Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Melbourne and Sydney are sweating on injuries that soured their wins a week out from the AFLW finals.
Demons captain Kate Hore suffered a shoulder injury late in Sunday’s 6.11 (47) to 3.11 (29) win over Adelaide, although coach Tom Wilson said the star onballer would be fine.
But there was no word late on Sunday night about Sydney ruck Caitlin Reid, who was taken to hospital after her nasty head clash with Fremantle opponent Hayley Miller.
Play was stopped for several minutes in the first quarter of the late Sunday game at Cockburn, before Reid was taken off the field on a stretcher.
Reid suffered a jaw injury in the accidental clash. She broke her nose earlier this season and this was the first game since that injury that Reid was not wearing a face guard.
“As a coach, you never want to see it. As a footy fan, you never want to see it. It’s shocking and it’s not nice to see anyone stretchered off,” Swans coach Colin O’Riordan said.
“Fingers crossed she’s okay. It was a really sick incident and hard to watch.”
Fremantle sounded Wharfie Time with less than two minutes left, but Sydney held on to win by a single point — 5.7 (37) to 5.6 (36) — as star forward Chloe Molloy took a game-saving mark in defence with 15 seconds left.
“Probably the last 10 minutes in particular is what finals footy is all about … it’s really nice to get a bit of momentum, on the road,” O’Riordan said.
“It’s a bloody tough place to come and win.”
Sydney will now host the Western Bulldogs at Henson Park next Sunday in an elimination final.
Molloy will be key, having kicked 4.4 against Fremantle to be best afield. She topped the AFLW goalkicking with a competition-record 28 for the season.
It meant a rare goalkicking double for Sydney, given Charlie Curnow also won the AFL’s Coleman Medal.
O’Riordan calls Molloy a generational player.
“Chloe is an absolute superstar. Some of the goals she kicked (against Fremantle) – I haven’t seen many people do that on a footy field,” he said.
“The snap from the pocket was incredible. But again, like I always say about Chloe, she builds her game off defensive pressure and defensive acts.
“It comes off bloody hard work.”
Geelong earned a home qualifying final, but a scheduling clash means they will play at Ikon Park and not GMHBA Stadium.
They will start the finals series next Saturday against Melbourne, with reigning premiers North Melbourne taking on Carlton in the second game of the Ikon Park double header.
Gold Coast will host Hawthorn on Sunday in the other elimination final.
With the all-Victorian top four, the grand final will be played at Ikon Park or GMHBA Stadium.
Fremantle coach Lisa Webb, meanwhile, was left lamenting their season after the Dockers lost four of the last five games to finish 10th, two games outside the top eight.
“We’re just this tiny little bit off … this group is unbelievably fierce. We think we belong in finals,” she said.
AFLW FINALS, WEEK ONE (all times AEDT)
SATURDAY
* Qualifying final, Geelong v Melbourne, 1.10pm, Ikon Park
* Qualifying final, North Melbourne v Carlton, 4.05pm, Ikon Park
SUNDAY
* Elimination final, Sydney v Western Bulldogs, 1.05pm, Henson Park
* Elimination final, Gold Coast v Hawthorn, 3.05pm, People First Stadium
