Collingwood’s Stacey Livingstone and Carlton’s Tayla Harris. Expect sparks to fly between them again. Photo: GETTY IMAGES

Whatever you want to compare the pandemic-caused, premature ending of the 2020 AFLW season to — a TV network abruptly cancelling a smart, ground-breaking show; an author getting writer’s block before finishing an epic novel; or a great orator suddenly developing laryngitis before ending a speech — it left players and fans heartbroken and ravenously hungry.

“Unfinished business” is now the prevailing, league-wide catchphrase.

Four clubs — a fiery Fremantle, no prisoner-taking North Melbourne, courageous Carlton, and miraculous Melbourne — made the strongest case for rightfully reigning as queens. Greater Western Sydney and Collingwood, each of whom were 25 and 90 seconds respectively away from advancing to preliminary finals, will soon also have their say.

So what’s new in AFLW this year?

The two-year conferences experiment is out. A single ladder is in. After shouting punters admission to matches, this year the fans will have to pay their way into AFLW contests.

Yet still, on the opening day of the new season, the COVID-19 spectre again looms, with the league forced to reconfigure the first two rounds, the potential of more state border closures giving the 2021 campaign an air of unpredictability.

But isn’t unpredictability what makes footy so irresistible? So bring on the siren. Let the game begin. And please, footy gods, don’t let this season end like the last one.

CARLTON v COLLINGWOOD (Thursday, 7.15 pm, Ikon Park)
This is the round’s closest thing to a grudge match. Carlton desperately wishes it had last year’s contest back. The Blues gifted the Pies the opening goal within the first minute of play after a 50-metre penalty, then quickly fell into a three-goal hole on the way to a 15-point loss. The Pies boast an AFLW-leading five All-Australians, including midfielders Jamie Lambert (AFLW’s leading ball-winner), Brittany Bonnici, Sharni Layton, Brianna Davey and Stacey Livingstone. The fiercest battle in last year’s match, though, took place between Livingstone and Blues’ forward Tayla Harris. Livingstone put Harris in a vice-like grip, limiting her to just two marks and one goal, then threw shade at her during a live TV post-match interview, telling viewers if a defender could beat Harris in the air, “she’s useless.” Harris and small forward Georgia Gee, who lit up Brisbane with three semi-final goals, are two of the Blues’ most exciting players. Expect sparks to fly again.
GILTIPS: Carlton

ST KILDA v WESTERN BULLDOGS (Friday, 7:10 pm, RSEA Park)
The Bulldogs were probably the club most eager to put 2020 behind them. After winning their first match, they plummeted down the ladder, losing all five of their remaining games. Only the first-year side West Coast kept them from finishing at the bottom of the Conference B ladder. St Kilda didn’t fare much better, though its shock win over Collingwood in round 6 meant the club finished on a high note.
GILTIPS: Western Bulldogs

GOLD COAST v MELBOURNE (Saturday, 2.10 pm, Metricon Stadium)
Melbourne was riding the adrenaline rush of a thrilling semi-final win just as the AFLW season was cancelled. It didn’t get more exciting than Lily Mithen’s goal against Greater Western Sydney with just 25 seconds left, that magically turned a three-point deficit into a three-point win and catapulted the Dees into what would have been a preliminary final against unbeaten Fremantle. Melbourne stalwart and captain Daisy Pearce leads her squad against a Gold Coast unit that Fremantle humiliated in a 70-point, semi-final thrashing. Both sides will be firing and feeling they have something to prove.
GILTIPS: Melbourne

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WEST COAST v ADELAIDE (Saturday, 2.10 pm, Mineral Resources Park)
For the Eagles to fly up the ladder in their second season, they’ll have to dramatically improve their anaemic attack, which saw them chalk up a microscopic percentage of just 32.1. Consider this: Fremantle scored 80 points in its semi-final win over Gold Coast — West Coast scored 85 for the entire season. Is ex-Bulldog Aisling McCarthy part of the Eagles’ solution? The Irishwoman recently torched the rival Dockers in a pre-season match for three first quarter goals. The Crows, the AFLW’s inaugural and third-year premiers, will be gunning for greater heights after a disappointing 2020. They’ll fly with Anne Hatchard (whose average of 25.3 possessions led the comp last year), Ebony Marinoff, Chelsea Randall, and the perennial star, Erin Phillips.
GILTIPS: Adelaide

GEELONG v NORTH MELBOURNE (Sunday, January 31, 12:10 pm, GMHBA Stadium)
Only a two-point opening round loss to Melbourne prevented North – arguably every bit the juggernaut Fremantle is – from joining the Dockers last year as the league’s only undefeated side. North recorded a league-best percentage of 227.2, 63 points higher than the nearest competitor – you guessed it – Melbourne. The Roos possess the comp’s strongest attack (averaging 51.5 points per game last season) and are star-studded, with four All-Australians: Captain Emma Kearney, Ash Riddell, Jenna Bruton, and Jasmine Garner. Geelong has had two inconsistent seasons and with the league’s fourth-lowest percentage (80.8), the Cats have struggled to score.
GILTIPS: North Melbourne

RICHMOND v BRISBANE (Sunday, January 31, 2.10 pm, Swinburne Centre)
The Lions ended 2020 licking their wounds after AFLW had heard their mighty roar in their first two seasons, with two valiant grand final appearances. While the Lions made finals last year, they defeated only one other finalist in GWS on the way, while drawing with another, Gold Coast. Carlton dismissed the Lions on their home ground in a 29-point semi-final win. Meanwhile, wooden spooner Richmond is desperately seeking to open its account after going winless last year in its inaugural AFLW season.
GILTIPS: Richmond

FREMANTLE v GWS (Sunday, January 31, 1.10 pm, Fremantle Oval)
This will be one of the highlights of the round, with two 2020 finals sides doing battle. Undefeated Freo ended the year with a semi-final demolition of Gold Coast, scoring a single-match record 80 points. To say the Dockers, starved of a premiership for 26 seasons, are motivated would be an understatement. They feature four All-Australians – Gemma Houghton, Sabreena Duffy, Ebony Antonio, and Kiara Bowers – and will have their vocal home crowd behind them. Elle Bennetts and Alyce Parker lead the Giants, who were a mere 25 seconds away from a semi-final victory last season before Melbourne broke their hearts with a late goal.
GILTIPS: Fremantle