GETTING to work.

AFLW Senior Coach Mathew Buck lamented elements of Carlton’s game in the trip to Casey Fields, with the Blues falling to a second straight defeat against the undefeated Melbourne.

Well and truly in the game at half time, the home side kicked away in the third term, with the Blues unable to generate their usual offensive game going in the 34-point defeat.

Speaking post-match, here’s what Buck had to say.

On the game as a whole:

“It wasn’t the result we wanted, we’re pretty disappointed with our performance. It felt like we couldn’t connect our ball movement throughout the day. Melbourne did a great job in taking the game away from us, and we went into our shell a little bit with our ball movement - that’ll be something we address.

“We go to the third quarter and they kick four in a row, which separates the game going into the last. You look to go after the game and it opens up a little bit. We’ve got plenty to work on off the back of that one.”

On where the Blues fell short:

“I thought our transition all day could’ve been better. We got out of our defensive 50 really well, but played a little slow between the arcs than what we’d prefer. Melbourne held us up really well, and we only had 26 inside 50s for the day - it’s hard to connect if you’re only having that many.

“Our ability to play a front-half game wasn’t quite where we’d like it to be.”

On the message to the midfield at quarter time:

“It wasn’t a specific message, we’ve got a pretty proud midfield group and they got to work. Jess Good through the ruck, Claudia Whitfort was consistent right throughout the day and played a really solid game.

“I felt like they got to work and met Melbourne at the contest, particularly in the second and third quarters to give us a chance in the game.”

On Lauren Bella’s debut and partnering Jess Good:

“I didn’t mind the combination to begin with. ‘Goody’ has been playing really high minutes for us in the first few weeks, having Lauren in the side gave her the opportunity to give her a bit more of a spell.

“’Goody’s’ form has been red hot, so finding that right combination of time on ground for both of them is something we’ll play with over the next few weeks. I thought the combination worked pretty well.”

On Sophie McKay’s return:

“She’s done really well where she got herself to the point to play today. We’ll look to make sure we get plenty of training into her over the next few weeks to build her form. She applied herself really well today, it’ll take her a few weeks to grow into her very best footy.”

On what the team is looking to bring next week:

“A little bit of Irish flare is what we’re looking to bring to that game, that’s the theme of the double header. There’s a few Irish players in our team. Síofra O’Connell I thought probably had her best game for Carlton, which was really nice to see.

“Dayna Finn and Erone Fitzpatrick keep turning up for us every single week. We’ll see that against the Tigers next week, it’ll be about how we respond which will be really important.

“If we can take anything from our Irish players, it’s dig in and make sure we get the job done. That’s what we’ll be looking to take to the Tigers next week at IKON Park.”

On the impact of Erone Fitzpatrick and Dayna Finn:

“They’re really high-calibre players in the competition now, which is a credit to them and the work they put in. It’s also a credit to our coaches.

“’Ronnie’ has a real turn of pace which can separate games at certain times, she had a great second quarter and was pretty consistent over the course of the game. Dayna is that winger who plays really high minutes for us, her ability to get up and down the ground is really strong, she’s tough in the contest and loves a goal.

“They’re really important players for us who were consistent today.”