This weekend marks the halfway point of the 2021 AFL Women’s season, and for heavyweights Fremantle and Collingwood, this week presents another good chance for them to flex their premiership muscles.

After four rounds, the Dockers and Pies remain the only undefeated teams, though both will come up against teams that suffered their first defeats for the season in Round 4.

The Dockers will look to extend their record eleven-match winning streak, both currently the longest in the AFL Women’s and the longest in club history by either the men’s or women’s side, when they host the Brisbane Lions at home.

Meantime, Collingwood will play host to a Melbourne side that will be smarting after being exposed by the Western Bulldogs last Sunday.

The Lions and Gold Coast Suns will both play against the Western Australia clubs in Perth, while after three straight matches in Blacktown the GWS Giants will head south to Melbourne for a tough test against the Western Bulldogs.

Down at the bottom of the ladder, the four winless teams will go to war as they bid to break their season ducks, with the matches between the Geelong Cats and Richmond, and the West Coast Eagles against the Suns, bookending the round.

By the end of Round 5, both the West Coast Eagles and Fremantle would’ve played not just each other, but also all the non-Victorian clubs, so the chance is that both may be forced into an interstate hub to complete the season due to WA’s hard border with Victoria.

Here is your preview of Round 5.

Geelong Cats vs Richmond
Barring a draw, one of the Geelong Cats or Richmond will finally break their season duck this weekend.

The Cats have struggled badly in their third season in AFLW, losing their first four matches and failing to kick a goal in 11 of the 16 quarters they have contested.

Last Friday night, they managed to keep the Saints honest at Moorabbin Oval, trailing by only a solitary point at halftime, before coughing up six second-half goals to go down by 29 points.

Their best chance yet of a win might come this Friday night against fellow battlers Richmond, which has also not yet won a match this season but have shown plenty of fight in their opening four matches.

The Tigers came agonisingly short of a maiden win when they fell to Carlton by just five points at Princes Park last Saturday, with the disappointment of falling short being shown on the faces of the devastated players.

Led by Monique Conti and her 26 disposals, the yellow-and-black started on fire and led by as much as 22 points before falling victim to the Blues and yet another masterclass from their reigning best-and-fairest Madison Prespakis.

It marked their tenth-straight defeat, but you get the feeling that they are much closer to a win than they are to another defeat, and on that basis, the Tigers can finally break their duck this Friday night, and how sweet would it be.

Prediction
Richmond by 10 points

Western Bulldogs vs GWS Giants
The only match in Melbourne on Saturday sees the GWS Giants make their first trip south to Melbourne this season when they face the in-form Western Bulldogs at the Whitten Oval.

After defeating the Suns by ten points, despite kicking only two goals (and none after quarter-time), the Giants answered the call by coach Alan McConnell to kick more goals against the West Coast Eagles in Blacktown last Sunday, and that’s exactly what they did.

Of the seven majors they managed against the Eagles, four came from Irish star Cora Staunton, who is showing no signs of slowing down even after turning 39 two months ago.

Alyce Parker was again among the Giants’ best as she continues to establish herself in the side and push for All Australian honours for a second straight season.

But after recording two wins against winless sides, their biggest challenge will come when they face a Western Bulldogs side that has won their last three matches.

Dogs captain Ellie Blackburn led from the front as her side shook off a wasteful Melbourne side to win by 13 points and regain the Hampson-Hardeman Cup after they had lost it in the corresponding match last year.

Isabel Huntington and Jess Fitzgerald also kicked two majors each, while Isabella Grant graced the ground her father Chris Grant played 59 of his 341 AFL games at for the first time.

Their win came despite having half the number of scoring shots as Melbourne did (seven to 14), but it was their accuracy (6.1 (37) to the Dees’ 2.12 (24)) that proved telling as the Dogs’ defence stoically repelled the Dees’ attack and forced them into mistakes.

Now they get the chance to flex their muscles against the Giants, and with the backing of their home crowd, they should again take the points in front of their fans.

Prediction
Western Bulldogs by 18 points.

