Melbourne AFLW coach Michael Stinear one of thousands of patrons locked out of Ikon Park

A SENIOR AFLW coach travelled to Ikon Park to watch Carlton take on Collingwood for opposition analysis. It turns out even he didn’t have special privileges.

AS THE Demons’ inaugural AFLW coach, Michael Stinear was keen to get down to Ikon Park to watch Carlton take on Collingwood.

After all, his team would be lining up against the Magpies the following weekend.

It all seemed simple enough. Until he got to the gate.

“I tried to watch them closely, but then I got locked out,” Stinear said.

Like thousands of other fans, Stinear was prevented from entering Ikon Park as it was unprepared for the full house. He had to go home to study Collingwood.

“I went back and watched the game a couple of times during the week,” Stinear said.

“What a fantastic contest and a great way to kick off the competition.”

Both Melbourne and Collingwood will be searching for their first win this Friday night after neither team kicked more than one goal in their opening round losses.

Michael Stinear couldn’t get into Ikon Park. Picture: David Crosling

“We were disappointed. We thought we had opportunities to win the game. Brisbane handled the conditions better,” Stinear said.

“I thought we started the game well. It was disappointing we couldn’t get the result.

“Scoring is a big thing for us. We’ll look to get the right balance with our forwards and kick a winning score.”

Melbourne played in torrential conditions at Casey Fields, where a lightning strike interrupted play.

In what was the first upset of the season, the underrated Brisbane took home the four points, converting their thrusts forward to great effect.

Collingwood coach Wayne Siekman was at the match and witnessed some cunning tactics from the Lions when they were kicking in after Melbourne points.

“I think Brisbane nearly averaged 30 seconds per behind to kick it back in,” Siekman said.

With a strong breeze, the Lions ran down the clock when kicking into the wind. The 15-minute quarters wilted down especially fast as a result.

“Hopefully it’s something the AFL looks at because you’d hate to see a game decided by that,” Siekman said.

“I think for any score the clock should stop until the ball comes in otherwise we’re going to have players that are smart — and you see that with the males — and delay time if need be.”

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Originally published as Melbourne AFLW coach Michael Stinear one of thousands of patrons locked out of Ikon Park