Fast and Furious

Electric start.  End to end footy.  Breathtaking to watch live.

A perfect Casey carnival atmosphere greeted fans — sunshine, an uncharacteristically gentle breeze, and no rain. It was the second week of Pride celebrations, and the #DeeArmy banner captured the vibe perfectly: 
“Our Grand Old Flag flies with Pride. Proud of this round. Proud of our side.”

Nice work!

This huge clash, with finals places on the line, got off to a blistering start with incredible ball movement up and down the ground. Scintillating stuff.

Happily for us Demons fans, it was Melbourne who showcased their dynamic breadth of talent, delivering a convincing 44-point demolition of the Swans — and booking a spot in finals.

This means Mick Stinear will coach his 100th AFLW game in Week One of Finals 2025.

As for Sydney, they’ll need to beat both the Eagles and Bombers — and hope Lady Luck is on their side — to have any chance of playing finals.

The Match


It was a tight opening quarter, and it felt like Sydney were slightly on top.

The Swans big bodies — Montana Ham (21 disposals, 7 tackles) and Tanya Kennedy shaded our mids early. Sydney kicked the first two goals via Cynthia Hamilton and Ruby Sargent-Wilson, and later a third through Holly Cooper.

Goldie, already sporting a conversation piece from a mid-week training incident, clashed heads with a Swan and was helped from the ground with blood pouring from her nose. A born-and-bred Fox-Cab tough nut, she was back out playing in no time.

Melbourne hit back with a couple from Eden Zanker (4 goals), and a highlights-reel contender from Kate Hore (25 disposals, 6 clearances) — a brilliant dribbler from the pocket. Her 97th career goal — equal with North’s Jasmine Garner. Ooh it’s close.

We glance at the quarter-time stats sheet: Hanksy has had only 3 possessions. Hmm.

Mick’s messaging must’ve landed during the huddle, because the Demons noticeably amped up their pressure, kicking seven unanswered goals across the next three quarters and keeping the Swans goalless.  Game over.

Tyla Hanks (22 disposals, 7 tackles) bounced back to be one of the best on ground.

The midfield passing of Hanksy and Megan Fitzsimon (23 disposals, 440 metres gained) was a feature.

Heater’s return added another midfield layer — combining speed, pressure, and elite tackling (8 tackles).  Great game, Shell.

Ry Wotherspoon (8 tackles) is impacting every week — a natural with ball in hand.

Molly on a wing, a wax with Pax.  Eliza Mac busy on the other side.

The backline looked impenetrable, led by Maeve Chaplin (12 intercepts) and Tahlia Gillard (9 intercepts, 5 marks).

Lampy, it’s so good to have you back.  You too, Radar.

A Jemma Gem


Jemma Rigoni #43, our speedy Father-Daughter defender, was sent to mind the Swans’ dangerous distributor Zipporah Fish. An astute move by Mick — Jemma’s speed, height, and bigger body challenged Zippy: conversely Jem’s aerobic capacity was tested by Zippy.

Marking a defender, Jemma found herself in unfamiliar forward territory, marked, and calmly slotted her first AFLW goal.

All of her Demon teammates ran to celebrate.  A moment to remember — and celebrated in the grandstand by her dad, Guy.

Meggs’ musings


We heard Swans superstar Chloe Molloy missed the game with a sore back. Meggs wondered whether it was from carrying her team this season.

Worth the price of admission to watch Kate Hore and Zippy Fish — magic players with silky skills. This game has a huge future. We need more eyes on AFLW, it’s so much fun!

In Flew Enza — the name hiding in Eden Zanker.  Enza (Zanks) was clunking them today.  Her eyes lit up every time Fitzy had the footy. Megan hits her up magnificently, time and time again.

With Blaithin M almost out of rehab and a healthy list (minus Liv P), Mick has an arsenal of weaponry to challenge those kickass Kangaroos.  We just need the opportunity.

Meggs is starting to believe.
 How about you?

Coaches and Next Week

Mick Stinear got the response he was hoping for after last week in Fremantle.
Gemma Bastiani and Mick waxed lyrical: “How good is Tyla Hanks?”

Running out of superlatives.

Scott Gowans said Melbourne’s second-quarter pressure was akin to finals footy — and his Swans couldn’t cope with the sustained effort.

Next week (Round 11): Brisbane at Brighton Homes Arena, Ipswich, Saturday 7:15pm.

A shout out to our Queensland fans: get along and make some noise.

PS: our last home and away game is versus Geelong at GMHBA on 1 November.

Go Dees.

MELBOURNE 2.1.13 6.3.39 9.5.59 9.11.65

SYDNEY SWANS 3.0.18 3.2.20 3.3.21 3.3.21       

GOALS

MELBOURNE Zanker 4 Bannan Harris Heath Hore Rigoni 

SYDNEY SWANS Cooper C Hamilton Sargent-Wilson

BEST 

MELBOURNE Hanks Zanker Gillard Hore Heath Chaplin

SYDNEY SWANS Ham McEvoy Mitchell Fish

INJURIES

MELBOURNE Nil

SYDNEY SWANS Nil

REPORTS 

MELBOURNE Nil 

SYDNEY SWANS Nil 

CROWD 2,277 at Casey Fields

I believe

40 minutes ago, Dee in a Kilt said:

I believe

So do I. Very much.