A review of all the action from the opening round of the 2024 rebel VFLW season.
SOUTHERN SAINTS vs COLLINGWOOD
SOUTHERN SAINTS 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.1 (25)
COLLINGWOOD 0.1 1.3 1.5 2.5 (17)
SOUTHERN Saints took the first step towards returning to finals action, outlasting Collingwood by eight points in an efficient performance in the 2024 rebel VFLW season opener at RSEA Park on Friday night.
The Saints took their opportunities in a game where chances were few, kicking four goals from five scores while the Magpies could only manage two from seven.
It took until after the quarter-time siren for former Magpie Georgia Ricardo to kick the first goal in her return to the Saints as the new-look Collingwood took the fight right up to the home team, only to be stung first by Ricardo and then by Nat Plane in the shadows of half-time.
Debutant Chloe Hunt then made herself the match-winner for the Saints with two second-half goals to seal an important first-up victory.
Charlotte Ryan was the Saints’ best with 18 disposals and five clearances, although best-and-fairest Winnie Laing (23 disposals) and Abbey Tregellis (19 disposals, 10 tackles) were also in the argument.
Carly Remmos was in everything for Collingwood to lead all comers with 23 touches, five marks and seven tackles. Meanwhile AFLW draftee Lucy Cronin and VFLW development players Frances Walsh, Jemma Ramsdale and Lilly Pearce all shone.
PORT MELBOURNE vs ESSENDON
PORT MELBOURNE 0.0 2.0 4.0 9.0 (54)
ESSENDON 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 (7)
REIGNING premier Port Melbourne took little time to shake off any signs of ring rust from their flag-winning performance, producing a brutal finish to crush challenger Essendon by 47 points at NEC Hangar on Saturday.
The Borough was scratchy early, going scoreless in the first quarter, but the Bombers missed the chance to put scoreboard pressure on by kicking four behinds.
And it came back to bite them in the most remarkable of circumstances, with Port being flawless in front of the goal and Essendon failing to find the middle just over 18 months after doing the same thing to Southern Saints in the 2022 Grand Final.
The most ominous part of the game came right at end, however.
With the Borough up by 17 points at the eight-minute mark of the last and not completely safely, they exploded to pile on five goals in less than 10 minutes to turn a tough battle into a huge victory, breaking the scoring and margin records they set against the Bombers in last year’s preliminary final in the process.
Despite Port fielding 11 premiership players, it was a recruit who shone brightest, with highly rated Lions Academy graduate Ava Seton named best with 14 disposals and 12 tackles. Lisa Hardeman medallist Lauren Caruso (16 disposals, five marks, six tackles) and Nayely Borg (14 disposals, seven marks) dominated in defence.
Essendon had the two top ball-winners on the ground, with Ruby Mahony (22 disposals, nine clearances, eight tackles) and Chloe Adams (20 disposals, five clearances, eight tackles, five rebounds) throwing everything into the contest, while new captain El Chaston was also strong.
GEELONG CATS vs CARLTON
GEELONG CATS 2.3 3.4 4.4 4.4 (28)
CARLTON 2.1 5.4 9.4 9.5 (59)
CARLTON’s aerial strength and slick ball movement proved the difference as it wore down a gutsy Geelong by 31 points at GMHBA Stadium.
The Cats took the contest up to the Blues early, with new co-leader Poppy Schaap hurting them at ground level with two early goals – and she should have had three.
But Carlton dealt a hammer blow when Georgia Tait bombed a wonderful set shot from 45m after the quarter-time siren to cut the deficit to just two points and the Blues’ star-studded outfit took over the contest.
Geelong did kick the first goal of the second term through Hannah Chalkley but the momentum had swung and Sophia McCarthy, Mia Austin, Brooke Vickers and Tait again all kicked truly from marks for the Blues, before AFLW talent Keeley Sherar turned in a dominant performance to put her team five goals up by the last change.
The fourth term turned into an arm-wrestle as Geelong refused to get blown away, but the damage was done.
The Cats had 16 more disposals but Carlton had 15 more inside-50s and 10 more marks to demonstrate their cleanliness with the ball, headed by Sherar’s 24 disposals, six clearances, seven tackles and a goal.
Young star Lulu Beatty and impressive debutant Steph Demeo, while Maddy Guerin’s return from a knee injury to gather 18 touches and six clearances was a heart-warming moment.
Abbey McDonald knocked up winning the ball for the Cats, mostly under fierce pressure on her way to 35 disposals, five marks and 12 clearances. Meanwhile, Abby Favell was outstanding with 26 touches, Schaap had 19 disposals, five marks and 10 tackles to go with her two goals and Denby Taylor shone with 18 touches in her first VFLW game since 2019 and first since retiring from AFLW in 2021.
