Brisbane has a stranglehold on the AFLW minor premiership thanks to a 55-point defeat of Collingwood on the Gold Coast.

An early tackling frenzy and some opportunistic offence established an early buffer before three quick goals in the shadows of halftime effectively killed the contest on Friday night at Metricon Stadium.

The 8.7 (55) to 1.4 (10) victory puts the Lions (9-1) a win and percentage ahead of Melbourne, which plays its final-round match against West Coast on Saturday.

The Magpies’ second straight defeat leaves them 7-3 and in a log-jam of teams fighting for spots in the bottom half of the eight.

Tackling frenzy unnerves Collingwood

Brisbane made almost double (78-43) the tackles of the visitors and weathered some early pressure before some razzle dazzle close to goal opened up the game.

First Courtney Hodder snapped out of the pack then Jesse Wardlaw took the ball straight from the bounce to kick the Lions’ second.

Dakota Davidson then soccered through another in traffic close to goal while Cathy Svarc’s running goal all but broke the Magpies’ backs before the main break.

The Lions pressure continued after the break, Wardlaw and Hodder both kicking another and Taylor Smith also finishing with two goals in the rout.

Ally Anderson had 26 disposals while Hodder and Svac both made nine tackles and Nat Grider was superb in defence.

Jaimee Lambert was Collingwood’s lone goalkicker while Mikala Cann had 22 touches and five tackles for the visitors.

Last-gasp Bulldogs secure eighth spot

In Friday’s other AFLW clash, the Western Bulldogs nailed down eighth place  with a thrilling three-point win against Carlton at Ikon Park.

The Bulldogs, just one game clear of Gold Coast, nearly had a nervous weekend wait before finally securing the 5.4 (34) to 4.7 (31) victory in wet, slippery conditions.

Tenth-placed Carlton seemed poised to pull off an upset win before the Dogs snatched it with a late goal from captain Ellie Blackburn.

Blackburn’s snapshot bounced through with only 102 seconds left on the game clock. And it was the first time the Bulldogs had been ahead on the scoreboard in the fluctuating contest.

“It means a lot to be back in the finals. We’ve fought really hard as a group and we’ve always been that close, been right on the edge of the finals and not quite got over the line,” Blackburn said.

“To finally get there I think is a sign of maturity for our group and I’m really proud of them, we’ve fought really hard to get there. So, bring it on.”

-AAP