With top three sides Adelaide, Fremantle and Melbourne winning plenty of plaudits so far this AFLW season, North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos coach Darren Crocker doesn't mind one bit if his side are the league's quiet achievers.
"It’s okay if we’re sneaking under the radar of some people externally," Crocker said after Saturday's 19-point win over Richmond improved the Roos' record to 5-1.
"Let's just keep our footy doing the talking."
The Kangaroos' in-form midfield ensured they controlled large parts of the game at Richmond's Swinburne Centre, but they again struggled to convert their dominance into goals.
Among the stats battles North won on Saturday were tackles (44-27), marks inside 50 (15-4), disposals (250-216) and inside 50s (43-18), but only a quick-fire pair of goals late in the third quarter allowed them to shake off the determined Tigers.
“We’ll continue to look at our connection forward of centre, going forward inside 50, the ability to lower your eyes when someone’s got out or snuck forward, [and] when to take the longer option,” Crocker said.
“It’s just a growth in our game we need to continue to work on … we had plus-25 inside 50s so we won the territory battle, [but] it didn’t translate into a big score.
“Richmond did really well to get numbers behind the ball and hold their shape behind the football … if teams want to work back and get players behind the footy then that allows us to be able to set up off of that and make it really hard for opposition teams to score.
Jas Garner continued her hot streak on Saturday, finishing with 26 disposals and seven clearances, as well as five tackles and a goal.
Crocker says Garner’s form shows the quality of the Roos' whole midfield.
“The first three weeks everyone was asking me about Ash Riddell, now for the last two weeks everyone’s been asking me about Jas Garner. Mia King has had a Rising Star (nomination) and she’s really grown her game. Ellie Gavalas is playing her role in there [and] Jenna Bruton continues to be a really important player for us,” he said.
“That depth through midfield and even our wingers - I thought Bella Eddey was really good [and] Nicole Bresnehan has learned a new role. The depth of our midfield is really important to us and I don’t like singling out anyone.
“I want them all to feel they’re a unit and a team within a team."
