The Western Bulldogs’ AFLW rebuild has hit its first speed bump in an emphatic 63-point defeat to Greater Western Sydney.
Tam Hyett’s tenure as Bulldogs coach started with a loss after the Giants slammed through nine unanswered goals to triumph 10.12 (72) to 1.3 (9) in windy conditions at Manuka Oval on Saturday.
Hyett, an assistant coach in Melbourne’s 2022 women’s premiership season, was handed the job of revamping the Bulldogs after last season’s wooden spoon.
The club won only one game and it cost Nathan Burke his job after five seasons.
“We know that there’s going to be hiccups along the way. This is one of them,” Hyett said.
“We’ll be doing everything in our control to be better.
“Round one, not ideal to have a hiccup like this but … there’s a lot of learnings out of today and I know we’ll be better for the run.”
Meanwhile, Cam Bernasconi’s Giants will cherish their biggest-ever victory after recording only two wins to finish 16th last year.
Alyce Parker was outstanding in the GWS engine room and finished with one goal, 29 disposals and seven clearances to mark her 50th game.
Nicola Barr (29 touches), Zarlie Goldsworthy (four goals) and Eilish O’Dowd (two goals) also played starring roles.
“What we want to see this year is just progress,” Bernasconi said.
“We spoke about our ability to play a system so it’s not a fluke when you play well.
“Now, the challenge for us is to make sure we can do that next week against Richmond.”
For the visitors, former captain Ellie Blackburn (25 disposals, nine clearances) impressed while Alice Edmonds took 37 hitouts to the Giants’ total of nine.
The new-look Bulldogs side featured four AFLW debutants in 2023, No.1 pick Kristie-Lee Weston-Turner, Brooke Barwick, Elaine Grigg and Cleo Buttifant and four club debutants in Lauren Ahrens (Gold Coast), Analea McKee (Brisbane), Ellie Gavalas (North Melbourne), Jasmyn Smith (Gold Coast).
O’Dowd produced a goal-of-the-year contender on debut within 15 seconds from the opening siren.
The Irish recruit won the tap against Edmonds and bolted straight through the corridor to open the scoring from inside 30 with her first disposal and set a new league record for the fastest goal scored.
The Bulldogs recorded just one point before the first break, with the hosts leading by eight points.
McKee hit the scoreboard in the second term for the only Bulldogs goal of the game, but Goldsworthy’s goal restored the Giants’ buffer after a 50m penalty was paid against Grigg for encroaching the mark.
GWS then kicked 5.6 to none to build a 44-point lead at third-quarter time.
The Bulldogs notched one more point in the final term to finish with their equal lowest-ever AFLW score.
