Goalkickers: M. Guerin 1.2, D. Finn 1.1, E. Fitzpatrick 0.2, S. McKay 0.1, L. Keck 0.1, Rushed 0.3.

Reports: Nil.

Umpires: Chris Donlon, Sophia Tozer, Shamus Dundon.

Injuries: Nil.

Ladder: 7th.

Game Review

Blues fight all night in narrow loss

A goal in the closing minutes saw the Blues fall by eight points to Hawthorn. - By Cristian Filippo, Carlton Media

In a genuine four-quarter fight, Carlton has regrettably fallen by eight points to Hawthorn at Kinetic Stadium. Feeling what was a mixture of excitement and disappointment post-match, the Blues fought back to level the scores in the final term but a late goal to Aine McDonagh saw the Blues fall 3.12 (30) to 2.10 (22). Harriet Cordner led brilliantly on the last line with 22 disposals, 13 intercepts and 10 marks, while Dayna Finn and Maddy Guerin produced the goals on a night where tension in both 50s was at an all-time high. After an early tussle, it was Hawthorn who made the early running with back-to-back goals in the opening term on what was a rare calm night in Frankston, with conditions not playing a factor. In a late flurry, the Blues had more than their fair share of territory and chances in front of goal, but could only manage four behinds in quick succession to trail by 10 points at the first change. The midfield fight was as combative as you could imagine, with Hawthorn getting the upper hand in the early going - but in a similar manner to the way the first quarter ended, both sides failed to get scoreboard reward when the opportunities presented, with the margin staying at 11 points at the main break. The pressure was fierce and the competition’s new holding-the-ball interpretation in full effect, but the Blues were still in need of an offensive spark when the second half rolled around. That came in the form of Maddy Guerin, with the midfielder-turned-forward producing a snap on goal that yielded a perfect bounce to get the team on the board. It gave the Blues life, with Abbie McKay well and truly getting going around the stoppages with eight disposals for the term while Yasmin Duursma and Darcy Vescio produced some key defensive moments to keep the Blues in the hunt. When the Blues sprung the counter attack and Dayna Finn finished expertly, scores were level - a far cry from the 38-point margin which separated these two sides in Round 1 last year. Brilliant forward pressure from Maddy Guerin, Breann Harrington and Erone Fitzpatrick brought about opportunities late in the piece to give the Blues a lead, but a failure to get the go-ahead goal was costly, with Hawthorn converting from a late free kick to ice the game on a night where improvement was evident for the Blues - but a bitter taste was left without a second consecutive win.

Best: H. Cordner, A. McKay, Y. Duursma, K. Sherar, D. Vescio, D. Finn.

Buck on thriller against Hawks

Carlton AFLW coach Mathew Buck speaks on Saturday night’s loss to Hawthorn. - By Carlton Media

On Carlton's performance in Round 2:
"You've gotta take the good with the bad, so the resilience of the team to keep turning up at the contest and persist, it was great. We've worked on our resilience, It's been a big piece that we've worked on and to see it get implemented tonight was good, but we're also disappointed, you've got to take the moments, so there will be a lot of learning to come out of this one."

On defensive efforts from the backline:
"I think all the defenders supported each other and that's what we want from our players, come and support and outnumber the contest when we can. Harriet and Darcy are both really good at that. Harriet's an aerial threat but is fast on the ground, and Darcy's ability to make good decisions, really supports our defensive five, so I think we saw that tonight"

On Sophie McKay building up her confidence:
"It's Soph's game two, so Soph's out there learning the tempo and the pace of it, a really close game. We'll watch it back, but really pleased with how Soph played. She's really exciting and will continue to grow every game she gets out there and she holds herself to a high standard. We'll go back and have a look at the really great things she did and continue to grow on those."

On being outplayed in the first half to turn it around in the second half:
"(There are) a couple of excellent midfielders at Hawthorn and to their credit, they lead the way in the competition, Bates and West are fantastic mids and we've got some mids that are still growing in that space. In the first half, I thought the Hawthorn mids were excellent, but I thought Abbie McKay really turned it and got after it, and, supported well by Keeley Sherar and Maddy Guerin, spent some time in there as well as Mimi Hill. To see them turn it was really good and get us back into the game."

On the development of Yasmin Duursma:
"Yas, to her credit, went away and had a great pre-season and we're starting to see the results of that now. We now roll her up to the wing where she can execute with her skills. Her ability to win ground ball and get out the contest now is the biggest improvement in her game, and she's gone to work on that. We've got some great coaches at Carlton at the moment who have supported her through the pre pre-season and pre-season to grow in that area, but she's really wanted to grow, so that's been a big part and it's great to see the results."

Hawks continue golden run despite Blues scare

Hawthorn has won its second match of the year with a low-scoring war of attrition against Carlton - By Gemma Bastiani.

