WHEN Carlton lured Nicola Stevens from the Magpies, it was a kick in the guts, really.
On Friday night at Ikon Park, as AFLW re-emerged on another beautiful summer’s evening in front of a near-on packed house of 20,000 fans, the reality of losing their first-year best and fairest set in.
As the Magpies locked the ball inside their forward 50 with four minutes to go, down by eight points, it was Stevens who was banging it back out.
With two minutes to go, Stevens tellingly beat Mo Hope in a battle for the loose ball at the top of the goal square, using her pace and getting a scrappy but important kick out of the danger zone.
Stevens has fitted in seamlessly at Carlton. She’s was the general down back, allowing Bri Davey to go forward at times.
Davey was at her influential best, but the load is now shared.
Stevens crashed and bashed in the centre too, usually offloading a handball to a teammate.
But the question is, who is going to be the best of the big name recruits for the Blues?
Former Brisbane marquee Tayla Harris showed why the Blues were happy she wanted to call Princes Park home in 2018. She was good in the air, a pack mark in the goal square the highlight, and her delivery by foot was also impressive.
She teamed ominously with Darcy Vescio, showing glimpses of what this paring could do. It didn’t tear the game apart, but look out, it will at some point this season.
When Vescio centred the ball from the boundary and Harris marked, 20m out, it was the script coach Damien Keeping had written during the off-season.
Vescio didn’t have the impact she had in the season opener last year.
She played deep and was being niggled first by debutant Illis Ross. Ross was so bewitched by Vescio, she was watching her, more like netballer, than where the ball was. Then Chloe Molloy arrived, and she quietened the star.
Collingwood could have discovered the debutant of the year with No.3 draft pick Molloy.
The 18-year-old was a forward in the VFLW, and a very good one.
Instead she played down back, taking the kick ins and also prowling across half back.
She was confident and assured. Not afraid to sneak up the wing and leave her opponent. Or even play on from the kick-in.
Then she snuck forward in the final moments of the game, giving Collingwood supporters hope of a match-winning goal, but her kick flew well wide and out on the full. She continued to tackle and chase, showing great fight.
Moana Hope surrounded by Carlton players.
Of the old guard, Hope went forward, like she probably was always going too despite being named in the centre.
She led strongly in the third term but couldn’t take the marks, being monstered doesn’t help.
Gun Collingwood recruit Jaimee Lambert was quiet in the first half but started to fire in the third term.
Stevens received the bronx cheers she probably expected. She was also roughed up by her former teammates at any opportunity.
But the Carlton faithful showed their support with a full voice, gleefully cheering her whenever she collected the ball.
She’ll perhaps be their favourite by season’s end, or that could be Tayla.
There was no lockout at Ikon Park this year but a shutdown happened on the field in a tight encounter with just five goals kicked in the opening game of the AFLW season.
This second coming of AFLW began in almost identical fashion as last year when Collingwood's Jasmine Garner kicked the opening goal for the second year running under summer skies at Ikon Park.
It was not the only similarity on the night either, with Carlton winning again, hanging on by eight points after neither team kicked a goal in the second half.
The lack of scoring dampened the thrills to some extent but the tightness of the game kept the crowd enthralled. When the Carlton chant found voice deep into the last quarter as the ball sat inside Collingwood's forward line in front of the Blues' social club, it was clear the supporters cared.
The players do, too, as Collingwood president Eddie McGuire, who attended the game this season after missing last year's historic occasion to meet a commitment to commentate the boxing, sensed at the club's jumper presentation a week earlier.
"This year there is a real intent, now we want to be athletes, now we want to win," McGuire said.
That Collingwood couldn't win would have disappointed McGuire as the Magpies dominated after quarter-time, but he could not question the players' intent.
The difference was Tayla Harris – who the Blues lured from Brisbane in the trade period – with her marking power and attack on the ball creating scoring opportunities.
Carlton coach Damien Keeping said the high profile forward was impressive and her performance would improve the longer she spent alongside her new teammates.
"She was really critical to us at significant moments in the game," Keeping said.
However the excited and somewhat relieved coach said the team's talent ran deep enough to not be too reliant on their star players.
The Magpies dominated territory but only Sarah D'Arcy looked like scoring, with the impressive Chloe Molloy playing in defence where she showed great poise in her first game with 20 disposals.
It meant D'Arcy received some attention from the Blues defenders and her frustration boiled over in the third quarter when she kicked out at one of the Blues' twins, Sarah Hosking, in the third quarter when the Carlton twin stood over her as she lay on the ground.
Had D'Arcy taken the kick and goaled it could have given the Magpies the spark they needed.
But they could not convert, messing up a perfect chance to score early in the last quarter when they fumbled and bumbled the ball in open space as they headed towards goal.
Collingwood coach Wayne Siekman said the Magpies had squandered the opportunity to cause an upset and the team was hurting.
"We just lacked a fraction of composure. That's all it was," Siekman said.
