Lions beat Pies, seal Demons qualifying final clash
Anna Harrington |
Brisbane have avoided an AFLW qualifying final against undefeated North Melbourne and will instead play Melbourne after sealing third place with an 20-point win over Collingwood.
With their 6.16 (52) to 5.2 (32) victory at Victoria Park on Sunday, the Lions leapfrogged Hawthorn into third place, meaning the Hawks, who lost to North on Friday night, will face them again next week.
On a seven-game winning run after losing two of their opening three games, Brisbane beat Melbourne at home by nine points last week and will take confidence heading into next week.
“Really good home and away season – didn’t start the way we wanted but feels like finished the way we wanted with a few good wins,” midfielder Belle Dawes told the Seven Network.
“We didn’t have a lot of belief from other people and people always write us off, but I think we feed off that and over the last few weeks, the belief’s strong.”
Teammate Orla O’Dwyer added: “What really makes a difference is we’ve played together for so long, so we knew we’d come right.”
In Shannon Campbell’s 100th AFLW game, Craig Starcevich’s side were dominant all day, with only poor goal kicking and delivery inside 50 letting them down.
The Magpies suffered a pre-game setback with Brit Bonnici (ankle) ruled out of the match, while youngster Lucy Cronin was in tears after a potentially serious left knee injury in the third quarter.
Ruck Tahlia Hickie (20 hitouts, 20 disposals, four clearances) had plenty of the ball and gave first use to the Lions’ midfield.
Sophie Conway (19 disposals), Ally Anderson (26 disposals, six clearances), Charlotte Mullins (26 disposals), Dawes (23 disposals, six clearances) and Orla O’Dwyer (21 disposals) were all influential.
In her 75th game, Irishwoman Sarah Rowe (20 disposals) was Collingwood’s best, with support from Airlie Runnalls (20 disposals) and Tarni White (10 intercept possessions).
Collingwood got off to the perfect start when Sabrina Frederick clunked a huge contested mark and kicked truly.
The Lions got on top and snagged the next two goals to lead by seven at quarter-time.
Brisbane were clearly dominant from there but incredibly wasteful in front of goal, with key forward Dakota Davidson among those battling with the wind.
The Lions kicked 1.6 for the quarter to lead by 19 at halftime, and were up by 18 at the final change.
The Magpies fought out their final game of the season before Davidson (1.4) finally kicked a goal to seal victory in her 75th match.
Tempers flared on the final siren after Jordyn Allen knocked over Ruby Svarc, but Dawes dismissed it as “just a little bit of push and shove”.
AAP
