Carlton opens AFLW 2026 season with 26-point win over St Kilda in historic double-header
Carlton has launched the 2026 AFLW season with a 26-point win over St Kilda, 9.12 (66) to 6.4 (40), in front of 20,455 fans at Docklands Stadium on Sunday 9 August. The match was the first-ever AFLW and AFL double-header, played ahead of the men's clash between the same two clubs later that evening (AFL.com.au).
The Blues led by as much as 31 points and took a 33-point buffer into half-time before St Kilda mounted a fourth-quarter surge that narrowed the margin and tested Carlton's composure (ABC News; SMH). Darcy Vescio kicked a late second goal to seal the result and put the contest beyond doubt.
Carlton skipper Abbie McKay was the engine of the win, racking up 32 disposals and nine clearances — the stoppage extractions (clearances) that set up attacking chances from contested ball-ups. Mimi Hill gathered 28 touches, recruit Claudia Whitfort had 27 in her first game for the club, and Irish star Dayna Finn chipped in with 22. Lila Keck was the most damaging forward on the ground, kicking two goals from 21 disposals, while Lily Goss also snagged a pair. Young gun Poppy Scholz kicked the first goal of the match but finished with 1.4, four behinds (minor scores worth one point) telling the story of a player who found the ball and the opportunities without quite converting them all (ABC News).
For St Kilda, Tyanna Smith was enormous in defeat: 19 disposals, eight clearances, two goals and 625 metres gained — the total distance her kicks and handballs advanced the ball toward goal. Georgia Patrikios worked hard for 27 disposals, Amber Clarke kicked two goals in the final term to spark the comeback, and recruit Sophie Butterworth, a former Hawthorn player, kicked St Kilda's first (ABC News; Saints.com.au). The Saints suffered a blow when J'Noemi Anderson injured her hamstring during the match.
Carlton did it without three key players. Sophie McKay (calf), Keeley Sherar (quad) and Lauren Bella (calf) all missed through injury, making the depth of the midfield performance all the more significant for coach Mathew Buck in his first competitive outing in charge (ABC News).
The double-header format — one of five scheduled across the 2026 season — put the women's game on the biggest stage, with the AFLW curtain-raiser starting at 4.35pm AEST before the men's teams played at 7.20pm. St Kilda's AFLW side made its Marvel Stadium debut in the match (Marvel Stadium). For a competition that first bounced in 2017, a crowd north of 20,000 for a standalone women's fixture represents a serious milestone.
Carlton next hosts Adelaide at Princes Park. St Kilda, coached by Nick Dal Santo, travels to Geelong.
