Collingwood recovered from a slow start to score a commanding win against Sydney and jump into the top four of the AFLW ladder.
After wrestling back momentum in the second quarter, the Pies sliced their way through the Swans setup with ease to boot five unanswered goals.
The 6.9 (45) to 2.2 (14) backed up the season-opening triumph over arch rival Carlton, and sets up a mouth-watering clash with the ladder-leading Cats – also two-from-two – at Kardinia Park next week.
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Collingwood, despite missing star pair Brianna Davey and Brit Bonnici, again showed it has the weapons in its arsenal to cause a stir in season seven.
Chloe Molloy demonstrated her rare blend of class and toughness with a goal, five marks and six tackles, Jaimee Lambert was prolific and sharpshooter Jordan Membrey gave defenders headaches with six grabs and a pair of majors.
The icing on the cake came through club debutant and former Cat Olivia Barber, who enjoyed two goals with some neat pinch-hitting in the ruck before singing the team song in the black and white for the first time.
ROLLS-ROYCE RUBY
Taking the reins in the new-look midfield missing star duo Davey and Bonnici, former half-back playmaker Ruby Schleicher has elevated her game to top-level heights.
Schleicher is coming off back-to-back All-Australian campaigns as a defender, but her prolific start to season seven of the AFLW as an onballer has her placed among the league’s elite after two rounds.
“We’re really stoked,” Schleicher told Fox Footy post-match. “There would’ve been a lot of question marks around us coming into this season, losing our big guns (Davey and Bonnici).
“(But) it’s pretty handy when you’ve got them on the bench to coach you through it.
“Every break, they’re coming up to me and telling me what I can do better.
“We’re still learning, so it’s good, particularly that last quarter, to show what we can do without our guns as well.”
The Magpies’ Rolls Royce appears to have her sights firmly set on making her mark as a top-flight midfielder after establishing herself as one of the game’s defenders, standing up when it mattered on Sunday with 11 kicks, five marks and six tackles.
SWANS’ SURPRISE START
The Magpies started red-hot favourites but it was the Swans who made a fiery start, surprising their more fancied opponents with a spirited first-quarter effort.
Collingwood won more of the ball at the coalface and streamed through the middle at times a little too easily, but the visitors defended strongly and turned rebound plays into scores to put the Pies on the back foot.
Experienced campaigner Rebecca Privitelli ensured a shock quarter-time lead in style, too, taking a strong contested mark at the top of the goalsquare and converting the set shot in a statement-making play.
The competitive showing didn’t last as long as the Harbour City side would’ve liked – the first-break lead became a 10-point deficit by halftime – but the expansion team proved it can match it with more favoured opponents, albeit in patches, when it brings the heat.
SCOREBOARD
Magpies 1.2, 3.5, 4.7, 6.9 (45)
Swans 2.0, 2.1, 2.1, 2.2 (14)
BEST
Magpies: Lambert, Schleicher, Molloy, Sheridan, Allen, Membrey
Swans: Eastman, Whelan, Heads, Newman
GOALS
Magpies: Barber 2, Membrey 2, James, Molloy
Swans: Newman, Privitelli
INJURIES
Nil
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
3. J. Lambert (Coll)
2. R. Schleicher (Coll)
1. C. Molloy (Coll)
BLUES SURVIVE LATE BOMBER BLITZ
It was another thriller in season seven as the Bombers were oh so close to pulling off an almighty upset before the Blues held on by one point.
After kicking the last four goals of the game in the final quarter, the Bombers will be ruing what could have been.
Joanne Doonan missed two shots at goal in the final minutes which would have put the Bombers in front, but the Blues managed to hold on with multiple acts of desperation as the Bombers threw everything they had at their arch rivals.
Alana Barba also had an opportunity to put the Bombers in front after being rewarded for a great tackle, but her shot fell short as well.
It was agony on the final siren for the gutsy Bombers, while it was ecstasy for the Blues who notched their first win of the season.
FRIENDS BECOME ENEMIES
After Maddy Prespakis and Georgia Gee departed the Blues in the off-season to join the expansion Bombers, the Blues faithful were heartbroken.
Prespakis spoke earlier in the week how her “pretty disappointed” ex-teammates gave her the cold shoulder after she signed with the Bombers.
Prespakis set the tone early with a huge tackle at the first centre bounce and was arguably her sides best performer, racking up 21 disposals, six tackles and a goal.
Her goal five minutes into the final quarter slashed the margin to just three points and it felt as though the Bombers might pinch the win.
But the Blues had the last laugh, holding on, despite a late Bombers surge, to win by just one point.
With the movement of Prespakis and Gee only adding to the rivalry which has been ingrained in fan bases through the AFL men’s for decades, it appears as though these clashes will be must-watch for years to come.
OPPORTUNITY FOR BLUES
With the exit of Grace Egan alongside the likes of Prespakis and Gee, greater opportunity has been presented to a pair of Blues midfielders.
Former Sandringham Dragon Abbie McKay looks set for a breakout campaign, backing up her performance in Round 1 with an 11-disposal, nine tackle outing.
The best midfielders in the AFLW are those who are both offensively and defensively strong and McKay has all the traits to become a super player.
Mimi Hill is building nicely too after winning the Rising Star award last season.
Hill played just six matches in season 6, coming into the Blues side after missing the early rounds through an ACL injury.
She edged Suns star Charlie Rowbottom in the vote count by just one vote and looks like she will take another step forward with a bigger role in the Blues midfield this season.
Hill had 21 touches as the leading ball-winner on the ground, often releasing outside runners to generate forward 50 entries for Carlton.
BIG BLUE DOMINATES RUCK BATTLE
Breann Moody is one of the most seasoned rucks in the competition and she put on a clinic against the inexperienced Bombers duo of Steph Wales and Danielle Marshall.
