‘Different beast’: Roos armed with Power blueprint

One of the very few constants in the AFLW’s nine seasons has been Emma Kearney donning an All-Australian blazer at the end of the campaign.

This year’s representative side will be the first without her, but the veteran North Melbourne skipper is intent on steering the Kangaroos to a breakthrough premiership with two more wins to round out their unbeaten season.

Kearney will return against Port Adelaide at Ikon Park on Saturday after 55 days on the sidelines following the hamstring tear she suffered on a bitterly cold day in Launceston in round 5.

The temperature is expected to peak at a daunting 36C just before the first bounce of the preliminary final, but Kearney said she felt primed to return and have an influence after a “rollercoaster” recovery.

The ultra durable 35-year-old has only ever endured one other significant injury lay-off, in a previous life as a wily medium pacer for the Melbourne Stars when she broke her wrist during a WBBL campaign.

“The hammy is good. I’ve gone through a vigorous rehab … it hasn’t been as smooth as I would’ve liked,” Kearney said after a light captain’s run on Friday.

“It’s been a little bit challenging, just trying to manage not being able to play.

“I’ve taken it as an opportunity to work on my coaching and have opportunities in the coaches’ box, so (it has been) good experience for me.”

Kearney, who is a qualified teacher and will be a highly sought after senior coach when she retires, had been deeply impressed by mentor Darren Crocker after getting to watch him up close on match days.

The former Kangaroos 1996 premiership player has kept his players calm and focused on the present despite the hunger to improve on last year’s grand final loss.

“Sometimes as a player, you can be a little bit reluctant to sit in coaches’ boxes because you’re not sure what the coaches are going to be saying,” Kearney said.

“But one thing I’ve learnt is that Darren (Crocker) is such a cool, calm, collected coach.

“He’s very measured with his approach – even against Adelaide (in the qualifying final) when we didn’t have the game looking like we wanted it – he was really calm at halftime, kept it really positive, and that’s how we were able to change the game.”

Kearney said her persona on the sidelines was far more calm than when she patrolled the Roos’ backline with “white-line fever like no other”.

But star midfielder Ash Riddell said the effect of her returning to the field against the Power would be “indescribable” to her teammates.

“Although she’s had a massive impact when she’s been off the field the last few weeks, her on the field is a different beast,” Riddell said.

“We’re so excited, everyone walks taller with her around off that halfback line.

“We’ve got so much confidence with her coming back into the team, and we know that she won’t miss a beat, either.”

Kearney was effusive in her praise of Lauren Arnell’s Power, who enter the clash with an eight-game winning streak and coming off the biggest final-quarter comeback in league history.

But the Roos were open about their blueprint to combat the finals-friendly brand that helped the Power surge past Richmond and Hawthorn.

“It’s pretty impressive. If you had asked me who I thought would be playing in a prelim at the start of the season … probably Port wasn’t going to be at the top of my list,” Kearney said.

“Their footy stacks up in finals … they are a high-contest side, they surge from stoppage.

“If we can nullify them in (the contested ball), they’ve had a bit of success against us in first quarters, where they have been able to bring their pressure and we haven’t been able to absorb it.

“If we can do that early, we know that (with) our fitness and our run on the outside, we’ll be able to get over the top of them.”