Fremantle star Ebony Antonio was held in comparative check last week in the Dockers’ loss to the Roos. Photo: AFL MEDIA
AFLW matches are finally returning to Western Australia after several weeks’ hiatus, provided this week there aren’t the same pandemic-induced postponements which have affected nearly all previous rounds this season.
Eight clubs are still a realistic chance of earning a top six berth. But barring a miraculous turnaround, at least six are already as good as consigned to the bottom rungs on the ladder, the remainder of their seasons more about pondering what changes need to be made for the future.
Which club will wear the jewel-encrusted tiara, and which one will hold the dreaded wooden spoon, after the dust settles? Action over the next month will tell.
GOLD COAST (2-2) v GEELONG (1-4) (Friday 7.10 pm, Metricon Stadium)
Fresh off two wins on the trot, the Suns last weekend fell to earth, but not before putting a late scare into Melbourne. Geelong is riding high after earning is first win of the season against the Eagles at the Cattery. Of all the developing sides, Gold Coast has improved the most and sits just a half-game outside the top six after going winless last season and finishing on the bottom of the ladder. Losing defender Lauren Ahrens to a hamstring injury is a significant blow, but the Suns have been solid in defence, conceding an average of 35 points per match, while the Cats have averaged just 27. This should be a close affair, and the exploits of two talented, first-year, high draft choices — Gold Coast’s Charlie Rowbottom and Geelong’s Georgie Prespakis — will be on show. The Suns, playing at home, will get the chocolates.
GIL TIPS: Gold Coast
RICHMOND (1-4) v NORTH MELBOURNE (4-1) (Saturday 2.10 pm, Swinburne Centre)
The Roos’ backline bent but didn’t break last round when previously undefeated Fremantle came at them in the final term. In the second half of that victory, after all others were peppering the goals with blanks, Isabella Eddey and Tahlia Randall fired North’s match-winning bullets. After holding the spotlight all season for her ball-winning, North’s Ash Riddell was eclipsed by teammate Jasmine Garner. The Roos’ midfield has a galaxy of stars and an embarrassment of riches among their small forwards. In addition to its own midfield superstar, Mon Conti, Richmond will likely get more midfield minutes this week out of Conti’s foil, the supremely talented Ellie McKenzie, who until last round had been sidelined with a calf injury. But the Tigers, who looked so impressive in their opening round victory over St Kilda, have slumped badly since then, losing four straight matches. Richmond had great difficulty moving the ball into its forward end last round against the Bulldogs and it doesn’t bode well that the Roos have conceded the third-fewest points in the AFLW. After an arm-wrestle last round, the Roos should comfortably win this one.
GIL TIPS: North Melbourne
MELBOURNE (4-1) v GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY (2-2) (Saturday 4.10 pm, Casey Fields)
Aside from the Roos’ Tasmanian fortress, no ground has been harder for visiting sides to win matches at than Casey Fields, where Melbourne has won its last 10 games. Look for the Dees to make it 11, but not without a fight. Until their last match, the Giants had been struggling to get goals out of anyone not named Cora Staunton, their stalwart forward. But then other GWS forwards having to enter COVID-19 isolation forced senior coach Alan McConnell to do some creative magnet moving, shifting defenders Nicola Barr and Louise Stephenson forward. The result? Barr and Stephenson combined for five of the seven GWS goals in a comfortable win. McConnell would be wise to try the same combo again. Melbourne last round got brilliant performances from ruck Lauren Pearce, midfielder Eden Zanker and tall forward goalkicker Tayla Harris. Karen Paxman, the 2021 All-Australian midfielder, had a relatively quiet game, but the Dees are deep enough to compensate on those rare occasions.
GIL TIPS: Melbourne
PLEASE HELP US CONTINUE TO THRIVE BY BECOMING AN OFFICIAL FOOTYOLOGY PATRON. JUST CLICK THIS LINK.
