In Round 7 of the 2023 AFLW season, a brave Lion took one of the greatest marks in the league's history, the game's best duo just keep on keeping on, and the ruthless Demons are on the verge of an incredible record. Here's whose stocks are rising after the seventh round of Season 8.
Our footy experts cast their eye over the weekend's action to find out whose stocks are up in the AFLW.
Hodder channels Brown, Riewoldt with courageous mark
With 40 seconds remaining in Brisbane's QClash win over the Suns, Orla O'Dwyer sent a long ball inside 50 towards a leading Dakota Davidson. But running back with the flight of the ball and leaping with her eyes on nothing but the footy, speedster Courtney Hodder took an unbelievable mark over the top of Davidson and her direct opponent Bess Keaney.
It's a grab not too dissimilar to famous efforts made by AFL champions such as Jonathan Brown and Nick Riewoldt in the past, and one that will be remembered and replayed for a very long time.
The mark of the year? It's going to take something outrageous to top it.
HODDERRRRRR 🤯#AFLWDeadly | #AFLWSunsLions pic.twitter.com/ABZs7PF3KT
— AFL Women's (@aflwomens) October 14, 2023
More specially-designed guernseys, please
Once again, a big shout out to each club's artists for the stunning designs donned by teams for Indigenous round. Each guernsey had striking art accompanying it -- some simplistic and some complex -- while each design also carried with it a unique, special story. Bravo to all involved.
Is North's dynamic duo leading them to a flag?
They're the best one-two punch in the league, and Port Adelaide had no answers for Ash Riddell and Jasmine Garner as the Roos posted their highest ever AFLW score in the 87-24 win.
Garner was unstoppable, and aside from some wayward kicking in front of the big sticks, could have had one of the all-time days. She finished with 39 disposals, 1.2, two goal assists, eight clearances, and a whopping 789 metres gained (an AFLW record). Her partner in crime Riddell kicked two majors from 35 disposals, seven tackles, and five clearances. In fact, they're the only two players in the entire competition averaging more than 30 disposals per game.
The Crows -- led by their own supreme midfield pair in Ebony Marinoff and Anne Hatchard -- might be undefeated, but North look irresistible. The best part? They meet in Round 9!
Dees on verge of astonishing AFLW record
With their 70-point thumping of West Coast on Sunday (and because of an all-round dominant season), Melbourne is likely to break the record for the most points scored in an AFLW home-and-away season in Round 8.
The Dees have scored a total of 527 points from seven rounds and sit just 18 points behind the previous 'points for' record set by Brisbane in Season 7 (545). And the Lions needed 10 games to get there. Melbourne's average per game this season? A whopping 75.3.
And it's not that hard to fathom, really, Eden Zanker (17 goals), Kate Hore (16), and Alyssa Bannan (12), all in the top seven for goals scored in Season 8. As many teams have experienced, any of that dynamic trio can fire at any time, making them one of the most formidable forward lines we've seen since the AFLW's inception in 2017.
A mouth-watering Round 8 awaits
If you haven't done so yet, just quickly take a glance at the Round 8 fixture. Notice that? Brisbane take on the ladder-leading Adelaide at Brighton Homes Arena, while Melbourne and North lock horns at IKON Park. Yep, the top four all playing each other in a blockbuster weekend of footy.
Oh, and don't forget about fellow finals contenders Collingwood and Geelong facing off at Victoria Park, the two sides just one game out of the top four, and only percentage inside the top eight at the same time.
Buckle up. With just four points separating fourth from 10th, and 13 teams still a realistic chance of qualifying for finals, you need to buy stocks in the AFLW's run home.