AFLW score record SHATTERED; Daisy ‘masterclass’ sparks wild 34pt turnaround win — Wrap

A breathtaking fourth-quarter blitz has lifted West Coast to a stirring comeback win over St Kilda.

Plus Sydney remains undefeated, while a Crows star had a perfect Indigenous Round moment.

Check out all the results from Saturday’s action in the AFLW wrap!

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AFLW RECORD SCORE SHATTERED AS POWER DUO STAR

At 0-2, Yartapuulti’s season needed a spark and it arrived at Alberton Oval on Saturday in the form of 19-year-old midfielder Shineah Goody.

Moved from the wing and onto the ball, Goody was on a mission from the opening bounce as she won the first clearance of the game on the way to an explosive opening term which helped set up the Power’s AFLW record score and first win of the year.

Bravely going back with the flight of the ball in the opening minutes, Goody ran onto a loose ball and into an open goal to start the charge.

Moments later she put her body on the line by forcing a spoil on the wing, taking heavy punishment but forcing a turnover which led to Matilda Scholz’s first goal.

Goody tallied eight disposals, two clearances and a goal in the first quarter, to finish with 19 touches for the game as Yartapuulti registered their highest ever AFLW score.

The Power’s tally of 16.12 (108) was also the highest AFLW score ever kicked in their 68-point thumping of Gold Coast.

Star young ruck Matilda Scholz reached deep into her bag of party tricks on Saturday with a brilliant goal from the boundary.

After getting her eye in with a set shot goal, Scholz took possession hard up against the boundary, took aim and slotted it through with a classy drop punt on the run from 30m.

It was the highlight of yet another dominant performance from the 20-year-old whose contested marking was as much a feature of her game as her crafty tap work in the ruck.

Scholz finished with 22 disposals, constantly surging the ball forward by either taking it out of the ruck or charging through her opponents.

She wasn’t the only one with a trick up her sleeve. Yartapuulti’s seventh goal came from a no-look handball from Ash Woodland over her head in the pocket to Gemma Houghton, who found captain Justine Mules-Robinson made no mistake from the pocket.

Having struggled to find multiple avenues to goal in the opening two games of the season, Yartapuulti reversed the trend against the Suns at Alberton.

Indy Tahau was moved from defence into attack and her kick set up Scholz’s first goal, before kicking one herself from long range and finishing with three for the game.

Ella Heads was lively across half-forward, providing a marking target and set up a goal to Houghton – the 80th of her AFLW career – as she sprang to life in the second term.

Houghton kicked two goals in two minutes, finishing with 4.5 for the game, and they came in different ways either on the run, from a mark and set shot or applying tackling pressure to win a free kick.

Pleasingly for coach Lauren Arnell, Yartapuulti had a spread of eight goal kickers in a dominant showing.

Already without Claudia Whitford who was a late scratching due to a calf concern pre-game, things went from bad to worse on the injury front for Gold Coast as they lost two defenders in the first quarter.

Charlotte Wilson limped off with a knee injury and was later ruled out, and Meara Girvan was placed into the concussion protocol after a heavy collision in a marking contest.

Compounding their woes, Charlie Rowbottom appeared to hurt her shoulder and came to the bench, but was able to return with it strapped.

The Suns registered their first goal almost 10 minutes into the second quarter through Tayla Gregory but were never really in the contest.

Niamh McLaughlin provided some pace through the middle of the ground and Havana Harris never stopped fighting, winning the footy at both ends of the ground, but the Suns were out-classed and are still searching for their first win of the season.

ROBERTS RUNS RIOT IN STUNNING EAGLES SURGE

An Ella Roberts-inspired West Coast have fought back from 18 points down late in the third quarter to run over the top of St Kilda and storm home to a memorable 14-point win at Moorabbin on Saturday.

The Eagles were held scoreless in the first term and only had one goal to their name heading into the final term as the Saints looked destined for a comfortable victory.

But West Coast coach Daisy Pearce threw caution to the wind, moved the magnets around on the whiteboard — most notably Roberts up forward — and got the desired result as her side booted the last five goals to down the hosts 6.6 (42) to 4.4 (28).

Pearce rushed out onto the field post-game to celebrate with her team in great scenes.

“Look at Daisy Pearce, how good is this!” Fox Footy commentator Kelli Underwood said.

