RAINBOW has never looked better.

Pride Round is something that Carlton cherishes, becoming an annual occurrence alongside the Darebin Falcons.

Fans donned rainbow flags, and players ran through a rainbow banner, whilst the Falcons wore their Pride guernseys and the Blues wore rainbow socks. 

Despite the disappointing result, Carlton Co-Captain Eliza Wood was grateful to lead her side in what has become a growing tradition of playing for the Pride Cup.

“It’s such an honour to be a part of this match representing Carlton, to play this match alongside Darebin and be together as one,” Wood said.

“Everyone deserves to be proud and confident in who they are, and we want the AFL community to be somewhere everyone feels safe and welcome.”

Carlton Pride was established in 2017 to create a safe and inclusive environment for LGBTQIA+ fans and allies within the Club and wider AFL community.

“This round means so much to Carlton and so many important people in my life,” she said.

“It’s really important that we stand together as one, be allies and be inclusive of everyone around us.”

It was clear from the get-go to be a difficult challenge amongst the wet grass and muddy terrain at Preston City Oval as the home side were able to capitalise on their familiar territory.

“It was definitely a change of scenery from IKON Park but credit to Darebin, they really brought it to us, and they played well,” she said.

“It was a hard-fought-out game and unfortunately didn’t go our way but it’s a great match to be a part of.”

Carlton fell at the hands of Darebin who snapped a 29-game losing streak.

The Falcons surged forward in the second quarter to push the lead out to 15 points at half time. That lead quickly extended to a further 10 points.

Near the end of the third quarter, the Blues kicked into gear and quickly put two goals on the scoreboard swinging the momentum into their favour going into the last break.

“We just recollected ourselves at half time and we wanted to go out there and play a better brand of footy we know we’re capable of playing,” she said.

Wood herself got in and amongst the action with 12 disposals, four tackles and three marks. Goals from Amy Trindade and Sophie McCarthy brought the Blues back into the contest. 

The effort from the Navy Blues didn’t reflect on the scoreboard and ultimately came out second best. 

“Around the contest, they were hungry and credit to them, they deserved that win today and they really brought it," she said. 

“I’m really proud of the girls and there’s so much growth areas we can take from today’s game to keep building and get better.”

These two familiar sides will meet again at IKON Park in the penultimate round of the VFLW season on 23 June.