AFLW Round 1: The Team

AFLW Round 1 COLLINGWOOD v CARLTON Time, Place, TV: Friday Feb 3, 7:45pm Princes Park 7mate / Fox Sports 7:30pm Weather: Min 14 Max 27 Chance of rain 10%: <1mm Wind: SW 15kph Betting: Collingwood $1.85 Carlton $1.95

B: Caitlyn Edwards, Meg Hutchins, Stacey Livingstone

HB: Stephanie Chiocci, Nicola Stevens, Cecilia McIntosh

C: Lauren Tesoriero

HF: Alicia Eva, Jasmine Garner, Sarah D’Arcy

F: Emma Grant, Jessica Cameron, Moana Hope

Foll: Emma King, Amelia Barden, Brittany Bonnici

Int: Bree White, Christina Bernardi, Sophie Casey, Tara Morgan, Helen Roden, Ruby Schleicher

Emerg: Penny Cula-Reid, Melissa Kuys

Collingwood News Stephanie Chiocci will lead Collingwood onto the field for its first match in the AFL Women's competition against Carlton on Friday night It’s Collingwood’s 125th year, but it’s also a year of firsts. For 22 footballers, Friday night’s AFL Women’s opener against Carlton will mark their first official match for the Black and White stripes. AFLW coach Wayne Siekman and his three assistants sat through a 90-minute match committee earlier in the week, and admits the task of fitting 27 players into a 22-person team wasn’t straightforward. “It was extremely tough,” Siekman told Collingwood Media. “We took a lot of things into consideration, but ultimately we had to pick the best team for the opposition we were playing. “There were five extremely disappointed players but that is the nature of footy. You just deal with it and hopefully the 22 can go out and represent the 28 of us and go out and get the job done.” In accordance with the new competition’s rules, only 16 players can be on the field at any one time, with six on the interchange bench. This is reflected on the team sheet, which is without players on either wing. Further, only two emergencies are named, unlike the three named in the AFL. “This means we have to be quite strategic about who we pick,” Siekman explained. “With three, you can have a small, medium and a tall, but with two you have to work out exactly what the right balance is for your squad so that was tricky in itself, too. “I am very confident that the team we have picked will get the job done against Carlton.” The Collingwood side features the likes of Emma Grant, Emma King, Sarah D’Arcy and Stacey Livingstone, who all shone in the Australia Day practice match against the Western Bulldogs. The team will be led by captain Stephanie Chiocci. Alicia Eva is her deputy, in a leadership group that includes Emma King and Lou Watton. The players were presented their 2017 Collingwood jumpers at an internal season launch at the Glasshouse on Wednesday night.