FREMANTLE (5-1) v CARLTON (1-4) (Saturday 6.10 pm, Fremantle Oval)
The fatigued Dockers finally return to port after their long stay in Victoria, where after last round’s loss to North Melbourne, they had played four matches in 16 days. Fremantle has struggled to score in the last two rounds and this week it will again be without 2021 co-best-and-fairest midfielder Kiara Bowers, who’s finishing up a two-match suspension for a hit off the ball. While Fremantle will still sorely miss Bowers’s tackling and contested ball prowess, keen observers could reasonably argue that North’s keeping dangerous winger Ebony Antonio in check last week hurt the Dockers more. Carlton, meanwhile, as its second-worst win-loss record and percentage both attest, has been the model of underachievement and underperformance. Too often, the Blues have self-sabotaged their chances with disorganised structures, skill errors, undisciplined acts, and spectating rather than asserting themselves around the ball. Carlton has also conceded 226 points, the most in the competition. In the last two rounds, unheralded players Keeley Sherar and Mimi Hill have set the right example, winning Rising Star nominations for their efforts, but established stars like Darcy Vescio and Maddie Prespakis must lift to a higher level. Playing on their home deck, the Dockers should come home with a wet sail.
GIL TIPS: Fremantle
ST KILDA (0-4) v BRISBANE (3-1) (Sunday 1.10 pm, Trevor Barker Beach Oval)
A mauling is on the cards here. The Lions have surged since an opening round loss and have endured a match postponement, inconsistent breaks between games, and injury woes affecting key players. They are no strangers to adversity and for the last two seasons, have seemed to thrive on it. St Kilda, which entered the year with its two best players unavailable for the season — one because of injury and the other because of non-compliance with the league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocol — have had a horror season and remain the only club not to notch at least one win. The Saints have averaged just 20 points per match and their percentage is a shocking 42.6. All signs point toward a golden opportunity for the Lions to significantly boost their own percentage, which already stands at 130.1. With Lions’ midfielders Orla O’Dwyer (the league’s leader in metres gained and inside 50s) and Emily Bates (among the league leaders, averaging 22 possessions per match) winning and delivering the ball, goalkickers Dakota Davidson, Greta Bodey and first-year wunderkind Zimmi Farquharson are likely licking their chops in anticipation.
GIL TIPS: Brisbane
WEST COAST (1-4) v COLLINGWOOD (3-2) Sunday 3.10 pm, Mineral Resources Park)
No other club had a happier flight home after its last match than the victorious Eagles, who held on by their talons to narrowly beat the Saints. And while their spirits must be soaring after their first win of the season, Collingwood’s confidence has ample reason to be flagging. Kicking a measly two goals in its last eight quarters tends to do that to a side. The Pies, already coping with not having 2021 co-best-and-fairest Bri Davey after a serious knee injury, have fallen away after starting the season with three straight wins — over bottom dwellers Carlton and St Kilda and developing side Geelong. The Pies’ forward line, once a strength, looks this year to be a liability. Aishling Sheridan has kicked just four goals – an average of less than one per match – while Chloe Molloy and Sabrina Frederick are kicking a combined 2.8 for the year. The Eagles haven’t exactly lit up the scoreboard either with their 57.9 percentage, but are riding inspired performances by experienced heads Emma Swanson and Dana Hooker. This may just be the match in which a developing side, riding the momentum of a win and eager to please its home crowd, may claim a scalp.
GIL TIPS: West Coast
ADELAIDE (5-0) v WESTERN BULLDOGS (1-3) (Sunday 5.10 pm, Norwood Oval)
Adelaide boasts arguably the competition’s best depth, and the Crows have been playing angry the whole season, too. And when they’re at their angriest, their focus is at its most intense. For their opponents, that’s downright dangerous. This week, the Bulldogs are in Adelaide’s crosshairs on the Crows’ home deck. And now that Adelaide has reasserted itself by claiming the ladder’s highest perch, it’s hard to see the Dogs getting much of a sniff. If Ash Woodland isn’t punishing opponents on the scoreboard, Erin Phillips is. If Anne Hatchard isn’t dominating in the middle, winning the ball, Ebony Marinoff is. If All-Australian defender Sarah Allan isn’t saving opposition goals by intercepting, spoiling, tackling, or smothering, Montana McKinnon — one of two Round 5 Rising Star nominees — will, when needed, when she’s not dominating in the ruck. The Dogs’ list, by contrast, is thinner and has been wracked by injuries to key players. Look for the Crows to win big.
GIL TIPS: Adelaide