WESTERN BULLDOGS vs NORTH MELBOURNE
WESTERN BULLDOGS 0.4 4.4 5.4 6.7 (43)
NORTH MELBOURNE 3.2 5.2 9.5 10.5 (65)
NORTH Melbourne laid down an early marker with the second highest score of the opening round, but the Kangaroos had to work hard for their 22-point win over a much-improved Western Bulldogs at Mission Whitten Oval.
It looked like being one-way traffic when the Bulldogs missed four early chances to kick the opening goal and were whacked the other way by five unanswered Kangaroos’ goals in the next 16 minutes.
But the home side rallied when recruit Renee Saulitis kicked back-to-back goals and they added four in 11 minutes to get back within four points to set up an intriguing second half where you couldn’t guess what would happen.
It took just three minutes and two North goals to get the answer as a team considered one of the flag favourites on the back of their recruiting spree re-established its breathing space in a four-goal-to-one third term. They then held the Bulldogs at arm’s length for the rest of the day.
Recruit Maddie Di Cosmo may have changed colours but not performance, starring with 18 disposals, 13 tackles and seven clearances in her first game for North Melbourne after crossing from Carlton.
Jen Guy, ex-Bulldog Tahlia Meier and Magpie signings Nic Hales and Nyakoat Dojiok also provided wonderful support.
The Bulldogs lifted from zero wins in 2022 to three last year and will go better again based on this performance, with star recruits Saulitis (17 disposals, six marks, five inside-50s, two goals) and Essendon premiership player Tamsin Crook leading the way alongside Sarah Skinner (18 disposals, seven marks, seven inside-50s).
DAREBIN FALCONS vs WILLIAMSTOWN
DAREBIN FALCONS 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 (2)
WILLIAMSTOWN 1.1 6.2 8.8 11.12 (78)
WILLIAMSTOWN announced itself as a team to watch this season when it belted a Darebin team many expect to improve significantly this year by 76 points at La Trobe University.
The Falcons had eight VFLW-experienced players among their recruits after a horror season and a half. Although not all of them played on Saturday and they were underdogs against a 2023 finalist, the magnitude of this defeat was a surprise.
The Seagulls led by just five points after a tough first quarter but blew the match wide open with five goals in the second term.
They held the Falcons scoreless after the 13-minute mark of the first term and to just two behinds for the day to record their highest VFLW score and biggest winning margin – surpassing the previous records of 10.7 (67) against Melbourne University in 2018 and 50 points against the Bulldogs in 2022.
Recruit Molly Simpson led a dominant Williamstown forward line with four goals, having a ball on the back of the terrific efforts of Lori Stepnell, Emily Eaves and Megan Williamson up the field.
Former Collingwood star Katie Lee was magnificent in trying to turn back the tide with an equal game-high 23 disposals (plus nine rebounds), while new co-captain and ex-Magpie leader Caitlin Bunker (17 disposals, 10 tackles) and Falcons best and fairest Ange Gogos (23 disposals, seven clearances, five tackles) also shone on a difficult day.
CASEY DEMONS vs BOX HILL HAWKS
CASEY DEMONS 1.0 1.1 2.2 2.2 (14)
BOX HILL HAWKS 5.3 8.5 14.6 19.8 (122)
BOX HILL Hawks rolled out the big guns for their season-opening clash with Casey Demons at Casey Fields on Sunday – and the result was record-breaking carnage to secure their 50th rebel VFLW win in their 90th match.
The Hawks won by a whopping 114 points, smashing a host of previous marks in the process – their highest VFLW score (122) and winning margin, beating the previous marks of 108 and 102 against the Western Bulldogs in 2022.
It was always going to be tough task for Casey when the teams were announced, with the Hawks providing a breath of fresh air to the VFLW competition by selecting a host of Hawthorn AFLW guns including one of the league’s best players in Emily Bates and one of the next big stars in Jasmine Fleming.
And it was those superstars who had spectators marvelling at just how good they are.
Fleming produced possibly the best game by a player wearing No.90, stuffing the stats sheet with 39 disposals, seven clearances and up to a dozen score involvements, while Bates got her hands dirty to rack up 30 touches, six clearances and seven tackles.
Fellow AFLW player Eliza West was also imperious, as were Tamara Smith and Caitlin Thorne who turned back almost every Casey effort while now AFLW retired Tamara Luke booted three goals.
Mietta Kendall loved the delivery coming in, cashing in with 11 disposals and five goals, with support from Kristy Stratton, who could have made the result even bigger but for kicking 2.3.
The Demons tried hard and never gave up but should simply write it off as a game where they were shown the standard by a host of AFLW players.
Club debutant Lauren Jatczak was the Demons’ best, putting up a solid effort against Lucy Wales to finish with 14 touches, four strong marks and a goal. Sophie Casey worked tirelessly for 20 touches, seven clearances and 11 tackles, alongside Meg Macdonald (17 disposals, 12 tackles), and Leah Swain had 26 hitouts.
