2026 AFLW Pre-Season

Match Simulation No.1.

Carlton XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX Collingwood XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX
Venue:
Date:
Result:
Crowd:
Goalkickers:
Reports:
Umpires:
Injuries:

Match Simulation No.2.

Carlton XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX Essendon XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX
Venue:
Date:
Result:
Crowd:
Goalkickers:
Reports:
Umpires:
Injuries:

Official Practice Match.

Carlton 1.1 7 3.3 21 4.3 27 5.3 33 Gold Coast Suns 1.1 7 1.4 10 2.4 16 3.5 23
Venue:	People First Stadium, Gold Coast.
Date:	Saturday 25th July 2026 (12.00 PM).
Result:	Won by 10 points.
Crowd:
Goalkickers:	Poppy Scholz 2.0, Claudi Whitfort 1.0, Mimi Hill 1.0, Erone Fitzpatrick 1.0, Tara Bohanna 0.1, Lauren Bella 0.1, Rushed 0.1.
Reports:	Nil.
Umpires:
Injuries:	Nil.

Game Review

Carlton wins on the road against the Suns
By Gemma Bastiani and Sarah Black

Despite going down to Carlton, Gold Coast's young brigade showed some encouraging signs heading into the 2026 NAB AFLW season following a wooden spoon finish in 2025. Coming into her second season, Havana Harris got busy in the front half for the Suns, winning a game-high 26 disposals and taking nine marks offering a real focal point in what is a very young forward line. She paired well with pre-season No.1 draft pick Lily Quigley who, wearing a signature black helmet, kicked two goals thanks to smart positioning and clean skill. Dekota Baron brought some serious forward pressure as a tall option, with a neat smother in the pocket in the second term. The club worked to create attacking transition down the field, wanting to employ the handball receive and put speed on the ball. It didn't always work, but that was largely a result of Carlton's consistent pressure and capacity to shut down space through the middle of the ground.

Daisy D'Arcy (six disposals, four intercepts) made a successful return from an ACL injury that kept her on the sidelines last year, adding a calm head in the back half, and replacement signing Paige Price (12 disposals, eight hitouts) rucked solo for the match in the absence of Darcie Davies. Draftee Mikayla Nurse (13 disposals, five intercepts) was tasked with running the wing alongside All-Australian Blue Dayna Finn (14 disposals, five marks) for the duration, and Georja Davies showed her capacity to be clean below the knees as a key defender. Boom recruit Anne Hatchard (20 disposals, four clearances, six tackles) played bulk midfield minutes, leading the young group of onballers around her, while highly rated draftee Ava Usher struggled to get involved in the play around the ball. For the Blues, it was a pair of former Suns that showed some strong footy, with Lauren Bella (15 hitouts) leaping at the footy with a newfound confidence, and Claudia Whitfort dobbing a goal early in the day. Meanwhile, former Adelaide midfielder Brooke Boileau offered some physicality around the midfield. The latter two blended well as part of Carlton's broader midfield mix. Despite playing in attack in last week's match simulation, Darcy Vescio played in defence, and Erone Fitzpatrick ran the wing for most of the day, finishing with 14 disposals and a goal. Poppy Scholz appears set to continue her role up forward, with two goals and pairing well as a key with Tara Bohanna, and Harriet Cordner once again showed off her strength down back.

Notable Absentees: Kiara Bischa, Yasmin Duursma, Tayla McMillan, Meg Robertson, Amelia Velardo

Team

B:	21 Harriett Cordner	49 Madeline Hendrie
HB:	24 Brooke Vickers	36 Ciara Fitzgerald	3 Darcy Vescio
C:	8 Lily Baxter	10 Mimi Hill	17 Dayna Finn
HF:	55 Sophie McKay	25 Keeley Sherar	7 Poppy Scholz
F:		42 Tara Bohanna	19 Erone Fitzpatrick
Ruck:	2 Lauren Bella	5 Abbie McKay (c)	20 Lily Goss
Interchange:	4 Claudia Whitfort	14 Siofra O'Connell	23 Lila Keck
	13 Aisling Reidy	12 Jess Good	33 Lou-Lou Field
	22 Brook Boileau	6 Gab Pound
Emergencies:	1 Amelia Velardo	30 Kiara Bischa
Coach:	Mathew Buck

Match Simulation No.3.

Carlton XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX Geelong XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX
Venue:
Date:
Result:
Crowd:
Goalkickers:
Reports:
Umpires:
Injuries:

Links

AFLW Season 2026 | Round 1