AFLW Grand Final: North Melbourne captain Emma Kearney on why Roos belong on the big stage

Emma Kearney didn’t feel like North Melbourne truly “belonged” on the AFLW’s biggest stage in 2023, but this year she has no doubt the Kangaroos are where they deserve to be. The Roos skipper said her teammates were “a lot calmer” than they were on the eve of their 17-point defeat to the Lions last year, and had genuine belief they would enter this clash armed with more firepower after an undefeated season. Coach Darren Crocker allayed any fears over winger Tess Craven’s fitness after she trained away from the main group early in Friday’s captain’s run, claiming she had “trained strongly” and would be fine to play after a knee to the back in a heavy marking contest collision during the preliminary final. Kearney said the Kangaroos had a “different perspective” to 12 months ago as they prepared for a second assault at a maiden AFLW premiership and the club’s first piece of silverware this century. “I think last time, not that I was surprised we made the grand final, but we were riding the wave of this momentum, knocking off Melbourne, and then Adeladie in the prelim by a point,” she said as the rival captains and coaches sat for the pre-game press conference. “This season, I feel like we belong here, just like Brisbane belong here, so I think that confidence is a lot different compared to what it was last year. “In saying that, when that ball is bounced, it’s going to be high pressure, and we know we have to be at our best. We know that we’ve got contributors all across the board.” Crocker said he had not referenced the disappointment of last year once to his players this week, and had not for some time. “We haven’t really spoken about last year at all. We took some (lessons) out of (the game) and we’d be stupid not to … and just drip-fed that throughout our pre-season,” he said. “That’s just more from an education perspective … becoming a better team, so as far as people using the word ‘redemption’ and that type of thing, for us it’s just about getting better. “Throughout this season I think we’ve given ourselves enough evidence to know that we rightfully should be back here on this stage, and we’re in really good shape for what’s to come (Saturday) night.” Kearney said there was no need to draw on the emotion of 2023, and put to bed any doubts of complacency creeping in after a remarkable 13-match unbeaten streak since that loss. “I think if you don’t have enough motivation in a grand final, then you shouldn’t be there,” she said. “We’re not a team that plays on emotion, we play on system. We know that to play at our best, we need to (toe) the line a little bit, but we don’t need to have that in the back of our minds.” The Kangaroos were happy to take confidence from the round 1 thrashing they handed out to the Lions on their home turf, however – their first win over the AFLW powerhouse in the club’s history. “We’d never beaten Brisbane up until that point, so that game gave us a lot of confidence, but we’ve just built upon each game throughout the season, a great belief in our group,” Kearney said. “We’re not so reliant on one or two players like we potentially were in previous years. “We know that Brisbane are an incredible outfit … this is their sixth grand final. We call them the underdogs, but I feel like they turn up with their best footy on grand final day. “We know we need to be at our best to beat them.”