NORTH Melbourne has ended Carlton's undefeated start to the 2026 season, defeating the Blues by 10 points in a Sunday afternoon tussle at Arden St Oval.

Carlton got as close as anyone to defeating the Kangaroos for a long time, momentarily taking the lead in the second quarter and competing all afternoon. North Melbourne held its nerve though, running out 4.9 (33) to 3.5 (23) winners in front of a record AFLW crowd for the ground of 4,048.

KANGAROOS v BLUES Full match coverage and stats

In the annual AFLW SuperClash to raise funds for the Royal Children’s Hospital’s Good Friday Appeal, both sides lined up for a reverse guard of honour for staff, patients and their families in what are always emotional scenes.

The usual suspects in captain Jasmine Garner (30 disposals, five tackles and five clearances) and reigning AFLW Best and Fairest Ash Riddell (39, three clearances and 521 metres gained) combined beautifully in the midfield to make it 32 wins in a row for the Kangaroos.

The Blues can be proud of their performance, bringing pressure and their characteristic forward handball game throughout the afternoon. It was their last kick to go inside the attacking 50 though that tended to let them down.

The toughest assignment in the game, Erone Fitzpatrick (seven tackles) and Harriet Cordner (29, with 17 intercept possessions) continued to make their cases for All-Australian selection. Teammate Dayna Finn fought all day and had her hand in everything, with 29 possessions, six tackles and two clearances.

Alice O'Loughlin capitalised on a scramble to kick the opening (and only first-quarter) goal.

Four-time premiership defender Libby Birch came off the ground with medical staff, but had her knee strapped and returned in the second term.

Poppy Scholz’s second effort in a one-on-one contest with Birch found Lila Keck, who snapped for a lone Nell Morris-Dalton in the goalsquare.

Veteran Emma Kearney was then penalised for a throw in Carlton’s forward 50, with Keck converting what looked to be an unlikely shot on goal to take the lead by three points.

It woke the Kangaroos up, with Tahlia Randall's pinpoint set shot putting them back in front before Irishwoman Blaithin Bogue extended their lead.

Randall has now scored the most goals of any opposition player against the Blues, with a total of 11.

Carlton had repeat entries in the third term, keeping North Melbourne defenders busy and cutting the deficit to three points. Lily Goss broke a tackle and got a kick away bouncing towards home, Amy Gavin Mangan having a moment to forget by failing to rush the ball for a behind, with Fitzpatrick pouncing to convert.

The Kangaroos held onto their lead, scoring the only two points of the fourth quarter.

Play was stopped late in the final term as Gab Pound jogged off alongside trainers with a head knock.

Club debut for 'Westo'
Kristie-Lee Weston-Turner made her awaited debut for the Kangaroos on Sunday afternoon, after a tumultuous off-season. The former No.1 draft pick for the Western Bulldogs requested a move to North Melbourne during the trade period in 2025 after only playing one game at senior level in her second season. With a deal unable to be done between the two clubs, Weston-Turner self-delisted and was drafted by the Kangaroos at pick 37. After a pre-season training in the backline, Weston-Turner played more of a forward role on Sunday afternoon. Post-game, coach Darren Crocker noted that they had been training her up as a forward in recent weeks, giving her an opportunity to play senior footy. Finishing with 10 disposals and a couple of scoring opportunities off 58% game time, it’s a run in the legs and a position to watch for the rest of the season.

That forward pocket
The swirling wind caused a comedy of errors late in the opening term in Carlton’s city end forward pocket. Lily Goss' snap out of a stoppage went out of bounds on the full, before North defender Claire Mahony's kick in also met the same fate. The umpires had to confer after Fitzpatrick's shot on goal never entered the field of play, forcing a throw-in. Combined with a couple of shallow throw-ins that were forced to be retaken, future teams visiting the Arden Street fortress will keep an eye out for it.

Up next
North Melbourne heads to Cairns to take on Hawthorn at Cazalys Stadium on Friday at 5.45pm AEST. The fixture doesn’t ease up for the Blues, facing undefeated Melbourne on Saturday at 1.05pm at Ikon Park.

NORTH MELBOURNE      1.4    3.5    4.7    4.9 (33)
CARLTON                       0.1    2.2    3.5    3.5 (23)

GOALS
North Melbourne: O'Loughlin, Randall, Bogue, Garner
Carlton: Morris-Dalton, Fitzpatrick, Keck

BEST 
North Melbourne: Riddell, Garner, Sheerin, O’Shea, Wall
Carlton: Finn, Cordner, Fitzpatrick, Good, McKay

INJURIES
North Melbourne: Birch (knee), Randall (elbow)
Carlton: Pound (head)

Crowd: 4,048 at Arden St Oval