Superstars Jasmine Garner and Emma Kearney have celebrated their joint AFLW milestone match by steering North Melbourne to a comprehensive 26-point win over Gold Coast at Blundstone Arena.
Garner (27 disposals, one goal, seven clearances, six inside-50s) and captain Kearney (17 touches), both playing their 50th game, were superb, while Tahlia Randall slotted a career-best three goals in the Kangaroos’ 6.4 (40) to 2.2 (14) romp on Saturday afternoon.
The Suns conjured the first score of the game when vice-captain Jamie Stanton snapped a behind in the opening three minutes, but the visitors were forced to wait until the last five minutes of the match before notching their next score.
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In the meantime, North ran riot playing the game almost exclusively in their forward half, propelled by Garner’s expert playmaking and clearance work and Kearney’s smarts across half-back.
Gold Coast ruck Lauren Bella was regularly getting her hands on the footy first at the hitouts, but the Roos’ midfielders, led by Garner, cut a swathe once the ball hit the deck at the stoppages.
Ahead by 12 points at quarter time, armed by a 10-2 advantage in inside-50s, the Kangas were even more dominant in the second term towards the River End and moving ahead by 26 points at halftime.
The highlight of the quarter was the passage that led to Kimberley Rennie’s goal, Emma King’s driving entry after initially securing the centre-bounce tap to Ash Riddell, a treat to watch.
North Melbourne scored an impressive 26-point win over Gold Coast to get their AFLW season underway. (Linda Higginson/AAP PHOTOS) Credit: AAPRandall marked a Garner pass and nailed her third early in the term, which was followed by debutant Sophia McCarthy kicking the first of her career as the Kangaroos romped to a 39-point three-quarter time lead.
With just a solitary point on the board, Gold Coast were in danger of creating unwanted history.
The lowest score in AFLW history – 0.2 (2) held jointly by the Suns against Brisbane in 2021 and St Kilda against Carlton last season – was in danger of being broken.
To their credit, the Suns showed pride by lifting noticeably in the fourth term.
Stanton converted a free kick for Gold Coast’s belated first goal with just over three minutes remaining before Kalinda Howarth’s mark and goal inside the last 60 seconds limited some of the earlier damage.