The North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos have continued their 2025 pre-season with a 16-point loss to the Western Bulldogs in a match simulation on Friday night.

In wet and windy conditions at Whitten Oval, the Bulldogs ran away from the inaccurate Roos to win 7.1 (43)  to 3.9 (27).

Midfielders Mia King and Ash Riddell were among the Kangaroos' best performers. Tahlia Randall was the side's most dangerous forward, while Nicole Bresnehan worked tirelessly.

With virtually all the scoring to one end of the ground and rain lashing Whitten Oval, the Bulldogs piled on two goals to none in the opening term and four to none in the third to seal the game.

Untried Roos get a taste

Friday night was an opportunity for coach Darren Crocker to get gametime into several of his new and emerging Roos. Second-year player Ella Slocombe showed flashes of class, including a pinpoint kick to set up a goal for Randall. Georgia Stubs, who injured her ankle in the corresponding fixture last year, saw extended time at the contest, while draftee Claire Mahony looked composed playing largely behind the ball before pushing forward and earning a shot at goal on the final siren.

Bogue blasts off

Irish import Blaithin Bogue was among the players to impress as the Kangaroos had the best of the attacking play in the second term.

Bogue, who had limited competitive opportunities in her first season at Arden St, posed problems for the Bulldogs on the lead and around the forward 50, while also winning a holding the ball decision to demonstrate the defensive side of her game.

Her toe-poked goal got the Roos on the board, and she could have kicked another had she not hooked her shot on goal after receiving a Mia King handball. She faded out of the game in the second half, but the glimpses she showed were enough to suggest she may yet be able to follow in the footsteps of Erika O'Shea, Vikki Wall and Niamh Martin in making the transition from Gaelic star to North Melbourne regular.

Rucks in the wars

Experienced trade arrival Ariana Hetherington competed well in the ruck until she was crunched hard from behind in a contest late in the fourth quarter, remaining on the ground until team medical staff helped her to her feet. Crocker said Hetherington appeared not to have been seriously injured, and the Roos will be hoping she recovers quickly, with injured ruck Emma King expected to be sidelined for several more weeks. 

What the coach said

"There are things that we'll go and work on between now and next week," coach Darren Crocker said post-game. "We only really get one more genuine hitout against opposition before Round 1 so we want to make it count.

"The Bulldogs were absolutely up for that game. Probably the difference between the two teams was their efficiency in how they went forward, and their accuracy compared to us."

On getting gametime into new players: "Blaithin Bogue got to play her first game of genuine Australian football against opposition. Georgia Stubs had some time on the ball after injuring her ankle in the corresponding match last year, and missing a whole year of football. Ari (Hetherington) played a little bit forward and a bit in the ruck. It's good to give all those players some exposure to our system and the way we want to play, even though with the very windy conditions, it was hard to apply much system at all."

Next up

North Melbourne hosts Essendon in an official AFLW practice match at Avalon Airport Oval in Melbourne's west on Saturday, August 2. Fans will be able to watch a live stream of the match on nmfc.com.au, while entry will be free for fans attending the game in person. The opening bounce is at 12pm. 

WESTERN BULLDOGS        2.0    3.0    7.1    7.1 (43)
NORTH MELBOURNE          0.2     1.5    1.6    3.9 (27)

GOALS
North Melbourne: Bogue, Randall, M King