After a hard-fought win in round one, Carlton’s Game Changers will look to make it two in a row when they take on Greater Western Sydney tonight.
The first AFLW game at Sydney’s Drummoyne Oval looms as a dangerous one for Carlton, as the embark on their first away trip of the season without head coach Damien Keeping (illness).
And while the Giants finished on the bottom of the ladder last season, they gave premiership fancy Melbourne a big fright last week in a six-point loss.
The fantastic form of Carlton’s big guns will give them plenty of confidence, with captain Brianna Davey (16 disposals) and new recruits Tayla Harris (5 marks and a goal) and Nicola Stevens (11 disposals) all standouts in round one.
Skipper Bri Davey will be looking to continue her good form. (Photo: AFL Photos)
Harris said during the week that the side’s best football is still ahead of them. The defensive effort was outstanding last week, but look for some improvements in the forward half tomorrow night and throughout the season.
Darcy Vescio should benefit from this after being well held by Collingwood’s defence. Her hard running still created opportunities for teammates, but she rarely has two quiet games in a row, and she’ll be looking to hit the scoreboard this week.
GWS attacked well in scoring 39 points against an excellent Melbourne outfit. The Blues defenders will need to be on the ball once again to contain the Giants forward line.
Phoebe McWilliams looks like the biggest threat, as she leads the AFLW goalkicking with a three-goal haul in the opening game. But after shutting down Moana Hope effectively last week, Carlton’s defenders should feel confident going into the matchup.
Last time the two sides met was in round two last year, where the Blues prevailed by 13 points at Ikon Park. But with a lot of list turnover for both sides, and a new home ground for the Giants, there’s plenty of uncertainty in this year’s clash.
