Eagles fall to dominant Crows in AFLW opener

The West Coast Eagles lost their opening game of the 2021 AFLW season, outgunned by Adelaide at Mineral Resources Park on Saturday afternoon.

Pingrup’s Belinda Smith, Denmark’s Parris Laurie, and Albany’s Sophie McDonald were all part of the Eagles’ round one team under new coach Daniel Pratt.

Smith was impressive in defence and finished with 12 disposals and three marks but the Crows kicked clear after half-time on their way to a 38-point win.

Laurie started the season off well, winning 22 hit-outs in the ruck, and she was a presence around the ground as well. After a breakout year in 2020, Laurie took four marks to go with eight possessions and five tackles in the round-one defeat.

McDonald played deep in defence and finished with seven disposals.

The Eagles trailed by 12 points at quartertime but fought back in front of their home fans in the second term, kicking two goals to the Crows’ one as they trimmed the deficit to five points.

The Crows dominated the second half with five goals to nil as the 2019 premiers ran out comfortable winners.

The Eagles and Fremantle Dockers AFLW teams are awaiting news on their next fixtures, with both clubs scheduled to play in South Australia this weekend but those games have since been postponed. 

However, a five-day lockdown in the Perth metropolitan area because of COVID-19 could have major ramifications on the fixtures for the two WA clubs in the immediate future.