With three rounds remaining until the finals get underway, now is the time for the premiership contenders to really prove their worth.

However, once again, the round will be bookended by two clashes between four struggling sides, with the winless Suns’ best chance of nabbing a win coming when they kick off proceedings against Richmond at Metricon Stadium on Friday night.

The other match between two bottom sides sees the West Coast Eagles host the Geelong Cats, with a win set to prove precious in the battle to avoid finishing at or near the bottom of the ladder.

Elsewhere, a virtual elimination final sees St Kilda host the GWS Giants at Moorabbin Oval, while the rest of the round will see potential finals previews, not least a possible grand final preview between the Brisbane Lions and Collingwood in the sunshine state on Sunday.

Here is your preview of Round 7.

Gold Coast Suns vs Richmond
The first match of the round is a mockbuster, with nothing but pride on the line when the Gold Coast Suns welcome Richmond to the holiday strip.

The Suns’ season sunk to a new low last week when they copped a 70-point thumping at the hands of the Adelaide Crows in the City of Churches, with their poor percentage seeing them drop to the bottom of the ladder.

Their best chance yet of a win will come when they face Richmond, which has been much more competitive in its matches this year, as evidenced by some close losses to Collingwood and Carlton, as well as a breakthrough win over the Geelong Cats in Round 5.

But as expected, the Tigers came crashing back down to earth last Friday night, beaten by North Melbourne by 35 points after losing premiership star Monique Conti to injury before the first bounce.

In her absence, captain Katie Brennan did her best to lift her side, while Christina Bernardi made the most of her late call-up, kicking a major and setting up another merely minutes later in the third quarter.

After six straight matches in Melbourne to start the season, this will be the first (and only) time the Tigers leave Victoria, with eased border restrictions between that state and Queensland making this fixture possible.

On the basis of their competitive performances this season, I can see Ryan Ferguson’s side taking the points from the holiday strip as they continue to build towards the 2022 season with two rounds still to play this season.

But if Suns fans need a much-needed omen, it’s that in the men’s side’s second season, they registered their first win of the 2012 season against the Tigers (Karmichael Hunt, anyone?), but I can’t see it happening again.

Prediction
Richmond by 18 points.

St Kilda vs GWS Giants
With two wins each this season, it is the final roll of the dice for St Kilda and the GWS Giants with the loser all but certain to witness April from the sidelines.

Both teams suffered from a poor first quarter last week, with the Saints failing to even score in the first quarter of their match against Melbourne, while the Giants were badly outclassed by premiership fancies the Brisbane Lions in Canberra.

The Giants managed to limit the damage after halftime, actually winning the second half, but coach Alan McConnell would not have been happy with the way his side performed against the Lions in the nation’s capital.

Meantime, the Saints struggled to find a way past the Melbourne defence, to the point that regular forward Caitlin Greiser was shunted into defence by coach Peta Searle in an attempt to also stem the bleeding in defence.

In the end, they managed only three goals from seven scoring shots and after also managing only one major in the previous week’s loss to the Adelaide Crows, Searle will surely want her side fired up for the visit by the Giants to Moorabbin Oval.

Back at home after a fortnight on the road, the Saints should keep whatever finals chances they have alive with a win.

Prediction
St Kilda by 14 points.

North Melbourne vs Western Bulldogs
The second of three matches in Melbourne brings together two Victorian heavyweights in North Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs in a match that could decide which of the two finishes the higher on the ladder.

Both sides have won four from six, but it’s the Roos who hold sway with a superior percentage (165.9 to the Dogs’ 107.3) and sit fifth on the ladder, while the Dogs are in seventh place, outside the top-six cutoff by 18 percentage points.

The Roos’ strong season continued last Friday night when they kept Richmond goalless in the first half as they set up a 35-point victory, thanks mostly to their midfield and some strong ruck-work in the middle.

Meantime, after four straight wins, the Bulldogs copped a reality check against the Pies, beaten by 36 points and managing to kick only two majors from five scoring shots.

They managed to keep the Pies honest in the first half, booting the only goal of the first half (through Elisabeth Georgostathis) but even after the Pies were late for the start of the second half, the Dogs fell away thereafter to crash to their worst defeat for the season.

