The AFLW cops some criticism; fairly or otherwise depending on views. However in season 2024, the bar has been lifted. Judge the standard on the best and not the worst. And that team is the undefeated North Melbourne Kangaroos who have played through the 11-round ‘regular’ season with ten wins and a draw (Round 2 against Geelong). Almost the perfect season. Thus far.
North’s AFLW journey
The North Melbourne AFLW side have been highly competitive since entering the competition in 2019. North Melbourne were arguably unlucky to be overlooked in the inaugural 2017 season, having run a women’s program since 2009 in partnership with Melbourne University – who used Arden Street oval for training and matches, and from 2016 to 2019 operated as the North Melbourne VFL affiliate prior to the establishment of the stand-alone NMFC VFLW side.
North Melbourne and Geelong were admitted in 2019 when the AFLW ran an imaginative two-conference season. Finishing third in their conference in 2019 – with a 5-2 record – North still missed finals under the top-two format. In 2020, North finished atop their conference with a 5-1 record. Alas, Covid derailed things and the last games played were the week six matches when North took down Geelong, 66-20. At that point, they were rocking a percentage of 227.2, better than all comers in both divisions. Some feared that that was the year of the missed opportunity.
2021 saw the competition expanded to 14 sides and the Kangas finished sixth with a 6-3 record; falling to Collingwood by six points (44-50) in a hotly contested ‘qualifier’. And then in 2022 – with season six in the first part of the year with 14 teams, then season seven in the back half with a full 18-team expansion – there was a fair degree of flux across squads.
Season six saw North powering into the top four with a 7-3 record. North were in their place – having lost to Adelaide, Melbourne and Brisbane during the season and those teams occupied the top three ladder positions. Defensively things were okay, conceding 249; however, only scoring 346 was too far off the pace of the top three and even Freo in fifth (who had 383 points for). North were out-classed by a more accurate Fremantle (69-31) and that was season over… for a few months.
Season seven saw North finish eighth of the expanded 18 with a 6-3-1 record. This period of expansion was a challenge for list managers and squads. Eighth was enough to make the finals where they would pip fifth-placed Geelong (16-14), thump Richmond (74-38) in the semi-final, then fall to eventual premiers Melbourne by 17 in the prelim.
Heading into season eight – with the addition of veteran Kate Shierlaw creating a more potent forward line alongside Tahlia Randall – North regained their top-four credentials, finishing third (below Adelaide and Melbourne who had been the recent powerhouses and one place ahead of eventual premiers Brisbane). There was a partial changing of the guard as North smashed the reigning premiers Melbourne (50-9) in the qualifiers – avenging the 23-point loss to the Dees three weeks prior. Not so easy was the hard-fought, one-point preliminary final win over Adelaide (32-31). Come the grand final, the Kangas hosted Brisbane at Ikon Park and a tight contest eventually saw Brisbane pull away in the final term with the breeze at their backs. North lost Jenna Bruton early with a partial Achilles rupture in the opening minutes. This proved a big loss given the nature of the game.
Roos’ rise in 2024
The Roos’ rise couldn’t have been possible without their most loyal troops. Emma Kearney at 35 is an AFLW veteran, a five-time VFLW B&F winner for the Melbourne University side, and a North lifer. She was initially selected as a priority draft player for the Bulldogs and after a couple of stellar seasons, accepted an offer to join North Melbourne for the 2019 season as the inaugural captain. She was ‘back home’ to Arden Street.
For the first season, North Melbourne picked up Ash Riddell from their Melbourne Uni affiliate and this core of Melbourne Uni graduates has underpinned the North AFLW build since then. In 2024, the team has emerged as somewhat of a ‘dream team’. Over the seasons, the addition of the likes of Jasmine Garner, Emma King and Sarah Wright along with Shierlaw have firmed up the backline, midfield/ruck and the forward line. Finishing runner-up in 2023 to Brisbane showed a gap still existed. Brisbane just had too many polished goal-kicking options – and the super dangerous Dakota Davidson.
Jasmine Garner celebrates a goal. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
However, through season 2024, North have not just been the most effective offensively but have also been the tightest team defensively. This has come despite the six-week loss of skipper Kearney from the back half. The natural improvement in the squad is highlighted by Tess Craven, Alice O’Loughlin and Bella Eddey all being selected in the AFLW 22 Under-22 squad. The 2023 grand final side is largely unchanged, although Lulu Pullar and Eliza Shannon have been squeezed out, despite being hugely important depth players heading into a finals campaign.
The 2024 changes included the return of Irish triple-code player Vikki Wall – a quality Gaelic player who debuted in 2022 (season seven) for North, but sat out 2023 whilst attempting to make the Irish Olympic Rugby Sevens side. She has returned to North in 2024 and provided exceptional forward-half pressure and physicality as well as goal-kicking skills. Add in Libby Birch who joined from Melbourne and has provided premiership-winning experience that has seen the backline firm up so formidably. The other addition has been the ever-improving Ruby Tripodi, who has grasped her opportunities to hold out quality players. It takes a squad and not just a team to excel.
The 2024 fixture looked ominous from week one and could’ve spelt disaster for North. However, they dealt with an away trip to Brisbane expertly, dismantling the Lions in sweltering heat to achieve a 44-point win (78-34) and deliver a record defeat to the Lions. The following week saw a surprise draw against Geelong – arguably due to the impact of the previous week’s match. Since then they haven’t missed a beat.
All the pieces are in place now – as evidenced by a regular season 10-0-1 record, including a 50-point thrashing of Melbourne, a much anticipated away win over Adelaide at Norwood and a lazy 63-point win over the Suns. A final percentage of 315.4 (scoring 656 for and conceding just 208 against) proves they can win it all. To put this in context, in 2023 Melbourne scored 653 from ten matches, but conceded 293. Adelaide went 599 and 314. North were 478 to 213 with the 2023 best percentage of 224.4. North have played one extra game in 2024 and conceded five points less at just 208, and have improved their forward potency from averaging 47.8 a game to 59.6. It’s this double threat that makes North such a force.
Alas, there’s no guarantee of justice in sports. The pressure is all on the Kangas. However, for any doubters of the standards able to be achieved for the AFLW, I urge you to watch the Roos-Crows clash this Friday in the first qualifier. The Kangas are playing exceptional team footy. And the Crows are no push-overs despite finishing fourth.
It’s certainly no cakewalk to the flag. Hawthorn have surged this year to second and have former Roo Kaitlyn Ashmore (a Melbourne Uni recruit who was lured away from Arden Street) and Irish player Aileen Gilroy. Then there’s Brisbane – looking to avenge their Round 1 loss and go back-to-back. The top-four sides alone might provide the 2024 finals with a highly anticipated mini-season.
Can North stay undefeated and beat them all to their first flag?