St. Kilda’s happiness at achieving a club record third straight AFLW win, a nine-point home victory against a tenacious Hawthorn, has been dampened by the season-ending knee injury to prized recruit Steph Chiocci.
The Saints held leads of 10, 19, and 27 points after the first three quarters, but they had to stave off a huge Hawthorn charge in the fourth.
Just a few minutes into the first quarter at RSEA Park, former Collingwood star Chiocci injured her right knee while attempting to avoid a tackle from Kaitlyn Ashmore.
The Saints said that tests revealed an anterior cruciate ligament tear after she was subsequently observed walking with crutches and an ice pack attached to her right knee.
Tessie McManus, general manager of the Saints’ AFLW team, remarked that the loss of Steph for the remainder of the season “is a big blow for not only Steph, but our entire programme.”
“She’s such an important leader who has the ability to have an immediate impact on the game.”
St. Kilda moved to 3-3, giving them a chance to make their first AFLW finals appearance, while Hawthorn fell to 1-5 after suffering their fourth straight defeat.
More disposals, clearances, marks, tackles, disputed possessions, and inside 50s were recorded by Hawthorn than by the opposition.
However, their poor goalkicking performance during the first three quarters cost them dearly as they only scored 2.5 points at the end of the third quarter.
The opening two quarters saw Saints kick three goals to one, and their first seven scoring were all goals.Only 2.5 of their first seven kicks were made by Hawthorn.
St. Kilda defender Alice Burke’s one goal in the third period was her team’s lone score and the first AFLW major for the Nathan Burke of the Saints.
Aine McDonagh booted two majors as Hawthorn outscored the opposition 3.1 to 0.1 in the final stanza while kicking with the breeze.
With 32 touches, 11 tackles, and 11 clearances, Emily Bates had a huge game for the Hawks, and skipper Tilly Lucas-Rodd had 26 touches, nine tackles, and five clearances but only kicked 0.3 goals.
Hawks head coach Bec Goddard identified below as the reason for her team’s inattention at defensive 50 stoppages.
We simply weren’t concerned or valued defence enough, and they took advantage of their opportunities when they presented themselves,” Goddard said.
The Saints’ workhorse, Jaimee Lambert, collected 26 disposals, nine tackles, and seven clearances.Nat Exon kicked two majors for the victors, along with a goal.
“Overall pleasing, it’s nice to be able to walk away with a result that we’re proud of and for the majority of the game, a style of football that we’re proud of,” Nick Dal Salto, the coach of St Kilda, stated.
“But we’re under no illusions we’ve got work to do.”
