Melbourne secured a place in the AFLW preliminary finals after producing a remarkable late comeback to defeat Geelong by four points at Ikon Park.
The Demons overturned a 22-point half-time deficit to win 8.8 (56) to 8.4 (52), with the match decided in the final seconds when Cats forward Chloe Scheer missed a set shot from about 20 metres.
Geelong were five points behind when Scheer was awarded the opportunity with 18 seconds remaining. Her attempt drifted wide, leaving Melbourne to celebrate a dramatic qualifying-final victory while the Cats were left to rue a match that had appeared to be in their control.
Melbourne’s AFLW comeback turns the final
The Cats had been the stronger side early, with Georgie Prespakis, Scheer and Jacqueline Parry driving a dominant second quarter. Rebecca Webster had opened the scoring with a long-range effort, while Eliza McNamara’s late snap prevented Melbourne from being held scoreless before half-time.
Melbourne changed the contest after the interval. Tyla Hanks and Kate Hore struck in the third quarter before Alyssa Bannan’s second goal brought the Demons within one point with fewer than eight minutes remaining.
Vivian ‘Paxy’ Paxman then converted to put Melbourne in front, while Tayla Harris made several important tackles as the Demons held on through a tense finish.
Melbourne coach Tom Wilson praised Paxman and Harris after the match, while Tahlia Gillard admitted her heart rate was still elevated after the final siren.
“There’s [so] much excitement, [that was] just such a team performance, and for some of those girls to get their first finals win, that’s pretty good one to experience,” Gillard said.
Geelong coach Mick Stinear, who had spent 10 seasons in charge of Melbourne before moving to the Cats, accepted that his former side had been the better team after half-time.
“The outcome of the game is not on her; that’s on us as a coaching team and a playing group to be more consistent,” Stinear said of Scheer’s late miss. “We shouldn’t have put ourselves in that position.”
Stinear said Geelong’s pressure had been strong during the opening half but that Melbourne had exposed their mistakes after the break.
“I thought our pressure and effort and intent was really good for the whole game, but our method and ability to execute fundamentally lacked at critical times, and to their credit, they came over the top of us, and we nearly escaped with a win,” he said.
“But I didn’t feel like we’d earned it with the second half we had.”
The match was played at Ikon Park rather than Geelong’s GMHBA Stadium because of a clash with the AUSX Supercross Championship. The game was also interrupted by a 15-minute lightning delay, with torrential rain and sunshine arriving at different stages.
Both teams avoided major injury concerns. Geelong’s Nina Morrison returned after briefly leaving the field following a heavy Harris tackle, while Melbourne’s Saraid Taylor also came back on after her leg was trapped and twisted beneath an opponent.
