MELBOURNE has re-affirmed its position as the second best team in the AFLW with a dominant display over Sydney to record a 44-point win on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

After an early challenge from the Swans, the Demons ran out 9.11 (65) to 3.3 (21) victors on their home deck of Casey Fields, in unusually still conditions for the venue.

Tyla Hanks was at her classy best, bouncing back from a tough day against Fremantle last week to record 22 disposals and seven tackles, opening up the ground and setting up teammates beautifully with her clean skill and game awareness.

Early in the piece, Sydney’s capacity to match Melbourne in tight held it in good stead. Fighting it out for the contested ball, then flicking it out to runners meant the visitors were able to get plenty of looks at goal.

Once the Demons flicked the switch, however, the Swans struggled to go with them. The pure running capacity Melbourne showed, combined with its quick decision making to spread the ground meant the Swans were caught trailing their direct opponents far too often.

Despite an improvement in fitness from the Swans this year, the gap in running power was increasingly evident as the game wore on.

Melbourne’s forwards were damaging when getting out on the lead, protecting the drop of the ball and exposing Sydney’s keys for speed. Eden Zanker (four goals) wreaked havoc inside 50, while Kate Hore (25 disposals, one goal) now sits on 97 career goals thanks to a stunning dribbler from the tightest of angles in the first term.

Young gun Zippy Fish (26 disposals, 554 metres gained) struggled to have her usual impact, dealing with a tag from Melbourne defender Jemma Rigoni (11 disposals, one goal), but never stopped trying to get creative, but the absence of co-captain Chloe Molloy in attack was evident.

Sydney often got sucked into long, quick kicks inside 50, which Melbourne’s elite defenders chopped off and used to launch their own attacking chains.

Pressure from the Demons worried the Swans into fumbles, and poor ball use, from which the home side capitalised. By contrast, Melbourne was neat in the clinches. The cleanliness of Hanks, Maeve Chaplin (16 disposals), and Shelley Heath (20 disposals, one goal) drew Sydney’s clumsiness into clearer focus.

Finals now become a tougher prospect for Sydney, with a battle with West Coast next week effectively a do-or-die proposition, as both sides fight for that eighth spot on the ladder. Meanwhile, Melbourne has consolidated not only a return to finals, but the double chance to boot.

Transition footy

Melbourne is at its best when it is transitioning the ball by hand, cutting teams up in end-to-end play, and in the second quarter, that is exactly what it did to Sydney. The likes of Tyla Hanks, Paxy Paxman, and Kate Hore remained calm through the middle, releasing teammates into the corridor, as Eden Zanker, Tayla Harris, and Alyssa Bannan reaped the rewards close to goal.

Jemma cashes in

Melbourne defender Jemma Rigoni might not be the first name one might consider when planning to run with first-year Swan Zippy Fish, but Mick Stinear saw something in the father-daughter Demon. Playing in Melbourne’s front half, Rigoni made life hard for Fish – who regularly launches Sydney’s attack with her elite kick – able to impede her enough on the deck, but then in the air was completely dominant. Adding to the defensive work, Rigoni hit the scoreboard for her first goal in AFLW.

Up next

Melbourne must travel north to take on Brisbane at Brighton Homes Arena on Saturday evening, in what will be a top four-shaping clash, while the Swans return home to face an on-fire West Coast at Henson Park on Saturday afternoon.

MELBOURNE          2.1     6.3     9.5     9.11 (65)
SYDNEY                  3.0     3.2     3.3      3.3 (21)

GOALS
Melbourne: Zanker 4, Rigoni, Hore, Heath, Harris, Bannan
Sydney: Sargent-Wilson, C.Hamilton, Cooper 

BEST 
Melbourne: Hanks, Zanker, Gillard, Hore, Heath, Chaplin
Sydney: Ham, McEvoy, Mitchell, Fish

INJURIES
Melbourne: Nil
Sydney: Nil

Reports: Nil

Crowd: 2277 at Casey Fields