Isabella Grant, the daughter of Bulldogs great Chris Grant, will make her AFLW debut this weekend. Photo: westernbulldogsfc.com.au
Just when you thought it was safe for a round to go unchanged, COVID-19 startlingly springs up like the proverbial jack in the box, throwing a spanner into the footy fixture.
This weekend, West Coast, Brisbane, Richmond, and Collingwood are the affected clubs.
Still, there are two heavyweight bouts on tap: In the undercard, upstart Melbourne (2-0) hosts powerhouse North Melbourne (2-0) on Saturday night, while Sunday arvo’s clash of unbeaten sides Adelaide and Fremantle might be a possible Grand Final preview.
Underachieving, winless squads GWS and Gold Coast catch up in Blacktown, while contender Carlton will try to get out of its own way and get in the win column against a Saints side that last week spent a half trying in vain to get out of their own defensive 50.
The COVID effect has forced Richmond, still looking to get its first win in a full season and a third of play, to have the misfortune of taking on an unbeaten, in-form Collingwood bunch, instead of playing winless West Coast.
The Eagles didn’t fare any better, drawing the ferocious Lions, who last round held the Suns to a league-record low of just two points.
This weekend’s action starts Friday night in Geelong, where the Cats try to mount a four-quarter effort against a determined Dogs side.
GEELONG V WESTERN BULLDOGS Friday, 7.10 pm, GMHBA Stadium
Last round, the Cats started fast but faded, and in the round before, it took them all the way until the middle of the last term to get off the mat. The Dogs, meanwhile, impressed last round with a surprising upset of the Blues. Isabella Grant, daughter of Doggies’ great, Chris, will wear his familiar No. 3 jumper as she debuts this week, alongside Round 2 co-NAB Rising Star nominee, Jess Fitzgerald and star mid Ellie Blackburn. The Doggies look like a team on the rise, while the Cats’ lapses in discipline last week (conceding two opening-term goals from three 50-metre penalties) crippled them. The Cats must bring their A game to be a chance, but they’re still struggling to reach that level. The Doggies’ bark will be better than the Cats’ bite.
GIL TIPS: WESTERN BULLDOGS
GWS v GOLD COAST Saturday 3.10 pm, Blacktown International Sports Park
It’s been a rocky ride so far for the Giants — emotionally frayed by the trauma of the death of one player and what could’ve been a life-changing injury to another. Alyce Parker has soldiered on like a champion, leading the competition averaging 27.5 touches a match and tied for second-best in average clearances per game, with seven. GWS will have to follow Parker’s example and go far harder at the ball this round, after registering a minus 26 in the contested ball-winning count against a mighty Adelaide side. Being at home and playing against Gold Coast, which last round were unfocused while getting thoroughly embarrassed by Brisbane, should be a boon for GWS — if it can kick straight. The Giants managed an anemic return of just 2.3 (15) against the Crows, but even that total would’ve looked insurmountable to Gold Coast, whose measly two behinds against Brisbane last week was the worst in AFLW history. Look for GWS to open its account in a big way on its home ground.
GIL TIPS: GWS
ST KILDA V CARLTON Saturday, 5.10 pm, RSEA Park
No other team should be playing angrier this round than the Blues. Based on the last two seasons, pundits have tipped Carlton as very strong flag contenders, but it has dropped its first two matches this year, each by a straight kick. Inaccuracy in front of goal has cost the Blues, who sport a skinny percentage of 84. Their star, Maddie Prespakis, averaging 21 possessions a match, needs greater support from her teammates, especially in helping her break tags. Opponents have found ways to get under Prespakis’s skin when tagging her, leading her to commit undisciplined acts off the ball. Tayla Harris looked electrifying up forward, taking pack marks and kicking two goals, Elise O’Dea got on the board with a goal and 14 touches, but the Blues have to find a way to get Darcy Vescio more involved, as she had just six possessions. The Saints rarely went forward in the second half of last week’s match against the Roos, so ball movement is an area St Kilda must immediately improve. Carlton couldn’t run late against Western Bulldogs last weekend, so it must improve its fitness. Back the Blues to draw a line in the sand here and win big.
