TWO CRUNCHING tackles and another attack on the ball inside 12 seconds – Carlton's Katie Loynes conjured memories of Greg Williams in the No.2 jumper against Brisbane last weekend.
Loynes, who turns 32 on the eve of this year's NAB AFL Women's Grand Final, sprinted 40 metres to smash into Lion Brittany Gibson mid-way through the third quarter at Ikon Park.
The ball spilled free, but Loynes was up and dragging Emily Bates down before springing back to get her hands on the crumb.
"I pride my game on that physical presence," said Loynes, who nominated Blues great 'Diesel' Williams as her childhood hero and tries to play with the same never-say-die attitude.
Katie Loynes says she idolised Blues great Greg Williams when she was a youngster. (Photo: Carlton Media)
Loynes has endured multiple leg injuries (including a broken leg and ankle and knee reconstructions) and wears heavy strapping on her left knee. But none of that stops her attacking each contest like it's her last.
In fact, her combative style had her right on the edge in the opening quarter on Saturday in an incident with Brisbane's Arianna Clarke.
Loynes was found to have been careless in making low-impact contact with Clarke's head, but under AFLW rules, a potential one-match suspension was downgraded to a reprimand after Loynes took an early guilty plea.
Loynes, who has played all nine of Carlton's AFLW matches since the competition started last year, said the Blues made too many errors and were on the back foot from the start against the Lions.
"We need to work on the turnovers coming out of our backline," she said.
After three rounds, the Blues' 2018 record mirrors last year's efforts, placing them with four other clubs on two wins and a loss.
The Western Bulldogs are one of those five teams on eight points and, after a six-day turnaround, they face each other in the inaugural AFLW Pride game at Whitten Oval on Friday night.
Katie Loynes has been in red-hot form in 2018. (Photo: AFL Photos)
The fixture is a show of support for LGBTIQ communities and promotes inclusiveness, diversity and equality. Both teams will wear specially designed jumpers.
While Carlton will miss suspended star forward Tayla Harris, the Dogs will line up without captain Katie Brennan, who injured ankle ligaments in the loss to Adelaide.
"I am so excited to be a part of the first AFLW Pride game, but there is never a good time to play the Dogs," Loynes said.
"The club is really excited to have [senior coach Damien Keeping] back. It was difficult losing him [to illness] after one match, but [assistant] Nick Rutley and the coaching staff galvanised the group."
And Loynes, a physical education teacher at Mordialloc College in Melbourne's south-east, has found out one of the disadvantages of being a footy star.
"It's not always fun going into work on a Monday after a loss," she said.
"The year 12 students don't hold back – I got some flak for the goal I missed on Saturday night. They are probably worse than the coaches!"