Daisy Pearce, Senior Coach of the Eagles. Picture: Graham Denholm/AFL Photos/via Getty Images Source: Getty Images

“Soak it up, Daisy. The best win under her coaching reign.

“It was an absolute masterclass by the coach.

Roberts was the main inspiration, with two majors from her eight touches and three marks in the final quarter, as the superstar finished the game with 24 disposals (15 contested), nine grabs, six tackles and two goals.

The Eagles ratcheted up the pressure in the final term, and St Kilda’s Nicola Barr was spooked by it when she was penalised for blatantly whacking the ball out of bounds deliberately in West Coast’s forward pocket.

Roberts was the beneficiary and got her team back within four points of the Saints. Three minutes later, defender Charlotte Thomas, in unfamiliar territory up forward, marked and goaled to give the visitors the lead for the first time with 3:53 left in the game.

And from there, there was no turning back, as Roberts (again) and Kayla Dalgleish put the icing on a very sweet West Coast cake with the last two goals.

The Eagles finished with massive advantages in contested possessions (143-105) and inside 50s (38-24) and the weight of numbers ultimately overwhelmed the Saints.

Bella Lewis also starred for the winners with 22 disposals (11 contested) and Jaide Britton was impactful as well with 21 touches (nine).

St Kilda’s J’Noemi Anderson submitted a goal-of-the-year contender early in the second quarter when she unloaded a massive hoof from inside the centre square into an empty forward line.

The ball bounced speedily towards goal, and looked on track to go through, before abruptly losing momentum and stopping just before the goal line. However, Anderson kept sprinting after her own kick and soccered it home before Roxy Roux could get a hand on it to complete a memorable individual play.

And 15 minutes later, Anderson created another sensational highlight when she ran down West Coast’s Georgie Cleaver from behind and earned herself a holding-the-ball free kick in the Saints’ forward pocket.

From a severe angle 30m out, Anderson threaded the eye of the needle with a low-trajectory dart. She was one of the Saints’ best, registering 13 disposals (eight contested) and five tackles as well.

After a quiet first two games, Saints star Jesse Wardlaw played her best game of the season to date. She started like a house on fire with the first three shots on goal – a six-pointer, a poster and one that didn’t score – from five touches and two marks in the first five minutes.

UNDEFEATED SWANS’ SIGH OF RELIEF AFTER THRILLER OVER WINLESS CATS

A blistering performance from Geelong star Georgie Prespakis and late surge couldn’t save the Cats from a worrisome 0-3 start to their season, as Sydney Swans held off a five-point escape to keep course in a return to finals.

Both teams dropped out of finals contention last year after featuring in 2023, but it’s the Swans who are well-placed to return, 3-0 and their next three games against bottom-half opponents.

Chloe Molloy, Zippy Fish and Montana Ham ran riot at Kardinia Park for the interstate team, while ruck Ally Morphett did her best work around the ground, pulling in big marks late down the stretch.

She kicked 11 goals in the opening two games, but Chloe Molloy showed she can be just as important to the Swans without dominating the scoreboard.

Molloy was used in all parts of the ground, starting forward as she worked to help the Swans move the ball inside 50, before taking up stints at centre bounces and even stepping back into defence late in the third.

A return up forward saw kick her first and only goal in to open the fourth quarter.

Ally Morphett of the Swans celebrates as the final siren sounds. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images Source: Getty Images

The Swans appeared to hit the Cats at just the right times on the scoreboard, Montana Ham’s goal late in the second quarter giving them a half time, while Sofia Hurley’ struck just before the third quarter siren.

The Swans looked a different team after quarter time, getting their run and carry game going off half back via Zippy Fish, using the uncontested space and taking their chances forward by getting the ball to more dangerous spots than the Cats did at the opposite end.

Geelong proved their own worst enemy at times too, fumbling marks and ground balls and kicking straight into their opponent, while undisciplined play saw the home side give away two 50m penalties - the second resulting in a Swans goal.

After a concerning 0-2 start with losses to North Melbourne and Adelaide, the Cats’ first quarter was the ideal response, all over the Swans with their pressure and attack with the football.

It all started in the midfield, and while Morphett had Cat Piper Dunlop’s measure, Cats midfielders Georgie Prespakis and Amy McDonald were sharks at stoppages to dominate clearances 8-1 in the opening 10 minutes, resulting in 8-1 inside 50 entries favouring the Cats.

