AFLW coach Peta Searle has praised St Kilda’s first hit-out as a team, with several young guns starring in the inaugural outing. 

The Saints faced a full-strength Carlton line-up on Saturday morning at Ikon Park, playing out five 15-minute blocks to go down by a mere 10 points. 

St Kilda’s young brigade was out in full force across the morning session, 18-year-old Tarni White a clear standout from the pack. 

The Coorparoo recruit’s precision across half-back and courage was unquestionable, and despite being upended in a seemingly sickening collision, bounced back up to get involved in the next passage of play. 

White recently recovered from a serious ACL injury, but you wouldn’t have known if her commitment to the contest was anything to go by. 

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Youngsters Georgia Patrikios and Liv Vesely showed glimpses of their future talent with lively dashes through congestion, sparking some of the Saints’ movement through the middle.  

The Saints showed plenty of spring when they went on the attack, gelling together particularly well in their transitions forward.  

Co-captain Kate Shierlaw and Caitlin Greiser benefitted on the scoreboard as a result. 

Poppy Kelly also held her own in the ruck, operating in tandem with newly anointed co-captain, Rhiannon Watt. 

Searle was happy with how her side held themselves against quality opposition. 

“I reckon if this is our first game together, it’s a good foundation for us to grow,” Searle told saints.com.au. 

“There was certainly enough of our ball movement to get excited about and I think when we play our way offensively, we’re going to be pretty hard to defend.” 

Team defence will be an area the girls will need to address moving forward, but Searle praised the defensive efforts of Hannah Priest and Clara Fitzpatrick on Carlton powerhouses Darcy Vescio and Tayla Harris. 

All Australian forward Kate McCarthy also impressed, utilising her voice and bursts of speed in several of the Saints’ forays forward. 

“It’s never going to be an individual thing for us,” Searle said. 

“But what we saw today shows we’re a pretty even team and it’s going to make selection difficult in the coming weeks.”

While there are areas of the game to tidy up in the short and long-term, Searle was particularly pleased with the group’s cohesion, who have only been together for just over five weeks.  

“There were lots of combinations that clicked really well,” Searle said. 

I think the important thing with our girls is that we’re coaching them to play to your strengths, but they’ve also got to play to each other’s strengths.

- Peta Searle

The shared captaincy model between Watt, Shierlaw and Cat Phillips backs up Searle’s philosophy, with the trio an integral part in strengthening the group’s unity. 

READ: The inner workings of our trio of skippers

“Their ability to connect in that level is really impressive,” Searle said. 

“You’ve got to know who can do what, and we’ve created a game-plan that enables that, so I thought they did that really well. 

“We’re quite a unique bunch of girls here, so I think our leadership is perfect for where we’re at.  

“There’s not a lot of razz-and-dazz and all that, but there’s real honesty, real care and there’s a real determination to set the standards and that’s what they bring.” 

The Saints will head up north to face Gold Coast in another scratch match next week, before turning their attention to the landmark opening round of the 2020 AFLW Season against the Western Bulldogs at RSEA Park.