AS MELBOURNE became the first club to crack the 100-point barrier in the AFLW, five Demons have made it into womens.afl’s Team of the Week for round nine. 

The team is selected to mirror the All-Australian side: five defenders, six midfielders (including a ruck), five forwards and five interchange players.    

Like the All-Australian team, it has players selected in general categories, rather than in traditional positions. The 16-a-side set-up often means teams play with varying configurations, making set selections (e.g wings and flanks) difficult. 

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DEFENDERS 

Rebecca Miller (Richmond), Sarah Allan (Adelaide), Katie Lynch (Western Bulldogs), Ruby Schleicher (Collingwood), Vaomua Laloifi (Carlton) 

Schleicher continued her impressive form from last week into the Pies’ clash with Adelaide, utilising the attack she can bring and gathering a career-high 31 disposals, while at the other end of the ground Allan (15 disposals, six tackles) set the tone for the Crows early. 

Miller’s positioning for the Tigers was outstanding and racked up seven intercepts and seven marks for the game. Lynch had arguably her best game against the Eagles, registering a career best 18 disposals and nine intercepts, and Laloifi’s positioning and attack out of defence made life hard for her Suns opponents. 

MIDFIELDERS 

Lauren Pearce (Melbourne, ruck), Lily Mithen (Melbourne), Kirsty Lamb (Western Bulldogs), Sophie Conway (Brisbane), Ebony Marinoff (Adelaide), Tilly Lucas-Rodd (St Kilda) 

Pearce (21 disposals, 18 hitouts, seven score involvements) dominated not only in the air but once the ball hit the deck in Melbourne’s big win over Fremantle, with Mithen (24 disposals, ten score involvements) using her run and carry at ground level to do plenty of damage. 

Lamb’s impressive season rolled on, gathering 20 disposals and a game-high eight inside 50s. Ebony Marinoff (24 disposals, seven clearances) starred in the midfield during her 50th game, while Tilly Lucas-Rodd joined Marinoff in the record books with 12 clearances—the second most in competition history. 

On the wing Conway tore the Kangaroos apart with her run and intent, kicking two goals from 14 disposals while also registering five intercepts and five inside 50s. 

FORWARDS 

Kate Hore (Melbourne), Brooke Lochland (Western Bulldogs), Bonnie Toogood (Western Bulldogs), Daisy Pearce (Melbourne), Cora Staunton (GWS) 

Hore and Pearce combined for eight goals in Melbourne’s record breaking win while also winning 16 and 17 disposals respectively. 

In the game immediately following, Lochland and Toogood were a formidable duo, kicking five goals between them and causing havoc for the Eagles defenders assigned to them. 

Staunton led the Giants’ comeback on the scoreboard against the Tigers, kicking three goals from eight disposals. 

INTERCHANGE 

Hayley Miller (Fremantle), Sarah Hosking (Richmond), Bianca Jakobsson (St Kilda), Tyla Hanks (Melbourne), Nicola Stevens (Carlton) 

Despite the heavy loss, Miller led the Dockers with aplomb, kicking a goal, laying nine tackles and registering 414 metres gained from 22 disposals. Sarah Hosking was strong in the middle, winning a game high eight clearances with a personal best 23 disposals and Hanks’ neat handballs out of the middle were a highlight of Melbourne’s game as she used her 21 disposals at 71.4 per cent efficiency. 

Jakobsson’s 17 disposals, six intercepts) ability to read the tempo of a game and steady her side stood out against the Cats, and Stevens (two goals, five tackles) set the tone in attack for Carlton. 

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