CARLTON achieved a new frontier in its AFLW history on the weekend, but is conscious there's still work to do.Â
A gritty six-point win over Walyalup meant the Blues surged to 3-0 for the first time since the AFLW competition's creation, but AFLW Senior Coach Mathew Buck is well aware the Blues still have work to do.Â
Speaking post-match, here's what the coach had to say.
On how the game played out:
"It was a heavily contested game, a lot of those numbers around the contest went our way which was really pleasing to see - you want to be able to win all kinds of ways.
"For our group to go and execute, hang on, fight and be resilient after a tough second quarter, Freo to their credit opened the game right up and are a hard team to play against every time. I’m super proud of the group."
On the message throughout the game:
"My message didn’t really change during the game. It was to continue to meet them at the contest in a big way. Kiara Bowers and Gabby Newton, they’re terrific AFLW players. For our midfield of Claudia Whitfort, Mimi Hill and Abbie McKay - who are so consistent with the way they go about their footy - stand up to that, we told them to continue to go for the game.
"Charge at the game, take it on with our run and manage to hit the scoreboard going into the wind… the wind wasn’t over the top, it was just that everything was scoring to the left side of the field. The message was to continue to go at it and take your moments in the contest. With our scenarios, we’ve practiced those moments during pre-season to make sure we can stand up.
"I’m proud the group went straight into this plans and executed without any kind of silly mistakes or ‘what do I do here?’. That was good."
On winning key moments over the course of the game:
"In a really tight game, you need to have those. We had a few more than Freo in the end: credit to our girls, they’ve managed to take those moments. Mimi Hill continues to run and run all game, it was a big four-quarter effort with a strong fitness base on the back of a really successful pre-season which we thought would hold us in good stead."
On continuing to grind out results:
"A pretty good deal of confidence comes out of it. We’re still not playing the footy we’d like to play, we’re still evolving our system in all three phases - contest, defence and offence. We see real glimpses of what we want to be and what we think we can be. To be 3-0, you have the comfort that you don’t have to push anyone out that’s not ready or anything like that. It gives us some flexibility within that."
On who stood up in the final term:
"The momentum in the game is tough, and when Wharfie Time went off in the last, it was ‘Geez, what’s coming now’. Our leaders really stood out. Erone Fitzpatrick and Dayna Finn on the wings had really good games. Abbie McKay continues to go from strength to strength with her game, Mimi Hill the same.
"Harriet Cordner behind the ball, Freo was doing a good job pulling her away from the contest a little bit, but she had some big moments late. I thought the leadership was outstanding."
On Sophie McKay coming from the ground:
"It was a little ankle tweak, she ended up going back out on the ground. I think she dropped a million points with her Mark of the Year attempt as well. She’s an exciting livewire and she’s starting to build into the season, which is nice to see."
