Melbourne Dominates Carlton to Improve to 6-0 Despite Gall Injury

Melbourne have the ladder to themselves.

Six rounds in, six wins banked, and a 34-point dismantling of Carlton at a blustery Casey Fields has underlined exactly why the Demons are now the team everyone is chasing in AFLW.

The 8.10 (58) to 3.6 (24) result looked emphatic on the scoreboard. Out on the ground, it felt like a statement.

But it came with a grim twist.

Star forward Georgia Gall hobbled from the field in the third term with an ankle injury, just as Melbourne were ripping the game away from the Blues. She took no further part, leaving the unbeaten flag contenders with one serious headache amid all the good news.

Melbourne ran out knowing the stakes. Hawthorn’s shock win over defending premiers North Melbourne the previous night had cracked the season wide open. Beat Carlton, and top spot – and a perfect 6-0 start – was theirs.

Carlton didn’t roll over. The Blues came with intent in the opening half, matched Melbourne’s physicality and stayed in the contest long enough to ask questions of the home side’s composure.

Then the third quarter happened.

The Demons slammed on four unanswered goals in a ruthless burst that broke the game apart and broke Carlton’s resistance. The pressure finally told, and at the heart of it was Olivia Purcell.

The Melbourne midfielder turned the term into her own personal highlight reel. She finished with 26 disposals and nailed two goals, driving the surge that turned a tight contest into a procession.

Tyla Hanks was everywhere. With 32 disposals and a goal, she gave Melbourne constant drive and shape around the ball, feeding the forward line as the Demons turned the screws.

The party kept rolling into the last quarter, and there was one more moment to savour. Jorja Livingstone, on AFLW debut, found her first goal at the top level, capping Melbourne’s night with a touch of romance.

For Carlton, the loss stings. Two defeats on the bounce drop the Blues to 4-2 and put a dent in their top-four ambitions just as the season starts to tighten.

Claudia Whitfort battled to keep them afloat, racking up 24 disposals and working tirelessly through the middle. It wasn’t enough. Against this Melbourne machine, “spirited” effort only takes you so far.

The Demons walk away unbeaten, on top, and in control of their season. What happens next with Gall’s ankle could shape how long they stay there.

Cats explode at Victoria Park as Moloney lights it up

If Melbourne delivered the statement, Geelong supplied the spectacle.

At Victoria Park, the Cats turned a nervous afternoon into a celebration, torching Collingwood with a blistering third quarter to claim a 14.6 (90) to 7.7 (49) victory and their fifth straight win.

Geelong came in knowing exactly what was on the line: a win would shore up their place inside the top eight and keep their momentum rolling. It should have been straightforward against the winless Magpies.

It wasn’t.

Collingwood, desperate and winless at 0-5, refused to follow the script. Minutes after half-time, the Magpies had dragged themselves level and suddenly the pressure swung squarely onto the visitors.

That was the jolt Geelong needed.

The Cats flicked the switch and tore the game open with an electrifying third term, piling on six goals to take a 31-point lead into the final break. The contest went from arm wrestle to avalanche in less than half an hour.

In the middle, Geelong’s engine room went to work. Nina Morrison racked up 30 disposals, Mikayla Bowen added 29 of her own, and Georgie Prespakis dominated the stoppages with 12 clearances. Every surge forward seemed to start with one of them.

Up forward, Chloe Scheer and Aishling Moloney cashed in. Scheer finished with four goals, clinical and composed. Moloney kicked three – and one of them will live long in the memory.

Her third-quarter effort was pure audacity. From around halfway, Moloney launched the ball long and high, more hope than certainty. It bounced. Then bounced again. A couple more skids, a teasing roll, and somehow it kept on tumbling through for a goal. A goal-of-the-year contender, born from instinct and a bit of chaos.

Once Geelong had their lead, they didn’t loosen their grip. The Cats tightened up defensively in the last quarter, kept Collingwood scoreless for goals, and cruised to a fifth consecutive win that confirms them as one of the form teams in the competition at 5-1.

Collingwood’s season remains winless at 0-6, but there was at least one bright moment.

Half-forward Olivia Lewis, called up late on Saturday morning when captain Bri Davey fell ill, marked her AFLW debut with a goal. The former Super Netball player, who shifted from Melbourne Mavericks to the Magpies, gave the home fans something to cheer as she snapped truly in a rare highlight.

For the Pies, it was a glimpse of what might yet come. For Geelong, it was another step in a season gathering serious pace.