Melbourne Demons Remain Unbeaten at 6-0 Amid Gall Injury Concern
Melbourne have the ladder to themselves and a problem they didn’t want.
The Demons are the AFLW’s last unbeaten side after six rounds, crushing Carlton by 34 points at a windswept Casey Fields, 8.10 (58) to 3.6 (24). They did it with a brutal third-quarter burst, a midfield masterclass and a debut goal to savour.
They also did it while watching star forward Georgia Gall limp off with an ankle injury.
Demons flex – but at a cost
With North Melbourne stunned by Hawthorn the night before, Melbourne ran out knowing exactly what was on the line: win, and top spot was theirs with a perfect 6-0 start.
Carlton made them earn it early. The Blues were spirited across the opening half, stuck to their task and kept the contest alive on effort alone. Melbourne’s ball use wobbled at times, their forward entries didn’t always match their dominance around the ball.
Then the dam wall burst.
The Demons slammed on four unanswered goals in the third term, ripping the game away in a devastating 15-minute spell that underlined why they now sit alone at the top. Olivia Purcell took control of the contest, driving Melbourne forward with 26 disposals and chiming in with two goals during the surge.
Tyla Hanks was everywhere. Her 32 disposals and one goal underpinned Melbourne’s midfield supremacy, the pair repeatedly surging the ball into attack as Carlton’s resistance finally cracked.
But amid the avalanche came the grim note. Gall went down in the third quarter with an ankle injury and limped from the field, casting a shadow over an otherwise emphatic afternoon. For a side eyeing a deep run, the sight of one of their key forwards in trouble will linger longer than the margin.
The Demons still found moments to celebrate. In the last quarter, Jorja Livingstone marked her AFLW debut with a goal, a clean finish that capped Melbourne’s work and put the exclamation mark on a statement win.
For Carlton, it’s suddenly a wobble. A second straight defeat drops the Blues to 4-2 and dents their top-four push. Claudia Whitfort was typically busy with 24 disposals, fighting to keep her side in it, but the weight of Melbourne’s midfield and scoreboard pressure eventually told.
Melbourne walk away unbeaten and on top. They’ll spend the next few days waiting on scans as much as ladder updates.
Moloney magic as Cats make it five straight
If Melbourne’s win was ruthless, Geelong’s was spectacular.
The Cats rolled into Victoria Park needing a result to shore up their place inside the top eight and walked out with a fifth consecutive victory, a 14.6 (90) to 7.7 (49) win over Collingwood built on one electrifying quarter and a goal that will live in highlight reels all year.
The winless Magpies (0-6) refused to play their part as easy beats. Just after half-time, they levelled the scores and jolted Geelong awake. Suddenly, the pressure was on the visitors.
The response was savage.
Geelong flicked the switch in the third term, piling on six goals to blow the game open and carry a 31-point lead into the final break. The quarter was all surge, speed and clean finishing, the Cats turning a tight contest into a mismatch.
At the heart of it, one moment stood above the rest. Aishling Moloney launched from around halfway, the ball skidding and bouncing its way goalward before tumbling through for a remarkable major. It was the kind of audacious strike that instantly enters goal-of-the-year conversations, the sort of play that breaks not just a line but an opponent’s spirit.
Moloney finished with three goals, while Chloe Scheer was just as damaging with four majors of her own as Geelong’s forwards feasted on a midfield that refused to let up.
Nina Morrison (30 disposals), Mikayla Bowen (29 disposals) and Georgie Prespakis, who racked up 12 clearances, drove the dominance around the ball. Every time Collingwood threatened to surge, the Cats’ engine room shut the door.
Geelong then tightened the screws in the final term, holding the Magpies goalless to close out a 41-point win and cement themselves as one of the competition’s form sides at 5-1.
Collingwood’s season remains winless, but not without a bright spark. Half-forward Olivia Lewis, a late call-up on Saturday morning when Bri Davey fell ill, marked her AFLW debut with a goal after crossing from Super Netball’s Melbourne Mavericks to the Magpies. In a tough year, that moment will matter inside the club rooms.
Melbourne unbeaten. Geelong surging. Carlton and Collingwood searching for answers. Six rounds in, the gap between contenders and chasers is starting to show – the only question now is who can keep up.
