Goalkickers: Darcy Vescio 1.1, Sarah Hosking 1.0, Bianca Jakobsson 0.1

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Mason Beyer, Luke Wachel

Injuries: Nil

Ladder: 3rd

Game Review

Adelaide Crows beat Carlton Blues to top AFLW ladder
As an Olympic medallist and international basketball star, Erin Phillips is used to producing something special when it counts. And the Crows captain didn't disappoint, kicking the winning goal against Carlton on Sunday to give undefeated Adelaide a three-point victory in a hotly-contested AFLW match in Adelaide. The Crows trailed at every break and looked to struggle in the windy and sometimes wet conditions. But then, four minutes into the final term, Phillips pounced on a loose ball 60 metres from goal, kicked long and bounced it through for the clincher in the 2.5 (17) to 2.2 (14) win at Thebarton Oval.

"That will go down in the highlight reel, won't it," Crows coach Bec Goddard said after the win which kept Adelaide unbeaten and on top of the premiership ladder. "A terrific team goal and really special. Something that everyone will enjoy watching later." Phillips and the Crows dominated the final term, the skipper finishing with 19 possessions as Adelaide surged to the win in front of more than 9000 fans. Sally Riley kicked the other goal for the Crows while Darcy Vescio and Sarah Hosking kicked Carlton's two majors. Vescio had looked dangerous but was shut down in the second half. The Crows took until the third term to kick their first goal, with the Blues successfully halting their running game and proving solid in defence. But Goddard said it was the third-quarter, against-the-wind goal that proved crucial. "That really set us up going into the last with our tails up," she said. "We knew at three-quarter time that the foot was on the goose's neck and it was up to us as to whether we put the foot down. "The girls put the foot down." Carlton coach Damien Keeping said the game was predictably tight and swung on "one or two little things". "I don't think there was any one thing we can put our finger on right now," he said. "But it is a knife-edge you play on." Apart from Phillips, other major ball winners for the Crows were Chelsea Randall with 17 disposals and Ebony Marinoff with 15. For Carlton, Brianna Davey had a game-high 23 possessions, including 15 in the first half, Danielle Hardiman had 15 and Lauren Arnell 14.

Best players; B.Davey, D.Vescio, S.Hosking, B.Moody, D.Hardiman, L.Arnell

Team

Changes:
In: Bella Ayre, Madeline Keryk
Out: Jessica Kennedy (omitted), Kate Darby (omitted)

Milestones

First Goal: Sarah Hosking

MVP Votes

3. Chelsea Randall (Adel)
2. Lauren Arnell (Carl)
1. Erin Phillips (Adel)

Best and Fairest Votes

9 - Bri Davey
7 - Danielle Hardiman
4 - Maddie Keryk, Alison Downie
3 - Laura Attard, Breann Moody
2 - Katie Loynes
1 - Gab Pound, Lauren Arnell, Tilly Lucas-Rodd, Kate Shierlaw, Bianca Jakobsson

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