AFLW R8: Richmond vs West Coast @ Punt Rd

[WilliamPowell]

Was a very wet Punt Road Oval   

And again the standard of umpiring deplorable. I believe the Eagles received at least 10 frees in a row from late in the 2nd through to the 3rd 

[one-eyed]

Tigers shake off brave Eagles in tough slog

womens.afl/AAP
21 March 2021

RICHMOND      2.2   3.6   4.9   5.12 (42)
WEST COAST    0.1   0.2   3.3   5.4 (34)

GOALS
Richmond: Stahl 2, Brennan 2, Bernardi
West Coast: Bowen 2, G.Kelly, Cameron, Pope

BEST
Richmond: Conti, McKenze, Stahl, Brennan, D'Arcy
West Coast: Bowen, Collier, N.Kelly, Lewis, Gibson

INJURIES
Richmond: Nil
West Coast: McCarthy (knee), Collier (cheek)

-----------------------------------------------------------

RICHMOND celebrated a breakthrough win at its traditional Punt Road Oval home by outlasting West Coast in a stirring battle.

The Tigers had to withstand an Eagles second-half challenge for the 5.12 (42) to 5.4 (34) victory, played in constant rain.

It was set up by Richmond's first-half dominance and the lead stretched to 23 points after Christina Bernardi goaled early in the third quarter.

But West Coast booted the next three goals to cut the margin to just six points before Tiger forward Katie Brennan took a strong mark and kicked the goal that saved the day.

The Tigers midfield unit of Ellie McKenzie, Monique Conti and Sarah Hosking were instrumental in setting up the seemingly insurmountable lead before the Eagles' onballers took over in the second half as Irish sisters Grace and Niamh Kelly consistently sent them inside the forward 50.

It was a brave effort by West Coast, the Eagles finishing the bruising game with a bench full of injured players.

Coming off a six-day break, the Eagles lost captain Emma Swanson to suspension for rough conduct. Fellow onballer Aisling McCarthy was out of the game in the opening minutes with a knee injury.

Richmond placed an emphasis on applying pressure inside their forward half and that commitment provided a crucial early lead, particularly given the greasy conditions.

Tayla Stahl used her strength deep in the Tigers' forward line to boot the first two goals of the game.

Such was Richmond's early dominance that it took until the last minute of the first quarter for West Coast to venture inside the forward 50 for the first time.

But the girls from the West launched a spirited second-half fight back when they were able to get the ball out into space and nearly stole the points.

https://womens.afl/news/67448/tigers-shake-off-brave-eagles-in-tough-slog

[one-eyed]

Tigers hold off Eagles in historic Punt Road win

Anthony Colangelo
The Age
March 21, 2021

RICHMOND    2.2 3.6 4.9 5.12 (42)
WEST COAST 0.1 0.2 3.3 5.4 (34)

Richmond stared down a challenge from the West Coast Eagles on Sunday to become the first Tigers senior side to win a game at the famous Punt Road Oval since 1964.

The rain-soaked win came in the face of a comeback from the fellow fast-improving Eagles.

A Richmond top-tier side last won at Punt Road on July 25, 1964 when the men’s team beat South Melbourne.

It was also Richmond’s first win in Melbourne, their previous two coming in Geelong and Queensland.

Katie Brennan was fantastic again kicking two goals as did Tayla Stahl, while Christina Bernardi kicked one.

Monique Conti dominated the midfield with 24 touches, three marks and two tackles while Ellie McKenzie had 22 disposals.

The Tigers endured a winless debut season in the AFLW in 2020 but have shown significant improvement in 2021.

Both sides had won two of their last three matches coming into the game.

The Eagles did not kick a goal in the first half with Richmond booting three, but a three goal to one third quarter in favour of West Coast set up a tense finish.

Brennan’s goal in the final term was enough to stave off the fast-finishing Eagles in the end.

McKenzie said it was special to get the side’s first win in Melbourne.

“For us it has been a big thing to play four quarters. I don’t think we came out at half-time and played our best,” she said.

“There definitely was pressure [on McKenzie as No.1 pick] coming into the season, but I was lucky to come into a club where everyone was really supportive.

“I was just trying to focus on playing good footy and having a good time as well.”

BEST
Richmond: Conti, McKenze, Stahl, Brennan, D’Arcy
West Coast: Bowen, Collier, N.Kelly, Lewis, Gibson

https://www.watoday.com.au/sport/afl/tigers-hold-off-eagles-in-historic-punt-road-win-20210321-p57cnf.html

[the claw]

Cmon on people how does any one watch this yr 8 type standard its horrendous.

[Chuck17]

its getting better...slowly

[Tigeritis™©®]

Cmon on people how does any one watch this yr 8 type standard its horrendous.

It’s not going to be like the blokes so you can’t look at it the exactly the same way.

If you look closely at players like Conti you will hopefully see what will come through in the future.

We already have an up and coming super player in McKenzie. She has gone through from juniors and is a real footy player.

We have some good players but need to find more. Cordner is a very very good defender and just knows how to read the footy and the play. Our ruckman Seymour will be the best in the competition in a couple of years. When the older players get pushed out by more youngsters that have had a grounding through juniors and have a natural feel for the game then you’ll see a better level which isn’t as far away as you think.

Give it some more time and it will improve exponentially as it already has improved. I was pretty skeptical but the more I watch it I am appreciating the whole development in the players and the league as a whole.

[Chuck17]

some of the kids coming through have very decent skills

[lamington]

The way I see it is it’s not like vfl started off with banana goals outside 50 and running 100m taking running bounces and weaving past half a dozen defenders either.

I am enjoying watching the journey and I love watching the jets in our team play. My toddler Fiona also gets really happy when she sees kids have a kick to kick at our local oval so if she’s still interested when she’s older I really want the opportunity to allow her to play and ultimately let her have great athletic role models like Monique conti and let her decide how seriously she wants to take footy.