'Blown away' Lions coach makes big AFLW call
The gap between North Melbourne and the rest isn't as wide as it appears, insists AFLW coach Craig Starcevich after being "blown away" by what he saw at Brisbane's first session back in training.
The inaugural Lions mentor in 2017 and two-time premiership coach has recommitted until at least the end of next season at Springfield.
Starcevich's new deal will see him surpass Adelaide's Matthew Clarke, who won't coach beyond this season, as the AFLW's longest-serving coach.
The Lions have been in all but two of the eight AFLW finals contested, and Starcevich expects those standards to continue this year.
"I don't see any wavering from that; they're very competitive," the former Collingwood premiership defender said.
"As disappointing as it was (losing last year's final), they're the type of group that want to get out and atone straight away.
"The first session back ... blew us all away actually.
"Their time trial results were extraordinarily good and concentration and cleanliness with the ball were super afterwards."
The Kangaroos beat his side 6.3 (39) to 1.3 (9) in November's decider to emphatically reverse the result of their 2023 final.
"It looks like there's a bit of a gap, but there were lots of phases in that grand final we were in the game but couldn't score," Starcevich said of the 2024 decider.
"We know what we need to fix, they want to keep improving ... and there's a big pack underneath chasing all of us.
"The competition, despite what you might hear from various channels, is in very healthy condition ... a couple of teams who didn't even make finals in Geelong, Melbourne who I think are finals-worthy, to name two.
"Our comp's strong and we'll have to be on guard every single week."
Irish recruit Neasa Dooley is among 39 Gaelic football converts in the league, but the first to come from Kildare.
"She's clean (with the ball) and already kicks it really well, but she's got a very sore fist from handballing (with) the brand new balls,'' Starcevic said.
The season kicks off on August 14 with a clash between Collingwood and Carlton.
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