Essendon and Sydney players could take significant hits to the hip pocket after one of the largest melees in AFLW history was sparked by a bump from Bombers midfield star Maddy Prespakis.
Players from both sides ran into the fray on the three-quarter-time siren of Essendon’s three-point win on Wednesday night.
A bump by Bomber Maddy Prespakis left Swans players unhappy on Wednesday night.Credit: AFL Photos
With just four seconds remaining in the third quarter, Prespakis was immediately confronted by Sydney players Alexia Hamilton and Tanya Kennedy, drawing in teammates from both sides.
Prespakis, who was tagged for all four quarters and will likely be one of the players handed a sanction from the match review officer, spoke about the mental toll of having her impact on the game restricted after the thriller at Whitten Oval.
“Really proud of the girls,” Prespakis said after the game.
“We fought really hard and Sydney came at us in the end.
“It [getting tagged] is really hard and does take a mental toll.
“Every single week I feel like I’ve got a thumb in my back everywhere I go.
“Woody [coach Natalie Woods] just says smile at them, take it as a compliment and do what you can.”
The incident marks another chapter in an AFLW season that is witnessing heightened physicality as the game grows each year.
North Melbourne’s Libby Birch copped some attention when she came up against former side Melbourne early in the season, while there have been melee and wrestling charges in two other matches this season.
AFLW players have not shied away from scuffles on the field, and Wednesday night’s melee may be in contention to overtake last year’s Collingwood-Richmond clash, dubbed “the biggest brawl in AFLW history” by players Sarah Hosking and Sarah Rowe.
Speaking on the duo’s podcast Tagged, Hosking stated that melees were all part of the game.
“If my teammate needs help, I’m not just letting her sit on the ground while she gets pummelled by someone else,” she said.
“I love that stuff. I think it’s all part of the game and I think it’s great – obviously no one gets hurt. It gets fiery … I think it’s all part of it.
“It really tests the character of your teammates, and we’ve literally taken the piss out of some of our teammates because you might see this little scuffle on the ground or something and someone’s close by — now you’ve got an option here, to either run and help … or you run in the opposite direction, and we’ve got a few teammates that do that here or there.”
The brawl broke out between the two sides at Victoria Park late in the fourth quarter when Magpie Sarah Sansonetti tackled Tiger Emelia Yassir over the boundary line. Teammates from both sides then rushed over to join in.
Rowe described it as one of the more notable melees in AFLW history.
“I’m the type that I’ll go in to bat for my teammates, I’ll go stick up for them for sure, but I’m also the one that I’ll probably do it with a smile on my face, and I’ll be like, ‘come on, we don’t actually want to hit each other’,” she said on the podcast.
