Kangaroos champion Emma Kearney was chaired from Arden St oval on her teammates’ shoulders after her 100th game, but the milestone game did not pan out quite as she had hoped.

The result was a commanding win to the Kangaroos over Sydney, further evidence that the loss to Hawthorn a fortnight go was not a sign of serious decline for the dual reigning premiers. But Kearney, one of the AFLW’s greatest players and the heartbeat of North women, left the field during the last quarter after clutching her left hamstring.

Kearney was chasing the ball towards the boundary and pulled up quickly, clutching her leg. She limped off the field accompanied by a trainer.

The 37-year-old former captain did not return to the field and acknowledged afterwards she was nearing the end of her career, although she was hopeful of returning before the end of the season.

“I’ll have to get this scanned first and go from there,” the triple premiership player said after the Roos dominated Sydney to win by 55 points.

There is only a month left of the AFLW home-and-away season followed by finals.

Kearney had hardly missed any football until the past few years but has suffered from soft tissue injuries recently.

She was brought to tears earlier in the day, during her 100-game milestone presentation, embracing her teammates and family.

“It would have been nice to finish on the field, but injuries are a part of footy, and I’ve had my fair share in the back end of my career,” Kearney said.

“We’ve got such a good high-performance team, medical staff… it’s not new to me, unfortunately, but at least I’ve got the experience to know how to deal with hamstrings.”

There was terrible injury news for the Swans, too, when in-form ruck Ally Morphett left the field in tears after injuring her right knee.

Her knee was put in a brace, and she will have scans to determine the seriousness of the injury.

For the Roos, captain Jasmine Garner had a game-high 31 disposals and 10 clearances, while the hard running Tess Craven gathered 17 disposals and two goals.