Suns cop spray en route to scrappy AFLW win over Port

Justin Chadwick |

Gold Coast have recorded a gritty win in tough conditions on the road against Port Adelaide.
Gold Coast have recorded a gritty win in tough conditions on the road against Port Adelaide.

Daisy D’Arcy has produced a dazzling display as Gold Coast’s band of youngsters posted a three-point AFLW victory over Port Adelaide in a three-goal thriller.

And over in Brisbane, the Lions bounced back from last week’s 56-point loss to Melbourne with a 31-point win over GWS at Brighton Homes Arena on Saturday.

D’Arcy racked up 34 disposals and 694m gained as the Suns, featuring nine first-year players, posted their second win of the season with a 2.5 (17) to 1.8 (14) victory at Alberton Oval.

Gemma Houghton scored Port Adelaide’s only goal of the match at the nine-minute mark of the opening quarter, with the Power held to just six behinds for the rest of the contest.

(L-R) Abbey Dowrick and Anne Hatchard.
Port couldn’t get going on home soil and lost a tight one against Gold Coast. (Matt Turner/AAP PHOTOS)

Sunny Lapin scored Gold Coast’s first goal in the opening term with a nice effort on the run, but the Suns trailed until Havana Harris kicked truly at the 11-minute mark of the third quarter.

It would prove to be the match-winning goal, with neither side able to score a major in the final term as the blustery conditions took their toll. 

Port had one final chance to win the match with 30 seconds remaining, but Gold Coast were able to spoil what looked set to be a certain mark.

D’Arcy was the standout player, but received plenty of help from Niamh McLaughlin (24 disposals) and Charlie Rowbottom (22 disposals, 11 tackles).

Suns coach Rhys Shaw gave a rare blast at quarter-time, and his side responded by scraping out the gritty win.

“We copped a spray, but that’s what we need sometimes,” D’Arcy told Fox Footy.

“The message was to go out and play our game of footy. Obviously the weather conditions meant it was going to be scrappy.

“The spray was to put our head down and get to it. I thought we did that well. I’m super proud of the girls to get the win and put the head down.”

Rhyce Shaw.
Rhyce Shaw didn’t like what he was watching at Alberton Oval and let his Suns know. (Matt Turner/AAP PHOTOS)

Abbey Dowrick racked up seven clearances from 15 disposals for Port, while Maria Moloney finished with 17 disposals, four clearances and 10 tackles.

The Power’s Matilda Scholz was a force in the ruck with 15 disposals and 20 hitouts.

The result left both Gold Coast and Port with 2-2 records.

Lions win.
The Lions were in full voice after their 31-point win over the Giants in Brisbane. (Jono Searle/AAP PHOTOS)

The Lions also moved to 2-2 with a dominant victory over the Giants (1-3) in Brisbane.

Shanae Davison kicked two goals, Orla O’Dwyer racked up 21 disposals and a goal and Isabel Dawes (20 disposals, eight clearances) also impressed as the Lions won 7.13 (55) to 3.6 (24) in slippery conditions.

Alyce Parker was prominent for the Giants with 31 disposals, five clearances and 501m gained, while Rebecca Beeson was also busy with 25 disposals and seven clearances.

AAP