CARLTON’S VFLW side produced a Club-record score and win against the Western Bulldogs at IKON Park.

With 12 AFLW-listed players featuring (the maximum amount in a VFLW game), the Blues continued their preparations for the upcoming AFLW campaign while also registering their second straight VFLW win in a resounding 87-point triumph.

There were contributors all over the ground in the 15.6 (96) to 1.3 (9) win, with Brea Harrington recording three goals in his first game of the 2025 campaign while Yasmin Duursma led all comers with 22 disposals on the wing.

The Blues got out to a hot start, with forwards Eliza Wood and Lila Keck buzzing around inside the forward 50, applying pressure and both hitting the scoreboard inside the opening five minutes of the contest.

Carlton’s forwards were able to benefit from the good work of the team’s midfield brigade, with the ruck duo of Harrington and 50-gamer Grace Matser dominant in the air and providing the Blues - in particular, the experienced Amy Trindade - first use out of the middle of the ground.

In a sign of what was to come throughout the course of the afternoon, the Blues registered four unanswered goals and brought their attacking flair, with the only negative note in the term being a knee injury to Wood, who started the game arguably brighter than any other.

Holding the Dogs scoreless in the opening term, the likes of Harrington, Keck and Northern Knights youngster Mary Robinson continued to loom large, with the latter recording three goals inside the first half.

A feature of the Blues’ game was their ability to hit targets and chain the ball down the ground with regularity, twice going from end-to-end in the second term to result in goals, with Keck involved extensively in the Blues’ best passages.

Second-year Blue Meg Robertson got involved with some crucial wins in the defensive half, while after last week’s heroics, both Yasmin Duursma and Keeley Skepper brought their weapons to great effect.

The Blues took a 56-point lead into the main break, having only conceded one behind in that time while registering five goals without missing in the second term.

The Dogs’ endeavour didn’t waver in a more contested third term, but the Blues were still able to break through, as Robinson registered her fourth goal while Tara Bohanna - on the back of an impressive VFLW debut for her new club last week - kicking truly from a set shot.

Playing in defence, Darcy Vescio mopped off everything in defence while the Blues’ whole backline remained engaged, as Summer Hall produced some impressive moments through the middle of the ground.

Heading into the final term, the scoring dried up in frequency compared to the opening three terms, but not before the Blues eclipsed their VFLW record score of 13.6 (84) - coincidentally, also against the Dogs at IKON Park in 2022.

That goal came off the boot of Harrington, bouncing home from just inside 50 to cap off an outstanding return to action for the All-Australian ruck.

The away side broke through their first goal with six minutes to play in the final term, but the icing on the cake for the Blues came when Matser converted from close range in her 50th VFLW game, having also spent time at the Casey Demons, Collingwood and Box Hill.

The siren rang around IKON Park with the Blues 87-point winners, with two games to play in the VFLW campaign.

CARLTON VFLW                      4.3     9.3     13.6       15.6 (96)
WESTERN BULLDOGS          0.0      0.1     0.1         1.3 (9)

GOALS
Carlton: Robinson 4, Harrington 3, Keck 2, Johanna, Fitzgerald, Fuller, Matser, Trindade, Wood