Demons’ season comes to a close

Melbourne''s Katherine Smith is caught holding the ball by Eloise Jons and Stevie-Lee Thompson. 191556 Picture: STEWART CHAMBERS

The Melbourne Demons AFLW season ended in disastrous fashion at Casey Fields on Saturday afternoon.

Needing a percentage-boosting win to book their place in the finals, Melbourne ran into a firing Adelaide Crows outfit and was never in the contest.

The first half was a complete domination by the Crows as the likes of Erin Phillips, Ebony Marinoff and Courtney Cramey ran wild. Adelaide’s Ailish Considine booted the first two goals of the game and it was one-way traffic from then on as the Crows boasted a 5.4 (34) to 0.0 (0) lead at the main break.

Adelaide’s slick ball movement and stifling defence was a class above Melbourne’s as the Crows eventually ran out 60-point winners, 10.8 (68) to 1.2 (8). Melbourne was led by Elise O’Dea, Meg Downie and Harriet Cordner in what was a tough day at the office.

The loss ended Melbourne’s season with the Demons finishing fourth in Conference A with four wins and three losses. Despite a tough finish to the season, the Demons recorded impressive wins over Collingwood, Brisbane, Greater Western Sydney and the Western Bulldogs.

The AFLW finals kick off this weekend with Carlton hosting Fremantle at IKON Park on Saturday afternoon and Adelaide hosting Geelong on Sunday afternoon at Adelaide Oval.