It might have been a war of attrition, but Hawthorn has made it two from two with an eight-point win over Carlton at Kinetic Stadium. Aine McDonagh was the match-winner on rare still night in Frankston, while the match was headlined by two strong defensive performances, leading to the 3.12 (30) to 2.10 (22) Hawks victory on Saturday evening. It took a McDonagh free kick in the final two minutes to finally see off the challenger, after the typically high scoring Hawks simply couldn't break through the Blues' defensive wall, and went nearly an hour without a major following an Emily Bates goal late in the first quarter. Bates' work around the contest was impressive, as the Hawks' captain went on to finish with 24 disposals and a goal, while she was aided by young gun Laura Stone (16 disposals, nine tackles) who is making the most of a permanent move to the midfield this year. Hawthorn controlled stoppage, winning the clearance count 28-17, which led the Blues to defend for their lives. Carlton stood up reasonably well in defence, limiting the shots the Hawks were able to generate, or forcing enough pressure to impact conversion, but it often left them susceptible to the Hawks' own defensive set up when attempting to exit. The experienced duo of Harriet Cordner (22 disposals, 13 intercept possessions) and Darcy Vescio (11 disposals, five tackles) were exceptional, leading Carlton's relentless defence, and working hard to propel back into an attacking position. The home side's ability to lengthen the ground, and keep its structure behind play, made it especially difficult for the Blues to generate inside 50s. But it didn't mean Carlton went into its shell, instead, it still attempted to pick off kicks in the corridor and use the width of the ground, just coming unstuck with its lack of polish close to goal. The aim, then, was to create space out the back for speedster Erone Fitzpatrick to run into. Although, the Irishwoman was unable to convert from her two shots on goal. Najwa Allen (18 disposals, 10 intercept possessions) acted as a brick wall for Hawthorn in the absence of Ainslie Kemp and Jenna Richardson, while Tilly Lucas-Rodd (24 disposals, 376m gained) was at their dashing best. Up forward, second-game Blue Sophie McKay worked into some dangerous positions, and probably could have been a little more selfish and taken opportunities herself, rather than using that work to set up teammates. Young Blues forward Mia Austin spent much of the second quarter on the bench testing her right ankle, but returned to the field after the main break, and Hawthorn dynamo Aine McDonagh was felled with a Breann Harrington knee to the back, but was also able to play on after catching her breath.

Some sort of bounce
Carlton spent the first half pressing for its opening goal, but unable to convert. Hawthorn defended grimly; the Blues tried to break through the press. Enter Maddy Guerin. Midway through the third term, Guerin won the footy in a scramble, and tight up against the boundary line kicked to square it up to a teammate. Instead, it bounced in the goal square and turned beautifully through the big sticks for the Blues' first of the game.

Less than eye-deal
The moment the quarter-time siren rang, Carlton captain Abbie McKay dashed not to the huddle in front of the benches, but to the opposite side of the ground where Kinetic Stadium's away rooms are located. In the affray late in the quarter, McKay lost a contact, and although she spent some time trying to find it in the grass, she had to go and grab a new one in order to keep playing. Fortunately, she was back in time to start at the opening centre stoppage for the second quarter.

Up next
Hawthorn will head across town to take on the Western Bulldogs at Whitten Oval on Saturday evening, while Carlton has a tough road trip on the cards, with a Sunday twilight fixture with Brisbane at Brighton Homes Arena.

Best: H. Cordner, D. Vescio, A. McKay, K. Sherar, Y. Duursma.

'Way too hot': Hawks coach weighs in on umpiring change

Hawthorn coach Daniel Webster has taken aim at the new adjudication of the holding the ball rule following his side's eight-point win over Carlton. - By Gemma Bastiani.

The pendulum has swung too far toward rewarding the tackler, rather than the ball winner, according to Hawthorn coach Daniel Webster. Following Hawthorn's eight-point win over Carlton on Saturday evening, in which 42 free kicks were paid, half of which were for holding the ball, the coach expressed his concern about the new interpretation of the rule. Prior to the season the AFL tightened up the interpretation of holding the ball, and free kicks have increased off the back of that shift. "I kind of understand what the AFL are trying to do with it, and understand that umpiring is very difficult. I don't like it when the ball-carrier is not getting rewarded, when the tackler is now getting rewarded. I really don't like that," Webster said. "And some of those decisions today were way too hot. I think what we're asking the player to do, in that sense, is like we're better off not trying to win the ball sometimes now, just tap it on, and I don't think that's the way the game should be played. "Like, there is a contested part of the game, and I understand they're trying to get the ball moving, but at the moment I think it's gone a little bit too far one way and I'd like to see it pulled back… a lot of times today the ball is out and trying to get it in motion, and then a free kick is actually paid to slow it back up again." Captain Emily Bates gave away six free kicks for the match, most of which were for holding the ball, while fellow midfielder Laura Stone gave away four. Hawthorn was seriously challenged by Carlton's defensive, high pressure game, and almost gave up the lead during the final quarter, but ultimately fought out the gritty win, helped along by a late Aine McDonagh goal. "I thought that Carlton brought a lot of heat, I thought they were probably stronger in the contest a little bit. Obviously, we controlled that game I think from a territory standpoint, couldn't score, they got us out the back a couple of times. But I think in terms of what we want to do and what we want to be, we were a fair way away from that," Webster said. For Carlton coach Mathew Buck, the disappointment of the loss was broken up by the pride of how his developing team fought against a highly fancied opposition. "You've got to take the good with the bad. So, the resilience of the team to keep turning up at a contest and persist, persist was great. We've worked on our resilience, it's been a big piece that we've worked on, and to see it get implemented tonight was good, but we're also disappointed," Buck said. "You've got to take your moments, so there'll be a lot of learning (to) come out of it as well." The Hawks capitalised on their forward half intercept opportunities tonight, scoring 3.5 to 1.3 from 31-23 chains. They were also strong in defence, recording 13-3 intercept marks. Harriet Cordner recorded a career-high 13 intercept possessions tonight in addition to a career-high 11 rebound-50s, 22 disposals, 10 marks, and 408 metres gained.

Team

In: Amelia Velardo
Out: Meg Robertson (omitted)

AFLW Coaches Votes

8 - Harriet Cordner (CARL)
6 - Emily Bates (HAW)
5 - Lucy Wales (HAW)
4 - Breann Harrington (CARL)
4 - Eliza West (HAW)
3 - Najwa Allen (HAW)

AFLW Best and Fairest Votes

3 - Emily Bates (HAW)
2 - Tilly Lucas-Rodd (HAW)
1 - Abbie McKay (CARL)

Club Best and Fairest Votes

Match Highlights