The St Kilda Women’s Team Wins 29-points In The Sydney Swans’ Debut In The AFLW
In front of a raucous crowd at North Sydney Oval, St Kilda prevented Sydney from having a fairytale debut in the AFLW as Kate Shierlaw booted four goals to set up a 29-point win for them.
It would have been fair to say that the inaugural Swans rode a wave of emotion and effort to outplay the Saints for much of the opening term, but after the first change, the visitors impressed to win 8.8 (56) to 4.3 (27).
The St Kilda Women’s Team Wins 29-points In The Sydney Swans’ Debut In The AFLW
Despite the Swans’ loss, their number one draft pick Montana Ham went to the ground and immediately clutched at her knee as she went down in the dying stages of the final term, and had to be helped from the field as a result of her injuries.
As the scorelines remained tight in the second term, Shierlaw kicked two goals in as many minutes to open up a 21-point lead, which the Saints never looked like giving up despite it being a memorable occasion for the Swans in front of 8,264 spectators.
This tall forward caused a number of concerns for the Swan’s defense throughout the game, as he was their dominant target on the field.
I am happy to report that the Saints’ prized recruit Nicola Stevens made an ideal start to her new club and in her 50th game, kicking truly to open the scoring after only 90 seconds.
In the midst of wild celebrations after her goal set off wild celebrations of the Swans, Rebecca Privitelli put her name in the record books as the first AFLW player to kick a goal for the Swans, making the most of a free kick 25 metres out and directly in front.
In her first match since sitting out season six due to non-meeting vaccination requirements, Georgia Patrikios had a match-high 17 disposals and added strength to the Saints midfield, while Tarni White also had 17 touches in the match.
Despite being on the sidelines for two seasons due to visa issues and an ACL injury, Saints midfielder Molly McDonald (13) showed that she is ready to emerge as a key player in her fourth season after a stirring return from injury.
With 11 debutantes on the field, including Ham, who grew into the game before being injured, co-captain Lauren Szigeti was the standout first-gamer, while Cynthia Hamilton was also an impressive performer.
While the Swans were able to control the ball and territory for long periods of the game, the Saints gradually wore them down over the course of the game to show they are well positioned to improve on last year’s second-last finish.
On Sunday, the Swans will take their first road trip as they travel to face Collingwood at Victoria Park, while the Saints will take on another expansion club in Hawthorn later in the afternoon.