AFLW Round 3 - 2025 AFLW Season

[Teen Wolf]

Well it's certainly not post-ACL version of Ellie Blackburn, as she's never done one (knock on wood). But I get the sentiment, lol.

 

[BallaratBulldog]

That’s true, my mind for some reason is mixing up Huntington randomly

 

[Teen Wolf]

What would be a truer reflection of the way each team has played this year so far: Hawthorn starting 3-0, or the Bulldogs starting 2-1?

 

[Stottzy]

How have the AFLW aloud the umpires to be in blue for a Dogs game?

 

[Teen Wolf]

Style of this game is playing out quite closely to how the Bulldogs coach wanted, if we're being honest.

 

[BallaratBulldog]

One time the corridor was used, didn’t have the skill to hit the next two targets.

Prichard should have went top of the square too

 

[Teen Wolf]

New record for highest combined score in PA-GC backed up by what could be the lowest-ever scoring game, not sure yet.

 

[Teen Wolf]

Seven's fx microphones were picking up a car alarm going off in the background throughout the broadcast, which I thought was rather fitting.

Send not to know for whom the alarm tolls, Tamara Hyett. It tolls for thee.

 

[weevil]

That was a tough watch.

 

[Teen Wolf]

Ah yes I remember now, R1 2020 between GWS and GC had both teams in single digits, but that was in heaving rain.

 

[Teen Wolf]

No surprises post-match. 106-second press conference smacks of running and hiding.

AFLW coaches never take responsibility when their team plays a really bad and ugly brand of football. Always blame the players or the umpires or expansion teams or whatever, as we also saw with Nathan Burke during the week.

 

[Arwib]

Swans Cats was a teriffic game. Swans looked out of their depth at first but really dug in.

Cats super unlucky to be 0-3. Swans continue to play a very attractive brand of footy.

Think the htb rule was better applied today and helped the game flow well. Going to take a whole season to understand it.

Luckily that early Cats pressure was probably unsustainable, they barely let Sydney get a clean touch in the first ten minutes. As well as the ground back dominance, they would've been shocked by an opponent shutting down all their outlet disposals and blocking their handball receivers even when they did manage to gather it.

Really good stuff for Sydney to avoid panicking in the face of a team that was onto a lot of their moves, and to gradually work out ways to get the ball moving on the outside despite a much better standard of opposition stoppage and defensive work.

 

[Teen Wolf]

Geel-Syd votes

Best

3 – Sofia Hurley
If it wasn’t enough for the Cats to stomach a narrow loss against the likes of Geelong mutineers McEvoy/Gardiner/D.Moloney, the defining play of the day hinged on a Hurley spin cycle move torn from the playbook of revolutionary revolvers Amy McDonald and Maddy McMahon.

2 – Aishling Moloney
23 disposals, 3 goals. Passed it off too many times down the home straight though.

1 – Ally Morphett
Many other worthy performances on the day but this was the player who on paper should’ve been the difference between the two teams, and was.

Worst

1 – Meg McDonald
Doesn’t do enough.

2 – Brenna Tarrant
13 metres lost in game number 50.

3 – Jacqui Parry
Missed 3 easy shots including the would-be leveller, and gave away a 50m penalty directly resulting in a goal which proved just a bit costly.

---

StK-WCE votes

Best

3 – Ella Roberts
Basically R1’s BOG performance in reverse.

2 – Lucia Painter
Swanson also had a claim, while Dalgleish again delivered in big moments.

1 – Jesse Wardlaw
It would’ve been interesting to see how this match plays out if, during one of their rare fourth-quarter I50s, the Saints actually kicked the ball to her.

Worst

1 – Nicola Stevens
Beaten like a drum on the day. Didn’t help that the good things she did manage to do were credited to Alice Burke in commentary. But the real highlight on that front came with 2:40 left in Q4, St Kilda down by 8 points kicking against the wind: “Stevens has to defend with her life now”. Um… she’s already dead, Kelli.

2 – Molly McDonald
Just the 8 disposals at 13%.

3 – Hannah Priest
As usual, mostly just wandered around being a good sport. No killer instinct with this team and that starts at the top.

---

PA-GC votes

Best

3 – Matilda Scholz
One for WX’s extremely authentic and not-fabricated-at-all ‘Overheard at the W’ column: “Look at the way that girl runs, what rhythm she has!”

