The Adelaide Crows have crunched the Fremantle Dockers in a hot and humid Darwin during Round 4 of the AFLW season.
With the heat policy in full effect thanks to the humidity being north of the 70 per cent mark, the Crows were the better team, almost from siren to siren as Erin Phillips led the way for Adelaide, who put in a complete team performance.
It was hard to pick out a poor player for the Crows, and apart from a short stretch during the second quarter where they let in back to back goals and were left ruing their only sloppiness in front of goal, they dominated the midfield and gave their forwards ample opportunity to put a struggling Dockers outfit away.
Final score
Adelaide Crows 9.11.65
Fremanlte Dockers 3.5.23
The AFLW heads to Darwin in Round 4, with a crucial Conference A clash which could have enormous finals ramifications as the Adelaide Crows host the Fremantle Dockers. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 9:35pm (AEDT).
The Crows might have lost their opening game against one of the competition heavyweights in the Western Bulldogs away from home, but since then, they have been perfect.
Led by an in-form Stevie-Lee Thompson, who has found a home kicking goals, and Erin Phillips’ usual domination, the Adelaide-based outfit have won their last two matches comprehensively.
They did survive the first half against the Carlton Blues, but when things got dialled up, they came out and put a huge run on to take the game, before they hammered the Geelong Cats last weekend.
The win over the Cats was an excellent result for the Crows, but they need to keep winning if they want to advance to the semi-finals out of a competitive Conference A.
As mentioned, this is crucial for finals aspirations, with the Dockers currently only one of two undefeated teams. If they win here and stretch that run to four wins, it’ll take some pressure off. A loss for the Crows, on the other hand, makes things extremely tough.
The Dockers have had two fairly big wins over the Brisbane Lions and winless Collingwood Magpies in the last two weeks, but the intensity in defence from the Crows will be unlike anything they have seen this year so far, so unless the likes of Kara Donellan and Parris Laurie can stand up to dominate the game in the middle, they will struggle to score points.
Prediction
The Dockers might be undefeated, but the Crows are nearly so, and on the back of a couple of wins against good opposition, I expect them to hand the Dockers their first loss of the season and surge towards the top two in Conference A.
Crows by 12.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of this AFLW clash from 9:35pm (AEDT) and don’t forget to get involved by adding a comment in the section below.
First bounce: 9:35pm (AEDT)
Venue: TIO Stadium, Darwin
TV: Live, Fox Footy, 7Mate (WA/SA only)
Online: Live, Foxtel app, Foxtel now, Kayo Sports, Plus 7 (WA/SA only)
Betting: Crows $1.80, Dockers $2
Adelaide Crows
B: 31. Dayna Cox, 39. Sarah Allan, 26. Chelsea Randall
HB: 9. Deni Varnhagen, 32. Marjiana Rajcic, 23. Justin Mules
C: 10. Ebony Marinoff
HF: 3. Angela Foley, 22. Courtney Cramey, 16. Ailish Considine
F: 2, 13. Erin Phillips (c), 27. Renee Forth
FOLL: 24. Jessica Foley, 33. Anne Hatchard, 14. Stevie-Lee Thompson
I/C: 5. Jenna McCormick, 19. Sophi Li, 6. Hannah Martin, 8. , 15. Danielle Ponter
EMG: 7. Nikki Gore, 28. Sarah Perkins
Fremantle Dockers
B: 8. Evangeline Gooch, 32. Laura Pugh, 24. Angelique Stannett
HB: 9. Alex Williams, 12. Ebony Antonio, 15. Kara Donnellan (c)
C: 18. Philip Seth
HF: 27. Gemma Houghton, 1. Ashley Sharp, 22. Gabby O’Sullivan
F: 2. Kiara Bowers, 21. Kellie Gibson, 10. Melissa Caulfield
FOLL: 11. Parris Laurie, 17. Dana Hooker, 20. Stephani Cain
I/C: 5. , 13. Katie-Jayne Grieve, 37. Ashlee Atkins, 4. Courtney Stubbs, 6. Sabreena Duffy
EMG: 14. Leah Mascall, 7. Jasmin Stewart
Martyn50
Roar Rookie
Can anyone tell me where i can find the attendance figures for AFLW games and possible TV numbers. Look good
Scott Pryde
Expert
Thanks Joe
Gary
Roar Rookie
Yeah, looked like a different team today.
Gary
Roar Rookie
Cheers Scott, good effort!
Gary
Roar Rookie
Adelaide showed us what 4 qtrs looks like... Freo were in at 3qtr time, but just couldn't get/retain much of the ball. Freo play WB at home next week, then Geelong away and NM at home in last round. Destiny is in our hands... can't drop any more games though.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Thanks for joining me this evening on The Roar for our live coverage of the 2019 AFLW season. Hopefully you enjoyed the coverage. I'll be back tomorrow from 10:20am (AEDT) for Game 2 of the women's ODI series between Australia and New Zealand, while Lachlan Ballingall will have the AFLW double-header from 2:05pm (AEDT) in what is a big Sunday of sports. Bye for now.
