AFLW 2025: Waalitj Marawar (West Coast) pull plug on Yartapuulti (Port Adelaide) in last-quarter comeback

The Eagles have defied another last-term deficit to reach new heights, pulling the plug on a hot Yartapuulti (Port Adelaide) in a 19-point victory at Mineral Resources Park.

Waalitj Marawar (West Coast) sit just percentage off the competition’s elite four as they continued their best-ever start to a season, improving to 3-1.

The Power entered the game off a record AFLW score against Gold Coast last week and showed their teeth with the first three goals of the game.

But Daisy Pearce’s Eagles have shown that fighting back has become embedded in their DNA.

Waalitj Marawar’s run and pressure were unrelenting and paid off in the second half with seven of the last eight goals in the 10.4 (64) to 7.3 (45) triumph.

The game needed a calamity of errors to break the opening stalemate in a sequence that would have had Pearce pulling her hair out.

Her side gave away a lazy 50-metre penalty to get Port out of their defensive half before a rushed kick out of defence was intercepted.

However, it got worse as Ella Head’s kick into the goal square went untouched by multiple Waalitj Marawar defenders, resulting in a major.

It jolted the Power into action, the visitors kicking the first three of the match before a clanger of their own coming out of defence gifted Charlotte Riggs her maiden AFLW goal to get the home side on the board.

Young star Ella Roberts started the game up forward but quickly found herself in the thick of the action as Port threatened to replicate their record-breaking efforts of last week.

For all the Power’s impetus on the scoreboard, the Eagles owned possession, winning contested and uncontested ball around the ground as well as making themselves felt in the clearances.

The home side’s attack-first mentality and run looked too much for the Power at almost every turn, but skill errors and sheer determination from desperate defenders frustrated the Eagles.

A fixation on Roberts at centre stoppages opened the door for Courtney Rowley, while Sarah Lakay and Liz McGrath did a perfect job working over star Power ruck Matilda Scholz.

But the Eagles continued to fall down at half forward and were hurt on the counter, Yartapuulti booting almost all of their goals out the back.

Kellie Gibson’s first touch in the slick conditions was a class above for the Eagles, and her first major in the third term arrested a run of three from the Power after the home side levelled.

The Power opened the last quarter with their own horror vacant defensive goal square miss, their lead now evaporated as the Eagles set up a pulsating finale.

Waalitj Marawar’s lead was out to eight points as Jaide Britton converted from the goal square after an off-the-ball free kick.

But it was back to one with just under seven minutes to play.

Come of the moment and the Eagles didn’t need one hero, they had a fleet of them, Roberts, Rowley and skipper Isabella Lewis all combining for another Eagles major.

The crowd were in party mode as their team won the next centre clearance and Zoe Wakfer belted through a sealer on the run, ensuring she was not shown up by her sister Lauren, who grabbed a goal to end the third.

SCOREBOARD

WAALITJ MARAWAR 1.0, 3.3, 5.4, 10.4 (64)

YARTAPUULTI 3.1, 5.2, 6.2, 7.3 (45)

Goals - WAALITJ MARAWAR: C Riggs 2 I Lewis 2 C Rowley L Painter K Gibson L Wakfer J Britton Z Wakfer. YARTAPUULTI: I Tahau 2 E Heads A Woodland J Sowden G Houghton S Goody.

Best - WAALITJ MARAWAR: C Rowley A Drennan E Roberts I Lewis S Lakay. YARTAPUULTI: A Woodland S Syme M Scholz.

Injuries - WAALITJ MARAWAR: Nil. YARTAPUULTI: Nil.

Crowd: Around 1500 at Mineral Resources Park.