The Claremont Women were lucky enough to travel to Darwin last weekend to participate in the Cazaylys Rep Carnival at TIO stadium. We were there to represent WA and take on the NTFL women’s representative team who, in their previous two years, had won convincingly against SANFLW teams including an 80-nil win over Glenelg.

We arrived on Saturday in time to have a short ‘captains run’ to get used to the extreme humidity followed by watching the men's game where South Fremantle went down by a few goals. Safe to say a lot of Grippo was used! On Sunday morning we experienced a saltwater welcome at Darwin Waterfront followed by some traditional indigenous cuisine at the Michael Long Learning and Leadership Centre. This experience drove the theme of the trip as we discussed becoming more connected to the land and sea, more connected to each other as a squad, and using the match to become more connected to our game plan.

The match started fast and intense as we learned firsthand the extent of the impressive NT talent which gave them an 8-point lead at the first break. Despite access to cool rooms the girls decided to stay on the ground and get more accustomed to the conditions. In the second quarter, we were able to start to get our connection as we settled in and kicked back to level including a goal of the year contender from Eva Campo. Matilda Dyke in the ruck showed her ability to cover the ground as an extra midfielder going toe to toe with an ex-AFLW premiership ruck. Adele Arnup also helped lead a strong midfield group to win field position which allowed our team defense to become a challenge for the NT rep team.

In the second half, we were able to show a large and vocal crowd an exciting brand of footy as the game plan we have been working hard on started to come together. Claire Ortlepp was pivotal in a relatively inexperienced defense that had exiting youngster Claudia Wright and 2023 draft prospect Mackenzie Webb display their talents. New recruits Jayme Harken and Taylah Orzel looked like they’ve been in the side for years, filling the holes left by last year's drafted players. Goals came to Charlotte Tompkins x 2 with Andie Payne, Eva Campo, and Jayme Harken kicking one each as Claremont finished 5.3.33 defeating NT 3.4 22

A huge shout out to the Northern Territory Football League and their staff for all the work they put in to bring us up and deliver a tremendous weekend of football. It was an incredibly valuable trip to help us identify any areas to address before our premiership defense begins in March.