Hawthorn VFLW suffered a disappointing 28-point loss against Essendon at The Hangar on Saturday.

The young side fought bravely but were sadly not able to turn the scoreboard in their favour with a dominant Essendon side maintaining control all day.

The first quarter launched with a bang, as Catherine Brown booted the first goal of the game from outside the 50m line.

Sadly, this performance couldn’t be replicated for the rest of the quarter, and Hawthorn were unable to tear the ball away from the strong opposition side.

Despite attempts from Olivia Flanagan, the team was left with just one goal for the quarter. But confidence was not lost, as the girls had experienced a similar situation at the end of the first quarter in the game last week against Darebin.

Entering the second quarter, the Hawks were met with a wall of red and black as the Essendon girls ran riot.

Harry hopeful of a bump in midfield minutes in 2021

The team tried their best to overcome the obstacle ahead of them, with Nicole Cormack, Dom Carbone, and Lauren Szigeti all generating shots on goal, albeit wayward.

The girls valiantly attempted to gain back control of the ball but finished the quarter goalless, and the pressure began to seem overwhelming.

After a passionate speech from coach Bec Goddard at half-time, the girls were fired up and ready to recuperate some lost ground.

Hawthorn was unwilling to cede any territory and the ball was predominately in the Hawks’ possession for the quarter, with Essendon only scoring one goal for the period.

The youthful and energetic team launched quickly into the attack, showing the opposition that the game wasn’t yet over, but an inability to convert continued to plague the side.

Coming into the fourth quarter, the aim was simply to keep strong defensive pressure and intensity all the way to the final siren.

Chloe Bain, in her second game for the Hawks, scored her first goal for the club to open the scoreboard back up, with Flanagan following up with a major of her own in quick succession.

The game might have been a foregone conclusion, but that didn’t mean the girls would concede quietly.

But the die was cast, and the game was over.

It was not the result that the team was looking for, but in the words of Development Coach Lou Wotton, it was an “opportunity to learn” for the team as they now look towards their next game against Collingwood at Victoria Park.

Essendon 8.7.55

Hawthorn 3.9.27

HAW GOALS: Brown, Bain, Flanagan

HAW BEST: Brown, Cormack, Hutchins, Dudley, Szigeti, Carbone