Adelaide have confirmed their standing as the AFLW’s greatest powerhouse with a third premiership, leading from post to post to defeat Melbourne by 13 points, and spoil women’s football icon Daisy Pearce’s expected swansong.
Led by 26 possessions from the outstanding Anne Hatchard, and with Dees spearhead Tayla Harris again blanketed by captain Chelsea Randall, the Crows were seldom threatened in front of 16,712 fans at the Adelaide Oval, the visitors left to rue a series of missed opportunities in the third quarter.
Two goals from sharpshooter Danielle Ponter, the second a sublime finish from the forward pocket to kill the contest late in the final term, proved the difference in a low-scoring game.
With the victory, the Crows avenged their shock loss to Brisbane in last year’s decider.
Having lost just one game apiece this season – the Demons to the Crows themselves, the Crows to the Western Bulldogs by a single point – the two best sides were seemingly beset by nerves in the early stages.
With frequent skill errors from usually reliable boots, the Demons in particular struggled to escape their own defensive half. When Libby Birch conceded an off the ball free kick which set up Jasmyn Hewett to slot the first goal of the game after a strong mark next to the point post, it felt like just reward for the Crows’ dominance.
The Dees were scoreless at quarter time, with Tayla Harris yet again blanketed by Chelsea Randall – just as concerningly, champion Erin Phillips managed just one disposal for the term.
But you can’t keep a GOAT down for long, Phillips roaring to life with nine touches in the second, including the first goal of the quarter to extend the Adelaide lead.
Aside from that, the Crows were failing to punish the Demons on the scoreboard, a poor miss from the otherwise sublime Hatchard directly in front keeping the visitors in the contest.
When preliminary final hero Alyssa Bannan swooped on a telegraphed kick across goal from Caitlin Gould for the Demons’ first, they were well and truly back in the match.
Having scored three final-quarter goals the last time these two teams met, a Demons’ surge in the third quarter appeared set to provide a grandstand finish. Suddenly controlling possession, finding space and with far more danger to their inside-50 entries, one goal apiece for the quarter didn’t do justice to their effort, just as it hadn’t for the Crows in the first half.
After a perfectly weighted Ash Woodland pass found Danielle Ponter in the goalsquare to extend the Crows’ advantage in the opening seconds, the Dees finally broke through the home side’s well-orchestrated defence.
A long kick carried the Crows’ cluster, with Kate Hore marking then finishing under pressure to keep the Demons alive.
A pair of misses, though, would leave the Dees still chasing the game by three-quarter time, Karen Paxman and Lily Mithen both shanking gettable set shots to leave them with a mountain to climb, as a parochial Adelaide Oval crowd – a far cry from the 54,000-strong attendance three years ago but making noise to match – willed their girls home.
A nasty arm injury to Casey Sherriff to start the term felt symbolic, and with the Dees struggling again to score as the Crows’ defence locked down, the knockout blow felt inevitable.
Following a strong mark, Ponter played on, closed to within range, and finished superbly. There would be no coming back from there.
With Phillips weighing up a fairytale return to Port Adelaide upon their entry into the AFLW next season – where father Greg played 352 SANFL games – the 36-year old was emotional after the match, but says she still hasn’t made up her mind on where she will play moving forward.
“We just keep turning up year after year, we just keep wanting to be better – it doesn’t matter if we’ve won before, we act like we’ve never won anything!” she said after the match.
“It’s just an amazing group of girls to be a part of. It’s something special.
“My whole goal has been to win another premiership with this team. There’s been a lot of noise, a lot of people talking about what’s next… there’s more factors than just one simple choice for me.
“Right now, I’m just so proud to be a Crow.”