A midfield masterclass from Ash Riddell and a third-quarter blitz from Irish debutante Blaithin Bogue fired North Melbourne to a 30-point AFLW win over Geelong.
The Cats threatened to cause a round 1 boilover against the defending premiers after closing the margin to six points with one quarter remaining in Saturday’s match.
Heavy rain greeted the players for the start of the final quarter, and it made Gaelic star Bogue feel right at home.
The 25-year-old, North’s first debutante since round 7, 2023. produced an opportunistic 20m soccer goal from around her body to get things going.
A clever kick forward by Bogue set up Bella Eddey for the next goal, giving North an 18-point lead.
And it was effectively game over a few minutes later when Bogue took a mark in the goal square before running on to kick truly from point-blank range, sealing the 8.3 (51) to 3.3 (21) win at GMHBA Stadium.
For Geelong, winger Mikayla Bowen (27 disposals, 433 metres gained) and Georgie Prespakis (22 disposals, seven clearances) showed a lot to like for the home fans, although Prespakis would have liked to have a couple of her kicks back with the game on the line in the third.
Geelong ruck Kate Darby lasted mere minutes before suffering a game-ending injury to her right calf and Jacqueline Parry injured her right ankle late in the game.
North went unbeaten last year on the way to the flag, Geelong the only team able to take premiership points off the powerhouse via a round-two draw.
Geelong next meets Adelaide at Thomas Farms Oval, Unley, on Sunday August 24 at 3.05pm (AEST).
It looms as an important clash for the Cats and the Crows, after both teams fell short in their season opening matches last weekend.
Having never beaten Adelaide in their AFLW history, Geelong will be looking to break that trend this weekend and will be hoping to gain some momentum, with a number of tough matches ahead in coming weeks.
