Lions confident Conway will be ready for AFLW finals
Roger Vaughan |
Sophie Conway is expected to play in Brisbane’s AFLW qualifying final against Hawthorn after she gave the Lions a major scare with a shoulder injury.
The midfielder had starred on Sunday at Moorabbin before leaving the field in the last term of the 27-point win over St Kilda.
But coach Craig Starcevich was confident after the 10.8 (68) to 6.5 (41) win, saying it appeared to be a low-grade “stinger” that would not put Conway out of action.
“There are a few beaten up today,” Starcevich said. “It was a tough game, physically, which is actually good preparation (for the finals).
“They tell me it’s nothing major (with Conway). Those types of things, you might end up with a low-grade A/C sprain. Hopefully that’s all it is.”
Kicking with a solid southerly, the reigning premiers killed off St Kilda at the start of the third term with a four-goal burst.
But the Saints returned the favour in the last quarter with four goals to nil.
Hawthorn’s win over Richmond later on Sunday confirmed the Hawks will host the Lions next weekend in a qualifying final.
The Hawks’ win also meant they won the McLelland Trophy and $1 million ahead of Brisbane for the best combined AFL/AFLW seasons.
Starcevich was unfussed about being on the road again next weekend..
“Our team actually prefer that,” he said. “They get away and perform pretty well when they’re on the road, in most cases.
“It’s an exciting November coming up and we’ve kicked off on the right step.”
For the first time next weekend, Starcevich will coach against his former assistant Daniel Webster, who has led the Hawks to a breakout season and their first top-eight finish.
“Everything is a bonus for them right now, so there’s a little bit of that with them, and maybe a bit of expectation with us,” Starcevich said.
“I know how he thinks, he knows how I think – it’s going to be entertaining footy, for sure.”
The Lions kicked four goals to one in the first quarter and Starcevich agreed that was important, given their slow start was a key factor in the upset loss to Geelong a fortnight ago.
“We’re hell-bent on not looking like that again. We’ve been talking about that for a fortnight,” he said.
“It’s nice to have a little wake-up lesson a couple of weeks out from the finals.”
Conway kicked two goals and had 27 possessions in the midfield, while Belle Dawes (20 disposals, nine tackles) also impressed.
Taylor Smith’s two goals in the first term took her to 21 for the season, level with breakout Geelong star Aishling Moloney at the top of the goalkicking table.
Jesse Wardlaw kicked two goals for St Kilda and star onballer Jaimee Lambert had 22 disposals.
St Kilda veteran Steph Chiocci, the inaugural Collingwood AFLW captain, announced her retirement on Sunday.
“Her football knowledge and the way she invests in her teammates – she gives so much more than she gets back,” Saints coach Nick Dal Santo said of Chiocci.
AAP