Collingwood have opened the AFLW season with a convincing 18-point win over rivals Carlton under lights at Ikon Park.
The Blues, who endured a difficult off-season after losing superstar Madison Prespakis and Georgia Gee to Essendon, stuck with the more-fancied Magpies in the first quarter.
But Collingwood's stars came to the fore after quarter-time, grinding the Blues into submission to win 5.6 (36) to 3.0 (18) in front of 4128 fans on Thursday night.
The Magpies suffered a scare early in the last quarter when star Jaimee Lambert went down clutching her left ankle.
Lambert initially appeared devastated and in significant pain but she was able to jog off the ground in her 50th AFLW game.
The 29-year-old came back on the ground only a few minutes later, much to the relief of Magpies coach Steve Symonds.
Collingwood are already without superstar co-captain Bri Davey, who injured her knee in the Magpies' opening game of last season.
"We make no bones that we've got two of the best midfielders (Davey and Britt Bonnici) out of our team so we've made sure to have a bit more midfield depth," Symonds said.
"One of our secrets is going to be having good depth through there, we're not going to rely on one or two players like we have in the past."
Blues youngster Daisy Walker was assessed for concussion after being on the end of a fierce tackle from Collingwood debutant Imogen Evans.
Walker appeared to hit the ground during the tackle and Evans is sure to face scrutiny from the match review officer.
Carlton were served best by Mimi Hill, who looks set to take over from Prespakis as the Blues' most prolific ball-winner.
Despite playing the game out with a huge bandage on her left thigh, Hill collected 26 disposals to be Carlton's best.
"We weren't the team we should have been tonight for many and varying reasons," Blues coach Daniel Harford said.
"It's a disappointing outcome to start like this when I'm sure that we're much better than that, so we'll keep working."
All-Australian defender Ruby Schleicher made an immediate impact in her new role in the midfield, picking up 20 possessions for Collingwood.
The Magpies have five individual goal-kickers, with Jordan Membrey making a successful comeback from an ACL injury by slotting Collingwood's first of the game.
Collingwood will host expansion team the Sydney Swans in round two, while the Blues will take on another newcomer, Essendon, on September 4.
