Red-hot Dees put comp on notice with ruthless win over TigersBy Gemma Bastiani
afl.com.au
Sep 6, 2025NARRM 1.3 4.7 6.8 8.9 (57)
RICHMOND 0.0 0.2 0.5 2.8 (20)
GOALS
Narrm: Hore 2, Bannan, Gall, Pearce, Campbell, Zanker, Fitzsimon
Richmond: Bacon, Ford
BEST
Narrm: Hanks, Hore, Chaplin, Pearce, Gall, Paxman
Richmond: Conti, Bacon, McKenzie, Scott, Seymour
INJURIES
Narrm: Nil
Richmond: Nil
Crowd: 2001 at Casey Fields
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RUTHLESS Narrm is back, and back in a big way.
Following a scare last week, the Demons put the foot down against Richmond to run out 8.9 (57) to 2.8 (20) at Casey Fields on Saturday afternoon, navigating the windy conditions with ease.
Now sitting 4-0, Narrm is well-placed to return to finals after missing last year for the first time since 2019.
Kate Hore (19 disposals, two goals, 12 tackles) was, once again, the instigator of it all. Her work out of stoppage asked some questions of Richmond, and she paired beautifully with her vice-captain in Tyla Hanks (32 disposals, 434m gained).
The Tigers simply had no answers for Hore's ability to break lines and hit the scoreboard, or Hanks' cleanliness at the ground ball.
Against the wind in the opening quarter, Richmond's defensive unit stood strong. Conceding just four scores – and only one goal – from 15 inside 50s, and steadily worked its way back out of the zone.
But the challenge became increasingly difficult as the game wore on.
Using the corridor to transition end-to-end allowed Narrm to lengthen the ground and isolate its array of forwards ahead of the play. Georgia Gall (10 disposals, one goal), Alyssa Bannan (11 disposals, one goal), and Georgia Campbell (11 disposals, one goal) all looked dangerous close to goal, while Eden Zanker (10 disposals, one goal) spent some time through the middle of the ground, and Tayla Harris (14 disposals, five inside 50s) supported in defence for long periods.
The ease with which the Demons hit neat kicks into the middle of the ground time, and time again, was concerning for Richmond's team defensive strategy. It was simply unable to adjust to such movement throughout the game, allowing the home side to control how the game was played.
A real shining light for the Tigers was the assertive performance of second-year player Isabel Bacon (10 disposals, one goal) in defence. One of the few Richmond players to best Hore in a one-on-one, her strength playing in front helped to disrupt the quick transition footy from the Demons, meanwhile she also snuck forward to kick her first ever AFLW goal late in the piece.
Paige Scott (14 disposals, five tackles) was thrown into the midfield for the second half, with their strength and power a handy shift around the ball, and Monique Conti (32 disposals, four clearances) and Ellie McKenzie (23 disposals, six tackles) were tireless.
As a result, the visitors had a flurry of shots into the wind late in the third term, but conversion eluded them.
In her first game for the Tigers following an ACL injury last year, former Crow Montana McKinnon bobbed up with some important moments late, showing off her aerial strength in a positive sign for the 0-4 side going forward.
Score review in actionMidway through the second term we got a glimpse of something not seen across the opening three rounds: the score review in action. Demons forward Megan Fitzsimon lined up for a shot on goal into the breeze (gale) and kicked low and hard in an attempt to make the distance. Tigers ruck Poppy Kelly flew for touch, but seemed to miss her chance at impacting while Narrm celebrated a major. With everyone reset for a centre stoppage, there was a pause from the umpires, and soon enough the score had been overturned and everyone brought back for a Tigers kick in. The ball tracking technology – which has caused some controversy – picked up that Kelly had in fact gotten a fingernail on the ball.
The great equaliser… or is it?Generally, in games with a serious breeze – as Casey Fields usually delivers – sides can find some ascendancy, or at least territory control, in quarters where they have the aid of the breeze. Unfortunately for Richmond, this wasn't the case. After battling admirably against a barrage of forward entries in the first quarter, the expectation was that the Tigers might then generate some attack of their own in the second term. Instead, it was Narrm adjusting its ball movement to do plenty of attacking of its own. The Demons converted just one goal from its 15 first quarter entries, before piling on three in the second from its 12 entries against the breeze.
Up nextNarrm will travel across to South Australia to take on Yartapuulti at Alberton Oval on Saturday afternoon, while Richmond returns to its makeshift home of Ikon Park to host Geelong on Sunday.
https://www.afl.com.au/aflw/news/1411870/red-hot-dees-put-comp-on-notice-with-clinical-win-over-tigers
