Round 3 of the 2021 AFL Women’s season is now known, with several blockbuster matches to look forward to as Melbourne, North Melbourne, the Adelaide Crows, Fremantle, the Brisbane Lions and Collingwood look to flex their premiership muscles.

It kicks off with the Geelong Cats welcoming the Western Bulldogs to Kardinia Park, with the Dogs coming off their first win in nearly twelve months while the Cats will look to submit another improved performance after its Round 1 humiliation against the Kangaroos.

In Sydney, the GWS Giants and Gold Coast Suns will look to register their first win after both copping heavy defeats last Sunday, while one of Melbourne or North Melbourne will go 3-0 up when they collide at Casey Fields on Saturday night.

Sunday sees four undefeated teams in action, with the Crows hosting Fremantle in a potential grand final preview while the Pies will look to repeat its successful trip to Brisbane from last year when they head north to face the ladder-leading Brisbane Lions.

And a breakthrough could loom in the final match of the round, whereby Richmond could register its first AFLW win, or the West Coast Eagles could notch up just their second win ever, after defeating the Western Bulldogs in Round 4 last year.

Travel restrictions between Western Australia and Victoria means that both Western Australia sides will play away this weekend, and it is possible they could spend the rest of the season away from their home state.

Here is your preview to Round 3.

Geelong Cats versus Western Bulldogs
The first match of Round 3 sees the Western Bulldogs make their first trip down the highway to face the bottom-placed Geelong Cats at Kardinia Park.

After not kicking its first goal until the death in their Round 1 loss to North Melbourne, the Cats surprised many when debutant Olivia Barber kicked the opening goal just 38 seconds into their clash against Collingwood at Victoria Park last Saturday.

Despite that, and some good service from Amy McDonald who gathered 15 disposals, they would be left to rue some ill-discipline in the first quarter, as well as a poor final quarter, as they crashed to a 29-point defeat, leaving them in 14th place after two rounds.

Things will not get any easier when they welcome the Western Bulldogs to town, the ladies from Footscray on a buzz after edging out Carlton by six points at the Whitten Oval last Friday night.

The Dogs started slowly, and not only did they eventually work their way back into the match, they also had to withstand a barrage of goals from Carlton spearhead Tayla Harris, defending all the way to the death to register a hard-fought six-point win.

Captain Ellie Blackburn led from the front for the Bulldogs, while number two draft pick Jess Fitzgerald won a Rising Star nomination after her impressive performance which included kicking a goal.

A win for the Western Bulldogs would be the first by either their men’s or women’s side at Kardinia Park since 2003, the year the men’s side claimed the wooden spoon (two of their three wins that year were against the Cats).

On the road, the Dogs should claim the points.

Prediction: Western Bulldogs by eight points.

GWS Giants versus Gold Coast Suns
The first match on Saturday threatens to be a mockbuster, with both the GWS Giants and Gold Coast Suns winless two rounds into the season and facing falling further behind the pack.

Already rocked by the sudden passing of Jacinda Barclay, the Giants were forced to spend the first month of the new year on the road when the coronavirus outbreak on the Northern Beaches in Sydney saw other jurisdictions restrict travel from New South Wales.

They battled bravely against Fremantle before going down by five goals, and then were made to look second rate when they lost to the Adelaide Crows by 47 points behind closed doors in Blacktown, only managing to kick two goals in the process.

One of those two goals was kicked by Alyce Parker, who continues to perform strongly for the club in her third year in the competition.

Next for them are the Gold Coast Suns, who fared much worse last week; losing to the Brisbane Lions by 63 points and failing to kick a goal as they were restricted to 0.2 (2) – the lowest score in AFLW history.

That followed a 21-point loss to Melbourne at home where ill-discipline cost them dearly in the second quarter.

The corresponding match last year saw the two clubs combine for a grand total of only 2.5 (17), with the Giants winning by the barest of margins in heavy rain conditions.

With better conditions expected this weekend, so too is the standard of football from both clubs, not least the Giants who will be playing in front of their home fans for the first time this season.

Prediction: GWS Giants by six points.

St Kilda versus Carlton
Crunch time arrives for Carlton this Saturday when they face St Kilda at Moorabbin Oval.

One of the fancies for the flag, the Blues have suffered back-to-back losses by six points each to start the new season, first losing to Collingwood after failing to score in the first half, and then starting strongly against the Western Bulldogs only to fall short at the death.

Tayla Harris was among the Blues’ best last Friday night, kicking two goals and then taking a contender for mark of the year in the dying minutes, from which she missed a shot at goal that could’ve drawn them to within a kick of the Dogs.

Meantime, St Kilda were no match for premiership favourites North Melbourne last week, with the youthful side losing by 26 points and possibly learning a lesson or two of what is expected at the top level.

Georgia Patrikios led the way for the badly-beaten Saints, racking up 27 disposals, while Tyanna Smith booted their only major from 15 touches.

Back at home, and in front of their fans, they’ll get the chance to heap further misery on the Blues, but I think the visitors will prove too strong as they look to break their season duck.

Prediction: Carlton by 10 points.

Melbourne versus North Melbourne
Saturday night’s match between Melbourne and North Melbourne at Casey Fields will serve up a genuine blockbuster, with both sides 2-0 and widely expected to feature at the business end of the season.

