Magpies unbeaten streak over as Dockers make statement
FREMANTLE 5.8 (38) d COLLINGWOOD 1.1 (7)
This had shaped as one of the more exciting matches of round four but the defensive nature of what became a tackle-fest between Fremantle and Collingwood meant it was one to quickly forget.
The Dockers left Victoria Park happy on Thursday evening, having snapped the Magpies' seven-game winning streak at home since 2020 with a 31-point win. The visitors remain one of three unbeaten teams, while this was the Magpies' first defeat of the season.
Collingwood's Mikala Cann takes on Kiara Bowers of the Dockers.Credit:Getty Images
That Fremantle coach Scott Cooper said at quarter-time he thought four goals would be enough to win this match (the Dockers ultimately booted five) should have league officials worried, for AFLW is at its best when it's a free-flowing, creative contest leading to goals, surely creating wider spectator and television viewer interest.
Admittedly, the contest was tight on the scoreboard until three-quarter-time, but the ball lived for the majority of the match in the Dockers' forward half, with the Magpies flooding back. The Dockers held a 32-7 inside-50 count to three-quarter-time (40-10 by the final siren) but had only two goals to show for it. This from a team averaging almost 60 points per game - a league high.
The Magpies were resolute but conceded three majors in the final term. They did not score again themselves after Brittany Bonnici had opened their account at the eight-minute mark of the second term. They had a scare when star playmaker Jamiee Lambert rolled an ankle in the third term. She finished with 18 disposals but couldn't deliver a game-breaking moment.
Makaela Tuhakaraina of the Dockers and Alana Porter of the Magpies battle for the ball.Credit:Getty Images
This was not an evening for forwards. Star Magpie Chloe Molloy, having booted two goals against the Cats last week, was goalless and restricted to only two touches. Aine Tighe was excellent in defence for the Dockers and had the better of Sabrina Frederick.
The Dockers won the tackle count 76-49, the overall number highlighting the stop-start nature of the match, along with almost 20 holding-the-ball decisions.
The hard-running Kiara Bowers had a game-high 26 touches and was instrumental in the Dockers' rise. "My mids give me a lot of the ball, so it's them, not only me," she said.
YOUNG AND THE NOT SO OLD
The ruck battle between Magpies' veteran Alison Downie and young Docker Mim Strom was an intriguing sub plot, with each finishing with 16 hit-outs. Downie, the former WNBL star and Blues' ruck, is 37 and in her first season with the Magpies. Strom, only 20, is seen as arguably the most important player in the Dockers' premiership hopes, and her strong partnership with AFLW best and fairest Kiara Bowers was again on show.
DROUGHT BREAKER
Bonnici swooped on a loose ball to give the Magpies their only major of the afternoon, coming midway through the second term. She was full of joy, understandably for it not only provided a belated reward for her side but it was her first goal in four years. However, the Dockers responded quickly, with star skipper Hayley Miller, who has polled AFL Coaches Association votes in every match this season, responding with a terrific snap.
LEAVING AN IMPRINT
The opening term became a grind with only one combined goal but Dockers forward Rozanne Roux left a mark - literally. The clever forward booted the lone goal, a set shot from 40 metres, and later hauled in a contested mark at full stretch on the wing.
FREMANTLE 1.1 2.3 2.7 5.8 (38)
COLLINGWOOD 0.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 (7)
GOALS
Fremantle: Miller 2, Roux, Houghton, E. Antonio.
Collingwood: Bonnici.
BEST
Fremantle: Miller, Bowers, Tighe, Roux.
Collingwood: Bonnici, Lambert, Rowe, Schleicher.
CROWD: 1257 at Victoria Park.
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