AFLW 2018 Round 4: Collingwood 58 Melbourne 24

THE FACTS

AFLW 2018 Round 5 COLLINGWOOD v FOOTSCRAY Time & Place: Sunday March 4, 2:35pm EDT Ted Summerton Reserve, Moe TV: Fox Footy 2:30pm EDT Weather: Min 17 Max 28 Chance of rain 0% Wind: SW 11kph

COLLINGWOOD    0.0.0    3.2.20   6.4.40   9.4.58
MELBOURNE        2.2.14   2.2.14   3.4.22   3.6.24

GOALS - Collingwood: Hope 2, Edwards 2, Bernardi, Barden, Chiocci, Hutchins, Kuys

BEST - Collingwood: Bernardi, Lambert, Chiocci, Bonnici, Hope, King

INJURIES - Collingwood: Nil

REPORTS - Collingwood: Nil

OFFICIAL CROWD - TBC at TIO Traeger Park, Alice Springs

THE MEDIA

AFL COLLINGWOOD has broken its winless start to the NAB AFL Women's season with an impressive 34-point win in oppressive conditions against Melbourne in Alice Springs on Saturday night. With the temperature hitting 37 degrees at TIO Traeger Park, in the first AFLW match held there, the Magpies dominated much of the contest against one of the competition's premiership fancies, winning 9.4 (58) to 3.6 (24). Mo Hope (two goals from five shots) continued her return to form with a lively effort up forward, sparking the Pies’ comeback after the Demons booted the game’s first two goals. Melbourne has spent the past week on the road, having arrived in the Northern Territory last Wednesday after last week's loss to Fremantle in Western Australia. Aside from the first quarter, when the Demons controlled much of the play, they never looked like seriously challenging. Magpie forward Christina Bernardi was involved in much of her side's scoring efforts, particularly in the second term, working well in attack with Hope. Melbourne star Daisy Pearce copped plenty of close attention from Brittany Bonnici and was restricted to nine disposals. Fellow Magpie midfielders Jaimee Lambert and captain Stephanie Chiocci combined for 36 disposals, while Elise O'Dea and Karen Paxman stood up for the Demons. It was over when… Melbourne was pressing early in the last term and trailed by 17 points, so a comeback was on the cards if it could have strung together a couple of quick goals. Instead, Chiocci effectively ended the contest, spinning past a would-be tackler and booting a great goal from 40m. The hero Bernardi was outstanding for Collingwood. She was essential to the Magpies’ comeback in the second term, slotting a goal and setting up a couple for Hope. Her creativity in attack was crucial to the Pies posting their first victory of the year. What a turnaround After some promising signs in her recall last week, the first five minutes from Hope were poor. She was twice caught holding the ball and accidentally hit teammate Lambert high. Impressively though, the maligned forward turned it around, booting 2.3 and being a major threat in attack. What’s next? Collingwood can post consecutive wins when it takes on the Western Bulldogs at 2.35pm EDT next Sunday at Ted Summerton Reserve in Moe.

SUPERFOOTY COLLINGWOOD kept its faint AFLW finals hopes alive with a dominant 34-point win over a disappointing Melbourne in Alice Springs on Saturday night. After a scoreless first term, the Magpies turned on the flair in the trying conditions of the Red Centre to prevail 9.4 (58) to 3.6 (24) as they recorded their first win of the 2018 ­season. With temperatures reaching 38C throughout play in the first AFLW match in Alice Springs, it was the Pies who kept their cool best as they slotted six goals to one in the second half. Skipper Steph Chiocci was at her prolific best for Collingwood, covering every inch of grass at Traeger Park to record 17 disposals and a goal in a vital win for her side. Small forward Moana Hope also put in her best performance of the 2018 season, slotting two goals and creating others with her forward pressure. With scores tight at halftime, Collingwood blew the game open in the third term, kicking three goals to one to head into the final term leading by 18 points. The Pies then rammed home their advantage in the final quarter, holding the Dees goalless. “There’s always relief when you get your first win but more importantly we got reward for effort for our playing group,” Collingwood coach Wayne Siekman said. “We’ve had really good patches throughout the season where we’ve actually dominated the three sides we’ve played previously but we haven’t been able to sustain that. “That gives us great prospects and great insight into what we can do and what we’re able to achieve for the rest of the season if we keep putting out performances like that. "Everyone feels the pressure now, not just our football club. "It’s only a seven-week season so the heat is on, it’s not like you have 22 or 23 rounds and you get to have a couple of hiccups. “Now that we’ve got some momentum and the players have seen what we’ve been trying to execute all pre-season, the challenge is we go back home and prepare for another big clash next Sunday against the Western Bulldogs who are on top of the ladder.” The Demons weren’t able to get their run-and-carry game flowing and looked lethargic after quarter-time. Melbourne was again wasteful in front of goal, kicking three goals and six behinds. All-Australian Elise O’Dea was again impressive in a losing side, collecting 19 disposals as well as slotting a goal, while Karen Paxman also found the ball at will with 18 touches.