The last-touch rule did not have the impact on the scoring as league heavyweights hoped with the five goals for the match three fewer than were scored in last year's opener when Carlton forward Darcy Vescio kicked half of the eight goals.
Vescio was quiet, with just one touch in the first half, well held by Iilish Ross.
But the free kicks under the last-touch rules kept the game flowing and it was nowhere near as congested as it had been on opening night last season.
They were the positives on a night that saw the game cement itself on the sporting landscape, landing last year's tsunami on solid ground with McGuire continuing to predict big things for the future.
"The difference between this year and last year is palpable," McGuire said.
"The difference between last year, this year and five years' time is going to be unrecognisable." |
Carlton has defeated a dogged Collingwood by just eight points in a fiercely contested opening match of the NAB AFLW season.
In a hard-fought match, both sides had long periods of dominance but struggled to make an impact on the scoreboard, with Carlton winning 3.4 (22) to 2.2 (14).
Carlton actually failed to kick a goal after half-time but had done enough early (through Kate Shierlaw, Tayla Harris and Alison Downie) to hang on.
Collingwood draftee Chloe Molloy, usually a forward, was a steadying presence in defence, while Harris was highly impressive in her first game for the Blues, taking several stunning contested marks and kicking a goal.
It was a case of history repeating when Collingwood key forward Jasmine Garner kicked the opening goal of the match, as she did in last year's season opener.
The Magpies then struggled to get through a strong Blues zone defence, led by Davey (16 disposals and four marks) and Danielle Hardiman (12 and two).
In promising signs for Carlton, usual stars and leaders Darcy Vescio and Lauren Arnell did not have an impact on the match, yet they still came away with the four points.
Moana Hope's much vaunted move into the midfield lasted just a quarter, after which she was moved forward to try and provide a focal point.
It worked somewhat, but she took just one mark and didn't hit the scoreboard.
Fellow forward Sarah D'Arcy will come under the scrutiny of new Match Review Officer Michael Christian for lashing out at Carlton midfielder Sarah Hoskingin an attempt to get the Blue to move away after a tackle.
She was reported for the unusual offence of "kicking".
Captain, my captain
Both captains were eager to set the tone early, with Brianna Davey particularly dominant in the first half of the match. Davey plays the role of the general so well in defence, but it was her ability to run and create that was damaging early. In a similar vein, Steph Chiocci was a driving force in the second term in particular, only her inability to convert in front of goal putting a dampener on her game.
Tayla shakes it off
There was a lot of pressure on Tayla Harris after her high-profile move from Brisbane Lions to Carlton during the trade period. But it clearly didn't affect her, with one of her best AFLW performances to date. She kicked just the one goal, but took several of her trademark strong contested marks (five in total) and put defensive pressure on when she didn't have the ball.
Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater
With a short, seven-week season, percentage will be vital for one of those precious Grand Final berths. A first-round loss is less than ideal for Collingwood, but going down by eight points is not season-ending. Of more concern will be their inability to hit the scoreboard despite such a potent forward line. Sarah D'Arcy marked well but was off her best form, while Moana Hope, who played the last three terms forward, was well beaten by Danielle Hardiman.
Work in progress
The "last-touch" rule made its official debut and had an interesting impact on the game. Play was noticeably directed through the middle of the ground (instead of the wings), and was even switched across the face of goal, which was prone to turnovers. Players have, on the whole, quickly adjusted, having trained with the rule in place for the vast majority of their pre-season.
Say what?
"We were really close. Just a couple of small little areas we need to work on, on the track. Then we head to Perth, take on Fremantle and [if we] fix those couple of small things, we'll be right in the game." – Collingwood coach Wayne Siekman
What's next?
Collingwood plays Fremantle in the first game at Perth Stadium on Saturday night.
COLLINGWOOD forward Sarah D'Arcy has been reported for kicking Carlton opponent Sarah Hosking in Friday night's AFLW season opener at Ikon Park.
D'Arcy's name went in the umpire's book after lashing out with her leg in frustration after Hosking tried to stand the mark.
The 26-year-old took an intercept mark and was set to lineup for goal until the umpire reversed the ball and handed the ball to Hosking.
Hosking got to her feet and took her kick and did not appear to be injured following the incident.
After the match, Hosking was asked about her opinion on the incident.
"You don't want that sort of stuff to happen but we'll leave it up to the umpires and the Match Review (Panel) to deal with that," she told Channel 7.
Asked about the force involved in the contact, Hosking said it was not a pleasant feeling.
"Yeah, look it hurt I'm not going to lie," Hosking said.
"I'm just glad I'm not a boy, that's for sure. I'm sure I'll have a little bit of a bruise later."
The incident will act as a challenging first case for newly appointed Match Review Officer, and long-time MRP member, Michael Christian.
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| Collingwood's Sarah D'Arcy is on report for kicking Sarah Hosking |
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