Game Review

Blues cruise past Tigers to get back on winners list.
Richmond offered little resistance as Carlton powered to a big win on Friday. - By Jai Tiwari at Ikon Park.

Carlton went on a goal rampage at IKON Park on Grand Final eve. After two weeks on the wrong side of the result, the Blues returned to winning ways in convincing fashion, running away with a 55-point victory over Richmond on Friday. Carlton finished 11.10 (76) to 3.3 (21), with the Tigers managing just one behind after half-time as they were completely shut out of the contest. From the opening minutes, the Blues took control and gave the visitors little opportunity to build sustained pressure. Erone Fitzpatrick was at the heart of Carlton's attack, with the 2023 Irish recruit producing an impressive performance with three goals, 16 disposals, 10 kicks and five tackles. Fitzpatrick was the only player on the ground to finish with three goals and emerged as one of Carlton's most damaging players. She had plenty of support, with Nell Morris-Dalton kicking two goals from 14 disposals, while Mimi Hill, Tayla McMillan, Sophie McKay and Keeley Sherar were also among the Blues to find the scoreboard.

Hill was another major influence around the ground, finishing with 26 disposals (13 kicks, 13 handballs) and six tackles, while Abbie McKay also accumulated 27 disposals. It was also a memorable afternoon for debutant Tayla McMillan. The lifelong Carlton supporter kicked a goal and finished with 13 disposals, six marks and five tackles in her first AFLW appearance. For Richmond, Olivia Wolmarans provided one of the few bright spots up forward, kicking two of the Tigers' three goals in the first half as Richmond struggled to find other avenues to goal. Already without star midfielder Monique Conti due to an Achilles injury, Richmond's problems worsened when Baia Pugh was ruled out with a collarbone injury, while forward Aoibhin Cleary was sidelined with an ankle injury during the first half. The Tigers were held to just one behind in the second half despite only trailing the inside 50 ledger by five in this period. They struggled connecting inside 50 as afternoon, connecting with a team mate on just 48% of entries, compared to 63% from the Blues. A season-high 76 points for the Blues helps topple the Tigers by 55 points at Ikon Park. They were dominated in all facets of the match, leading the contested possessions by 22, inside 50s by 12 and clearances by two. Their 47-points differential from intercepts was too much of a challenge to stop, which was heavily fueled by 40 points from intercepts in their attacking midfield.

Up next
Carlton will look to build on the result when it hosts Hawthorn at IKON Park on Thursday night, while Richmond will return to the same venue the following night to take on Geelong.

Best: E. Fitzpatrick, D. Finn, M. Hill, A. McKay, H. Cordner.

Who starred in big Blue win?
Mathew Buck's post-Round 7 press conference. - By Carlton Media.

A step forward. Carlton brought some of its offensive flair to IKON Park on Friday afternoon, producing its biggest score of the season in a 55-point triumph over Richmond. In what was the Blues’ second largest winning margin, the home side had contributors everywhere to continue its exceptional form at IKON Park, on a day where Tayla McMillan and Lauren Bella both enjoyed their first wins in Navy Blue. Here’s what AFLW Senior Coach Mathew Buck said post-match.

On the initial reaction to the win:
“Across the board, it was a real team effort. Everyone committed to their role and I thought our system held up really well. There’s certainly room to improve as well, I thought we overused our handball throughout the day and missed some connection inside 50 which has been an ongoing thing. “But to hit 70 points today is nice reward for effort, so overall we’re feeling pretty good.”

On recent form, despite not getting results:
“We were pretty buoyed by our last couple of weeks. We felt like we were able to take it to two of the best teams in the competition, but still had some growth in our own game. “It felt like we could execute a bit better with that, there’s still room with some flow in our game but we certainly saw some evidence today.”

On the biggest positive from the day:
“The breadth of everybody who contributed. You think of a Tay McMillan who came in for her first game and contributes endlessly. “Our backline holds up well again and only lets in two points in the second half. Harriet Cordner keeps doing Harriet Cordner things, and she was well supported by her other teammates.”

A bit more on the debutant:
“We’ve loved Tay since the moment she stepped in. She had a really great pre-season, but unfortunately towards the very end of it, she got a lower leg injury which kept her out of the first few games of the year. As a coaching group, we’ve been really excited with what we’ve seen throughout her pre-season and her scrimmage matches as well. “You’d just call her a footballer. You put her out there and she’s going to contribute and turn up for you, she doesn’t waste a possession and she’s tough inside the contest. “She brought 100 people with her today to cheer her on. Being a Carlton supporter forever, I think she’s sitting in there really proud of herself - and rightfully so.”

On another brilliant Erone Fitzpatrick display:
“I probably take her for granted if I’m being fair, with her and Dayna on the other wing. We’re really versatile with where we can play her, and we chose to play her across the wing with a little bit of mid time. “Explosive power and speed, we saw that today and she probably handed a couple off where she could’ve gone for them. That’s the type of player and person she is, she’s very selfless and wants her teammates to be as good as they can be. I thought she was outstanding.”

On the ruck partnership:
“A shoutout to Lauren Bella who played her second game, the combination of ‘Goody’ and Lauren is going to be a really interesting one for us. I thought we saw some great impact today.”

On where the team feels as though they sit:
“Across the competition as a whole, we probably don’t spend too much time thinking about that as much as what our best footy looks like and how we can continue to evolve into what we want to be. We had a couple of tough games against the top teams, I thought our contest and defence held up pretty well in those two games. We come to this one and add the offensive layer which we’ve been missing a little bit, we’ve had some injury interruptions to some of our forwards throughout the season so far. We think our game is evolving, with some significant steps to take again. “Lots of growing to do, we’ve got a tough game next week against Hawthorn here at IKON Park which is also our Carlton Respects Game.”

In: Tayla McMillian, Aisling Reidy
Out: Tara Bohanna (omitted), Lila Keck (foot)

Umpires

oshua Ball, Janhavi Kondhalkar, Joshua Antulov.

Milestones

Debut & First Goal: Tayla McMillan

Interesting Facts

1. This was Carlton's 50th win in 102 games, which is a winning percentage of 49%.
2. This game was part of a double-header with North Melbourne playing Melbourne straight afterwards. It was part of a celebration of Irish culture and football.

AFLW Coaches Votes

10 - Erone Fitzpatrick (CARL)
7 - Abbie McKay (CARL)
5 - Mimi Hill (CARL)
4 - Harriet Cordner (CARL)
2 - Dayna Finn (CARL)
2 - Claudia Whitfort (CARL)

AFLW Best and Fairest Votes

Club Best and Fairest Votes

Match Highlights