AFLW 2023 Rd 1: Carlton vs Gold Coast

[crashlander]

The game starts at 13:05 at Carlton on Saturday.
Not a lot of players available.  
3 players debuting: Maddy Hendrie, Erone FitzPatrick & Marianna Anthony, with 2 other girls from other clubs: Harriet Cordner and Gen Lawson-Tavan.
Jess dal Pos as Captain - that one makes me shake my head.

Backs: Jess Dal Pos  Amelia Velardo
Half-backs:  Maddy Hendrie  Erone Fitzpatrick  Vaomua Laloifi
Centreline:  Lily Goss  Abbie McKay  Keeley Sherar
Half-forwards:  Mimi Hill  Jess Good  Gen Lawson-Tavan
Forwards:  Mia Austin  Keeley Skepper
Followers:  Breann Moody  Daisy Walker  Brooke Vickers
Interchange:  Darcy Vescio  Marianna Anthony  Annie Lee  Taylor Ortlepp  Harriet Cordner

Emergencies:  Dayna Finn  Imogen Milford  Ciara Fitzgerald

If I were a betting man, I wouldn't be putting money on us!

[kruddler]

We've had VFLW teams stronger than that.

Hopefully we can some kind of new coach honeymoon period, because i don't see many wins in our season.

Vescio on the bench is a bit worrying too.

[crashlander]

Nobody is named  in position. This is just a list of players selected.

[kruddler]

Nobody is named  in position. This is just a list of players selected.

Backs: Jess Dal Pos  Amelia Velardo
Half-backs:  Maddy Hendrie  Erone Fitzpatrick  Vaomua Laloifi
Centreline:  Lily Goss  Abbie McKay  Keeley Sherar
Half-forwards:  Mimi Hill  Jess Good Gen Lawson-Tavan
Forwards:  Mia Austin  Keeley Skepper
Followers:  Breann Moody  Daisy Walker  Brooke Vickers
Interchange:  Darcy Vescio  Marianna Anthony  Annie Lee  Taylor Ortlepp  Harriet Cordner

I reckon the red would be first picked in those positions.
Plenty of others seem reasonable in those positions.
Some odd selections in a few places, but seems more likely a team lineup than not to me.

[Baggers]

Is the game televised? Love to watch it.

[Blue Moon]

Watched a number of games last year. At times I thought we were a long way off and other times I thought we weren't that far off. I hope today is the start of the road back for the Blues.

[crashlander]

To win with so much talent sitting in the stands is an excellent start. I'd have liked it better if we could have not run out of puff, but the pressure and work rate was excellent.

Keeley Sheerar: 16 possessions and 12 tackles.
Marianna Anthony: 14 possessions and 11 tackles.
Jess dal Pos in maybe her best game in our colours: 19 possessions and 9 tackles.
Abby McKay: 16 possessions, 5 clearances and 9 tackles.

You note the point I'm trying to make?
The team had 91 tackles!

Darcy Vescio with 3 goals wasn't bad either.

[kruddler]

Well that was unexpected.

Something to work with, but fell in a hole in the last quarter.
Vescio commented about having had an iron infusion which seems to have sorted herself out, so look to the Darcy of old there.
Not sure if that is a benefit of focussing on AFLW with full time staff now, but perhaps its a few things like that which was missing from us compared to other AFLW teams.

Lets see...

[laj]

All this winning lately!

[DJC]

The tackling was at another level.

Jess Good was impressive in the ruck but Breann Moody didn't have much impact as a forward.

Darcy Vescio is so much better as a high half forward.

The Suns only really got back into the game through some dubious umpiring decisions and it would have been a travesty if we had lost.

A good effort from all the girls and a good start by Bucky.