AFLW weekly LIVE round one: Blues, Pies name teams for season opener
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6.41pm
Muddy field forces venue change, Pies to blood father-daughter and Next Big Thing
Carlton love nothing more than beating Collingwood, but can the Blues ensure the 2024 AFLW wooden spooners and their prized No.1 draft pick endure a painful start to 2025?
The AFLW season kicks off on Thursday night with Carlton hosting Collingwood at Ikon Park and West Coast taking on Gold Coast in Perth.
The Eagles' match was initially set to be played at Leederville's Sullivan Logistics Stadium, but the muddied field convinced the league to switch the game to West Coast's home base at Mineral Resources Park.
Collingwood finished last in 2024 with a 1-10 record, while Carlton (4-7) also struggled on the way to a 14th-placed finish.
The Blues did at least get bragging rights over Collingwood last year, and will be aiming to dish out another dose of pain on Thursday night.
The Magpies are tipped to be big improvers this season, and will unleash No.1 draft pick Ash Centra against the Blues.
Centra, who dominated at Vic Metro and the Gippsland Power, is tipped to be the next big thing.
Father-daughter recruit Violet Patterson, the daughter of Stephen Patterson, and former Docker Airlie Runnalls will also run out for the Magpies.
On the other side of the country, West Coast will be out to prove the doubters wrong in Daisy Pearce's second season at the helm.
The Eagles won a club-record four games last season, but most pundits are still tipping them to finish near the bottom of the ladder.
West Coast will hand a debut to No.7 draft pick Lucia Painter and No.57 pick Kayla Dalgleish, with the match marking the first time Bella Lewis and Charlie Thomas lead the side as co-captains.
Suns coach Rhyce Shaw has named five debutants, including Gold Coast academy graduates Havana Harris, Nyalli Milne and Mia Salisbury.
Harris was the No.2 pick at last year's AFLW national draft.
6.31pm
Welcome to round one of season 10
Hello and welcome to our coverage of the start of the new AFLW season – the 10th in the competition's history.
This season, we are trying something new – we are going to host all our coverage of each round in the one place. For round one, that's right here. From the moment the first teams for the round are published, until the wash-up from the final game of the round is done, this is your home of women's footy.
This week, we will have live match coverage of the season opener, when the Blues and Collingwood face off in an echo of the league's first clash back in 2017.
For the rest of the round, make sure you check back in for all the big news, best moments and coverage of every match.
Season 10 starts now.
6.30pm
The teams: Carlton v Collingwood
CARLTON
Backs: D.Vescio, C.Fitzgerald
Half-backs: M.Hendrie P.Scholz H.Cordner
Centres: Y.Duursma, K.Sherar, D.Finn
Half-forwards: E.Fitzpatrick, M.Guerin, S.McKay
Forwards: T.Bohanna, M.Austin
Rucks: J.Good 12, M.Hill, A.McKay (c)
Interchange: M.Robertson, K.Skepper, L.Goss, L.Keck, B.Harrington
Emergencies: L.Field, A.Velardo, A.Reidy
COLLINGWOOD
Backs: L.Cronin, L.Butler
Half-backs: T.White, M.Atkinson, A.Schutte
Centres: A.Runnalls, A.Centra, G.Campbell
Half-forwards: K.Howarth, C.Remmos, V.Patterson
Forwards: S.Frederick, M.Cann
Rucks: I.Barnett, R.Schleicher (c), B.Bonnici
Interchange: G.Clark, A.Lee, K.Hogan, M.Hyde, A.Porter
Emergencies: E.James 2 G.Knight 12 S.Karlson 20
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