AFLW Round 2 – Melbourne v Adelaide: Mighty Melbourne steamroll reigning premiers

Melbourne v Adelaide

5.05pm, Saturday 10 February

Casey Fields, Melbourne

 

I have a confession – I cheated on my beloved Dees.

 

It’s the quandary that befalls many a sports fan; choosing which sporting event to attend, and cheer wholeheartedly while knowing that there is another team that could do with your support. For me, choosing to go to the Australia v England T20 match rather than watching the Dees wasn’t one that I regretted, especially knowing that I could stream the game from my seat in the MCG. Or at least follow the scores.

 

While we waited for the Aussies to take on the Poms (more on that game another time), I not-so-quietly kept my mates abreast of what was happening down at Casey. While the first quarter had me nervous, with each refresh of the AFLW app my confidence grew. The Dees could do this. They could beat the reigning premiers.

 

Knowing the final score, I was very relaxed while watching the game later on. With no nerves, it meant that I could keep an eye on the tactics employed. From the first bounce it became clear that this would be a game that would be won by the team that was direct as possible, given the strong Casey wind. The Dees didn’t make the most of the the first quarter with the wind advantage, although it took 29 seconds for the ball to find its way into the arms of Mifsud, who subsequently pushed the ball wide for the first score of the game. The intensity in the forward line, corralling the Crows into the pocket multiple times, showed the team from Adelaide that they weren’t going to get easy possessions at all.

 

Paxman has again proved that she is one of the most valuable players for the team, if not the league, and seemed like she was everywhere. The goal from Aleisha Newman in the first quarter is definitely worthy of all the acclaim, as it was a goal that seemingly came out of nowhere and showed speed and finesse to slot it home. However, that was the only goal to quarter time.

 

What impressed me the most about the Dees this week is that they were able to score significantly when the conditions were against them. In the second quarter, they were able to kick four goals – intensity was the major contributor to ensure effective entries into 50. Not surprisingly, it was the combination of O’Dea, Pearce and Paxman to create the pressure that ensured the Dees win.

 

Other highlights for me included the Hickey goal from on the 50 arc, bouncing through an unguarded goal square at the start of the third term. Cunningham kicking two also showed that the Dees had many options up forward, and Cranston backed up a brilliant start to the season with another solid game. It’s important to note that the Crows were without two of their key playmakers, in Phillips and Cramey, but even so, the Crows were denied scoring opportunities by a very impressive Dees half-back line. I was looking forward to seeing Perkins kick a few, but she was well held and had few chances to score.

 

Next round, the Dees take on Fremantle, the first of their away games for the season. If the Melbourne team brings the same game play to that game, another win is on the cards. And this time, I will be watching live (from on the couch), without another sporting event to distract me.

 

Melbourne 1.1 5.2 7.4 8.8 (56)

Adelaide 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 (24)

 

GOALS

Melbourne: Cunningham 2, Newman 2, Scott, L Pearce, Hickey, Cranston

Adelaide: Holmes, Hewett, Wallace, McCormick

 

BEST

Melbourne: O’Dea, Paxman, Mithen, D Pearce, Hore

Adelaide: Marinoff, Randall, Cox

 

OUR VOTES: Paxman (Melb) 3, Cunningham (Melb) 2, Marinoff (Adel), 1

About Cat Jones

When I'm not busy teaching secondary students, I'm thinking about sport. Hopeful of a Demons premiership.

Comments

  1. Yvette Wroby says

    Thanks for your report Cat. I won’t tell the Dees if you don’t! There is so much sport happening that it’s easy to cheat!

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