gold Coast with one home-and-away round left to play.
If confirmed, it will be their first finals appearance since snaring the 2018 premiership and first in Burke’s four seasons at the helm.
“The last couple of years we were thereabouts but in the end we were waiting for other teams to lose,” Burke said.
“That’s not a good position to be in.
“(This season) the ball’s in our court and if we’re good enough to beat Carlton (in round 10) then we’ll keep playing.”
The Bulldogs gave West Coast little space and out-tackled their hosts 61-37, denying the Eagles a goal until late in the third quarter.
The drought-breaker came when Moody was harshly penalised for holding the ball and voiced her displeasure with the umpire.
Moody copped a pair of 50-metre penalties as a result, gifting Isabella Lewis an easy shot from the goal square after the initial contest on the wing.
Ashleigh Gomes added a second for the Eagles on her debut and Eleanor Hartill rolled through a superb snap from the pocket.
Emma Swanson (28 disposals), Belinda Smith (23) and Lewis (22, one goal) played well for West Coast, who are out of finals contention.
“The challenge for us is to find ways to score more,” Eagles coach Michael Prior said.
“We’re getting opportunities but we’re not converting in front of goal and then sides are just going inside our D50 and scoring quite easily.
“It’s something we need to look at and fix and get on top of pretty soon.”
AAP
