AFLW 2023: Chloe Molloy and Alyce Parker preview round 1 Sydney derby

The Giants arrived first, but the Swans have come out swinging. Sunday’s AFLW Sydney Derby at North Sydney Oval is set to be compulsory viewing. LACHLAN MCKIRDY explains why.

The AFLW Sydney Derby is set to go to a new level in 2023. Picture: Narelle Spangher/ AFL NSW/ACT

It’s the simple answer that summarises the build-up to Sunday’s second-ever AFLW Sydney Derby.

The Swans and Giants have built one of the AFL’s best rivalries, but how has it translated to the women’s game?

So, it’s put to GWS’ Alyce Parker, one of the competition’s best players: Is there a rivalry?

“I think the fact you have these conversations proves that there is,” she said.

There has been no love lost between the two sides in the lead-up to the match at North Sydney Oval.

Swans coach Scott Gowans stoked the flames earlier in the week with his, strong, comments. Among them, he compared the Giants to the “family member” you would do anything to have bragging rights over.

And it’s no surprise Sydney feels that way. They lost their first meeting by 47 points at the SCG last September.

The Giants came away big winners in the first Sydney Derby. Picture: Phil Hillyard

It was a demolition in every sense of the word and was, unfortunately, a familiar feeling for the Swans’ playing group by the end of their winless season.

However, 2023 is different. The Swans have recruited strongly, Gowans has been able to put them through a full pre-season and they’re coming into the clash on the back of two practice match wins.

That’s why the Giants are happy buy-in to the family mentality and adopt the role of the older sibling to remind the Swans who was here first.

“We’ve been in the competition longer than them, so it’s like having this little sister come in that you’re overly competitive against,” Parker said. “We want to win.

“I’ve never had so much hype around round one. There’s no better way to plan it out than to have this Derby come up so quickly.

“Whoever it is we’re playing we want to be winning against. But yes, the Swans, there’s a bit of passion in that one.”

Parker was at her dominant best in the Giants’ practice match win over Richmond. Picture: Morgan Hancock/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Parker has undoubtedly become the face of women’s footy in Sydney. The 23-year-old has already received two All-Australian selections and has been picked by many to be among the leading contenders for this year’s Best & Fairest award.

But her rein in NSW is set to be put to the test by the arrival of one of the competition’s genuine superstars in Sydney, Chloe Molloy.

The new Swans co-captain has come to the Harbour City on the back of a number of accolades during her time at Collingwood, including the 2018 AFLW Rising Star award.

And she’s determined to help propel the Swans up the ladder.

“We’ve got a belief in what we’re doing, in the footy and the brand that we’re putting out there to show people,” Molloy said.

“It’s the long game for the Sydney Swans. We want to build something that is sustained success. The wins and outcomes of games will sort themselves out if we can stick to what we’ve got to do.”

Molloy will lead Sydney’s new look forward line in their second season. Picture: Phil Hillyard

While a lot of talk out of the Swans has been about getting win number two, victory number one still has to come first.

And it hasn’t taken long for Molloy to be brought up to speed about how special it would be if it was against the Giants.

“There’s a really strong rivalry between Sydney and the Giants, that I’ve become well aware of,” Molloy said.

“It would be a bit of a cherry on top and a nice story that people could go with having the Swans’ first win against the hometown rivals. Everyone loves a fairytale in the AFL.

“But we could be playing anybody and I just want that first win as bad as anything … and then I want sustained wins after that.”

Having two competitive women’s teams in NSW can only be a good thing for footy in the state going forward.

And there is genuine respect for how quickly the newcomers have been able to get to this level.

The Giants are working tirelessly to get back to the finals, where they’ve only appeared once. Picture: Phil Hillyard

“You have to admire what they’re doing over there, they’re building a strong program really quickly,” Parker said.

But the Giants are already thinking bigger. A win over the Swans could be the perfect way to kickstart their season and prove they’re one of the strongest AFLW teams.

“We want to be competitive with the top four teams,” Parker said.

“We love the program that we’ve built and we want to be consistently successful. Come game day, we want to show across four quarters we can play that exciting Giants brand of footy.”

Both teams have everything to play for on Sunday. But only one can come away with the bragging rights from what is quickly becoming one of the AFLW’s must-watch matches.

Originally published as AFLW 2023: Chloe Molloy and Alyce Parker preview round 1 Sydney derby