SFLW: AFLW star Maddy Smith is back for Clarence against Claremont after long-term injury

An eight-goal second term proved decisive as Clarence overpowered Claremont to win a one-sided SFLW clash. RELIVE all the action from our LIVESTREAM.

An eight-goal second term proved decisive as Clarence overpowered Claremont to win a one-sided SFLW clash by 71 points.

Clarence blew the game wide open after an even first quarter to march out to a 50-point halftime lead.

Neither team scored in the third quarter before Clarence regained their scoring touch late on to add three more goals.

PREVIEW: Smith ‘bloody excited’ to be back

Former North Melbourne forward Maddy Smith will play her first game since 2019 for Clarence in their SFLW clash with Claremont at Blundstone Arena on Saturday.

The first Tasmanian-born player to be drafted by the Kangaroos, Smith wrecked her knee training with North Melbourne and, to fix the problem, her surgeon had to break her leg to re-align it.

Smith said she was “bloody excited” to get back out on the park.

“I’m big-time excited, just itching to get back out there,” Smith said.

It has been a long road back for the former Kangaroo, Tasmanian representative player and Clarence premiership forward.

“I dislocated my kneecap at training for North Melbourne and when I came back from that my knee was just not right,” Smith said.

“My knee kept giving out on me, so I spoke to my orthopedic surgeon.

Maddison Smith training with the North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos.

“I had to get my leg broken to get it straightened again because I ended up with a 22-degree bend in my knee-joint.

“There was no way to fix it other than to break the femur.”

Smith will not play thye entire gamee against Claremont as she eases back into football five games out from the finals.

“I will probably come on at the back end of every quarter, get a feel for it, find my feet again and see how it goes from there,” she said.

Smith’s teammate Halle Whitehead is racing the clock to be fit for the finals after also injuring her knee.

“I did it last Saturday against Kingborough. I went up for the ball and landed awkwardly,” Whitehead said.

“Hopefully it’s not the end of the season for me.”

Clarence and Claremont have had two close contests this season.

“We won the first game by about 10 points and the second time by two, so they’ve been very close games,” Whitehead said.

Cohesion as the way to get the better of Claremont.

“We need to use our voices and our bodies a lot because the Claremont girls are really dangerous around the ball,” Whitehead said.

“They like to be physical and use their bodies, so we need to give that pressure back.”

In other round 11 SFLW Division 1 games, North Hobart plays Glenorchy at North Hobart Oval and South East Suns play Kingborough Tigers at Pembroke Park.