The red, white and black are back in the AFLW action, kicking off its season this Sunday against North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos at Blundstone Arena.

Round 1

North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos v St Kilda
Sunday 3 September
1:05pm AEST, Blundstone Arena
Broadcast live on Channel 7, Fox Footy, Kayo and the AFL Official Live App

Entry to Sunday's match against North Melbourne will be FREE and non-ticketed for all fans!

Tickets to our remaining games of the season can be viewed in our AFLW Ticketing Hub.

Find out more about where to park, public transport services and more for Blundstone Arena here.

St Kilda will introduce eight new players to the line-up on Sunday afternoon, headlined by All-Australians Jesse Wardlaw and Jaimee Lambert, Saints leaders Steph Chiocci and Natalie Plane, the experienced Serene Watson, Grace Kelly and Maddie Boyd along with debutant Beth Pinchin.

Follow St Kilda's official social media channels for all the latest news and behind-the-scenes action on game day.

Join the conversation and show your support through Instagram, Facebook and X by using the official hashtags #SaintsFooty and #AFLWNorthSaints.

Visit the official Saints Match Centre for live in-game stats, highlights, news and other updates.

St Kilda's mission to start its 2023 AFLW campaign on a winning note fell short at Blundstone Arena, with a Jasmine Garner-inspired North Melbourne bounding away to a comfortable 40-point win.

The Kangaroos scored the first 37 points of the game and kept the Saints scoreless in the first half on their way to recording the 8.8 (56) to 2.4 (16) victory.

The Saints came out snarling after half-time, but inaccurate kicking meant they only outscored North by nine points to trail by 27 going into the final quarter.

North punished them for their profligacy with the Kangaroos kicking the first three goals of the final quarter.

Five-time All-Australian Garner won the first clearance of the game and within 20 seconds booted a fine goal on the run from 45m.

SAINTS MATCH CENTRE: View all news, stats and videos from Round 1

Garner produced a complete midfielder's game notching an equal game-high 29 possessions as well as game-highs in clearances (11) and metres gained (473m).

Ash Riddell also chalked up 29 touches while Emma Kearney (20) and Mia King (21) also did plenty of good work.

North's Emma King and Tahlia Randell both kicked two goals, though the latter managed just two points from her first three shots.

The amount of defensive work Saints did was highlighted by the fact they had the game's top two tacklers in Nicola Xenos with 11 and Hannah Priest, 10.

North was ahead 21-0 at quarter-time and 36-0 at halftime, as the Saints struggled to fashion scoring opportunities.

The Saints finally got on the board six minutes into the third quarter, when Hannah Stuart converted a set shot after being awarded a free kick.

They had the next four shots as well, but missed the opportunity to put more scoreboard pressure on as all of them produced a behind and North regained the ascendancy in the fourth quarter.

NORTH MELBOURNE  3.3  5.6  5.7  8.8 (56)
ST KILDA  0.0  0.0  1.4  2.4 (16)

GOALS
North Melbourne: King 2, Randall 2, Garner, O'Loughlin, Shierlaw, Tripodi
St Kilda: Patrikios, Stuart

BEST
North Melbourne: Garner, Riddell, Shierlaw, King, Kearney, Smith
St Kilda: Xenos, Priest, Patrikios, Stuart, Vesely

INJURIES
North Melbourne: Nil
St Kilda: Nil

Crowd: 2,454 at Blundstone Arena