MELBOURNE women’s team coach Michelle Cowan says the televising of the AFL Women’s Exhibition Game will attract a whole new audience.

Channel 7 televised the women’s game for the first time on Sunday, with live broadcasts across its channels.

Cowan, who is from Perth, said the broadcast was an exciting moment for the women’s game.

“I think it’ll start to turn a few heads and we’ll get a lot more supporters on board,” Cowan told melbournefc.com.au.

“It’s an exciting time for female footy, so it’s great that we could take that out to the whole country.”

With a fast-paced and skillful game on show, Cowan said the game was “in my eyes”, the best women’s game to date.

The Melbourne coach noted the addition of an extra fixture in 2015 had allowed her side to fine-tune its game plan.

“I think it was great to have the two games this year,” she said.

“So we were able to have the first game, identify areas that we needed to improve on and the last three days we’ve worked on those.

“A couple of those areas were our composure inside 50 – we kicked 4.13 last time – and also making sure we used the ball better and were selfless with the footy when we’ve got it as well, to make sure we [got] the score on the board and the pressure on the board as well.”

Melbourne’s use of the football proved crucial in the first half – the Demons kicked the first five goals of the match and kicked out to a 31-point lead at one stage.

The high-scoring first half proved important late in the match, with Melbourne holding off a fast-finishing Bulldogs side by just four points.

“We started really well in the first half, and our pressure was great and the ball movement was really good,” Cowan said.

“I was happy with the way the girls started, then we came in for half time and the Bulldogs were always going to come at us and they played really well.

“So I’m happy with the way the girls finished off the match and got the win.”

Melbourne skipper Daisy Pearce underlined her credentials as one of the country’s finest footballers, collecting 31 disposals – including 16 contested possessions – at 87 per cent efficiency and was named best on ground for the second time in four matches.

“That’s the best game I’ve ever seen her play,” Cowan said.

“She’s a leader through and through, she digs deep.

“The way she goes about her footy on the field and off the field is just elite and I’m glad she’s on our team.”

Cowan also praised the work of her fellow West Australian Ebony-Rose Antonio, who had 12 first-half possessions and was a strong marking presence down back.

“She’s a very smart sportsperson,” Cowan said.

“She reads the ball well and has got really clean hands but she breaks the lines as well and can run for us.

“She started the game really well and we thought she had a really good game all-up as well – she has really strong hands and took a lot of contested marks.”

Ellie Blackburn’s work in the clinches proved crucial as the Demons defended their lead in the second half and Cowan said the midfielder had been consistently good for Melbourne.

“You always know you’re going to get that from Ellie Blackburn, she’s a fighter,” Cowan said.

“She’s an in-and-under player, wants to win the footy and is an absolute competitor.

“So she did really well as well, she backed up another good game and she’s had four really solid games for Melbourne.”