Adelaide star Anne Hatchard poses one of many problems for the upstart Sydney Swans this weekend. Photo: AFL MEDIA
ADELAIDE (9-2) v SYDNEY (7-4) (Norwood Oval, Saturday 7:15pm local time)
Outside of Crows fans, only real curmudgeons would actively barrack for the Swans’ fairytale rags-to-riches season to end this weekend. But the odds of Sydney upsetting the league’s most successful club are long. Adelaide has a history of responding unmercifully after a loss, and at home, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Matthew Clarke’s team continue that trend in its first meeting with Sydney. Ebony Marinoff and Anne Hatchard were on song in the middle against Brisbane last week, as were forward duo Caitlin Gould and Niamh Kelly, and defender Chelsea Biddell. One could make the case that if not for a couple of undisciplined acts and costly turnovers, the Crows’ narrow loss could’ve actually ended in victory. Meanwhile, the Swans played last week’s elimination final as if it were a seek-and-destroy mission in their belting of the Suns. Chloe Molloy and Lucy McEvoy grabbed the match by the throat early on, hitting the scoreboard, and Laura Gardiner broke a tag and ran roughshod all over the ground, collecting possessions and laying tackles with teammate Sofia Hurley as if they were going out of style. Sydney has held its end up despite losing ruck Ally Morphett to injury, but now must also cope without forward Bec Privitelli, who kicked a goal against Gold Coast, but will miss the remainder of finals with a foot injury. Sydney has been extraordinarily brave and has surprised the footy world, but its proverbial carriage, like Cinderella’s, will undoubtedly turn into a pumpkin, with Adelaide marching on to a preliminary final against North Melbourne.
GIL’S TIP: ADELAIDE
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MELBOURNE (9-2) v GEELONG (7-4) (Ikon Park, Sunday 3:05pm local time)
Back in Round 5 at GMHBA Stadium, the young Cats offered little resistance against a highly seasoned and ferocious Demons side that displayed the ruthlessness of a reigning premier. On that occasion, Melbourne scored at will, bludgeoning Geelong by 49 points. The Cats, which last week thrashed Essendon in an elimination final, would have hoped to have learned many important lessons from the Demons taking them to the woodshed. Finding a way to keep Melbourne’s joint league-leading goalkickers Kate Hore and Eden Zanker quiet, the way North Melbourne’s backline did last week, should be high on the Cats’ to-do list. In the Demons’ victory over the Cats, Hore had 11 score involvements, including a bag of four majors, and Zanker slotted two goals. The pair finished the home-and-away season with 20 majors each. Paxy Paxman and Eliza West also starred in that win, with Paxman kicking two goals from 20 disposals and West tallying 19 disposals and laying 10 tackles. West was unlucky to be dropped last week, but will be pushing hard for a recall this week (teams had not been finalised at the time of publication). For Geelong, Georgie Prespakis, Amy McDonald and Nina Morrison are in red-hot form and represent one of the comp’s best midfield trios, while Aishling Moloney has become a highly-reliable marking target up forward. Unfortunately for the Cats, though, they’ll be without their prolific goalkicker Chloe Scheer who suffered a hairline fracture of her collarbone against the Bombers. Kate Darby, though, is due to return from suspension to the Cats’ line-up to provide support for Erin Hoare in her battle against the Demons’ Lauren Pearce in the ruck. Geelong has had a wonderful season, but Scheer’s absence is huge in a contest against the league’s highest-scoring side. Around the ground, Melbourne’s strength of its spine and its depth are the envy of most clubs, and that will see the Demons to victory and a preliminary final date against Brisbane.
LAST MEETING: Melbourne won by 49 points
GIL’S TIP: MELBOURNE
