Melbourne’s Tayla Harris will be fired up to play against her old team, Carlton. Photo: AFL MEDIA

In what seems like the blink of an eye, AFLW Season 7 — the second campaign of the calendar year — will be halfway complete after this round, with the all-important eight firming up.

The Western Bulldogs face a stern test playing a “home” match, away from their Whitten Oval kennel, against a North Melbourne outfit finding itself in unfamiliar territory, one rung below the eight.

Expansion club Essendon, sixth on the ladder, has come up painstakingly short in thrillers the last two rounds and has a big challenge, taking on third-place Collingwood on the road. There’s a Western Derby, too, with a resurgent West Coast keen to topple its arch-rival Fremantle, a flag contender the last four seasons, now desperately seeking its first win.

And in the Sydney-Hawthorn match, which pits two winless expansion sides against each other, something’s got to give, so one club can at last claim victory — unless of course they draw, which Carlton has done with its last two opponents, bizarrely making league history.

WEST COAST v FREMANTLE (Mineral Resources Park, Thursday 3.10pm local time)
Mathematics is not on the Dockers’ side — three losses and a draw from four matches, with six left in the season, gives the purple haze only a slim chance of making finals. But with local bragging rights on the line in the Western Derby, Fremantle should fire. Irishwoman Aine Tighe is developing into the tall target in the forward line the Dockers need, with Gemma Houghton having departed for Port Adelaide in the off-season and high-flyer Roxy Roux struggling with injury and form. Tighe’s teammate, small forward Megan Kaufmann also has shown flashes of brilliance. For the Eagles, Emma Swanson has set a great example as captain, recapturing her best form and more importantly, helping her charges rebound last week from a disastrous home loss. Club pride goes a long way and for Fremantle it will be the one in which it aggressively declares, “enough is enough.”
GIL TIPS: FREMANTLE

GEELONG V ST KILDA, (GMHBA Stadium, Thursday 5.10pm local time)
The loud thud you’ve heard outside your window the last two weeks? That would be the Saints plummeting from the heights of starting the season 2-0 against expansion sides, then getting humbled the next two by established ones. St Kilda is seventh on the ladder, just percentage points ahead of Richmond, North Melbourne, and its opponent this round, the Cats. Geelong have allowed a league-low 55 points, which doesn’t bode well for the typically low-scoring Saints. Don’t let St Kilda’s 167 points fool you — the lion’s share of those points came from beat-ups of newbie teams. Geelong’s Georgie Prespakis last week played the best match of her fledgling AFLW career, garnering a career-high 32 possessions and with her clearance work, the Cats’ forward line should get plenty of opportunities. The questions will be whether they can cash those in and if so, how often — it may not have to be much to secure a win.
GIL TIPS: GEELONG

WESTERN BULLDOGS v NORTH MELBOURNE (Swinburne Centre, Friday 12.40pm local time)
What a statement it would be if the Dogs can knock off the Roos. It would make the Dogs 5-0 and be a massive step, depending on other results, toward getting a top-four spot at season’s end. But do they have the cattle to match North Melbourne? Even with pillars Kirsty Lamb and Ellie Blackburn holding up the so far steel spine, no. The Roos have one of the competition’s strongest engine rooms and backlines and boast serious ball-winners, as last week, they had four players — Ash Riddell, Jasmine Garner, Emma Kearney, and Jenna Bruton — all with at least 20 possessions. Tahlia Randall has been stellar up forward for North Melbourne and an exciting ruck battle looms, with the Roos’ Emma King squaring off against the Dogs’ Celine Moody. But North is likely to make a strong statement here and stave off an upset.
GIL TIPS: NORTH MELBOURNE

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COLLINGWOOD V ESSENDON (AIA Centre, Friday 3.10pm local time)
The Bombers have had two bites of the proverbial cherry the last two rounds, but instead of tasting the sweet fruit of victory, they got stuck with the pit. Not this week. This round, the Bombers will claim their first big scalp. The Magpies managed just two major scores last round and their loss to the inaccurate Crows was a slow death by a thousand cuts. Essendon is coming off two intense weeks of mounting grandstand finishes that just fell short. Expect Essendon’s Maddy Prespakis, Steph Cain and Bonnie Toogood to be in ambush mode on Collingwood’s home deck. It doesn’t help the Pies’ chances that goalkicker Aishling Sheridan will miss the next four weeks because of a knee injury. Back in a highly motivated Essendon side for the victory.
GIL TIPS: ESSENDON

SYDNEY v HAWTHORN, (Swinburne Centre, Friday 5:10pm local time)
Thankfully for the Swans, young gun Montana Ham is back, but unfortunately, recruit Aliesha Newman is out one week with an ankle injury. Sydney was obliterated last week by 66 points at the hands of a collectively experienced, first-year Port Adelaide side. It’s hard to see the result being any different here, given Hawthorn’s on-field wise heads, and “hosting” Sydney in what technically is a road game. The Hawks will take the Swans to school — Swans’ players may not like the woodshed, but they’ll likely learn valuable lessons.
GIL TIPS: HAWTHORN

CARLTON V MELBOURNE (Ikon Park, Friday 7.30pm local time)
The Dees ran into a buzzsaw last round, overrun in the second half by ladder-leaders Brisbane, while Carlton showed resilience in fighting back from an 18-point deficit to draw with Fremantle. Melbourne will be angry and Carlton will be banged up, as two of its bright lights won’t suit up — forward Phoebe McWilliams is out for year with fractured foot and Darcy Vescio is out one game with a fractured finger. The Dees have too many weapons for Carlton, including spearhead Tayla Harris, who’s scheduled to return from suspension, and who will be fired up to play against her old team.
GIL TIPS: MELBOURNE

RICHMOND V BRISBANE, (Victoria Park, Saturday 11.10pm local time)
The Tigers will be the next team taking on a ferocious Lions’ squad which has developed a penchant for pummelling opponents. The Tigers’ Katie Brennan is a test this week with a foot injury, but even if she takes the field, Brisbane has been playing heads and shoulders above anyone else in the competition. Jess Wardlaw, Courtney Hodder, and Greta Bodey all have been in red-hot form and it would be to no one’s surprise if that continues.
GIL TIPS: BRISBANE

GOLD COAST V PORT ADELAIDE (Bond University, Sunday 1.10 pm local time)
Let’s face it. Port’s romp last week over Sydney really was a glorified training run. The Suns — who last week thumped St Kilda — are highly unlikely to let that happen against an expansion club. Gold Coast’s Charlie Rowbottom is showing very strong signs of developing on-field dominance with her ball-winning, while Port Adelaide’s Hannah Ewings and Abbey Dorwig last week turned into tackling machines. But the combination of their in-form play and being at home should get the Suns over the line.
GIL TIPS: GOLD COAST

ADELAIDE v GWS (Wigan Oval, Sunday 3.10pm local time)
This is very likely the week in which the real Crows emerge and silence the opposition. Adelaide has done just enough in four weeks to win matches, but without the characteristic conviction it so often did last season. GWS’ attack last round was practically non-existent, made worse by the opposition holding Cora Staunton scoreless. Adelaide bats far too deep and GWS just can’t score often enough to keep pace. This might end up being the round’s biggest blowout.
GIL TIPS: ADELAIDE