Ash Riddell says North Melbourne’s historic AFLW grand final triumph on Saturday night meant far more than the Kangaroos lynchpin’s latest individual record. Riddell was one of the standouts for the Kangaroos in their 40-point thrashing of the Brisbane Lions at Ikon Park, as coach Darren Crocker’s side became the first in history to win back-to-back AFLW premierships.
In doing so, North Melbourne completed their perfect season after going 12-0 through the home-and-away campaign and winning three straight finals games to claim the flag. It extended North’s record-breaking winning streak to 27 matches, with their last defeat coming in the 2023 grand final against the Lions.
Kangaroos star Ash Riddell said North Melbourne’s second-straight AFLW premiership meant far more than her individual record in the grand final win over the Brisbane Lions. Pic: Getty
Riddell set new records for most disposals in a match three times during the home-and-away season and wrote her name into the history books again on Saturday night. The dual premiership champion set a new grand final benchmark with 39 touches against the Lions but insisted she had no idea about the record feat after the decider.
“I wouldn’t have a clue. I just cared about getting the win and capping off a good week,” Riddell said. The Kangaroos star credited her coach with keeping the all-conquering team focused and humble throughout their record run. And it emerged afterwards the Crocker had imposed a ban on his players using three words in the lead-up to the decider.
Kangaroos coach imposed grand final ban on players
The coach revealed after standing atop the dais and shouting “back-to-back” that he’d actually forbidden his players from uttering those three words before their shot at history on Saturday night. “A little bit of a joke up on the dais at the end, because we weren’t allowed to mention the words back-to-back,” Crocker said in his post-match press conference.
Crocker said winning his first premiership as coach last year fill him with a huge sense of relief. And even after becoming the league’s first coach to claim consecutive AFLW flags, the 58-year-old admitted he experienced the same emotions on Saturday night.
North Melbourne stars Jasmine Garner and Kim Rennie celebrate with Kangaroos coach Darren Crocker after their AFLW grand final victory over the Brisbane Lions. Pic: Getty
“It’s probably an even greater sense of relief,” he admitted. “You get to that sudden death stage, like we got to last week after being on this enormous streak that we’ve been on, which has been phenomenal.
“The program’s been so good, staying consistent, staying in the present, not looking too far forward, but one little slip up and we may not have made a grand final. And then today, I was just so pleased for the program because I just felt like we got what we actually deserved.
“We have been the best team for the last two years, and it would have been an absolute shame not to actually have won that grand final. But I know football, I’m a realist as well and I know that sometimes things don’t go your way. And you know, we were actually able to put a really strong performance out tonight and just really justify why we are where we are.”
North Melbourne claimed the honour of becoming the first back-to-back premiers in AFLW history. Pic: Getty
Grand final win caps off superb year for North Melbourne
North’s record-breaking victory came after they unsurprisingly dominated the AFLW’s individual awards. Riddell won the league’s best-and-fairest and AFL Coaches Association player of the year. Jasmine Garner was named All-Australian captain and AFL Players Association MVP, while Crocker was the AFLCA senior coach of the year.
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But it wasn’t all smooth sailing, which made their ultimate victory all the more sweet. “We had a lot of struggles this year with injuries and it was probably harder to win it this year than last year,” Riddell said.
“Aside from (Emma) Kearney’s injury last year we sort of went unchanged most of the season. This year we had late changes and there were some real quality players that missed the grand final. We had to dig deep within our squad, which tested us at times, and this one’s pretty special.”
with AAP