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Aishling Sheridan celebrating with her team-mates. Collingwood AFLW.
Irish Eye

Cavan star kicks sixth goal in five games to help Collingwood maintain 100% record

Aishling Sheridan’s scintillating form in Australia continued, while Mayo’s Kelly sisters helped West Coast Eagles to their first win of 2021.

CAVAN STAR AISHLING Sheridan kicked her sixth goal in five Australian Football League Women’s [AFLW] games overnight, her scintillating form inspiring Collingwood to an unbeaten season thus far.

The Pies maintained their 100% record with a 7.7 (49) to 1.8 (14) win over Melbourne, and soared to the top of the Premiership ladder after the Irish-heavy affair [deferred coverage available on TG4 this afternoon at 2pm, highlights programme Monday 8pm].

The 35-point victory also means that Collingwood are the only unbeaten side in the league after Round Five, winning five from five.

Dublin duo Sinéad Goldrick and Niamh McEvoy featured for Melbourne, but Sheridan was the pick of the bunch, stealing the Irish headlines once again. 

The Mullahoran forward capitalised on a Melbourne mistake in the second quarter, splitting the posts with Collingwood’s second goal from close range on the back of a brilliant intercept.

“Sheridan can line them up and go bang,” the commentator noted afterwards.

One half of her side’s “firing Irish duo,” as CrossCoders agent Jason Hill told The42 in his latest preview, Sheridan’s partner-in-crime Sarah Rowe was absent from the matchday squad this weekend due to a shoulder injury.

The Mayo ace “is set to be sidelined for 2-3 weeks” after sustaining further damage to a persistent shoulder injury in last weekend’s win over North Melbourne.

Likewise, Dublin’s Lauren Magee was absent from the Demons’ line-up for their second defeat on the bounce after her debut last weekend.

Elsewhere, Mayo’s Kelly sisters helped West Coast Eagles to their first win of 2021 — and second AFLW victory ever — after a thrilling encounter with Gold Coast Suns, in which they prevailed on a 5.4 (34) to 4.9 (33) scoreline.

Grace kicked a stunning goal in the opening quarter off her left boot after a snap around the body and incredible work through the middle from Mikayla Bowen. 

The younger of the pair, Niamh, made her return after a lay-off due to a dislocated finger, but Tipperary star Aisling McCarthy — one of West Coast’s top players this year — was a late withdrawal after sustaining a knee injury last weekend. 

And in Sunday’s third game Adelaide Crows were 8.13 (61) to 1.2 (8) winners over St Kilda. Clare’s Ailish Considine was named as an emergency replacement for the Crows, paving the way for her return from a concussion setback next weekend.

Collingwood are currently four clear atop the ladder, while Orla O’Dwyer’s Brisbane Lions are next in line in second on percentage, with Áine Tighe’s Fremantle, Considine’s Crows — reigning champions from 2019 — and Western Bulldogs also level on 16 points.

Screenshot 2021-02-28 at 11.20.25 The top of the AFLW ladder currently; the top six head for finals. AFLW. AFLW.

Screenshot 2020-11-24 at 9.04.07 AM

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