Playing against an expansion side for a second straight week to start the season, the Dees were again challenged in the first quarter, but broke the shackles from that point on to register a strong 28-point win against Richmond and start the season 2-0 for the first time.

While Mick Stinear’s side had the best defence in the competition last season, it was their forwards that laid the platform for victory last Saturday as they booted seven goals against the Tigers, to go with the nine they kicked against the Gold Coast Suns in Round 1.

After getting a lot of the ball against the Suns, Karen Paxman endured a much quieter outing, but still contributed well to her team’s victory.

The Dees will now face a serious test of their credentials when they face North Melbourne, who are firming as the flag favourites after thrashing the Geelong Cats and St Kilda in their opening two rounds.

For the second consecutive week, the Roos kept their opposition to only one goal, while captain Emma Kearney led from the front with 22 disposals as they ran away with a 26-point victory.

It comes to show that Darren Crocker’s side still have some unfinished business in this competition, and they’ll be out to continue their match to the flag against the Dees on Saturday night.

While Melbourne will pose a formidable threat, I still think the Roos will take the points.

Prediction: North Melbourne by 18 points.

Adelaide Crows versus Fremantle
The first match on Sunday sees a potential grand final preview, with the most recent premiers, the Adelaide Crows, facing the “moral” premiers Fremantle at Norwood Oval in the afternoon.

I say “moral” with respect to the Dockers because they were the only side not to lose a match last year, and were the club most hard done by when the season was terminated at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

That is because they had easily won through to the semi-finals when they thrashed the Gold Coast Suns by 70 points in the quarter-finals, 24 hours before proceedings were called off.

After starting the season with a strong win over the Giants at home, the Dockers withstood a serious challenge from cross-town rivals West Coast to record a nine-point win, on either side of Perth’s snap five-day lockdown, to extend their winning streak to nine.

Now they face the most serious test of their premiership credentials when they face the Adelaide Crows at Norwood Oval.

The Crows have had two crushing wins to start the season, first thrashing the Eagles by 38 points in Perth before dominating the Giants to win by 47 points in Blacktown.

Again it was the usual suspects that were at the forefront, with Chelsea Randall and Erin Phillips leading by example as the club continues their march towards a third flag in five years.

And while they’ll expect to be seriously tested by the Dockers on Sunday, the home ground advantage should see them take the points and hand the Purple Haze their first defeat since March 2019.

Prediction: Adelaide Crows by 20 points.

Brisbane Lions versus Collingwood
The last time Collingwood came to town to play the Brisbane Lions, the AFL had just announced that all matches were to be played without fans in attendance.

This therefore robbed Pies fans in the sunshine state of the chance to see their team in action, but even so the Pies were able to record a crushing 29-point victory.

Eleven months on, and with the COVID-19 situation in Australia much better than it was back then, the Pies return to Brisbane hoping to continue their strong start to the season against the Lions, who are also 2-0.

Stephen Symonds’ side conceded the first goal of the match against the Cats last week, but led by captain Brianna Davey, eventually cantered their way to a 29-point victory which could’ve been so much larger if not for their inaccuracy in front of goal (booting six goals from 15 scoring shots).

Meantime, the Lions continue to show why they are the competition’s heavyweights, as they thrashed their fellow M1 neighbours the Gold Coast Suns by 63 points, keeping them to a lowly 0.2 (2) in the process.

That saw them shoot to the top of the ladder with a percentage of 757.1 and having conceded just 14 points from its first two matches.

We have seen in the past several blockbuster men’s matches between the two clubs, not least the pair of grand finals that were contested in 2002-03, and if the form we’ve seen from the Lions and Pies in the first two rounds is anything to go by, then we could be in for a treat on Sunday.

At home, the Lions should prevail.

Prediction: Brisbane Lions by 14 points.

Richmond versus West Coast Eagles
The final match of Round 3 could see a breakthrough for either Richmond or the West Coast Eagles – either the former club’s first win, or for the latter, their first win outside of Western Australia.

After failing to win a single match last season, the Tigers have shown considerable improvement in their first two rounds, even if their results suggest otherwise.

Sabrina Frederick kicked the first goal of the game against Melbourne last week, but the yellow-and-black could only muster one goal thereafter as they fell to Melbourne by 28 points.

And while the improvement is there, honourable losses will no longer be an excuse, and this Sunday’s clash against the Eagles at Punt Road Oval will present the Tigers their best chance yet to record their maiden win, after eight straight losses to begin their time in AFL Women’s.

But it will not come easy against a side which lost to premiership fancies Fremantle by only nine points in a Western Derby that was played behind closed doors last Sunday.

After being stung by the news that Dana Hooker would miss the rest of the season due to an off-field foot injury, the Eagles were further challenged when they lost two players to injury by the final change, that coach Daniel Pratt decided to prioritise health over glory.

Still, the blue-and-golds got to within six points in the final quarter, only to lose by nine points, despite the best efforts of second-year player Mikayla Bowen who gathered eighteen disposals.

And while the Eagles will enter the match against the Tigers with somewhat of a psychological edge, having won one match in its existence so far, the Tigers surely won’t want to waste their best opportunity yet to notch up a maiden win, and how appropriate would it be that it comes at home.

Prediction: Richmond by 10 points.