GIL TIPS: CARLTON
MELBOURNE v NORTH MELBOURNE Saturday 7.10 pm, Casey Fields
Hot-starting Melbourne gets a huge test this weekend, hosting a prime-time showdown with the Roos. The Dees have been deadly accurate in front of the sticks so far, so when they get opportunities, they’re taking them. Karen Paxman is an elite talent who for years has imposed herself as a ball-winner and as she demonstrated in Round 1, she has the capacity to turn a match around. Paxman’s Dees’ teammates Tyla Hanks, a prolific possession getter and tackler, was named Round 2 co-winner of the NAB Rising Star nomination, and Alyssa Bannan has been more than handy in front of goal. But do the Dees have the arsenal of weapons to derail the visiting Roos, who scored just 36 points last week at home? It’s a big ask. The Roos can beat opposing sides many different ways. Last week, they choked the life out of the Saints, restricting them to one goal and conceding only three marks inside 50, in part because of Tahlia Randall’s efforts. Emma Kearney has run rampant in the first two rounds, averaging 22 touches a match. North’s midfield bats so deep, five Roos, including Jenna Bruton and Ellie Gavalas are among the league’s top 25 ball-winners. Look for North to get the chocolates in this one, but be strongly challenged by the Dees.
GIL TIPS: North Melbourne
ADELAIDE V FREMANTLE Sunday, 1.10 pm, Norwood Oval
Don’t be too surprised if this ends up being the first of two big battles between these powerhouse sides. While the Freo girls carry a league-best 10-match winning streak, extending back to last season, historically, they’ve had little against the Crows away from Western Australia. The Dockers boast perhaps the league’s best forward line, with All-Australians Gemma Houghton and Sabreena Duffy, but will their midfielders be able to deliver them and their teammates a good share of the ball? The relentless Kiara Bowers will lead the charge. But the midfield is Adelaide’s strength. Legend Erin Phillips is running through the middle as if she hasn’t missed a beat from 2019, her last fully healthy season, and Anne Hatchard and Ebony Marinoff have been ball magnets so far. Freo surely can’t go forever unbeaten and the two-time premiership Crows are on their home ground. It should be a slugfest, with each team being tested against their strongest opposition. Adelaide likely will come out on top, but expect a future re-match.
GIL TIPS: ADELAIDE
RICHMOND V COLLINGWOOD Sunday 3.10 pm, Swinburne Centre
Just when it seemed Richmond had a fighting chance to get their first-ever win, playing an injury-depleted West Coast lineup missing midfielder Dana Hooker and forward Niamh Kelly, and ruck Parris Laurie banged-up, instead they’ve drawn Collingwood, the club with perhaps the best midfield in the competition. Monique Conti was in top form last week for the Tigers, scooping up the ball like a vacuum cleaner, but forward Katie Brennan must break her hoodoo in front of goal to the yellow-and-black to be any chance. The Pies’ Britt Bonnici and Breanna Davey have made their engine room too hot for opposition clubs to handle, both averaging more than 20 possessions a game. Collingwood All-Australian defender Stacey Livingstone, who has put the clamps down on forward threats, likely goes to Tigers’ forward Sabrina Frederick. Richmond return to their home deck for the first time since Round 1, where the winds played havoc on their goal-kicking. Collingwood are simply going too well for the Tigers, who would do well to be competitive.
GIL TIPS: COLLINGWOOD
BRISBANE V WEST COAST, Monday 4.15 pm, Hickey Park
Until COVID-19’s latest disturbance, the Lions were originally slated for a blockbuster clash against Collingwood that would’ve been a massive challenge. Instead, for the third straight week, a developing side steps into Brisbane’s den. While the Tigers challenged the Lions more than the scoreboard may have shown in the first round, in the second, the Suns resisted as much as a slab of raw meat. Last week’s Q Clash Medal winner Jesse Tawhiao-Wardlaw and Dakota Davidson each kicked bags of four goals, and Greta Bodey added two of her own, as the Lions’ forward line blistered the Suns, while Natalie Grider got plenty of the ball in the midfield. The young Eagles are without the inspirational Dana Hooker and hope two veterans, midfielder Melissa Caulfield and ruck, Parris Laurie will be right to go. Despite those possible additions, and the Eagles acquitting themselves well in the wet last week against premiership contender Fremantle, it’s hard to see them toppling an experienced, likely finals-bound club in red-hot form, far from home.
GIL TIPS: BRISBANE