2 – Shineah Goody
16 kicks, 7 inside 50s, 8 score involvements, 5 clearances, 5 tackles and nowhere near BOG.

1 – Niamh McLaughlin
Honourable mentions to Charlie Rowbottom who was brave, Gemma Houghton who was electric and Abbey Dowrick who was everywhere. But McLaughlin was all three of those things.

Worst

1 – Maddy Brancatisano
For those expecting me to give bad votes to sub-50-gamers like Maria Moloney and Jac Dupuy, I would never do that. I repeat, Maria Moloney and Jac Dupuy.

2 – Ebony O’Dea
And I get she’s a tough nut. Regardless, a couple of her few touches of the footy came in the same passage of play and it just left me shaking my head.

3 – Jamie Stanton
Jagged one late, otherwise kicked the ball like she was wearing cinder blocks on her feet.

---

WB-Haw votes

Best
3 – Jenna Richardson
2 – Isabella Grant
1 – Rylie Wilcox

Worst
1 – Eliza West
2 – Sarah Hartwig
3 – Louise Stephenson

 

[Teen Wolf]

1 – Jesse Wardlaw
It would’ve been interesting to see how this match plays out if, during one of their rare fourth-quarter I50s, the Saints actually kicked the ball to her.

This was the moment they lost the game imo:

Stuart takes the mark 55m out, and doesn't just turn-and-go to exploit the 2-on-1 close to goal. I know it could be said she might get mown down by Bushby, but you've got to take the game on in that situation. Slow shallow entries aren't working into the wind.

Instead, she goes back over the mark, chips it to Lambert in the pocket, who then ignores a perfect lead from Wardlaw. Priest then gets it and takes a set shot which she was never going to convert in a million years.

 

[Cdog71]

1 – Ally Morphett
Many other worthy performances on the day but this was the player who on paper should’ve been the difference between the two teams, and was.

Pretty good last quarter when the game was there to be won or lost.
9 marks and 381 mtr gained against Dunlop, just warming up the motor I reckon and would t be surprised if she’s got a little edge to her next week against last years AA Ruck.

 

[Teen Wolf]

Hurley spin cycle move torn from the playbook of revolutionary revolvers Amy McDonald and Maddy McMahon.

What was once the McShake...




...is now the Hurley Twirly:

 

[Teen Wolf]

3 – Matilda Scholz
One for WX’s extremely authentic and not-fabricated-at-all ‘Overheard at the W’ column: “Look at the way that girl runs, what rhythm she has!”

Herald Sun - FeatureA

Herald Sun - FeatureA - 08/26/2025

todayspaper.heraldsun.com.au

Think I've captured the writer's voice:

 

[Teen Wolf]

Hard to believe some of the umpiring decisions in Melbourne's forward 50 during that quarter.

 

[JuniorWatch]

How is the turf this wet. Barely rained all day

 

[Oscarman]

Umps putrid trying to get the Pies over the line.

 

[Tarkyn_24]

Umps putrid trying to get the Pies over the line.

Every single one of those frees in that last chain were there.

All you had to do was not panic at every contest lol. Lucky to get away with that

 

[Teen Wolf]

Votes for what was a good game almost spoiled by disgraceful umpiring.

Best on ground

3 - Kate Hore
21 disposals, 2 goals and used it pretty well at 67%.

2 - Brittany Bonnici
Combo of 10 tackles and 6 clearances separates her from the other major ball winners.

1 - Tarni White
390 metres gained on 12 kicks is big. Runnalls or Zanker could've been BOG if they nailed all their shots.

Worst on ground

1 - Alana Porter
Low-hanging choice with only 30% TOG, but didn't lay a tackle and there was a distinct lack of options once Bannan delivered the match-winning goal assist.

2 - Lauren Pearce
Lifted a little bit in Q4.

3 - Sabrina Frederick
12 metres gained for the match and was lucky she didn't have to deal with Harris in the ruck all day.

 

[Liam Boy]

Holding the ball is now officially a mercy rule where if a side's getting flogged and the umpires feel bad for them, suddenly every tackle they lay is HTB. Or it doesn't even have to be a tackle, like when Jenna Bruton had the ball knocked out of her hand in the motion of picking it up.

 

[MartinPrince]

North are going to go undefeated again. Unless they get a lot of injuries.

 

[mookieb]

Umps putrid trying to get the Pies over the line.

The worst was Harris getting shoved in the back in the goal square then getting pinged for htb.