AFL

Sweet 16 as North Melbourne thump Pies in AFLW romp

By AAP Newswire

Sep 7, 2025

ash — Ash Riddell was dominant for unbeaten North Melbourne in a big win over Collingwood. -AAP Image

Ash Riddell has put on another midfield masterclass as North Melbourne continued their winning ways with a 45-point AFLW triumph over Collingwood at Arden Street.

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In the absence of fellow star Jasmine Garner, Riddell stood tall with 36 disposals, eight clearances, seven tackles and 401 metres gained on Sunday to power her side to the 8.10 (58) to 2.1 (13) win.

The result extended North Melbourne's winning run to 16 matches, their unbeaten run to 18 matches, and improved their 2025 record to 4-0 with a percentage of 492.1.

"There's an old saying that for every win you get closer to your next loss," Kangaroos coach Darren Crocker said.

"But we don't concentrate on that.

"For us, if we continue to stay in the present ... we know if we're playing at somewhere near our best, it's going to be pretty strong."

Collingwood are now 1-3 and face a battle to make the finals.

North Melbourne won the inside 50m count a whopping 48-25, with the Magpies not registering their first score until early in the third quarter.

Riddell had plenty of help from Ruby Tripodi (29 disposals) and Mia King (26 disposals, seven clearances, one goal) in a dominant effort by the Kangaroos.

Tarni White led the way for Collingwood with 26 disposals, 10 marks and 535m gained.

North Melbourne thumped Fremantle by a record 100 points last week.

But with the wind so strong on Sunday that goalposts were swaying and kicks continually missed their targets, a repeat scoreline to that extent was never on the cards.

North Melbourne scored the only goal of the first quarter via King, and the Riddell-inspired Kangaroos continued to flex their muscles in the second term.

Forward Tahlia Randall, who dislocated a finger in the first quarter, produced a strong lead to kick North's second goal of the match.

But it was a run-and-stun effort from Gaelic football recruit Vikki Wall that was the highlight of the match.

Wall collected the bouncing ball at full pace in the centre of the ground before setting off for a run.

After taking an awkward-looking bounce, she combined with fellow Irish teammate Blaithin Bogue for a running one-two before giving the ball to Bogue again for an easy goal.

The 22-0 half-time scoreline didn't make for pretty reading for Collingwood, and although Kalinda Howarth scored the Magpies' first goal at the seven-minute mark of the third quarter, it was only a brief respite.