“WE WEREN'T the team that we needed to be tonight.”

Carlton AFLW Senior Coach Daniel Harford was frank in his assessment of his side’s performance in the season opener, falling to Collingwood by 18 points at IKON Park.

Despite hanging with their opposition for the first quarter, Harford said there were aspects of the Blues’ game lacking from the get-go.

“It wasn’t that strong in the first half – we made the most of some opportunities in the first quarter, but outside of that we were a bit fumbly and messy and lost structure ahead of the footy, as well as a bit of composure around the ball at the contest,” Harford said.

“In the end, their pressure was probably the difference in the game. They were able to surge and get the space they wanted on the open side a fair few times and we couldn’t shut it down because we were stuck at the contest a bit.”

Looking to the stat sheet, there was little separating the two sides in the way of contested ball and clearance, but it was Collingwood’s run and spread which was ultimately the Blues’ undoing.

“I thought our method was a bit off. We got really close and tight, and then when the ball was turned over, they were able to use the outside and get the advantage with territory," he said.

In the middle, Abbie McKay and Mimi Hill led the way with 22 and 26 disposals respectively, with Hill able to push through a corked thigh sustained in the warm-up.

“What a kid. What a way to work through that and be such an important player for us.

“She probably wasn’t able to spread and explode like she would’ve liked but I thought she was really impressive tonight.”

Best afield for the Blues, Lucy McEvoy was also able to overcome injury as she ticked all the boxes to make a Round 1 return from pre-season shoulder surgery.

“She’s a great competitor 'Luce', and we love having her in the team," he said.

"I must admit, outside of last week I didn’t expect to be seeing her for quite some time but she just kept ticking all the boxes along the way and when we got the all-clear that she was going to play, it was a big plus for us.

“I thought she was brilliant behind the ball tonight – she was too busy for my liking but I thought she did a hell of a job coming back from that injury.”

Another shining light, Mia Austin looked comfortable in her first match at AFLW level after being selected by Carlton at pick No.18 in the 2022 NAB AFLW Draft.

Austin made her mark early, taking a strong contested mark and going back to kick the opening goal of the game on her debut.

“That’s one of her great strengths, she’s great in the air. She’s a great athlete – she runs and jumps at the footy and she works really hard and she’s a great kid.

"She’s going to be a fantastic player for our footy club, hopefully for a long period of time.”

Despite positive individual performance, it will be a team effort that Harford seeks when the Blues face Essendon next week.

“It’s a disappointing outcome, to start like this when I’m really sure that we’re much better than that so we’ll keep working.”