Jordan Klingsporn
Roar Guru
What happened to the fast, free footy that we saw in the first 3 weeks from Freo?
Scott Pryde
Expert
Thoughts on the match Roarers?
Scott Pryde
Expert
FULLTIME The Adelaide Crows have crunched the Fremantle Dockers in a hot and humid Darwin during Round 4 of the AFLW season. With the heat policy in full effect thanks to the humidity being north of the 70 per cent mark, the Crows were the better team, almost from siren to siren as Erin Phillips led the way for Adelaide, who put in a complete team performance. It was hard to pick out a poor player for the Crows, and apart from a short stretch during the second quarter where they let in back to back goals and were left ruing their only sloppiness in front of goal, they dominated the midfield and gave their forwards ample opportunity to put a struggling Dockers outfit away. Crows 9.11 (65) Dockers 3.5 (23)
Scott Pryde
Expert
FULLTIME
The clearance has plenty of distance to it and the Crows have a kick up the wing, but with time running down, it’ll be a boundary throw in about 45 away. Stevie-Lee Thompson is able to bang through a behind just before the siren, and the Crows have run out big 42-point winners over the Dockers in Darwin.
An excellent performance in the fourth quarter, where they outscored the Dockers by 32-3.
Crows 9.11 (65)
Dockers 3.5 (23)
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 0' Back underway, and still in the Dockers 50 as we head inside the final minute. Very scrappy now with stoppages everywhere, but Freo win the free kick. That comes to nothing, and the Crows will clear Crows 9.10 (64) Dockers 3.5 (23)
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 1' Eloise Jones copped a pretty big bump there in defence. She looks to be concussed and is heading off in the arms of the medicos. Crows 9.10 (64) Dockers 3.5 (23)
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 1' - BEHIND DOCKERS Time running away from this game now, and given how important percentage is going to be, the Crows won't want to concede or stop attacking here. Inside 50 go the Dockers though and Gibson takes a great contested mark. Her shot is a shocker though and just sneaks through for a point. Crows 9.10 (64) Dockers 3.5 (23)
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 2' - GOAL CROWS, ERIN PHILLIPS Another failed exit kick, and the Crows are storming away now. Phillips takes the mark off to the left and she will put the goal through from a tight angle near the boundary. Crows 9.10 (64) Dockers 3.4 (22)
Kim Nawell
Guest
Not sure I'm convinced with the standard of women football. Seems some players can hold a mark but most can't, some players can pick up a loose ball on the run but most can't, some players have football smarts but most don't. I remember that first televised game and thought wow this is great. Theres a big gap between the best forty players in the the country and the rest. It seems the skill they all have is tackling but then again they are so slow at getting rid of the ball. Kicking skills are overall reasonable. Freo have that exiting running game but only occasionally. Switching attack across the ground seems to be a concept alien to the players. I think the issue is that most of them are netball/basketball players that didnt grow up playing football so once the next generation comes through it will be very entertaining. Right now only the highlights are really worth watching for far dikum AFL fans. I reckon a good boys under fourteen side would smash teams like Freo. Sorry Freo no Flag this year.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 3' - BEHIND CROWS Randall now tries to bang a shot in from 45 out. That bounces through to the left for a behind. Crows 8.10 (58) Dockers 3.4 (22)
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 3' Jee, the Crows have just dominated these clearances. Riley got some space there, but the defence shut her down and she will be pinged for holding the ball, so good defence on that occasion from a struggling Fremantle outfit with this game already gone. Crows 8.9 (57) Dockers 3.4 (22)
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 4' - GOAL CROWS, STEVIE-LEE THOMPSON Phillips gets it out of the stoppage, then she throws it on the boot off balance. The kick had nothing on it, and after a clearance, the ball comes straight back and Stevie Lee Thompson is taken with a high tackle. Free kick just to the right and Thompson makes no mistake. Crows 8.9 (57) Dockers 3.4 (22)
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 5' Poor clearance from the Dockers, then it's Hatchard breaking a tackle and handing off to Foley who misses the kick on goal. The boundary throw sees the ball come straight back, but Donnellan is there to cause a stoppage just outside the goal square this time. Crows 7.9 (51) Dockers 3.4 (22)
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 6' Sarah Allan goes forward, then it's Foley up the field, only for the kick inside 50 to be taken by Antonio with a great gran in defence. Her kick to Gooch is taken away by Stevie-Lee Thompson, then the ball is out of bounds at the forward pocket. Crows 7.9 (51) Dockers 3.4 (22)