The VFLW Hawks are full of belief they can continue their strong form into the remainder of the season as they firm for a first-ever finals appearance.
Currently sitting a game clear in third position on the ladder, the Hawks appear to be hitting top form at the perfect time after an ominous 55-point win over the Western Bulldogs on Sunday.
Led by key forward Sarah Perkins (three goals), the Hawks kicked 11.13 (79) to record their largest score of the season, with forward Clare O’Donnell admitting the side’s increased scoring power had ignited the belief they could make a significant impact in 2018.
“It was brilliant,” O’Donnell said after the Round 14 win.
“We’ve been a bit slow, had a lot of close games, so to get a really big score on the board gives us a lot of belief we can really go on from here.”
A four-goal-to-one opening term saw the Hawks shoot to a 24-point lead against a Bulldogs side fielding a host of AFLW premiership stars, with O’Donnell revealing a fast start had a been a key focal point heading into the clash.
“We’ve been probably a bit slow off the mark for a few weeks now and it’s been a bit of a focus for us to actually come out and get some scoreboard pressure early,” she said.
“So the fact we were able to do that and then run on with it was really good.”
With just two games remaining before finals the Hawks now face their biggest challenge of the season as they travel to take on ladder-leaders NT Thunder at Darwin’s TIO Stadium on Saturday.
The Thunder have been the competition’s highest scoring side this year, currently boasting both the VFLW’s highest percentage (213 compared to the Hawks’ 179.93, which is next best) and two of the league’s top five goalkickers.
Jessica Sedunary (15 goals in 2018) and Jordann Hickey (13) are set to provide the Hawks’ defensive unit with plenty of headaches this weekend, in what looms as one the games of the season.