Fremantle vs Brisbane Lions
An 11-match winning streak will go on the line when Fremantle hosts fellow premiership fancies the Brisbane Lions at Fremantle Oval.

With the Lions suffering their first defeat of the season last week, the Dockers stand tall as one of just two teams yet to fail to sing the winning song this season, thrashing the Gold Coast Suns by 49 points last Saturday afternoon.

The Dockers conceded the first goal of the match and failed to even score in the first quarter, but both their potent attack and stingy defence ensured they kicked the final 7.13 (55) of the match, which saw them assume top spot on the ladder with a percentage of 293.4.

Gemma Houghton and Sabreena Duffy both failed to kick a major, however, Roxy Roux was able to break her goalscoring drought for the season while Gabby O’Sullivan chipped in with a pair.

As always, Kiara Bowers was one of the Dockers’ best and could firm as the favourite for the league’s best-and-fairest award should Madison Prespakis cop a one-match suspension (which is set to be appealed against) for her indiscretion against Richmond last week.

Awaiting them are the Brisbane Lions, who after three wins against lowly-ranked opposition to start the season were left to lick their wounds after a disappointing 12-point loss to the Adelaide Crows at home last Sunday.

Craig Starcevich’s side was left to play catch-up all afternoon; like the Dockers last week, they were kept scoreless in the opening quarter and were never really able to reel in the Crows, despite getting to within five points in the final quarter.

The last thing they need is to make the longest trip in footy to face the Purple Haze, who are firming for the flag as each round passes by, in the west.

But while the Dockers should start favourites in front of their home fans in what is likely to be their last home game for a while, I think the Lions will make a good contest out of it, but eventually fall short.

Prediction
Fremantle by 12 points.

North Melbourne vs Carlton
Nearly 12 months since its last AFL/AFLW match, Tasmanian footy fans will finally get to see some action when North Melbourne travels to its secondary home to face what could be a Maddy Prespakis-less Carlton in Launceston on Saturday night.

The last time the Roos travelled south to the Apple Isle, they put the cleaners through reigning premiers the Adelaide Crows by 42 points to stamp themselves as Victoria’s best hope for the AFLW flag, before the season was abruptly terminated due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A hard border put in place by Tasmanian premier Peter Gutwein resulted in no AFL men’s matches being played in the state all season, so this Saturday night’s AFLW clash between the Roos and the Blues will be much welcomed by footy-starved Tasmanian fans.

On the field, North have dropped their last two matches, albeit against flag contenders in Melbourne and Collingwood, which has led to their own premiership credentials being put into question.

Despite having the same amount of scoring shots as the Pies last Saturday night, the Darren Crocker-coached Roos failed to even kick a single goal, restricted to 0.8 (8) – their lowest score since joining the AFL Women’s competition in 2019.

They get the chance to redeem themselves against the Blues, who could be without reigning best-and-fairest winner Madison Prespakis pending her judiciary challenge on a one-match suspension offered to her for a dangerous tackle on ex-teammate Sarah Hosking.

Prespakis otherwise produced another dominant display to help her side overcome an early 22-point deficit against Richmond, with the Blues ending up five-point winners after being forced to weather a late Tigers challenge as the clock ticked down to full-time.

Her absence, which would render her ineligible for a second-straight best and fairest title, could potentially rob her side as they look to fend off the Roos, who will be eager to bounce back after two straight losses.

Prediction
North Melbourne by six points.

Adelaide Crows vs St Kilda
For the second time, St Kilda will make the trip west to the City of Churches to face the Adelaide Crows, who not only dismantled flag fancies the Brisbane Lions away from home last weekend, but also reaffirmed themselves as one of the teams to beat this season.

The Saints’ season of promise continued last Friday night with a strong win over the Geelong Cats, which was again masterminded by full-forward Caitlin Greiser, who booted three majors in another impressive performance.

Their score of 7.9 (51) was their equal-highest score ever, though they booted one goal less than when they defeated the Western Bulldogs in Round 1 (when they booted 8.3 (51) from 11 scoring shots).

