Sydney Swans beat Richmond by 20 points at North Sydney Oval with star turn from Chloe Molloy
Swans co-captain Molloy slotted four goals on return from a knee reconstruction as debutant Zippy Fish lived up to the hype in the 8.10 (58) to 5.8 (38) win at North Sydney Oval on Friday night.
It was star forward Molloy's first match since tearing her anterior cruciate ligament at training in September 2024 — just one game into last season.
The 26-year-old picked up where she left off and combined well with maturing midfielder Montana Ham (18 disposals, six score involvements) in front of 4,126 fans.
Fish, drafted with pick number five last year, lived up to her name by flaunting her blistering pace from half-back, and finished with 25 disposals and nine intercept possessions.
Monique Conti was Richmond's shining light with 32 touches, as Caitlin Greiser and Rebecca Miller led the way on the scoreboard with two goals each.
Molloy and Greiser had faced off in an early goalscoring shootout as the Swans started the more daring side.
Greiser opened the scoring with a long bomb from the 50m arc, before Molloy responded with her first goal on return to help set up a two-point lead at quarter-time.
Molloy slotted her second after a laser kick from Ham, but Greiser — mentored by Carlton icon and Tigers specialist coach Brendan Fevola — responded to keep the home side at bay.
Sydney wrestled back momentum when young gun Cynthia Hamilton, after overcoming a pre-season knee injury, sold candy not once, but twice, to build a nine-point lead at the main break.
Molloy used her body well to outmanoeuvre Tigers defender Katelyn Cox and kick her third goal, before Sydney broke away when Holly Cooper slotted two goals in the third quarter.
Richmond, which made the finals last season, will look to bounce back when it hosts the Western Bulldogs next weekend, while Sydney take on Gold Coast.
Saturday will feature three games, including Geelong — North Melbourne at Kardinia Park, GWS — Essendon in Canberra and traditional rivals Western Bulldogs and Melbourne at Whitten Oval.
AAP/ABC
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