Melbourne Remains Unbeaten Despite Gall Injury
Melbourne stand alone at the top of the AFLW after six rounds, unbeaten and unapologetic, but their 34-point dismantling of Carlton at Casey Fields came with a sharp sting.
The Demons’ 8.10 (58) to 3.6 (24) win was as emphatic as the scoreline suggests. Their season record now reads 6-0. Their percentage is surging. Their system looks ruthless. Yet as the third quarter surged their way, star forward Georgia Gall limped from the ground with an ankle injury that instantly cooled the celebrations.
Melbourne ran out knowing exactly what was on the line. Hawthorn’s upset of defending premiers North Melbourne had cracked the door open; beat Carlton, and top spot was theirs. They didn’t waste the invitation.
Carlton arrived with intent and, for a half, plenty of resistance. The Blues were spirited early, scrapping and spoiling, clinging to Melbourne’s tempo and refusing to be blown away. Their pressure held, their structure mostly did too.
Then the third term hit.
The Demons found another gear and the contest flipped. Melbourne piled on four unanswered goals in a withering burst that broke the game open and broke Carlton’s grip. The ball lived in red and blue hands, and when it spilled, it usually spilled to Olivia Purcell.
Purcell was everywhere. The midfielder racked up 26 disposals and drove the surge, capping her work with two goals as Melbourne turned a tight contest into a procession. Tyla Hanks, with 32 touches and a goal of her own, was just as damaging, slicing through stoppages and setting up wave after wave of attack.
But amid the dominance came the moment Melbourne didn’t want. Gall, a key part of the Demons’ forward structure, went down in the third quarter, clutching her ankle and leaving the field. On a day when everything else seemed to go right, that image lingered.
The Demons kept coming. Jorja Livingstone added a touch of joy late, kicking a goal on debut in the final term to underline the depth that has Melbourne positioned as the league’s benchmark.
For Carlton, the loss bites. A second straight defeat drops the Blues to 4-2 and complicates their push for a top-four finish. They worked, they chased, they hung in for a half, but they couldn’t live with Melbourne’s third-quarter onslaught.
Claudia Whitfort again carried a heavy load through the middle, collecting 24 disposals and driving Carlton forward whenever she could. It wasn’t enough. Against this Melbourne, it rarely is.
The Demons walk away unbeaten and on top, but with a nervous wait over Gall. The Blues leave with bruised finals ambitions and the clear reminder of the standard they must reach.
Cats explode after scare to claim fifth straight win
Over at Victoria Park, Geelong rode a third-quarter whirlwind and a moment of sheer audacity from Aishling Moloney to bank their own statement win and a fifth victory on the trot.
The Cats beat Collingwood 14.6 (90) to 7.7 (49), a 41-point margin that looked unlikely when the winless Magpies briefly threatened to turn the afternoon on its head.
Geelong knew what a win meant: a firmer grip on a spot inside the top eight, a platform for a serious run at the season. Early on, they looked in control. Then, just after the main break, Collingwood punched back.
The Magpies, 0-5 coming in and desperate for something to cling to, levelled the scores within minutes of the third quarter starting. Suddenly, Victoria Park had a pulse. The Cats had a problem.
They solved it brutally.
Geelong flicked the switch and tore the game open with an electrifying third term, slamming on six goals to surge 31 points clear by the final change. The run was relentless, the ball movement clean, the finish clinical.
Moloney delivered the moment everyone will remember. Stationed around halfway, she launched the ball forward with a long, hopeful boot. It bounced once. Then again. Then again. Each hop favoured Geelong, the ball gathering speed and skipping past desperate Collingwood defenders before finally creeping over the line for a goal that will sit comfortably in any goal-of-the-year conversation.
From there, the Cats never loosened their grip. They tightened the screws in the last quarter, shutting Collingwood out and holding them goalless to close out a powerful 90-point haul.
Their midfield owned the day. Nina Morrison racked up 30 disposals, Mikayla Bowen wasn’t far behind with 29, and Georgie Prespakis controlled the stoppages with 12 clearances, giving Geelong repeat looks inside 50. Up forward, Moloney finished with three goals and Chloe Scheer added four, the pair capitalising on the dominance up the ground.
Collingwood’s season remains winless at 0-6, but even in another heavy defeat there was a flicker of light. Half-forward Olivia Lewis, a late call-up on Saturday morning after Bri Davey fell ill, marked her AFLW debut with a goal, capping a remarkable switch from Super Netball’s Melbourne Mavericks to the Magpies.
It was a rare bright moment on a day that again underlined the gap between Collingwood and the competition’s rising forces.
Melbourne unbeaten. Geelong surging. Carlton wobbling. Collingwood still searching. Six rounds in, the ladder is starting to take shape — and so are the contenders who look ready to own it.
