The AFLW norm baffling this Irish import
Erone Fitzpatrick is a star – All-Australian, Carlton leader and selected in the Irish representative AFLW side – but there’s one thing about Australian rules football that leaves her baffled.
Club loyalty – or rather, the lack of it.
Hailing from County Laois in Ireland, Fitzpatrick helped lead them to their first Gaelic football title in over 20 years in 2022, before being poached by Carlton for the 2023 season.
She played with the same teammates from age four to 23; switching clubs or counties is “unheard of at home”.
Faceless foes square off
There will be plenty of familiar faces on both sides when Carlton take on St Kilda at Marvel Stadium in what is arguably the most consequential clash between the two clubs since the 1972 preliminary final.
Liam Stocker will be donning a Saints jumper for his 100th AFL game when he lines up alongside other ex-Blues Jack Silvagni and Tom De Koning, while former Saint Blake Acres will wear the No.13 Carlton jumper Stocker wore in his 28 matches with Carlton.
Another win under interim coach Josh Fraser will kick the Blues two games clear of St Kilda in the race for a wildcard spot, while Ross Lyon’s team will leapfrog Carlton if they win – with a softer draw in their remaining two matches likely to see them home.
It’s a huge game, particularly so for the Saints, who grabbed Carlton free agents De Koning and Silvagni during last year’s trade period to set them on a course for finals.
However, the animosity that existed between the two clubs in recent years as former Carlton list manager and club great Stephen Silvagni grabbed players from the list after an acrimonious departure from the club at the end of 2019 is said to have dissipated.
Hello, and welcome to today’s coverage of a massive double header
Hello all, and welcome to today’s coverage of the AFLW season opener between Carlton and St Kilda at Marvel Stadium.
We’ll also have men’s game tonight between the Blues and Saints.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
