Already acknowledged as one of the best in the game, Richmond midfielder Monique Conti has ignited her team with a destructive burst to set in motion a one-sided season opener.
A slick and sharpshooting Richmond banked the first points on offer in season 2022 of the AFLW on the back of a Monique Conti masterclass.
The 22-year-old owned the midfield as St Kilda and its rookie coach Nick Dal Santo sharply felt the absence of stars Georgia Patrikios and Tyanna Smith.
Despite heavy downpours moments before the game, the opening quarter of the season was the best in recent memory and was highlighted by fearless attack on the ball and polished ball movement.
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The arm-wrestle of a quarter ended with St Kilda taking the slenderest of leads into the break, but that was as good as it got for the Saints.
Jess Hosking’s first quarter since crossing from Carlton to play alongside sister Sarah yielded just the one touch of the ball.
Stationed in defence, the 26-year-old bounced back after her lacklustre start to become a pivotal rebounder for the Richmond defence and finished with 11 touches.
After quarter-time the Tigers flexed their muscle to outscore the Saints 49-10.
This was on the back of Conti (29 disposals and six tackles) and Tess Lavey (19 disposals) in the middle, and Courtney Wakefield, Meagan Kiely, Christina Bernardi, and Katie Brennan all kicking two goals and providing firepower up forward.
Best ever?
A thunderous storm that brought with it massive downpours couldn’t dampen the first quarter of the AFLW season.
A dim and dour affair looked to be on the cards as crowds dodged massive puddles on their way to the ground, but 20 minutes later they had been treated to an enthralling contest and footy appetites were satisfied once more.
The first goal of the season, a near-50m bomb, came at the eight-minute mark courtesy of the Saints’ Tarni White.
Meagan Kiely quickly replied for Richmond before Rosie Dillon restored St Kilda’s lead, kicking the game’s third goal in as many minutes.
A goal in the shadows of quarter-time to Bernardi capped off the hottest opening quarter of an AFLW season ever.
Conti stamps authority
Conti took no time to stamp her authority as one of the hottest players in the competition on the back of a breathtaking first quarter.
The 22-year-old midfield dynamo owned the midfield, and her disposal was a class above as she kept the Tigers pressing St Kilda’s defence.
Conti finished the quarter with a game-high eight disposals and three tackles, before building on her stellar game to collect 29 touches and six tackles.
Dal Santo heaped praise on Conti after his side fell to a 38-point loss. He said the Saints had tried different things to curb the influence of Conti, but nothing could stop her.
“We tried a couple of things,” Dal Santo said.
“It’s more than the numbers she has, it’s the impact. When she received the football even facing away from goal, she’s got that ability to cut and swerve and work her way through the defence and have an effective possession going forward.”
Saints’ midfield conundrum
The absence of two of the competition’s midfield guns was always going to be a tricky void for Dal Santo and St Kilda to fill.
And it proved to be the case as the Tigers had their way with the Saints around the ball, winning clearances 28-20.
There was a bright spark to come out of the game for the Saints, as Tilly Lucas-Rodd helped herself to a buffet of football, collecting 20 disposals for the game.
The 25-year-old had an average of 11 touches per game coming into the contest.
Dal Santo said his midfield, missing stars Georgia Patrikios and Tyanna Smith, was outgunned by the Tigers’ engine room.
“I thought their work around stoppages and contested situations in general were really good and clearly better than ours,” he said.
“I thought their ability to overlap with handball to break the lines to get the ball into their forward half put a lot of pressure on us behind the football.
“I felt they were in control of stoppages and contested possessions and were a lot more threatening at times coming forward of the football.
“The uncontested possession on the back of that, I thought going forward, they had easier and better shots.”
One of the shining lights for St Kilda was the performance of Tilly Lucas-Rodd, who collected a team-high 20 disposals.
Dal Santo said he would leave the 25-year-old in the centre going forward.
The St Kilda coach said he expected Kate Shierlaw and Nicola Xenos to be back in his side’s line-up next week after missing through AFL health and safety protocols.
SCOREBOARD
RICHMOND 2.0 4.0 7.0 10.1 (61)
ST KILDA 2.1 2.3 2.5 3.5 (23)
MOTTERSHEAD’S BEST
Saints: Lucas-Rodd, Priest, White, Dillon.
Tigers: Conti, Lavey, Brennan, J.Hosking, Seymour.
GOALS
Saints: White, Dillon, Matin.
Tigers: Wakefield 2, Bernardi 2, Kiely 2, Brennan 2, Stahl, Reid.
INJURIES
Saints: Nil. Tigers: Kelly (ankle).
VENUE: Skybus Stadium
CROWD: 3324
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