AFTER a tight and scrappy affair at RAMS Arena on Sunday afternoon, Carlton’s VFLW side narrowly went down to the old enemy Collingwood by 17 points – 4.7.31 to 6.12.48.
With the wind heavily favouring one end of the ground and playing havoc with the ball in the air, it was a hotly contested first half of footy.
Scores proved hard to come by in the first term, but Carlton captain Kristi Harvey stood up when it mattered – taking a mark and booting the opening goal right on the quarter-time siren. Young Olivia Vesely also made an impressive start to the game, setting up scoring opportunities for Carlton throughout the first half.
After keeping the Pies scoreless in the first term, the black and white hit back when play resumed, thanks to a goal by Iilish Ross. Kicking with the strong breeze, Collingwood failed to capitalise on a number of scoring opportunities – kicking one goal and seven behinds for the quarter to lead the Blues by five points at half-time.
Carlton’s Georgia Fisher and Gab Pound took solid marks in defence to make their presence felt, while Chloe Dalton and Nat Plane tackled hard all day and led the way through the middle.
With scores tied during the final term, it was a vastly different performance to Round 7 when the teams last met. It was only four weeks ago when Collingwood defeated the Blues by six goals.
Taking full advantage of the wind in the final term, Collingwood pulled away in the final stages of the last term to ultimately take home the four points.
Marking Georgia Gee’s first VFLW game of the season, the small forward said it felt good to cross the white line again.
“Although we didn’t quite get the win, it was great to get back out there, have a kick and play with my teammates,” Gee said.
“It was a real arm-wrestle all afternoon, but they just managed to get a bit more contested ball towards the end of the last quarter which was disappointing. In saying that, this performance shows we’re improving as it was only four weeks ago that we lost to them by six goals, so it’s a step in the right direction.”
Booting three goals for the game, Gee had nothing but praise for skipper Kristi Harvey.
“Kristi is having an awesome season for the Club. Her leadership on game day and throughout the week is terrific and she’s making an impact up forward. She’s transitioned from defence to attack so well.”
The Blues take on Richmond next Saturday at Ikon Park, with the action kicking off at 11:30am.
CARLTON 1.2 1.2 4.7 4.7 (31)
COLLINGWOOD 0.0 1.7 3.7 6.12 (48)
Goals: K. Harvey 3, T. Hanks
