THE VFLW Blues had no answers for Port Melbourne on Sunday afternoon, suffering a 44-point loss at La Trobe University.

Despite a fantastic opening quarter from Carlton, the Blues couldn’t stop Port Melbourne as they pulled away on the scoreboard.

Jorga Borg had a dominant day in the ruck, playing her first game of the season following a finger injury. 

Quarter-by-quarter breakdown:

Quarter 1:

The Blues started the match convincingly, holding the ball in their forward 50 for the majority of the first quarter. However, after multiple entries and a kick from Paige Trudgeon that fell short of the required distance, it was the Borough who broke through - They pushed two Blues off the ball to score the first major of the afternoon. Nevertheless, the goal was quickly answered by a beautiful left foot snap off of the boot of Maddison Wilson to even the scores. Looking for back-to-back Carlton goals, Ester Honeybun found open space, however pushed the ball too far to her right for a minor score. A late blunder by the Blues resulted in a disheartening Port Melbourne goal just as the quarter siren sounded.

Quarter 2:

Carlton remained strong in defence behind enemy lines but struggled to move the ball further than the centre circle in response. After several attempts to bring the ball down the middle of the ground were spoiled by intercept marks and pressure efforts from the Borough, the ball became trapped in Port Melbourne’s half of the ground. From this leverage point, the Borough was able to score off a number of sprayed shots to extend their lead. To end the half, a Port Melbourne free-kick resulting in a scoring opportunity after the half-time siren was upstaged by a furry pitch invader who entertained spectators as the Port Melbourne trainers struggled to capture the stray on the wing.   

Quarter 3:

Jessie Coletti did all she could to stop a rampant Borough attack, taking a number of heroic intercept marks to keep her side in the game. Carlton copped a huge blow when captain Ally Bild limped off the ground with a sore ankle following an awkward tackle. Bild later returned to the game but did not resume her defensive kick-in duties. Jennifer Lew brought a new level of physicality to her game. However, a moment of aggression and frustration from Lew resulted in a 50m penalty that ended in a costly Port Melbourne goal. Strong attempts to mark the footy in front came from Trudgeon and Stephanie Lawrence, however the Sherrin just wouldn’t sail through the middle of the sticks, setting the stage for a big last quarter effort from the Blues.

Quarter 4:

Awarded a shot at goal for a push in the back infringement, Akayla Peterson followed through to give Carlton its first major since the opening quarter. Lawrence also set up for goal, however missed to her right for a point.  Nonetheless, it wasn’t enough as the Borough continued to pile on goals in what was an ominous day for the Blues.  

Luke’s best on field:

“Best on for us today was definitely Jessie Coletti,” O’Shannessy said.

“She’s had some really strong performances, but this week her contested marking down back was phenomenal.

“The scoreboard would have looked very different without her there.”

Match summary:

CARLTON    1.1    0.0    0.2    1.0 (15)
PORT MELBOURNE   2.0    1.3    2.2    4.0(59)

GOALS
Wilson, Peterson

BEST
Coletti, Lew, Edwards, Peterson, Wilson, Bild