Updated ,first published
In the heat of battle on Saturday, Lexi Hamilton’s instincts took over.
The Swans star watched as her teammate Tanya Kennedy and Cat Piper Dunlop clashed in a ruck battle, with the latter crumbling to the turf after receiving an accidental knock to the temple.
Hamilton saw Dunlop struggling and rushed over to her, using her paramedicine and nursing training to ease her to the ground and hold her head in place as medical staff rushed onto the field.
It was a heart-warming act within an extraordinary fiery clash, in which Sydney ultimately secured their maiden AFLW semi-final win, overpowering an injury-stricken Geelong to win by three points in a stunning upset.
Swans coach Colin O’Riordan later said watching Dunlop fall was “really scary to witness” and praised Hamilton’s immediate response.
“Lexi’s first reaction was, ‘How can I help someone?’” he explained.
“It’s credit to her and how she goes about it.
“Obviously, [a] qualified nurse, just incredible … It’s just testament to the person Lexi is in the heat of battle. You can still turn someone on the recovery position and make sure that they’re OK.”
A Chloe Molloy goalkicking masterclass propelled the Swans to victory, beating the Cats on their home GMHBA Stadium turf, 8.2 (50) to 7.5 (47).
The result dumped the Cats from the finals in straight sets after two losses by under a goal.
It’s been a challenging few months for the Swans’ women’s program, which was hit by collateral damage from the Pullman Hotel scandal.
On Friday, news broke that suspended Swans players Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner and James Jordon, and North Melbourne recruit Nick Blakey had been cleared by Victoria Police after an investigation into alleged sexual assaults.
The announcement ended three months of scrutiny, however the women at the centre of the complaints have vowed to push on with civil action.
In his post-match press conference, O’Riordan reiterated CEO Matthew Pavlich’s statements that the decision by Victoria Police “was not a day for celebration”.
“I think ‘Pav’ touched on it yesterday in how he spoke to the media, and it’s not a day for celebration,” said O’Riordan.
“Like he said, it’s a time now that we have to reflect, look back, and plan what’s next for the footy club, and hopefully, we can do that in the coming weeks.”
Swans president Andrew Pridham was in Geelong supporting the women’s team on Saturday as they looked to reach a preliminary final for the first time.
It was a dream opening for Geelong, with dependable Irishwoman Aishling Moloney slotting a goal within the first 30 seconds of the game – an apt celebration for her 50th game milestone.
But Molloy immediately posed a problem for the Cats. The league’s leading goal-kicker was last to line up for the national anthem before the siren, spending as much time as possible slotting practice goals in.
That would prove telling.
Molloy added to her goal tally, firing two goals in the first quarter to give her Swans the lead, followed by another goal in the second that seemed to defy physics, bending through then air to sail through the goals.
It was injury carnage for the cats before half-time, with Amy McDonald out with a hamstring issue, and star midfielder Georgie Prespakis briefly leaving the field after getting crunched.
Prespakis was back on field after half-time, however her influence was significantly dulled by defender Tanya Kennedy. After tagging Bulldogs co-captain Isabelle Pritchard last week, Kennedy had the job on Prespakis and curbed the usually explosive Cats star.
Play was temporarily halted in the third quarter for around eight minutes after Dunlop’s horror moment.
As Hamilton eased her to the ground, concerned Cats and Swans players looked on and medical staff swarmed around Dunlop, supporting her head and easing her on a stretcher in front of the 5656-strong crowd.
The 23-year-old appeared to be conscious, received a standing ovation and cheers from the crowd as she was stretchered off on a medical cart.
Play resumed, and both sides continued to wrestle for the lead. Cynthia Hamilton piled on another goal in the fourth, and suddenly Sydney were up by 16 points.
But Geelong’s Chloe Scheer was eager for redemption after last week’s loss to Melbourne. Scheer missed a set shot at the end of that nail-biting game, handing the victory to the Demons.
But she bounced back and kicked three goals on Saturday, including a pivotal major in the final quarter to give the Cats a sniff.
Jacqueline Parry kicked another, and suddenly the margin was only four points.
An arm-wrestle continued by the next 10 minutes, with both sides belting the ball back and forth, desperately trying to score a goal.
As the clock ticked down, the Cats’ home crowd screamed and cheered as the ball soared towards their goal square.
But, there was Molloy again – taking a telling mark and preventing what would have been a crucial Cats goal.
Moments later, the siren went and pandemonium ensured. Cats players fell to their knees as Sydney rushed to embrace each other, ignoring the boos that rained down.
AFLW commentator, and columnist for The Age, Kelli Underwood said on Kayo that the game was one of the best in the league’s history, and long-time AFLW star Ellie Blackburn agreed with her.
“That game was amazing, we stuck to our system and our contest pressure – it was just the best,” Swans ruck-forward Maddie Quinn told Kayo Sports.
“We got the job done, and I’m just so excited for next week [the preliminary final].
“I had one main focus and that was to be physical in the ruck and then everything else came from that.
“You can feel the belief around the club. All our coaches have belief in us, the rest of the club believes in us and that’s why we are winning games and are into a prelim.”
In Cats coach Mick Stinear’s post-match press conference, he confirmed Dunlop had been sent to hospital for scans.
“Piper’s in hospital now, just getting some further imaging done,” he explained.
“I think she’s doing OK but, yeah, we won’t know more until we get the imaging results.
“She’s in good hands, and we’ll find out more shortly.”
Stinear said his Cats were shattered by the nail-biting loss, but conceded they were not good enough to beat the Swans.
“We’re bitterly disappointed because I think [with] the season we’ve had, we really should have been competing in a prelim with the kind of footy we put together,” he said.
“Ultimately, we weren’t good enough, so that’s that’s on us. So yeah, it does feel like a little bit of a failed season.”
The Swans easily got the better of the free-kick count, 18-9. They trailed significantly in the inside-50 and disposal counts, but were more efficient moving forward and had fewer turnovers.
Stinear, who left the Demons to join Geelong, said the Cats would continue to evolve so they could “be on the right side of this” next season.
Meanwhile, a beaming O’Riordan was thrilled with the Swans’ efforts, hailing the performances of Molloy, Quinn and Kennedy.
The Swans will next face rampant two-time reigning premiers North Melbourne in a preliminary final.
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Hannah Kennelly is an award-winning sports reporter and Formula 1 writer at The Age.Connect via email.
