DEES fans enjoyed a taste of AFLW footy on Friday night, with Melbourne meeting Carlton at IKON Park for a five-term match simulation.
In preparations for the 2024 season, Round 1 just 19 days away, the Dees tested their talent and game plan against the Blues in their first official hit-out against external opposition.
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The first half saw Carlton strongly challenge Melbourne, piling on the scores and leaving the Dees goalless at the main break.
However, a second-half surge saw the Dees get into the groove of the game falling just short by one point after five terms, the final score set at 6.5 (41) to 5.10 (40).
Midfield coach Vincent Chungue said it was a productive match to see the areas of improvement and an opportunity to highlight the stuff that worked within the side.
“[The intensity] obviously ramped up, it’s quite different to pre-season,” Chungue told Melbourne Media.
“With it being the first match, everyone's kind of wound up, and you could see from the first bounce that the intensity lifted, and we probably weren't ready for that.
“We could see that we need to work on our starts, and that's something we'll look at going forward.
“But it was good to see the team work through that and within the five quarters, we slowly built.
“We saw some players really problem solve, so that’s good to see and was really pleasing.”
Check out the key takeaways from the match below.
Wotherspoon is one to watch
Melbourne was yet to kick a goal at the half-time break on Friday night. Enter draftee Ryleigh Wotherspoon and an energy shift ensued.
The team was instantly lifted thanks to the livewire forward, who kicked her first Melbourne major, just minutes after entering the game.
The 20-year-old came on during the third term for her first hit-out in the red and blue and made the most of her time afield, kicking two goals and seeing plenty of the footy.
After Friday night’s display, she’ll no doubt be on debut watch this year.
Chaplin’s important improvement
Maeve Chaplin has been building with each year she’s been at Melbourne, first arriving at the club as a replacement player in 2022, before re-joining the club in the same year following a de-listing at the end of season six.
With two full campaigns under her belt, Friday night was evidence of how far she’s come since 2022, standing tall against impressive opposition and writing her name at the top of the list for Demons to watch in 2024.
Providing strength and run off half-back, Chaplin was unwavering in her backline abilities, particularly in the first half when Carlton was testing Melbourne’s defence with a number of inside 50s.
New faces, new positions
Melbourne trialled a number of new combinations throughout the night including an exciting trio through the midfield with Kate Hore, Tyla Hanks and Olivia Purcell working closely at the stoppage.
And while there were glimpses of their damaging potential, the strong Carlton midfield also challenged the Dees, creating an exciting opportunity to further develop cohesion and connection in the contest for Melbourne.
New Demons Wotherspoon, Delany Madigan, Alyssia Pisano, Denby Taylor, Grace Beasley and Grace Hill all rolled through the team in their first external outing for the club adding fresh energy across all three areas of the ground.
Next challenge
Melbourne will now turn its attention to its official practice match against Port Adelaide on Sunday 18 August.
The Dees will travel to Alberton Oval for their first ever match against the Power since they first entered the competition during season seven.
For fans unable to make the trip across to South Australia, the match will be livestreamed from the opening bounce at 11:30am (AEST). Details on how to access this stream will be shared closer to match day.
