Skepper, Hill lead Blues over winless Eagles

James Ross/AAP PHOTOS

Carlton have continued to build momentum in their AFLW rebuild under first-year coach Mathew Buck with a 53-point demolition of bottom side West Coast.

Led by young stars Mimi Hill and Keeley Skepper, the Blues condemned the Eagles to their third-straight loss with a resounding 11.5 (71) to 3.6 (24) victory at Mineral Resources Park on Sunday.

"I couldn't fault the girls in the way they've gone about their preparation and then the way they performed," Buck said.

"When you play for Carlton, you got to play a certain way and we hope we represented Carlton Football Club really strongly today.

"Carlton's an exciting place to be at the moment and I'm glad we could add to it."

The Blues won territory early in their first-ever outing against the Eagles, registering 10 inside 50s to three, nine clearances to six and 12 contested possessions to seven in the first quarter 

Skepper (three goals, 23 disposals) broke through to kick the first goal of the game with a left-footed snap across the body.

Eagles rising star Ella Roberts (one goal, 18 disposals) replied with a clinical finish.

Carlton broke away in the second term with a string of unanswered goals from Erone Fitzpatrick, Darcy Vecsio and Mia Austin.

The Eagles attempted to stem the bleeding but lost defenders Evangeline Gooch (ankle) and Charlotte Thomas (dislocated finger).

Skepper kicked her second goal in the third term for the Blues as the visitors continued to hold sway.

Vescio's second major of the day made them just the second AFLW player to kick 60 goals while Lily Goss kicked her first career goal to put Carlton a comfortable 46 points ahead.

Gooch returned to the fray in the final term.

The Eagles sit on the bottom of the ladder and have now lost the opening three matches in four seasons after entering the competition in 2020.

"It's not a fitness thing. It's a mental thing," Eagles coach Michael Prior said.

"We knew what sort of game we were going to get from Carlton … and we set ourselves for that all week.

"I thought our first quarter, we really delivered on that. So it's there. We can do it. We just need to be able to do it for longer."

The Blues are 2-1 under new coach Buck heading into a big clash next weekend against Richmond (also 2-1).