North Melbourne has matched the AFL consecutive wins record and secured the AFLW minor premiership, belting St Kilda by 46 points.
Ash Riddell also had her sixth 40-plus disposals game, five of them this season, as the Kangaroos dominated from the start on Sunday at North Hobart Oval and won 9.13 (67) to 3.3 (21).
North will become the first AFL or AFLW team to win 24-straight games if it beats Hawthorn next Friday night, in the last round before the finals.
It equalled the mark set by Geelong through the 1952-53 VFL seasons.
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But the win came at a cost, with Vicki Wall being helped from the field in the last term, suffering a left leg injury.
Saints mainstay Paige Trudgeon was also hurt in the final quarter.
Riddell, who set the AFLW record of 45 disposals earlier this month, ran amok again in the midfield and had 42 possessions.
Jas Garner also starred with 10 clearances and 30 possessions, while key forward Emma King kicked three first-half goals.
North has kicked at least 50 points in all 11 games this season and boasts a whopping percentage of 317.9.
It has been unbeaten in 25 games since losing the 2023 grand final. The only blemish was last season’s round-two draw with Geelong.
The loss ended St Kilda’s six-game win streak and put a dent in its percentage as it tries to make the finals for the first time.
The Saints now must beat the Western Bulldogs at home next Sunday to stay in the top eight.
The Kangaroos rested key players Emma Kearney and Jenna Bruton, given the five-day break to the Hawthorn game, while Ella Slocombe made her senior debut.
Slocombe was prominent early as North kicked the first two goals and held the Saints to their first scoreless opening term of the season.
St Kilda upped their work rate in the second quarter, and that led to Jesse Wardlaw kicking a goal midway through the term.
But North kicked four goals to two, and the game was over at half-time with their lead at 38 points.
Serene Watson had a team-high 21 possessions for the Saints.
Cats sink Dogs
Geelong keeps its finals hopes alive in torrential conditions. (Getty Images: James Wiltshire/AFL Photos)
Geelong has kept its ever-so-faint AFLW finals hopes alive and killed off the Western Bulldogs’ dreams in the process with an 11-point win at a waterlogged Eureka Stadium in Ballarat.
The Cats led by 15 points at three-quarter time of Sunday’s match but were left clinging to a five-point lead when Bulldogs midfielder Jessica Fitzgerald nailed a set shot with just under 2 minutes remaining.
A late soccered goal from Geelong forward Aishling Moloney, which hit the goal umpire’s leg but was later deemed to be on track to be going through, sealed the 6.1 (37) to 3.8 (26) win.
The result means Geelong (5-6) is still a slight chance to make the finals, but will need to beat Melbourne in the final round next Saturday by a healthy margin and rely on a flurry of other results to go its way in order to sneak in.
The season is now effectively over for the Bulldogs (4-7), who won the inside 50 metres count 13-4 in the final quarter but could only manage 1.4.
A massive pre-match downpour meant giant puddles greeted players when they stepped out onto the ground, with the ball stopping on a dime at times given the sheer amount of water on the field.
Cats midfielder Georgie Prespakis thrived in the wet with 26 disposals, six clearances and 413m gained, while her teammate Nina Morrison racked up 15 tackles and 15 disposals.
Fitzgerald was among the Bulldogs’ best with five clearances, 14 disposals and a goal.
Geelong made a mockery of the conditions early by slamming through three goals in the first 4 minutes, with the Bulldogs barely touching the ball during that opening blitz.
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Kate Surman entered the match with 0.6 to her name for the season, but the Cats forward finally got a breakthrough goal when she skidded one through for the only major of the second quarter.
The lead shot out to 21 points midway through the third term when two Bulldogs defenders went to ground and Chantal Mason was able to pick up the ball and kick truly.
Emma McDonald’s clutch 40m set shot shortly before the final change kept the Bulldogs within striking range, and they almost snatched victory in a frantic final term.
Blues and Pies weather storms to notch wins
Carlton has overcome a significant lightning delay to record its second-highest AFLW score in a 12.9 (81) to 5.5 (35) trouncing of Greater Western Sydney.
The players were sent to the sheds midway through the third quarter as stormy weather lashed Princes Park.
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Before the delay, the Giants were more than 60 points down and yet to kick a goal, but were better upon the game’s resumption, booting four consecutive majors to add some respectability to the scoreline.
Poppy Sholz and Tara Bohanna slotted three goals each for the Blues, while Dayna Finn finished with 31 disposals.
The victory lifted Carlton back to fifth, four competition points and percentage ahead of ninth-placed Sydney with one round remaining.
On the Gold Coast, the Magpies defeated the Suns by 15 points in a game that was also delayed by lightning.
The 5.9 (39) to 3.6 (24) result was Collingwood’s third win of the season and all but condemned Gold Coast to a last-placed finish on the ladder.
AAP/ABC
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