VFLW Match Report – Round 5 2022

It was an exciting back to back win for the Darebin Falcons this week who defeated Carlton by 8 points.   On a hot, dry day, the Falcons again created a buzz with their third win from the first 5 rounds in the competition.  The Falcons played a great attacking game to get out in front early, and were strong enough to wrestle back the momentum from a lively Carlton, holding the lead, and then kicking the winner in the last minutes of the game.

Darebin had the most of the game in the first quarter with Nic Callinan, Angelique Gogos and Naomi Celebre busy in the packs.  Early in the quarter, Katie McAloon was rewarded with a free kick for a good tackle but wasn’t quite able to make the distance.  Steph Simpson tight on the boundary got a tight kick in which was marked by Emma Mackay.  Unfortunately her kick was offline for the first behind of the day.  Sabine Cowley du Parquet’s sweeping handball found Ellen Buckley in the corridor, but the kick was again rushed through for another behind.  Millie Shone put some good pressure to keep the ball locked into the forward, and with some fancy footwork got a handball off to Steph Simpson who kicked the first goal of the game.  Carlton’s Poppy Schaap with a bit of fancy footwork of her own led to Hammons kicking a quick reply.  The Falcon defenders did well keeping the ball in tight with Carlton pressing hard.

In the second quarter, Alyssa Mifsud had a sneaky backhanded tap, to the quick moving Emma Mackay who dribbled the ball through for a goal. Vic Blackwood stood up with several intercept marks to stop the ball going deep in the opposition forward.  Good ball movement in the Falcs attacking half created some space for short kicks finding targets.  One passage went from Mikayla Meyer to McAloon, to Celebre, leading to a set shot that was online but touched on the line for another behind.  Carlton’s Lily Goss pressuring on the goal square creating an opportunity for Lawrence to kick a goal against the run of play to bring the Blues back to within a point. The Falcons were determined to get more from quarter however, with some great renewed pressures.  Meyer ran hard to get an intercept mark, and ferocious tackling from Mackay and Callinan determinedly kept the ball in the attacking forward.  Callinan won the free kick and playing on quickly, kicked to the goal square, where Mifsud took a strong, contested mark.  As the half time siren sounded, Mifsud kicked the Falcon’s third goal straight through the middle.

The third quarter was a bit of an arm wrestle with both teams looking to play positive football.  Carlton’s Goss took another opportunistic goal to bring the score to 2 points, but strong defence kept the rest of the quarter with Falcons still in the lead.  Manaia Huta using her speed created opportunities and Katelyn Hazlett started to find some good space, unfortunate to have a shot on goal just off line.  Misfud executed a creative kick over her own head which was marked by Cowley du Parquet in the goal square but was deemed not the full 15 metres.  The siren sounded as McAloon streamed into the forward with a shot that bounced through the goal posts only 5 seconds too late.

The final quarter was a bit of an endurance test for both teams with the hot day for the contested football.  Neither team were able to break away, with only a rushed behind to Falcons, and 2 points to Carlton.  The Falcons intensity was relentless.  Sally Lynch with 30 hit outs worked hard with the midfielders leading the game disposals- Gogos 19 kicks, and Celebre 17.  Simpson was forced off the ground after a head knock, and Hibbert with her head over the ball was hit hard by the defender coming in the other direction late in the quarter.  But it was a fierce and determined Falcon push to the final minutes of the game, with Callinan getting it out of the pack and Mackay soccer-ing through the match winner.

The win was hard fought battle to the absolute delight of the Falcon fans.  “This group has a big Falcon heart with their captain out of action for the 4^th quarter, they gave everything of themselves for the team”, coach Kate Tyndall said after the match.  “A great team effort yesterday and pleasing to see the group implement the learnings we have taken out of previous games.  The back 6 was relentless, and the forwards worked so well together.  Lynch disrupted the Carlton mids well, and Gogos just keeps running and competing. Special mentions to Blackwood, Mackay, McAloon for the impact they had on this game.  ”

Next week will be a week’s break for the league, next match will be against the Western Bulldogs, Saturday 26 March.  Ground still to be confirmed

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