Moody dominated the ruck battle amassing 12 disposals, 30 hitouts and six tackles.
Not only did she give her midfielders first use, but she ruled the airways taking three marks as well.
Moody was one of the Blues’ best and looks to be an integral piece to the puzzle this season, especially given the new look midfield they have assembled.
PAIGE SCOTT IS SIZZLING
The first-round draft pick has had an immediate impact in the red and black.
Scott pushed the disappointment of missing out on a draft night invite behind her with a brilliant pre-season and she’s come out breathing fire in her first two games in the AFLW.
Scott told womens.afl that not receiving an invite “stung a bit”, but she’s not messing about since hitting the big time.
She was awarded a Rising Star nomination for her 16-disposal, one goal performance against Hawthorn last week and she certainly looks like she belongs at the level.
She didn’t get quite as much of the ball against the Blues, but when she did, she made sure she impacted the game.
Scott booted the first goal for the Dons after a tidy side-step she calmly slotted a goal from about 40 metres out.
She finished the game with 10 disposals and a goal and her efforts in the dying stages almost willed the Dons over the line.
If the first two weeks of the season are anything to go by, Scott will quickly become a cult figure down at Tullamarine.
DARCY V IS A STAR
They’re one of the most decorated AFLW players in history and Darcy Vescio is still a critical part of the Carlton forward line.
Vescio kicked three goals and was lively in the front half, but they also got up the ground and brought others into the contest, finishing with 11 disposals.
Their experience was pivotal when the game got close late, directing traffic to ensure the Bombers had no easy outlets in transition from defence to offence.
Vescio is one of just three AFLW players to have kicked 50 goals in their career, alongside Power superstar Erin Phillips and Giant gun Cora Staunton.
SCOREBOARD
BOMBERS 1.2, 1.3, 1.5, 4.7 (31)
BLUES 2.1, 3.1, 5.2, 5.2(32)
BEST
Bombers: Prespakis, Scott, Cain, Toogood.
Blues: Vescio, Moody, Hill, McKay, Skepper.
GOALS
Bombers: Scott, Bannister, Cain, Prespakis.
Blues: Vescio 3, Austin, Skepper.
INJURIES: Bombers: Nil. Blues: Nil.
UMPIRES: Pell, Mitchell, Compton-Robins.
VENUE: ETU Stadium.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
3. D. Vescio (Carl)
2. B. Moody (Carl)
1. M. Prespakis (Ess)
SAINTS EASE PAST HAWKS
The young Hawks looked in for a challenge against their more experienced opponents on paper and an already-tough task became a monumental one when two of the team’s leaders went down in the opening minutes.
Tam Luke came from the ground in the hands of trainers immediately after the first bounce after sustaining a knee injury, and minutes later, fellow leadership group member Lou Stephenson had her left leg tangled up in a tough tackle.
Luke was immediately ruled out for the game’s remainder, with coach Bec Goddard at quarter-time confirming the Hawks would be sweating on the medical prognosis in coming days.
Stephenson was given the green light to return to the contest in the second quarter after having her ankle strapped, but was back on the sidelines – and in a moonboot – by the mainbreak and took no further part.
The Saints were struck by their own injury troubles, too, with Jayde van Dyk injuring her knee when her long-range bomb attempt was smothered early in the second.
Van Dyk was escorted from the ground and joined her Hawks counterparts on the sidelines for the rest of the game, souring an otherwise exciting Sunday for the triumphant Saints.
SAINTS’ BEST-EVER START
St Kilda charged to its best-ever start to an AFLW season with Sunday’s searing win over the Hawks, going 2-0 for the first time in a dominant display from start to finish.
The Saints piled on four goals to none in the first and were briefly challenged in the second, but stormed away after the main break to complete the percentage-boosting 9.9 (63) – 1.4 (10) win.
The supreme showing against the newly-introduced Hawks won’t make the Saints premiership contenders just yet – their opponents featured five teenagers and suffered injuries to veterans Tam Luke and Lou Stephenson early – but it proves a confidence booster for a side yet to feature in finals football.
G-TRAIN EXPRESS
Big full-forward Caitlin Greiser imposed herself early with a set-shot conversion in the first but it was the second-term dribbler that left the Box Hill crowd in awe.
The ‘G-Train’ found herself one-out at top of the square after a deep forward-50 entry, competing aerially before pouncing on the loose ball as it rolled towards the boundary line.
With Hawks full-back Teagen Cunningham hot on her heels and closing in for an attempted smother, Greiser gathered the ball like a speedy forward pocket, threw it on her boot and dribbled it home.
It was the Saints’ only second-term major but easily the most memorable of their five for the half.
Greiser attributed her three-goal performance to her teammates’ dominance up the ground.
“I started off a bit slow in the first game, so it was great to get a couple of snags,” she told Channel Seven post-match.
“I couldn’t do it without the girls – the girls win the ball really well through the mid. It was a great team effort.”
SCOREBOARD
Hawthorn: 0.0 1.2 1.2 1.4 (10)
St Kilda: 4.3 5.5 7.7 9.9 (63)
BEST
Hawthorn: Lucas-Rodd, Ashmore, Smith, Gilroy
St Kilda: Jakobsson, White, Greiser, Vesely, Patrikios, Shierlaw
GOALS
Hawthorn: Gilroy
St Kilda: Greiser 3, Shierlaw 2, Martin 2, Stevens, Stuart
INJURIES
Hawthorn: Tam Luke (knee), Lou Stephenson (ankle)
St Kilda: Van Dyk (knee)
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
B. Jakobsson 3
T. Lucas-Rodd 2
T. White 1
