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Melbourne hung on late, to inflict Adelaide’s second defeat of the season and second in a row on Saturday night.
More importantly they’ve joined the Crows in equal second place on the ladder and either one can now play Brisbane in the decider.
The wet conditions didn’t eventuate, but the heat and humidity did and surprisingly Melbourne handled it better than Adelaide, despite half the Crows team coming from Darwin. Melbourne overran the Crows in the second half kicking 3.3 to the Crows 2.1.
Paxman and Pearce were outstanding for Melbourne, while Erin Phillips and Chelsea Randall were good for Adelaide, but faded out of the contest.
» Click here to read the full match report
Final score
Adelaide Crows 5.2 (32)
Melbourne Demons 5.4 (34)
AFLW makes its debut in the Top End this evening and unlike many games taken to far flung parts of the country, Territory footy fans will be treated to match of real consequence as Adelaide take on Melbourne with a Grand Final spot on the line.
Join The Roar for a live blog of the match, starting from 6:10pm AEDT.
After narrowly loosing their unbeaten record in an epic contest against Brisbane last week, the Crows head north knowing a return to the winners list will likely secure them a re-match against the Lions in the Grand Final.
They’ll do so for what, in effect, will be a home game. Adelaide feature no less than nine Darwin based players in their squad and are sure to have overwhelming crowd support. A bigger advantage though will be the local knowledge these players provide in a match played at the end of the wet season and likely to be effected by heavy rain.
This gap in experience and the fact Melbourne’s two losses this season, to Brisbane and GWS, have both come in the wet, means they face an uphill battle to keep their outside Grand Final chances alive.
Demon’s Vice Captain Melissa Hickey acknowledged the scale of the challenge when speaking to melbournefc.com.au during the week.
“We’ve had a few different challenges thrown at us, so with the humidity and sweat – it’s going to be tough.
“But [it will be] a great mental challenge. We’re going to have to draw upon our own mental strength” she said.
The Demons have made two changes for the match, with forward Shelley Scott returning from a shoulder injury, while injury replacement player Elise Strachan will make her debut. Sarah Jolly and Jessica Anderson both make way.
Adelaide have also made two changes, with Taylor Thorn and Rachael Killian coming in at the expense of Justine Mules who’s been omitted and Monique Hollicks who has a wedding.
Prediction
Adelaide by 12 points.
Join The Roar for a live blog of the match, starting from 6:10pm AEDT.
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