CARLTON has played out a draw for the second straight week, charging home to share the spoils with Fremantle on Saturday.
The Blues kicked three final-quarter goals at Fremantle Oval, where Aine Tighe missed a glorious late chance for the winless Dockers as the teams finished locked at 5.2 (32) apiece.
DOCKERS v BLUES Full match coverage and stats
The Dockers controlled the play and the scoreboard in the first half and led by 18 points at the main change. Carlton returned the favour in the second half, holding the Dockers to one goal while kicking four.
Carlton turned the game when Abbie McKay (29 disposals, seven tackles, 10 clearances) and Mimi Hill (21 disposals, three clearances) wrested back control of the midfield from the Dockers' Hayley Miller (20 disposals, two clearances), Airlie Runnalls (18 disposals), and Megan Kauffman (14 disposals and a goal).
Tighe kicked two goals in a strong performance for the Dockers, and Kauffman, Amy Franklin, and Dana East kicked one each.
Annie Lee, Phoebe McWilliams, Imogen Milford, Breann Moody, and Jess Good contributed goals for Carlton.
Fremantle's dominance in the first half came through intensity in the contest which gave Carlton little time to create quality possession.
Led by Kiara Bowers (17 tackles), the Blues' possession winners were harried into quick kicks or handballs which led to positive outnumber scenarios for the Dockers.
With Carlton exhausted from moving its possession forward, Fremantle was often able to move the ball quickly, and centrally, and its first four goals came from defensive rebounds.
When inside their attacking 50, the Dockers' pressure was intense, laying 15 tackles compared to the Blues' three by half-time.
The legs of Mua Laloifi and the defensive marking of Moody were a big part of why Carlton stayed in the game for so long.
Carlton flipped the game in the third quarter as Hill and McKay began to take control of the contest.
Moody dominated the ruck contest all day (31 hitouts) but it took more than a half for the Blues to capitalise. When they did, Hill and McKay helped the Blues drive in the last seven inside 50s of the quarter.
The Dockers' Janelle Cuthbertson, Emma O'Driscoll, and Laura Pugh had enough poise though to bail out Fremantle either side of Milford's first AFLW goal for Carlton, but it proved to be a sign of things to come.
The Blues carried their contest dominance into the final quarter and their forwards benefited from playing in front when McKay, Hill, and Elise O'Dea drove the ball inside 50.
Lee and Good were the beneficiaries to edge Carlton in front with eight minutes left.
After a Franklin goal for Fremantle – its first in two quarters – which could have broken the Blues' back, Moody franked her ruck dominance by muscling out Mim Strom in the goalsquare to take possession and kick the goal to put the Blues in front by a point.
When Paige Trudgeon was adjudged to have held Tighe in a marking contest at the top of the goalsquare, it appeared that Carlton's comeback had been thwarted.
However, despite an otherwise strong performance from Tighe, her resulting kick jagged sharply right, leaving Fremantle winless after four rounds.
Towering Tighe
It's unlikely that any words will comfort Aine Tighe, but when she reviews the fundamentals of her performance, rather than the outcome of her late miss on the match, she will be encouraged. Two goals, five marks (and not just inside 50), three tackles and ably assisting in the ruck (five hitouts) shows what a difficult puzzle she is to solve for the opposition.
McKay and Mimi arrive just in time
Abbie McKay and Mimi Hill had commendable but not noteworthy first halves, as they lowered their colours to Hayler Miller and the general intensity of the Freo midfield. However, the game took on a different look when they synced with Moody's dominant ruck performance, clearing the ball consistently. Around the ground they were never far from each other and their tag team pressure resulted in relentless contested ball wins and allowed the Blues to secure two points.
Up next
West Coast and a western derby awaits Fremantle at Optus Stadium on Thursday in round five. Carlton takes on Melbourne at Ikon Park on Friday night.
FREMANTLE 2.0 4.0 4.1 5.2 (32)
CARLTON 0.0 1.0 2.0 5.2 (32)
GOALS
Fremantle: Tighe 2, Kauffman, East, Franklin
Carlton: McWilliams, Milford, Lee, Moody, Good
BEST
Fremantle: Miller, Kauffman, Runnalls, Pugh, Tighe
Carlton: McKay, Moody, Hill, Peterson, O'Dea
INJURIES
Fremantle: Scanlon (wrist)
Carlton: McWilliams (ankle), Velardo (concussion)
Reports: Nil
