The inaugural Swans team rode a wave of emotion in their first outing in the AFLW but it was the visitors, St Kilda, who took the points, triumphing 8.8 (56) to 4.3 (27) on Saturday evening at North Sydney Oval.
The Swans' loss could come at a further cost as No.1 draft pick Montana Ham went to ground and immediately clutched at her knee in the dying stages of the final term and had to be helped from the field. Ham will go for scans to determine the extent of the injury.
Earlier on, Swans forward Rebecca Privitelli put her name in the record book in the first quarter as the first Swans AFLW player to boot a goal, making the most of a free kick 25m out and directly in front to set off wild celebrations in front of a loud red and white crowd of 8264 fans at North Sydney Oval.
It was a hotly contested footy in the first term with just one-point separating the sides at the first change.
With the scores tight in the second term, Saint Kate Shierlaw kicked two goals in as many minutes to open up a 21-point lead that the Saints never looked like giving up despite it being a memorable occasion for the Swans.
The tall forward went on to cause the Swans defence concerns throughout and was the dominant target on the field.
The tackling pressure from the Swans was evident across the park but it was the Saints who were able to capitalise on the scoreboard during their periods of dominance.
In a spirited first showing, the Swans controlled the ball and territory for periods but the Saints gradually wore them down to claim a 29-point victory.
The Swans fielded 11 debutantes for the Round 1 fixture including Montana Ham who grew into the game before her injury but co-captain Lauren Szigeti was the pick of the first-gamers and Cynthia Hamilton also impressed. Hamilton, Sarah Skinner and co-captain Brooke Lochland all scored majors, much to the delight of the raucos home crowd.
The love from this crowd was unbelievable.
— Sydney Swans AFLW (@SydneySwansAFLW) August 27, 2022
First happens once and we are so glad you were with us as we start this journey. #Bloods pic.twitter.com/wAt7nKTD56
Up next
Sydney will look to bounce back when it takes its first road trip to face Collingwood at Victoria Park next Sunday, while the Saints face another expansion club in Hawthorn later the same day.
SYDNEY 1.1 2.1 3.1 4.3 (27)
ST KILDA 1.2 4.2 6.5 8.8 (56)
GOALS
Sydney: Privitelli, Lochland, C.Hamilton, Skinner
St Kilda: Shierlaw 4, Xenos 2, Stevens, Matin
BEST
Sydney: Ham, Eastman, Tarrant, Steane
St Kilda: White, Shierlaw, McDonald, Patrikios, McKinnon
INJURIES
Sydney: Ham (knee)
St Kilda: Nil
