Irish stars suffer contrasting emotions as Carlton win AFLW season opener over Collingwood
A rematch of the league's inaugural clash, it also played out much the same way as it did in 2017 with the Blues kicking away and holding strong.
Mimi Hill was heavily involved with 32 disposals — 11 more than Pies leader Brittany Bonnici — and six clearances while Carlton's returning Irish star Erone Fitzpatrick kicked a brilliant running goal for her second of the night.
'These Gaelic players that come into the game are so talented,' Abbey Holmes said on Channel 7.
Nick Riewoldt added: 'She's been the best player on the ground.'
Fitzpatrick debuted in 2023 before missing the 2024 season with an ACL injury.
In a sour blow for Collingwood, their Irish recruit Kellyann Hogan suffered a shoulder injury and failed to finish the match.
The 23-year-old, player of the match in a Gaelic final, only picked up footy in the off-season and was in her first official game after her pre-season appearances.
Hogan's family surprised her by flying over from Ireland to attend Thursday night's game.
The Pies' No.1 draft pick Ash Centra was brought along slowly in her highly anticipated debut but kicked a goal with her first kick.
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7NEWS
an hour ago
- 7NEWS
Carlton's seven-goal hero Harry McKay praises ‘freak' teammate Sam Walsh after big win over Port Adelaide
Carlton spearhead Harry McKay has praised returning star Sam Walsh after the pair starred in the Blues' huge win over Port Adelaide on Saturday. The Blues exploded with the first six goals of the game and were never really troubled on their way to the 18.10 (118) to 9.10 (64) result. McKay, who took time away from football earlier this year to deal with mental health problems, was the highlight of the lacklustre game with his bag of seven goals. The Coleman medallist was playing with a smile on his face as helped himself to seven straight, as well as racking up a career-high 21 disposals, 15 score involvements and six marks. The seven-goal haul matches his previous best against Fremantle in 2021, the same season he won the Coleman Medal. Walsh, playing his first game since Round 14, racked up 28 disposals in limited game time. The gun midfielder had been sidelined with a foot injury, but showed no signs of rust in his return. McKay labelled his teammate a 'freak' with his workrate. 'He is a freak. What a man. The energy he brings, the way he goes at the ball, his ferocity is unbelievable,' McKay said. 'So glad he is back, the fact he wants to come back and play two games just sums him up.' Walsh was delighted to be back and never really considered not returning. 'It's great to be back, for the boys to be able to play like that, I sort of have sensed it's been coming the past couple of weeks so I might have timed my run well coming back into the team. You just can't beat being out here,' he told Fox Footy. 'There's no doubt it's been a bloody tough year, all you want to do is finish off the season with a bit of momentum to take that into next year. 'Feeling really good ... I had people probably telling me to not come back and just rest and get ready for pre-season, but if my body is right then I'm going to be going. There's no doubt it's been a challenging couple of years for me but I'm going to back my work in and go from there.' With Michael Voss' future as coach secure into next year, the Blues raced out of the blocks at Marvel Stadium on Saturday with their best first half of the season - 13.5 to lead by 55 points at the main break. After finishing off strongly in last week's defeat to Gold Coast with a blistering final term, the Blues again played more like the finals team of 2023 and 2024 than the strugglers of 2025. Tom De Koning, who is expected to accept a monster contract from St Kilda in the trade period, was immense back in the ruck. Carlton had been using De Koning up forward and as a second ruck option for large parts of this season, but he has shown the last two weeks he is best suited to the middle. Preliminary finalists last year, Port have been crawling to the end of the home-and-away season in Ken Hinkley's last season in charge. It was hard to find any winners for them against the Blues, but rookie forward Jack Whitlock showed promise with the first three goals of his career. Port will be desperate to put in a better showing next Friday night when they farewell Hinkley and club legend Travis Boak when they host Gold Coast at Adelaide Oval.
Perth Now
2 hours ago
- Perth Now
Carlton crush Port as McKay runs riot up forward
Carlton's road to redemption has begun with a 54-point smashing of Port Adelaide, led by Harry McKay's equal career-high seven goals. With Michael Voss' future as coach secure into next year, the Blues raced out of the blocks at Marvel Stadium on Saturday with their best first half of the season - 13.5 to lead by 55 points at the main break. Carlton were never threatened by a lacklustre Port in Ken Hinkley's penultimate game as Power coach, kicking the first six goals in just 10 minutes on their way to a dominant 18.10 (118) to 9.10 (64) win. After finishing off strongly in last week's defeat to Gold Coast with a blistering final term, the Blues again played more like the finals team of 2023 and 2024 than the strugglers of 2025. Star Blues forward McKay was back to his best, booting four first-half goals in a commanding and confident display. McKay finished with seven, his best return in a game since his Coleman Medal season of 2021, after battling injuries and mental ill health this year. But the dominance started from the Blues' midfield, winning clearances 30-10 in the first half, including a staggering 16-3 from the centre. The return of star midfielder Sam Walsh was profound, playing his first game since round 13 after battling a foot injury. Tom De Koning, who is expected to accept a monster contract from St Kilda in the trade period, was immense back in the ruck. Carlton had been using De Koning up forward and as a second ruck option for large parts of this season, but he has shown the last two weeks he is best suited to the middle. Preliminary finalists last year, Port have been crawling to the end of the home-and-away season. It was hard to find any winners for them against the Blues, but rookie forward Jack Whitlock showed promise with the first three goals of his career. Port will be desperate to put in a better showing next Friday night when they farewell Hinkley and club legend Travis Boak when they host Gold Coast at Adelaide Oval.
