Unbeaten Lions hold on in AFLW nailbiter

Feb 18, 2017 - 8:19 AM Former Australian representative sprinter Kate McCarthy kicked arguably the goal of the AFL Women's competition so far as Brisbane maintained their unbeaten record with a nailbiting four-point win over Collingwood.

The 23-year-old, who had also played touch football for Australia and cricket for Queensland, switched on the afterburners with a stunning run-and-gun goal in Saturday's second quarter.

Believed to be the only AFL player in history to wear a pacemaker, McCarthy left chasing Magpies opponents in her wake as she took five bounces from behind the centre circle all the way to the goal square before converting from point-blank range.

She also kicked another in the last quarter to send the Lions on their way to a hard-fought 4.3 (27) to 3.5 (23) victory, with Collingwood still searching for their maiden AFLW win.

"I picked it up and there was just a lot of wide open space so I thought, here's my chance to have a run," McCarthy said.

"(The pacemaker) doesn't stop me at all. I was pretty tired at the end so we could blame it on that, but really it was just a long run that took a lot out of me."

A strong wind favouring one side of the ground and tough 34 degree heat contributed to the low scoring.

The Lions relished the conditions, dominated the first half and led by 10 points at halftime.

Collingwood did not score a goal until midway through the third term, the team's first major in four quarters of football, having been held scoreless after quarter-time last week by Melbourne.

The Magpies' marquee star Moana Hope finished with just two disposals, and also missed a set shot from a difficult angle in the last quarter that could have put her side in front.

Coach Wayne Siekman said he would consider moving Hope further up the field to give her a better chance of making an impact on games.

"Going through the numbers, we won every single area except the inside 50s and the scoreboard. We couldn't just quite get the reward," he said.

Source: AAP






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