‘You can go back to the place but not the time’

The AFLW season two opener

The Dennis Cometti quote in the title has stuck with me ever since I read it in this wonderful piece about the commentator.

It popped into my head on Friday night as I sat in the stands at Princes Park.

Almost a year on from that magical night in 2017, the scene was almost identical; same venue, same teams, same opening to the season.

I still felt nervously excited all day and I was still monumentally anxious as I made my way to Carlton North, waiting for delayed trains while people shared videos and photos of thousands waiting to get into the ground hours before the bounce.

I was just as relieved to have made it into the stadium and was early enough to get a seat in the shade this time around.

The teams came out to rapturous applause and the songs were sung with gusto, Carlton’s slightly louder than Collingwood’s.

The ball was thrown up and this time the crowd’s commentary didn’t sound as surprised when the players went in hard.

Jasmine Garner continued her 100% record of kicking the first goal of the season.

Kate Shierlaw forced the crowd to change their groans of disappointment to bewildered cheering as her kick bent back and through the big sticks after looking like it was going to miss for all money.

I objectively knew that the night would look and feel and be different to the first Friday in February last year. And I won’t lie, I felt sad that it didn’t feel the same as last season.

There wasn’t the overwhelming tsunami of emotions. All the goals weren’t cheered by everyone. The reactions to the goals weren’t as big. My goosebumps were sporadic rather than constant.

You can go back to the place but not the time.

But there was so much that made this night enjoyable in a completely different way. I got to feel things I simply couldn’t in 2017.

I felt relieved that almost 20,000 people came back for season two but wondered what the lack of marketing had done to that figure.

This time the players and the ground weren’t completely new to me. I was welcomed back and felt comfortable and reassured by the familiarity of the whole event.

I was able to shake my head in bemusement at poor decisions and it didn’t feel like I was shitting on the very fabric and history of every woman who had ever played sport ever.

I could think that the second half was boring and it didn’t mean that the AFLW bubble had burst. Far from it actually.

The bubble is strengthening, becoming tougher and less fragile, transforming into something durable that will stand the test of time.

And there was plenty to come out of the game itself — positive and negative.

From the ridiculously exciting Chloe Molloy and debate about whether she should be kept down back or moved up forward where she was excellent during the 2017 TAC Cup and the VFLW season for Diamond Creek.

To Carlton’s two key recruits — Nicola Stevens and Tayla Harris — both having good games and showing why the Blues did everything they could to get them to the club.

Then there was Sarah D’Arcy’s nasty kick on Sarah Hosking and talk about what kind of punishment she will cop.

We can start to think about how this game is going to sit among the other games to be played this round and get our first complete picture of who’s looking good and who isn’t for 2018.

We have our first examples of the new last touch out of bounds rule in the season proper and will no doubt discuss what kind of effect, if any, this has on games.

This time around, it feels as though the footy is the top priority. The weight of history is no longer all consuming.

Footy’s not beginning, it’s back.