It’s true that the broad skillset of the women’s game is improving rapidly, but it is hard to resist the theory that such a highly predictable mat of grass and a warm windless night gave the players the confidence to be better than ever.

The number of first take possessions was impressive.

Hardly a mark was missed and the regularity with which players were prepared to run on with the ball was a hallmark of the game.

It’s a big tick for the City of Launceston and UTAS Stadium but even more so for the players, coaches and support staff who are making giant strides very quickly.

Despite the more open spaces on a bigger ground than many used for top level women’s games the match was intense and gave plenty to a crowd keen to embrace its latest acquisition.

And they came in good numbers – sadly many more than a men’s state league roster game.

The demographic looked worthy of a study – just to see where the latest addition to the AFL product range might end up.

Most noticeably there were plenty of hand-in-hand late teen/early 20-something couples.

Perhaps in some cases a partner seeking approval for her own foray into the sport or even a hint from the other half that this could be an option worth pursuing.

That would be fascinating to know, but even if they are simply potential long-term fans, it’s good for the game.

But there were also many examples of matriarch-led clan groups heading into the home of Tassie footy and with plenty of young fellows in tow.

Couldn’t help but think there is a bit of an empowerment-thing going on. Also good for the game.

The match followed an interesting call earlier in the month from Sports Australia CEO, Kate Palmer for us all to give some solid thought to ending the practice of referring to women’s sport as women’s sport.

Interesting if only because her previous employer, Netball Australia drove the opposite concept pretty hard for a long time to get all range of grants, benefits and telecast times.

But way more so because women starting to play games traditionally only played by men at elite and commercial levels has been the biggest story in town in Australia for the past couple of years.

Palmer says we should stop referring to women footballers since we don’t refer to their male counterparts in the same way.

She was wrong when she threw swimmers and athletes into the same basket. That’s never been the case and swimming and track and field have not had enough credit for being there for women long-term – and clearly still don’t.

But that’s a small matter as perhaps was the extraordinary claim from South Australian politician Frank Pangallo in the national media that the Matildas were the country’s highest ranked elite women’s sporting team in the world – at number six.

In his endeavour to make his argument that the national women’s soccer team deserved better than the current controversy surrounding their coaching arrangements, the former sports commentator overlooked the Diamonds, Opals, Hockeyroos, our Olympic champion rugby 7s team and others.

Pangallo was quick and gracious in acknowledging his error.

But it does indicate that maybe the nation has got a fair way to go in brushing up on just how much our women have achieved in team sports before we start blurring the contrast with the blokes.

Certainly the Matildas get way more lines on the honour boards than do the Socceroos – and to be fair to them when comparing with other women’s codes they are playing against way more other nations that play the game at the highest level.

There’s logic in Palmer’s case but it might be better to spend time increasing female participation first.