Melbourne coach Mark Stinear insists his improved side won’t be daunted by the task as they mount their charge in a stacked AFLW conference.
The Demons outclassed Brisbane in a 39-point thumping on Sunday to move to third in conference B, behind the unbeaten Fremantle and North Melbourne after three rounds.
The newly-installed Kangaroos boast a 250.8 percentage to lead the league ahead of their clash with the Demons next Sunday.
Adelaide and Western Bulldogs also hold 2-1 records but find themselves in the bottom two positions of conference A.
In contrast Carlton (1-2) top conference B with a paltry 86.4 percentage, with Geelong (1-2) jumping ahead of Brisbane (1-2) into second despite their loss to Adelaide on Sunday afternoon.
Demons coach Stinear was thrilled to see his side kick away in a five-goal second quarter in front of 4,227 fans at Hickey Park in Brisbane’s north on Sunday.
And he said that kind of footy, against a side that has made both previous AFLW grand finals, would get them where they needed in 2019.
“It’s a comp where you just have to keep winning,” he said.
“You can’t worry what others are doing and try and predict; our destiny’s in our hands and if we keep playing like that we’ll get the reward we deserve.”
The Dockers continued their unbeaten start to the season with a convincing 7.9 (51) to 2.6 (18) victory over winless Collingwood on Saturday.
Like Stinear, Fremantle coach Trent Cooper is confident but wary of the road ahead.
“We do (feel like a contender),” he said.
“We haven’t played North Melbourne, Western Bulldogs or Adelaide, who I rate really highly.
“We’ve got them to come over three of the next four games, so we’re just happy playing each week and testing ourselves against the best.”
Erin Phillips shone as Adelaide booted their highest AFLW score in a 10.6 (66) to Geelong’s 6.1 (37) at Norwood Oval.
The former WNBA star had eight possessions in the opening term as she ignited the Crows rush, booting two goals in four minutes and three for the match.
Carlton also registered their highest score in AFLW history, prevailing 10.5 (65) to 5.6 (36) against GWS on Saturday, while North Melbourne beat the Bulldogs by 31 points on Friday.