Next up are the Crows, who led from start to finish to defeat the Brisbane Lions in the sunshine capital last Sunday, thanks to a best-on-ground performance from the ageless Erin Phillips.

The 35-year-old turned back the clock against the Lions, gathering 21 disposals and booting four majors in what was easily her best individual performance of the season.

Thus, the Saints will have their work cut out in preventing a repeat performance from the multi-sport athlete, which will be made tougher by the fact that this match will be played at Norwood Oval.

It will also be the first time the Crows play a Victorian side this season, having played their first four matches against the two sides from Western Australia as well as the Giants and Lions.

At home, Matthew Clarke’s side should prevail by plenty.

Prediction
Adelaide Crows by 20 points.

Collingwood vs Melbourne
Another blockbuster match that awaits us this weekend is the one between Collingwood and Melbourne at Victoria Park in the penultimate match of the round.

After three disappointing seasons, plus a maiden finals berth last season, the Pies are finally living up to their potential, going 4-0 for the first time in their five-season history after defeating North Melbourne by 20 points at Marvel Stadium last Saturday night.

While co-captain Brianna Davey again led from the front, there was also another architect behind the result – ex-Roos coach Scott Gowans, who after losing his job at the height of COVID-19 last year, found his way into the Pies’ coaching box as Steve Symonds’ right-hand man.

Also impressively, the Pies managed to strangle the Roos out of the match by gathering 62 more disposals – with Davey and Jaimee Lambert (27 touches) effectively the difference between the two clubs.

They now get the chance to make it 5-0 when they face a Melbourne side that is smarting following a disappointing loss to the Western Bulldogs in which they could only muster two goals from 14 scoring shots and so many inside 50s.

An indication of how the Dees’ afternoon would unfold came in the first quarter when they managed just one major from ten first-quarter inside-50s; by contrast, the Bulldogs needed only one for their first of the game.

Goalkicking practice will therefore be top of the agenda at club training this week as they look to right their wrongs against the Pies this Sunday, but even improved accuracy may not be enough to stop the Pies from going 5-0.

Prediction
Collingwood by 16 points.

West Coast Eagles vs Gold Coast Suns
Round 5 starts with and will finish with a match between two winless sides, when the West Coast Eagles and Gold Coast Suns go to war with both attempting to break their season ducks in the twilight.

The Eagles’ struggles since entering AFLW has continued, losing their first four games, but despite the nature of their defeats, they haven’t looked at all too bad.

They got to within a kick of overhauling cross-town rivals Fremantle in Round 2, started strongly against the Brisbane Lions in Round 3 and even held the lead, even if only briefly, against the Giants in Sydney last Sunday.

Nearly 12 months after being kept scoreless to three-quarter-time in the corresponding match last season, the Eagles surprised many, booting three in the first quarter, but would remain on the back foot thereafter, failing to kick another major after halftime.

This was despite the best efforts of Isabella Lewis, while another player joined the ever-growing casualty ward when Aisling McCarthy suffered a knee injury in the dying minutes.

Their best chance at a win will come against the Gold Coast Suns, who will be playing in Perth for a second straight week after being thrashed by Fremantle by 49 points last Saturday; not only that, they will also be playing away from Queensland for a third-straight week.

It is also possible that this may be the Eagles’ last home game for the season, with WA’s controlled border with Victoria set to prove a major impediment in the season being completed.

In what was a rematch of a rather meaningless quarter-final match from last year, the Suns surprised many when Leah Kaslar kicked the first goal of the game and kept the Dockers scoreless in the first quarter.

But despite the best efforts of Jamie Stanton and Lauren Bella in the midfield, David Lake’s side would fail to score again for the rest of the match, with the coach labelling his side’s effort “lazy”.

They are now back at the venue of their most recent win, which came against the Eagles by 25 points at the same venue as this weekend’s rematch.

Despite their dismal performance last week, the Suns can bounce back, but only because the Eagles’ injury list is just too much of a challenge for the home side to overcome.

Prediction
Gold Coast Suns by 10 points.