Essendon has suffered a seven-point loss to the undefeated Collingwood in Saturday’s VFLW semi-final at Victoria Park.

The Bombers have a second chance and will compete in next weekend’s preliminary finals against Geelong, while the Pies advance to the Grand Final with their 2.6 (18) to 1.5 (11) victory.

Captain Georgia Nanscawen led from the first bounce, setting an example for her teammates by using her strength to extract the ball from stoppages and send the ball in the forward direction.

Both sides were physical early, attempting to lock the ball in their respective halves, but Eloise Ashley-Cooper and Lauren Ahrens stood strong across the Bombers’ backline to ensure the opposition didn’t score.

After a goalless first term, Ruby Svarc came out with intent, using her speed to chase down her opponent and lifting the Bombers’ intensity.

Collingwood broke through for its first major 10 minutes into the second quarter but the Bombers’ spirit didn’t drop.

Georgie Prespakis used her smooth skills at stoppages to clear the ball to the wing to Svarc, who sent the ball in a forward direction.

The Pies took a seven-point advantage into the main break and further extended their lead early in the third quarter.

In the second half, Nanscawen dominated the midfield to finish with a match-high 28 disposals and 13 tackles, resulting in a best-on-ground performance.

Jessie Davies crumbed the ball off the back of a pack to kick Essendon’s first major and reduce the Pies’ lead to eight points heading into the final break.

Energy was high in the Bombers’ camp after a stirring address from head coach Brendan Major and the girls came out firing to try to overturn the deficit.

Svarc used her speed along the wing to out-run opponents and sent the ball into the forward 50, but the Bombers didn't capitalise.

Zali Friswell helped Essendon control the play in the final quarter but the Pies held on for a narrow eight-point win. 

Learning from the league leaders

The Bombers went into Saturday’s semi-final as underdogs with the Pies coming into the game with 15 straight wins, including a qualifying final victory over the second-placed Geelong. 

While the Bombers challenged but couldn’t overcome the league leaders, midfielder Alana Barba said they could learn from playing against the experienced Collingwood outfit to better themselves for next weekend’s preliminary final.  

“Georgie Prespakis absolutely tore it up through the midfield and Courtney Ugle showed her hard tackling pressure, while ‘C-Bomb’ (Cecilia McIntosh) was a fortress down back, as usual,” Barba said.

“But playing quality sides obviously makes us better and when we come up against them, we just need to make sure our minds are in it and that we learn from today’s game.” 

Embracing the physicality

It was clear from the first bounce that both sides were going to be physical. 

Nanscawen and Prespakis led from the front with 25 tackles between them, while Barba showed her strength at contests to overpower her opponents. 

Despite the loss, Barba was impressed with her team’s ability to push the undefeated Pies and continue to compete when behind on the scoreboard. 

“We just need to make sure we execute things well and that we don’t step back from our style of footy,” she said. 

“I think we played four quarters of effort. We kept our intensity up and didn’t let that drop.

“We expected it to be physical and we hit as hard as they hit, so we will recover well and head into next week.”

Preliminary final bound

The Bombers will now turn their attention to a home preliminary final at Windy Hill against Geelong. 

Barba believes the Bombers will use the next week to reset after their semi-final loss to the Pies, and aim to regain their dominant style of play that helped them win over Casey in last week’s elimination final.  

“I think we just need to focus on not going away from our way of playing. I think today we went back to our old ways,” she said. 

“We just need to have a team-first mentality and if we stick to that, then I think we can get the job done next week.”

Essendon will host Geelong in a preliminary final at Windy Hill next weekend, with match details to be confirmed in the coming days. 

COLLINGWOOD 0.4 1.4 2.6 2.6 (18)
ESSENDON 0.3 0.4 1.4 1.5 (11)

Goals: Davies

Best: Nanscawen, Prespakis, Ashley-Cooper, Ahrens, Svarc, Friswell