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          AFLW stocks rising: There's nothing like kicking a bag in a milestone!

          • ESPN
          Sep 10, 2023, 06:47 PM ET

          In Round 2 of the 2023 AFLW season, Jamie Stanton had the perfect milestone game, two Roos dominated the Blues, and the Dees' skipper was on fire. Here's whose stocks are rising after the second 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.

          Ponter slots incredible goal of the year contender

          Outrageous! Is that the best goal we've seen in the AFLW competition? Well it has to be in the discussion, and regardless of whether it was intended or not (there's no way it was, let's be honest) it's a moment all fans -- and Danielle Ponter herself -- will remember for a long, long time.

          In the second quarter of Adelaide's clash against Richmond at Ikon Park, the two-time premiership Crow gathered the ball from a centre bounce, and took a couple of steps before launching a huge bomb towards the forward line. The ball went over the heads of four pairs of opponents, bounced roughly 25-metres out from the goal, and remarkably, again, leapfrogged the deepest pair just in front of the goal square before skidding through the big sticks and stunning all onlookers.

          Insane stuff, check it out for yourself below!

          Stanton's stunning milestone to remember

          Now THAT'S how your milestone match is supposed to go! Jamie Stanton, celebrating her 50th game in the AFLW, put together her best ever performance and played a significant part in the Suns' dismantling of the Eagles on Saturday.

          Stanton, who has played in every season since the competition's inception, had never kicked more than three goals in a match in her 49 matches at the top level. Her tally in the opening 12 minutes of Round 2's clash? Three majors in an opening-quarter blitz that only grew. The former Lion and Kangaroo finished with 6.2 next to her name from 11 disposals, as well as four marks and a game-high 10 score involvements as the Suns kicked the third-largest score (99) in the AFLW.

          Special shout out to young midfielder Charlie Rowbottom, too, who was exceptional in the engine room with 33 disposals (24 contested), 16 clearances, 10 tackles, and nine score involvements. Fair effort!

          North's dynamic duo was on fire

          Tallying an outrageous 36 disposals each, North's midfield juggernaughts of Jasmine Garner and Ash Riddell were unstoppable in their side's 10-goal win over the Blues on Sunday.

          Garner again strengthened claims for a best-and-fairest, with her 36 disposals coming alongside a goal and two goal assists. Both Garner and Riddell managed more than 500 metres gained as the Roos completely blanketed the Blues (who didn't score until after three-quarter time).

          A five-star captain's performance from Kate Hore

          As the reigning premiers, you're often labelled as 'the hunted', and in the case of the Demons, getting off to strong starts is so important in a 10-game season - especially if they want to win back-to-back flags.

          Well, their skipper understood the assignment. Kate Hore's first quarter was arguably the best in AFLW history. She tallied 16 disposals, five marks and kicked three goals. Yes, in the first term.

          She finished the match with a final stat line of 23 disposals, eight marks, six tackles and five majors as the Dees powered to a 77-point win over the Giants in Canberra. Talk about a captain's performance!