Roos seal AFLW minor premiership as Blues star injured
Sebastian Tan |
Jasmine Garner has spearheaded North Melbourne to a third consecutive AFLW minor premiership in a rousing 68-point victory over Richmond.
Knowing a win would make the Kangaroos the first team to top the ladder three straight times, the captain sparkled in her team’s 15.11 (101) to 5.3 (33) thumping at Windy Hill on Saturday.
Her 28 disposals and one goal contribution firmed her position for the league’s best and fairest award with the star midfielder playing an integral role in helping North finish their campaign 11-1.
The Roos will certainly be the team to beat in the finals series as they’ve won their games by an average of 43.3 points and thrashed the second-placed Geelong by 73 points earlier in the year.
Richmond did provide a scare when they kicked two of the first three goals, but the visitors found a new gear, booting the next seven majors to put them in the box seat for victory.
Midfielder Ash Riddell (32 disposals) was typically inspirational, along with forward Tahlia Randall (three goals), while Monique Conti (33 disposals) was busy for the Tigers.
Elsewhere, Carlton will be sweating on the fitness of star midfielder Claudia Whitford, who was taken off in their 6.4 (40) to 5.5 (35) win against Brisbane at Brighton Homes Arena.
Whitford was ruled out in the first half with a hamstring issue in what could potentially be a hammering for the Blues’ premiership hopes as she’s played a huge role in their finals push.
It soured their comeback victory, where Carlton (9-3) started slowly but scored five of the final six goals to move into fourth position on the ladder.
Off-the-field, a spokesperson for the AFL confirmed to AAP that Cats forward Rachel Kearns’s viral double solo against the Western Bulldogs on Friday was illegal.
A solo is a Gaelic football skill which involves a player kicking the ball to themselves while running, and essentially replaces a bounce.
But the spokesperson said that solos don’t count as a bounce in the AFL and the Bulldogs should have been paid a free kick as Kearns’s blistering run exceeded the 15m threshold.
Gold Coast have also been slapped with a $10,000 suspended sanction.
Dekota Baron left their round 11 clash after copping a head knock, and the forward returned to the field although she hadn’t been given the green light from the AFL Review Centre (ARC) to come back.
A spokesperson for the Suns said the communication from the ARC was not immediately seen, and once they received the information, Baron was taken off.
At RSEA Park, St Kilda were left devastated after their wooden spoon finish was virtually cemented in a weather-affected 7.9 (51) to 7.3 (45) loss to Port Adelaide.
The result ended the Saints’ (1-11) tumultuous season whose coach, Nick Dal Santo, stepped down midway through the campaign, and the club is independently reviewing the program.
But the Power won’t celebrate the result too wildly either, as they needed a huge victory to put themselves in finals contention.
Although they are equal on points with the eighth-placed Hawthorn (24), Port have a significantly lower percentage, meaning 2022 All-Australian Kirsty Lamb and captain Justine Mules-Robinson won’t get to end their glittering careers with a finals appearance.
AAP