By Steve Barrett
Matilda Scholz’s ruck masterclass, highlighted by one of the AFLW’s great marks, has lifted Port Adelaide to an eight-point win over Collingwood and into the top eight.
The Power’s 4.9 (33) to 3.7 (25) victory at Alberton on Thursday night gave them their first three-game win streak since entering the competition in 2022.
Their joy was tempered, though, with Julia Teakle finishing the game on the sidelines after limping off with a right knee injury early in the third quarter.
Teakle will undergo scans on Friday, the club confident she has avoided serious damage.
The ruck-rover combination of Scholz (15 possessions – all contested, 20 hit-outs, nine clearances) and Abbey Dowrick (20 disposals, nine clearances) was dynamic all evening, while defender Molly Dowrick and winger Shineah Goody also impressed.
Mikala Cann (21 disposals, 10 tackles, one goal) starred for the Magpies, who were overwhelmed after half-time.
“It certainly felt like a gritty win,” Port coach Lauren Arnell said.
“Really pleased with our midfield and the way they stuck it out and reset at half-time.
“Our mids were able to grind it out when it was an overly contested game of footy.”
Caitlin Wendland’s goal-line toe-poke was the only six-pointer of a dour opening term, at the end of which the Power led by eight points.
Port had 17 of the first 20 clearances but couldn’t generate anything on the outside, taking only five first-half marks, Ella Boag pouching three of them.
Conversely, the Magpies were swift outside the contest and controlled territory in the second term, while kicking to the wind-assisted northern end.
First-round draftee Georgia Clark, playing her third game, booted her maiden AFLW goal – and Collingwood’s first of the night – in the 13th minute of the second before Cann added a second, 45 seconds out from the halftime siren to put the Pies in front.
The Power had the breeze in the third stanza and completely swamped the Maggies, dominating clearances (15-3), inside-50s (14-2) and contested possessions (33-20).
The home side recaptured the lead on a Gemma Houghton gem, the Port spearhead ripping a ruck contest out of the air, spinning and snapping from a tight angle.
Acting captain Justine Mules-Robinson stretched Port’s buffer to seven points, before Scholz had the home fans on their feet when she soared for a spectacular mark over a six-player pack.
Flying high: Matiloa Scholz of Port Adelaide.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
Scholz, who modestly described her stunning grab as a “bit of a fluke”, converted to give the Power a 14-point three-quarter time break.
Alana Porter produced the only six-pointer of the fourth stanza, Port holding on against the wind down the stretch.
“I really have to credit their (Port’s) midfield,” Collingwood coach Sam Wright said.
“Losing clearance like that (minus-29) … weight of numbers, that dam wall eventually breaks – and it did.”
AAP
