Goalkickers: Tayla Harris , Darcy Vescio 1.

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Mirabile, Strybos, Crosby

Injuries: Nil

Ladder: 6th

Game Review

Blues suffer frustrating loss
Adelaide has kept its hopes of defending its NAB AFL Women's premiership alive in a comfortable 35-point win against Carlton at Norwood Oval despite superstar Erin Phillips suffering a reoccurrence of her quad injury. Phillips left the ground in the second quarter with what the Crows described as right quad awareness. The co-captain said she would have been available to return if necessary, but her presence wasn't required. The Crows dominated the second term, including a patch where they booted three goals in about two minutes on the way to the 8.7 (55) to 2.8 (20) final result. Adelaide pair Ruth Wallace and Eloise Jones were dangerous in attack with three and two goals respectively, with Jones' effort to snap it through from the pocket a major highlight. Coach Bec Goddard was impressed with her side's prowess when it went forward. "The attack tonight was quick, it was hard for another team to defend and we made them pay when we had the opportunities," Goddard said. Carlton struggled in several facets of the game, with Adelaide winning contested possessions 105-80 and clearances 30-15. The Blues did not concede a point in the third quarter but added just three points to their own score in that term, to the annoyance of coach Damien Keeping. "Through that third quarter, we had 11 inside 50s to two and just didn't impact the scoreboard. Those missed opportunities are something we'll need to look back on," Keeping said. Midfielders Katie Loynes and Sarah Hosking tried hard all game while Breann Moody offered a physical presence in the ruck. Adelaide moved up to fifth after the victory and were separated from second-placed Brisbane by half a game after the Crows' draw with Greater Western Sydney last week. The Blues were belted around the footy but Loynes could not be held at fault. The gritty midfielder was constantly at the bottom of packs and had her head cut open in the third term but returned with bandaging to finish the game. She picked up 11 disposals and a match-high 10 tackles. "The shift they (Carlton players) made through the early part of the week, to learn out of that experience from the game against the Bulldogs and really shift on to a focus that was able to deliver a different level of intent right from the word go tonight, I thought they were exceptional in doing that. If we go to the tackle count, we had 70 tackles to 54, which was a real measure of that intent." (Damien Keeping). - Dinny Navaratnam for AFL.com.au

Team

In: Georgia Gee, Tayla Harris, Lauren Brazzale, Katie Loynes, Danielle Hardiman

Out: Kate Shierlaw (omitted), Natalie Plane (omitted), Madeline Keryk (omitted), Sarah Last (omitted), Jessica Hosking (rested)

Milestones

AFLW Debut: Bridie Kennedy
Last Game: Reni Hicks, Courtney Webb
AFLW Rising Star Nominees: Breann Harrington

AFLW Coaches Votes

9 - Chelsea Randall (Adel)
9 - Ebony Marinoff (Adel)
4 - Katie Loynes (Carl)
3 - Deni Varnhagen (Adel)
3 - Ruth Wallace (Adel)
1 - Kerryn Peterson (Carl)
1 - Breann Harrington (Carl)

Best and Fairest Votes

Match Highlights