Sydney Morning Herald
5 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Carlton Blues vs Port Adelaide Power LIVE: Could Power coach Ken Hinkley be facing his future club?
Loading Key posts 1.20pm Plenty of Blues fans in the house 1.15pm Around the grounds 1.15pm Hinkley eyes departure, jokes he wants Fagan's record 1.02pm Welcome to Super Saturday Hide key posts Posts area Latest posts Latest posts 1.21pm Up and going at Marvel It's the first match in Melbourne today. But, alas, the roof is closed at the Docklands. 1.20pm Plenty of Blues fans in the house Considering the Blues are out of the finals hunt, and they are playing an interstate side, the roll up to Marvel Stadium - so far - isn't too bad. Something in the vicinity of 20,000 would be a great effort. This is the Blues' last home game of the season. 1.15pm Around the grounds The GWS Giants have got the jump on Gold Coast in a critical match to the make-up of the top eight. At quarter-time, the Giants 5.5 (35) lead the Suns 3.2 (20) on the Gold Coast. 1.15pm Hinkley eyes departure, jokes he wants Fagan's record By Danny Russell Outgoing Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley has not ruled out an immediate return to football, saying he still has the energy to be involved in the game. But Hinkley told 3AW on Saturday he had not spoken to Carlton about the possibility of filling the Blues' vacant football manager role alongside his former assistant Michael Voss. Hinkley has two more games in charge of the Power after 13 years at the helm, including Saturday's clash against the Blues at Marvel Stadium. His assistant Josh Carr will take over from next season. While his name has been linked to the Carlton football department role and a similar position with the Tasmanian Devils, Hinkley said he would wait until the season's end before having conversations about his future. 'I don't need a long spell, because that's me ... but I don't need to rush either ... we are really entrenched in Adelaide, we love Adelaide,' Hinkley said. Hinkley denied that the year-long handover to Carr had contributed to Port's disappointing season. The Power finished last year's home-and-away season in second place. He said he still wanted to be involved in football but the 58-year-old intimated that age was against him in regard to landing another coaching role. 'I'd like to take his [Fagan's] record as the oldest premiership coach,' he joked. New Carlton CEO Graham Wright announced during the week that the Blues were parting ways with football manager Brad Lloyd. Hinkley said it was possible for a former coach to work in a new role under a former assistant coach. 'Me and Vossy get on great,' he said. 'I think they (the positions) are manageable. 'Is it realistic? Probably not.' 1.05pm About last night: Two more injuries as Bombers denied by Saints Coach Brad Scott longs for the day when there is genuine competition again for spots in Essendon's AFL team. The undermanned Bombers were brave on Friday night, losing no friends in their 11.11 (77) to 11.9 (75) loss to St Kilda. But hard-nut defender Jayden Laverde (hip) and impressive new forward Liam McMahon (hand) joined Essendon's debilitating injury list as Rhys Unwin became their 15th debutant this season - already an AFL record. 'I would love to have selection headaches. That would be great,' Scott said. Scott had mixed emotions post-match, saying they had to be careful about being overly happy given they suffered their 11th-straight loss. 'You can't execute any plan unless you have a really high level of intent,' he said. 'So that bit I'm ecstatic with - there's a lot to like. 'We really did steps forward in a lot of areas ... but for our fans, you look at Essendon's last 10, 15 years, the fans are incredible for what they've had to endure.' 1.02pm Welcome to Super Saturday Welcome to the penultimate Super Saturday of the AFL home-and-away season. The expansion cup is underway between the Suns and the Giants and the weather looks stunning up there on the Gold Coast. Jon Pierik is at Marvel Stadium where the Blues will attempt to salvage some pride against Port Adelaide. Could Ken Hinkley be facing his future club? Michael Voss will coach Carlton in 2026 but he could have Hinkley for support in a director of coaching sort of role. Later on, Hawthorn play Melbourne at the MCG and then we throw to Adelaide Oval where the top-of-the-ladder Crows take on Collingwood, who seriously need to arrest their form slump. Settle in, and read Caroline Wilson 's latest news on the leadership tensions at Melbourne, even in the wake of Simon Goodwin 's sacking.
