Adelaide Crows midfielder Deni Varnhagen says her side has refined forward entries as it prepares to take on Carlton
The Crows have put behind them their inaccurate return in front of goals in their one-point loss to the Bulldogs in the opening round of the AFLW as they prepare to face Carlton.
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It all comes down to behinds. And Adelaide is putting behind them the 11 they kicked in their opening round loss to the Western Bulldogs, focusing on refining their forward entries in an effort to convert more goals as they prepare to take on Carlton on Sunday.
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Midfielder Deni Varnhagen said the 1.11 scoreline in last Saturday’s loss didn’t entirely do the Crows justice, with their speed and better game knowledge on display.
“Everyone can see that our skills have really picked up and we’re being a bit more level headed and we’ve got a lot more game knowledge,” she said.
The defensive midfielder, who in round one match collected 13 disposals, said Crows’ loss came down to them not hitting their targets and training would focus on refining those skills.
“We’ll be looking at goal kicking and fine turning those forward entries,” she said.
Varnhagen said the team was now focused on its first away game of the season, travelling to Ikon Park to take on Carlton on Sunday.
“It’s going to be a really tough game,” she said.
Last week, the Crows side featured seven new faces including forward Chloe Scheer who played her first game of AFLW and made a statement by kicking a goal with her first kick.
But it was the 35-year-old Jess Foley — also in her first AFLW game — who made an immediate impact.
With Crows starting ruck Rhiannon Metcalfe (ACL) and back-up Jasmyn Hewett (ankle) injured in January’s trial match against Fremantle, the 183cm Foley stepped into the breach, where she impressed with 25 hit-outs.
Varnhagen praised Foley’s effort.
“She dominated,” the Crows No. 9 said.
Foley will again play an important role on Sunday when she takes on Carlton’s ruck Breann Moody. Moody had fewer hit outs (16) in the Blues’ 36-point loss to North Melbourne than Foley, but Moody had a slightly better advantage rate.
Varnhagen was also impressed with the effort of debutant Hannah Martin who sat on the wing alongside her and expected Martin’s impressive speed to play a role in Sunday’s match.
“(Martin) provides a lot of great running and a lot of speed and her hands (are) really clean,” she said.
Carlton v Adelaide
Sunday, February 10
Ikon Park, 3.35pm
TEAMS
BLUES
B: S.Hosking, K.Harrington, N.Stevens
HB: G.Pound, B.Davey, L.Brazzale
C: G.Gee
HF: M.Prespakis, T.Harris, D.Vescio
F: K.Bentley, A.Downie, N.Plane
Foll: B.Moody, K.Loynes, C.Dalton
I/C (from): J.Hosking, J.Van Dyk, S.Audley, A.Barden, J.Edwards, B.Walker, R.Watt
INS: G.Gee, B.Walker, R.Watt
OUTS: T.Lucas-Rodd
CROWS
B: A.Foley, S.Allan, S.Thompson
HB: D.Cox, C.Randall, C.Cramey
C: E.Marinoff
HF: M.Rajcic, A.Hatchard, A.Considine
F: C.Scheer, E.Phillips, J.Mules
Foll: J.Foley, D.Varnhagen, R.Forth
I/C (from): H.Martin, M.Nankivell, S.Perkins, E.Jones, S.Li, S.Riley, D.Ponter
INS: S.Perkins, S.Riley, D.Ponter
OUTS: J.McCormick
Originally published as Adelaide Crows midfielder Deni Varnhagen says her side has refined forward entries as it prepares to take on Carlton
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