A brilliant last quarter chase and tackle from youngster Beth Lynch has capped off an impressive first-up display from the North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos.

After close to 90 minutes of play and with a winning margin hand, the Roos could easily have taken the foot off the pedal … but they weren’t going to give in that easily.

“I thought one of the most impressive things was that chase,” AFLW coach Scott Gowans said after a match-simulation victory against Collingwood.

“The thing about it was, she (Lynch) actually made a mistake just before it. We talk about ‘I don’t mind if you make a mistake, but it’s what you do next’. She kicked into the player on the mark, which is an absolute no in my sides … but she didn’t let it affect her, she didn’t put her head down.

“She just chased and chased, and caught her. That will definitely be highlighted in the team meeting on Monday.”

Lynch’s effort saved what looked a certain goal to the Magpies, one of many highlights in a polished team performance at Arden Street.  

“We needed to get a little bit out of it from a structural point-of-view, and I thought we ticked the box with that,” Gowans said.

“Just with different types of ball movement and stoppage structures, different setups down back … six terms allow you to do that.

“I’m really, really happy with what we got out of it.”

Both teams had a chance to put their pre-season work to the test for the first time in 2020, and it certainly wasn’t an easy introduction. The session lasted close to two hours, in the heat.

“It is tough for the girls under the fatigue of it being our first hit-out of match-sim,” Gowans said.

“They had set rotations, and regardless of the scoreboard, we stuck to the rotations.

“It was really good from that perspective, and we did a bit of conditioning at the end as well. The high-performance team is really happy with what the girls got out of the session … marry it together in the football sense, and altogether it’s a pretty good day.”

Gowans was encouraged by the performance of several North recruits.

Irishwoman Aileen Gilroy one of the stand-outs in the back half, taking no time to adapt to the oval ball.

“Her run and carry was really good,” Gowans said.

“Sarah Wright on the wing and with a little bit of time down back really performed with ball in hand too.

“The structure stuff she’s (Wright) learnt over the summer behind the footy was really good.

“Daisy Bateman stepped up. Sophie Abbatangelo was very good as well.”

While there were no points at stake, the importance of establishing a winning culture is front of mind for the Roos’ coach.

“The main thing out of the match was that we also concentrated on the scoreboard,” Gowans added.

“I’m a big believer that you don’t manufacture success … it’s something you’ve got to practice and practice. One of the things we spoke about here at Arden Street is we don’t want to lose here.

“It’s really important that the winning mindset comes in from the start.

“I spoke to the girls prior to the match and just said to them ‘whatever we do today as individuals to put your hand up, it’s really important that the focus is on the win and the team structures to do that’.”

More highlights of the match will be posted on the website & app on Monday.

North is set to take on Carlton in a practice match next Saturday at Ikon Park. The first bounce is scheduled for 11am, with fans welcome to attend. More details will be posted later in the week on the website & app.