MOMENTUM swings, fast footy, and a Tyanna Smith masterclass. The 2026 AFLW season-opener had it all.

Ultimately, it was Carlton which claimed the four points – 9.12 (66) to 6.4 (40) – under the Marvel Stadium roof in celebration of Spud's Game, in front of a huge crowd of 20,455 in a double-header with the AFL.

SAINTS v BLUES Full match coverage and stats

Withstanding a late comeback from the Saints, who kicked the first two goals of the final quarter, proved last year wasn't just a flash in the pan for the Blues, doing it all without dynamic forward Sophie McKay, stalwart midfielder Keeley Sherar, and inactive ruck Breann Harrington.

Smith's centre stoppage work left everyone in her dust, repeatedly powering out of the middle and setting up her forwards. Her line-breaking pace was on show both when Carlton was in total control early, and late as her St Kilda teammates joined the party, finishing 24 disposals, eight clearances, and two goals in a best-on-ground performance.

And for the Blues, it was second-year talent Poppy Scholz (13 disposals, one goal) who was the star, starting as a deep forward and opening the year's goal tally, before moving into the middle to support Jess Good in the ruck in lieu of injured recruit Lauren Bella.

Scholz's capacity to essentially become an extra midfielder at centre stoppage allowed her side to put the foot to the floor. It worked beautifully in conjunction with captain Abbie McKay (32 disposals, nine clearances) and boom recruit Claudia Whitfort (27 disposals, five clearances).

The chemistry at play was clear for the Blues early in the piece, cleanly exiting congestion by hand before calmly maintaining possession via foot, and the Saints were the opposite – for the first half, anyway.

After the main break, however, St Kilda established a new vigour, using the ball more efficiently and capitalising on the hard work of Smith more regularly.

It meant back-to-back goals for the first time all day, via Smith and J'Noemi Anderson, unfortunately followed up with a hamstring injury to the latter which ruled her out for the remainder of the match.

Curiously, while the Blues largely controlled the play around the ground for much of the afternoon, at centre stoppage it was the Saints dictating matters. Carlton won the clearance count 32-22, but St Kilda finished on top for centre clearances, 12-5.

Newly minted Saints captain Serene Watson (20 disposals, 419 metres gained) worked exceptionally hard to generate attacking play from the defensive half, and Ash Richards (11 disposals, six inside 50s) was instrumental in continuing those passages.

And where the Saints' defenders wanted to get aggressive, Carlton was able to create space goal side on regular occasions, setting up opportunities for the likes of Nell Morris-Dalton, Darcy Vescio, and Scholz to sneak close to the big sticks.

An early contender
Amber Clarke is no stranger to impressive goals from seemingly impossible spots in the pocket, and on Sunday added to her highlight reel. Opening the final quarter, Clarke was the beneficiary of yet another clean centre stoppage break from Tyanna Smith. The ball hit the deck tight up against the boundary line, and Clarke cleverly threw a boot at it to slot an early Goal of the Year contender.

Joining the club
In her second season, Poppy Scholz joined the first goalkicker of the year club. Initially drafted as a key defender, her switch forward halfway through 2025 proved so effective that she's maintained the role this year. After a nervous few minutes, living in its back half, Carlton started to put together some neat transition passages to look dangerous in attack. Playing as the deepest forward, Scholz was able to swoop on a long kick inside 50 and run into an open goal.

ST KILDA            0.1    1.2    4.3   6.4 (40)
CARLTON          3.1    6.5    7.8   9.12 (66)

GOALS 
St Kilda: Smith 2, Clarke 2, Butterworth, Anderson
Carlton: Goss 2, Vescio 2, Keck 2, Scholz, Finn, Morris-Dalton

BEST 
St Kilda: Smith, Watson, Patrikios, Richards
Carlton: Scholz, Fitzpatrick, Whitfort, McKay, Finn, Hill

INJURIES 
St Kilda: Anderson (hamstring)
Carlton: Hendrie (right ankle)

Crowd: 20,455 at Marvel Stadium