QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“That one won’t be going through to the keeper...we have a team rule, so she’ll be hearing about it...” Scott Gowans when asked if all would be forgiven in the wash of a win for Sophie Abbatangelo following her ill-timed fifty metre penalty against Gold Coast.

THE BIG ISSUE 

A few issues came up, but injuries raised their dirty head once more with the Pies hit hardest. Three outs for Collingwood including dual sport champ Ash Brazill – the silver lining to the scourge is that cult favourite Sarah “Perko” Perkins gets the chance to reignite her AFLW career coming off of Melbourne’s supplementary list. Let’s hope she can kick a bag to help Dees fans beat those injury blues.

BEAT THAT

There were plenty of individual highlights this week, from big name players like Jas Garner to newbie Cathy Svarc, but it was hard to beat the first “W” for the West Coast Eagles – a blistering opening term against Collingwood in Round 1 was followed up by performances that could only be described as “lacking”. What exactly was lacking was hard to quantify, but it looked like a year of tough learning for the proud club from the West. The road ahead is still rocky, but nothing beats that winning feeling.

UNDER PRESSURE

It’s hard to believe after their inspiring win over Carlton just two weeks ago, but Collingwood are 0-2 since then and even though they have played good opposition in both games, the fact remains that they will need to get their skates on from here. In coach Steve Symonds’ first season they have shown good signs so he isn’t under the pump yet, but the proud club that had not long ago imposed themselves on the competition in a manner befitting their history is in danger of falling away from the pack; Pies fans will want to see some fight.

WHAT'S NEXT

Brisbane vs Freo: the heavyweight bout: two enter, one leaves (or both leave if the Lions can produce a second draw in three games).

Freo just keep doing enough after they set Conference B alight in the opening rounds, be it against more fancied teams like the Pies or in their last snatch and grab job at Moorabbin Oval. They know how to hurt teams on the rebound with precise kicking and coming back the other way, they know how to hurt teams in a more literal fashion; Kiara “Turbo” Bowers being the best example with her astronomical tackling numbers.

The Lions had a minor hiccup in the Q-Clash, but otherwise have overwhelmed teams that many had as favourites before the chips were down – their best performance to date the comeback win over the Cats in Round 2. Home deck may tip things in favour of Brisbane, but the best tip here is do yourself a favour and tune in!

Hard to choose between Carlton vs St Kilda and Gold Coast vs Geelong for the second-best game of the round, both real coin flips and chances for expansion clubs to lay claim to a spot in the top 3.