CARLTON coach Matthew Buck joked he was “really happy” with the first true test of the smart ball technology, with a score assist aiding in getting his side home by one point against Gold Coast yesterday.

In one of the thrilling finishes of the season so far, Carlton’s Maddy Guerin snapped a ball with 90 seconds on the clock which went all the way to the line before being touched by a Gold Coast defender. While the goal umpire seemed to lean towards awarding the behind – which would have made it a three-point deficit – the field umpire discussed before calling in the score review.

Unlike in the men’s competition where fans can see the review in real time, the information sent through the score review is determined from the ball’s smart technology chip rather than cameras. After a brief break, word filtered back and the umpire gave the all-clear to award the goal and hand Carlton at two-point lead.

“I think the technology’s great to have here so you get those decisions 100 per cent correct so yeah it was used and fortunately we were on the right side of it on this occasion, so really happy with the technology I guess,” Buck said.

In an incredible final two minutes, Gold Coast almost snatched the win back by going end-to-end in the last 45 seconds and forcing a couple of forward stoppages. Carlton flooded the attacking 50, but somehow Charlie Rowbottom found space to handball to Lucy Single who snapped around her body with 20 seconds on the clock.

The curling ball looked to have done enough but just went the wrong side of the post, resulting in one behind and from the kick out, ruck Jess Good clunked a vital contested mark to kill the last few seconds of the match and seal a famous one-point victory, 5.9 (39) to 5.8 (38).

Buck said his side was fantastic at holding its never and continuing to attack even late in the contest with the pressure high.

“I mean we learnt some lessons last week and spent a lot of time unpacking on what’s important to us and what we need to focus on,” he said. “Today was a lot about us and we’ll just go and play brave and try and be as attacking as we can be with the ball, and I thought we saw that late. There was a bit of heart in your mouth stuff, but we managed to execute late and get over the line which was good.”

The Carlton coach praised opposition midfielder Rowbottom who was ridiculous in the loss, racking up 35 disposals, 10 marks, 10 tackles and seven clearances to be easily best afield. However he was equally pleased with the likes of Abbie McKay (24 disposals, five clearances), Keeley Sherar (19 disposals, five clearances and Good (15 disposals, 13 hitouts and six clearances) who were able to have a net win in the area with a plus-five in clearances (27-22).

Along with the clearance advantage, Carlton also won contested possessions by 18 (121-103) and laid 17 tackles inside 50 to Gold Coast’s nine.

“I thought our contest was really strong today and I think the girls at Gold Coast are a great contested side,” Buck said. “I mean Charlie Rowbottom’s a star of the competition and I thought our midfield really stood up around the contest part of the game and our clearance was strong as well. Overall really happy with the result, but the shift in how we played last week to this week and the growth we had as well.”

The match was described as a see-sawing one, with Carlton kicking the first two goals, and then Gold Coast kicking four of the next five to lead midway through the second term at Great Barrier Reef Arena in Mackay. A stalemate took place from there, with the only other Suns goal coming six minutes into the fourth term to go five points up, before Guerin’s match-winner in the final 90 seconds.

“We try not to ride the momentum of the game too much, we want to execute our style and keep playing the way that’s important to us,” Buck said. “We knew Gold Coast were a quality side so they’re going to have moments in the game where they’re going to get on top, and we just need to make sure we take ours. I thought we held pretty strong with that, and they managed to not go into their shells and executed well.”

The loss marked Gold Coast’s second on the trot to start the 2024 AFLW season, but coach Cam Joyce said it was a pleasing response, though still not enough to come away with the four points.

“I think in terms of the response we were looking for from last week, obviously then to go into this week, I think we did a fair bit right,” he said. “We probably gave ourselves an opportunity to win the game, but clearly we didn’t. There’s a couple of things around just a little bit of detail that we need to makes sure that keep at and at and keep chasing, to be able to put ourselves in a position where we win those games.”

As for what cost his side in the end, Joyce said it was early opportunities in the final quarter where the Suns were only able to add one more goal to their score.

“I don’t know exactly the number but we probably would have had five or six inside 50s,” Joyce said. “We just weren’t able to put the score on the board. Defensively off the back of the last Carlton goal we set up behind the ball and obviously had a spare back and we were up and obviously just unlucky that it carried through in terms of that part.

“We felt we did a fair bit right, but the reality is there’s still a little bit of detail we need to chase.”

Gold Coast will chase its first win next Sunday up in the nation’s capital against the Giants at Manuka Oval, while Carlton has the six-day turnaround to return home and face the Cats who narrowly survived going 0-2 in the season with a heart-stopping draw against North Melbourne yesterday.