Prespakis ran riot, with 12 touches, 4 clearances and 225 metres gained in the first quarter alone - she finished with 27, 10 and 452 - while the Cats’ forwards went to work defensively too to trap the ball inside the arc. Tall Aishling Moloney (three goals) laid a crunching tackle to win the free while small forwards Mikalya Bowen and Surman brought the pressure early.

While Geelong’s game stacks up at time, the test continues to be replicating it for four quarters.

She was stiff to miss the first round rising star nomination but got it in the second, with Zippy Fish continuing to cement herself as an early front runner for the award.

The Western Australia was crucial in getting the Swans moving after quarter time, her attack off half-back and foot speed carving up the middle of the ground with ease to finish with a game-high 501 metres gained.

It was her first game back at her old stomping ground, as Darcy Moloney let out a roaring response to her first goal from a tricky set from the right-hand pocket in the second term.

A former top 10 draft pick, Moloney revealed earlier in the week her request for a trade to Harbour City in November came after losing confidence in her football - but if her first three games at Sydney, including a 22-disposal game in round 2, are anything to go by, she’s quickly starting to get her mojo back.

STAR’S SPECIAL MOMENT AMID HARD-FOUGHT CROWS WIN

It just had to be Danielle Ponter who saved something special for a special occasion.

Celebrating her 75-game milestone in Indigenous Round on Saturday, Kuwarna’s star forward kicked her 85th career goal and in doing so added to her seemingly endless highlights reel.

Just five minutes into the clash with GWS, an Ebony Marinoff kick inside 50m cleared the pack allowing Ponter to swoop, take two steps to her right and thread a brilliant snap around her body from the pocket.

It was the start of a dominant opening term for Kuwarna, which kicked 4.7 to 0.1 to set up its second straight win and keep the Giants winless after three rounds.

Ponter has become such a valuable asset for coach Matthew Clarke, who also deployed her on the ball against GWS as she finished with a game-high four clearances to go with 12 disposals.

Danielle Ponter of the Crows celebrates a goal. Picture: Darrian Traynor/AFL Photos/via Getty Images Source: Getty Images

“It’s pretty special, I never thought I’d make 75 games let alone play it in Indigenous Round surrounded by a beautiful bunch of girls. There’s no better way to do it and to top it off with a win, it couldn’t get better,” Ponter said.

Taking momentum from last week’s seven-goal avalanche in the final quarter against Geelong, Kuwarna was never threatened after quarter-time.

Aided by a strong breeze it had 15-3 inside 50s to lead by 31 points at the first break.

Although the Giants reversed the trend when they had the wind in the second quarter, too often their forward entries were thwarted by Chelsea Biddell and Zoe Prowse, who were rock solid for the Crows in defence.

Anne Hatchard led the way for the visitors with 19 disposals, six tackles and a goal in the big win.

On a difficult day for talls with the breeze playing havoc with the footy, Caitlin Gould was a standout across the four quarters finishing with six strong marks in Kuwarna’s 32-point victory.

Gould kicked a set shot from 35m to open the game then came charging out of the goalsquare soon after and was super clean in releasing a handball to set up Amy Boyle-Carr’s first goal of her career.

She also spent time in the ruck swapping with Jess Allan, presented on the wing when the Crows were kicking into the wind and caught Katherine Smith holding the ball with a big tackle in the middle.

Despite surrendering a five-goal lead at quarter-time, GWS at least remained in the fight after that.

Tarnie Evans presented all day, took six marks and used the ball well to put her teammates into space.

Georgia Garnett started strongly in defence then moved forward with similar effect, kicking a big goal right on the half-time siren, while Zarlie Goldsworthy ran hard all day and finished with an equal game-high 25 disposals and seven tackles.

Niamh Kelly’s leg speed is well known at West Lakes but now so is that of her Irish teammate Amy Boyle-Carr.

Both run and carry the footy and importantly for Kuwarna on Saturday, hit the scoreboard against GWS with textbook front-and-centre crumbing goals.

Kelly also showed her top-end speed with a lunging tackle to stop a certain goal in the second quarter and Boyle-Carr produced a perfectly-timed run to find herself in position to kick a goal in the opening quarter.

— NCA NewsWire

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