Western Bulldogs’ AFLW 2024 season gets off to worst possible start; Daisy Pearce guides West Coast Eagles to a rare win

The elements of surprise

When the Western Bulldogs and GWS were up against each other in the final round of the men’s home-and-away season at Mars Stadium in Ballarat, the commentators couldn’t stop talking about the impact the wind was having on the game.

Speaking on Fox Footy, Dwayne Russell made a point to stress the wind, and at times rain, meant the players couldn’t use their best skills.

While the women are accustomed to playing in the elements, often fixtured at suburban and boutique grounds, the wind was particularly severe and played a huge part in round one.

Coach Lisa Webb said Fremantle got the jump on Essendon in the second half of their clash at Windy Hill largely because of the way they used the wind to their advantage.

Essendon did appear rattled after a heavy collision sent Bonnie Toogood and Amber Clarke from the field. But Webb was clear on the reason behind the Dockers’ six-goals-to-one second half.

Then, at Kinetic Oval in Frankston on Sunday, the ball was frequently taken by the wind in Hawthorn’s win over Fremantle.

The vision of Carlton’s Ciara Fitzgerald accepting her own handball demonstrated just how much of an influence the wind was having. As inaugural AFLW player Kate McCarthy wrote on X “If it’s not a wind-affected game, it’s simply not AFLW”. How players handle the variable conditions regularly plays a big part in AFLW results.

Daisy does it all

When West Coast landed Daisy Pearce as head coach of their AFLW team last year, the club described it as “one of the biggest recruiting coups in history”.

The decorated former AFLW premiership captain has long been heralded as a pioneer of the competition, and there were measures of expectation and hype attached to her coaching debut on Friday night against Richmond.

Pearce did not buckle under the pressure or disappoint. Rather, her team delivered, pulling off a thrilling one-point victory.

This was a notable performance from a team that finished 17th on the ladder last season and wasn’t expected by many pundits to climb much higher than that this year.

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West Coast had previously notched just seven wins across their five seasons in the AFLW, while the Tigers finished 10th last year.

But now the Eagles have a new start and a new era under Pearce, with many fresh faces too. In fact, they had five debutantes against the Tigers as well as another two players playing their first game for the club.

Pearce understands her side is young, so her focus on development, and she hopes the wins will, eventually, take care of themselves.

“That was probably my priority coming here; to build relationships and make sure that every single player feels like I value them and see them for their strengths and want to help them develop as footballers and people,” Pearce said after the win.

She couldn’t have gotten off to a better start.

Kangaroos get revenge, of sorts

Flag favourites North Melbourne got their campaign for a maiden premiership off to a cracking start with an empathic undoing of Brisbane in the grand final rematch.

The reining premiers hosted the Kangaroos at Brighton Homes Arena and unfurled their premiership flag before the match. It’s not clear whether North used that as extra motivation after losing last year’s season decider to the Lions by 17 points, but there was no doubt the visitors were relentless in the 30-plus degree heat.

They put the Lions to the sword to finish up with a 44-point victory, kicking six unanswered goals in the third quarter.

It was the first time in AFLW history, the Kangaroos had beaten the Lions.

Many fans online have already started making a case for Roo Jasmine Garner (28 disposals, one goal, six clearances) as the favourite for this year’s league best and fairest award.

Adding injury to insult, Brisbane had Shanae Davison – recruited this season from the West Coast Eagles – leave the field in the opening minutes of the game with a suspected broken wrist. After taking an intercept mark, she fell backwards and injured her right arm as she stuck it out to break her fall.

It wouldn’t be footy without some umpiring controversy

With just 43 seconds left on the clock in the close encounter at GMHBA Stadium between Melbourne and Geelong, Cats forward Jackie Parry was awarded a free kick just 20 metres out from goal, which resulted in a major.

It came about when veteran Paxy Paxman handed the ball to her teammate Lauren Pearce at a stoppage, instead of giving it to the umpire who had his hands out in expectation.

The Cats’ goal cut the Demons’ margin to just two points, putting the game within the home team’s grasp.

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In commentary, Melbourne great Nathan Jones, noted it was “a harsh penalty to pay, but that’s the rule”, while caller Alister Nicholson added that it was a “rarely seen free kick”.

Luckily for the Dees, Pearce won the ensuing centre bounce and launched the ball into Melbourne’s forward 50-metre arc, making a last-ditch goal all too hard for Geelong. It was some payback for the Demons, who were sent out of last season’s finals in straight sets after bowing to the Cats in a semi-final.

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