Melbourne has overcome some late schedule changes to beat the Suns by 21 points in their AFLW season opener on the Gold Coast.
Key points:
- The Demons were told a week before the game that they would not be playing a home opener
- They arrived in Queensland on the morning of the game against the Suns
- Three of the Demons goals came on the back of 50-metre infringements by the Suns
The Demons were supposed to open their season at home against Adelaide but, a week before the game, they were told to get ready for the trip to Queensland and pulled off a 9.2 (56) to 5.5 (35) win.
They flew up on the day of the game and as a result, could be forgiven for turning up a little bit late, as the Suns’ Jamie Stanton kicked the first goal 30 seconds after bouncedown and cult hero Sarah Perkins potted after the first-quarter siren to maintain the lead.
But the Demons hit back in the second term, slotting five goals to none thanks in no small part to 13 disposals by Karen Paxman, who was on pace to break the record for the most possessions in an AFLW game (35 by Adelaide’s Anne Hatchard) with 19 at the half.
More importantly, Melbourne had jumped out to a 43-21 advantage.
The Suns did not let the lead balloon out to an embarrassing degree, but were victims of their own ill-discipline as the Demons were gifted three goals by 30-metre penalties throughout the game.
Tegan Cunningham, Kate Hore and Krstel Petrevski all potted doubles for the Demons, while Perkins nabbed a pair for the Suns against her former club.
