AFLW Round 2 – Fremantle v Brisbane: Way out west the Lions stand tall

Way out west the Lions stand tall

Fremantle versus Brisbane

4.05pm, Sunday 12th February
Fremantle Oval

Andrew Weiss

 

Round one of the inaugural season of the AFLW started off with a bang last weekend in many different ways. Big marks occurred with big hits and goals happening in front of big grounds. Even mother nature made a bang by stopping the Brisbane v Melbourne game late in the second quarter with lightning striking dangerously close to the oval. What would occur in round two had many football followers excited and intrigued.

 

The Brisbane Lions women’s team also started off with a bang last week beating their more fancied opponent Melbourne in wet and windy conditions. Many experts have predicted that the Brisbane Lions women’s team would struggle in the competition with the squad mainly consisting of Queenslander. The draw for the Lions at the start of the year was tough, with the season starting off with two away games, the second one seeing them travelling over to Perth to play the highly fancied Fremantle team. The Brisbane Lions team will probably travel more in their first two games of the season, than what the Collingwood men’s team will all season. Will this affect their chances of another upset. I guess only time will tell.

 

When the teams are named Kim Mickle who competed in the javelin at the Rio Olympics last year is included in the Dockers team. Kim starts the game well with two strong tackles within the first couple of minutes while Tayla Harris for the Lions takes two great grabs showing everyone why see is one of the marquee players in the women’s competition this year. It looks like the travel has not affected Brisbane as they start well, tackling and running hard, which sees them score the first goal through a neat snap on the boundary line by Jessica Wuetschner. The rest of the first quarter is tight with both teams showing good running footy and even though the skills are down at times it is great to watch two teams that are not afraid to try things that are maybe a little unconventional in order keep the ball moving. A silly 50 metre penalty by Sharni Webb of the Lions sees Fremantle’s O’Sullivan score a late goal. The Lions are up by a point at quarter time.

 

Even though the Dockers have the wind in the second quarter it is the Lions that start better. The Lion twin towers up forward Tayla Harris and Western Australian player Sabrina Frederick-Traub are focal targets and Emily Bates is continuing her good first round form collecting many possessions around the stoppages. After having control of the match in the first five minutes of the second quarter, another silly 50 metre penalty by the Lions enables the Dockers Taylah Bresland to score an easy goal and the momentum swings the Dockers way. They move the ball quickly and are first to the ball. When Stacey Barr kicks a great 40 metre goal the Dockers have a handy lead. It looks like the Dockers are going to have a substantial lead at the half time break, but the Lions fight back. A great snap goal in the middle of the forward line by Sabrina Frederick-Traub and then another strong grab and beautiful kick by Tayla Harris that sees the sherrin go through the two big white sticks enable the Lions to grab back the lead which they hold onto at half time.

 

It has been a great first half which I have thoroughly enjoyed. What a great way to spend a Sunday evening watching these girls who are so passionate about their footy putting on a great contest. You can see they love playing and it is so good to see these girls be able to do what they have wanted to do for so long – play high level AFL in a national women’s competition. It is a unique competition and hearing the air raid like siren at the start and end of each quarter gives it even more uniqueness.

 

Again the Lions start well at the beginning of the third quarter with Kaitlyn Ashmore being a livewire and Jess Wuetschner kicking her second goal to open up a 9-point break. Could the Lions get their second win on the road? I’m getting excited and cheering these girls on even though I am over 3000km away. It is such a tight contest with kicks being desperately smothered, crunching tackles, strong pack marks around the ground and desperation at every contest. Towards the end of the quarter Taylah Harris has a quick snap from a ruck contest that just misses. If it went through for a goal the Lions would have a handy break, but at three quarter time they are only 9 points up, with Fremantle having the breeze behind them in the last.

 

The Dockers start the final quarter the better team with plenty of run. Have the Lions run out of legs? Is travelling in the first two weeks taking its toll? The Dockers pepper the goals to kick three points to make it a one goal game half way through the last quarter. The Lions are under the pump and defending with every ounce of energy they have. Tayla Harris has taken some huge grabs in the Lions defence and when she takes another pack mark 40 metres out from the Lions goal with just over a minute to go it seems like it will be game over. She just needs to score. She goes back and just like another Brisbane champion Jonathan Brown, Tayla kicks the goal with the calmness of a quality player. The Lions will win even though they have been the underdog for the second week in a row. Tayla Harris and her marking has been the difference in the last quarter. She will be a champion player of the AFLW.

 

What a win. What a contest. How exciting was that? There is hope for Lions supporters this year and even though the Lions men’s team will struggle, what a breath of fresh air the Lions women’s team has been for this supporter.

 

Go LIONS !

  

Fremantle       1.1       3.1       3.2       3.5       (23)

Brisbane          1.2       3.3       4.5       5.6       (36)

 

GOALS

Brisbane: Wuetschner 2, Harris 2, Frederick-Traub 
Fremantle: O’Sullivan, Bresland, Barr

 

BEST

Brisbane: Harris, Frederick-Traub, Virgo, Wuetschner, Hunt, Bates 
Fremantle: Hooker, Bentley, Filocamo, O’Sullivan, Donnellan, Bresland

 

Official crowd: 10,000 at Fremantle Oval

 

OUR VOTES Harris (Bris) 3, Hooker (Fre) 2, Bates (Bris) 1.