Sports
Sydney Swans Advance to AFLW Preliminary Final After Defeating Geelong Cats
Sydney secured a narrow victory at GMHBA Stadium while a player’s medical training proved vital during a mid-game emergency involving an opponent.
By Headlinne · Compiled from reporting by Age, 7NEWS and Guardian
Sydney Swans defeated the Geelong Cats by three points in an AFLW semi-final on Saturday at GMHBA Stadium, securing a spot in the preliminary finals against North Melbourne.
The Swans won the match 8.2 (50) to 7.5 (47), ending Geelong’s season in straight sets after a performance led by Chloe Molloy and Maddie Quinn.
The victory marks the first time the Sydney women’s program has reached a preliminary final since entering the competition in 2022.
During the third quarter, Geelong ruck Piper Dunlop collapsed following a head clash with Sydney’s Tanya Kennedy, requiring immediate medical intervention on the field.
Sydney forward Alexia Hamilton, who is a trained nurse and paramedic, rushed to assist Dunlop, cushioning her fall and placing her into the recovery position before staff arrived.
“Instinct kicked in for Lex, even though she was in the heat of the battle,” said Colin O’Riordan, the Sydney Swans coach.
O’Riordan added that watching Dunlop fall was “really scary to witness” and praised Hamilton for her immediate response to the injured player.
Dunlop was stretchered from the ground to applause from the 5656 spectators in attendance and was later transported to a hospital for further medical imaging.
Geelong coach Mick Stinear confirmed that Dunlop was conscious when she left the stadium for the hospital.
“Piper’s in hospital now just getting some further imaging done,” said Mick Stinear, the Geelong Cats coach. “I think she’s doing OK but we won’t know more until we get the imaging results.”
The match saw several injury concerns for Geelong, including the absence of Amy McDonald and limited mobility for Rachel Kearns, while Georgie Prespakis passed a concussion test.
Stinear expressed disappointment with the outcome, stating that the team failed to capitalize on its opportunities during the final quarter of the contest.
Sydney will now prepare for a match against North Melbourne, a challenge O’Riordan acknowledged will be difficult for his team.
Reporting from
- The Age
A Cat collapsed in an AFLW final. Her trained paramedic rival leapt to her aid
- 7NEWS
Trained nurse Alexia Hamilton hailed for helping Geelong’s Piper Dunlop during AFLW final
- The Guardian
AFLW star who is also paramedic nurse leaps into action to help rival after ‘really scary’ head clash
How this article was made: Headlinne wrote it with AI from the 3 reports listed above. Direct quotes are checked word for word against those reports, every number appears in at least one of them, and no other sentence is copied from one. Photos are from those reports and credited to them. Each report’s page on Headlinne links to the outlet’s original.