With two rounds to play after this weekend, and with both teams well and truly in the finals frame, expect nothing but both teams throwing everything at each other as the race for a top-six berth heats up.

At home, I have the Roos taking the points, but not without an almighty challenge from Nathan Burke’s pups.

Prediction
North Melbourne by 8 points.

Melbourne vs Adelaide Crows
Saturday night sees Melbourne face its toughest test yet when they face premiership fancies the Adelaide Crows at Casey Fields.

After a frustrating two-match losing streak in which they kicked three goals from twenty-three scoring shots across both matches, the Dees unleashed their frustration on St Kilda, kicking nine goals and winning by 44 points as they got their finals hopes back on track.

They kept the Saints scoreless in the first quarter and were never really threatened thereafter, with captain Daisy Pearce leading from the front with two goals after being thrown up forward, while Karen Paxman, Eden Zanker and Tyla Hanks were also among their best.

As good as the Dees were last Saturday night, they will need to bring their A-game when they face the Crows, who are coming off a 70-point thrashing of the Gold Coast Suns, in which they kicked 13 majors and fell just short of the highest score in AFLW history.

As usual, Ebony Marinoff, Anne Hatchard and Erin Phillips ran the show in the middle, while Danielle Ponter booted four majors out of a team total of 13 – the highest by any team in a premiership match (beating the previous record of 12 set by the Western Bulldogs in 2018).

The match against the Crows is the first of three tough matches for the Dees to finish the season, after which they face Fremantle (in Perth) and the Brisbane Lions (at home) to round out the season.

While the Dees will be expected to throw up an almighty challenge, the Crows will be too strong in what will be their only match in Victoria until the finals get underway.

Prediction
Adelaide Crows by 20 points.

Carlton vs Fremantle
The first of two matches on Sunday sees Carlton welcome premiership fancies Fremantle to Princes Park, in what is a rematch of the 2019 preliminary final which was won by the home side.

After missing their Round 5 loss to the Kangaroos due to suspension, superstar Maddy Prespakis returned last week and inspired her side to a strong win over the Geelong Cats, getting their finals hopes back on track in the process.

This came despite appearing to suffer a left elbow injury in the first quarter; nonetheless, she managed to play out the game as the Blues recorded their highest score for the season, 10.4 (64).

That they also did without forward Tayla Harris, who was rested but will be raring to go when the Blues tackle Fremantle at Ikon Park.

The Brisbane Lions and Adelaide Crows might be among the favourites for the flag but the Dockers let it known that they not be left out of flag discussions, thrashing cross-town rivals the West Coast Eagles in the second Western Derby of the season.

The Dockers kicked the first five goals of the match and were barely threatened as they won by 67 points, registering their second-highest ever score (11.9 (75)) and keeping the Eagles to only 1.2 (8).

Superstar forward Gemma Haughton booted five majors to join Erin Phillips and Chloe Molloy as joint-leaders in the AFLW’s goalkicking charts, while Sabreena Duffy and Roxy Roux shared in five goals between them.

It will be the first time the Dockers play in Victoria this season and they will surely want to make the most of it, especially if the grand final ends up being played in the state this year.

On that note, they should continue their dominant form as they push towards April.

Prediction
Fremantle by 17 points.

Brisbane Lions vs Collingwood
Nearly two decades since the Brisbane Lions and Collingwood men’s sides met in back-to-back grand finals in 2002-03, it is possible that their women’s teams could face off for the premiership cup come April.

In one corner you have the Lions, who have been the most dominant team in the short history of the AFL Women’s competition without winning a premiership, though they have reached two grand finals only to fall short by six points each time.

Last week the Lions put the GWS Giants to the sword in Canberra last week, with a brutal first half in which they kept the home side goalless proving enough as they won by 38 points to ramp up the pressure on the top-of-the-ladder Pies in the battle for the minor premiership.

The Pies themselves further underlined their flag credentials, handing the Western Bulldogs just their second defeat of the season with a strong victory at Victoria Park, which has seen them extend their winning streak to six.

A poor first half saw them fail to kick a goal, booting seven behinds from as many scoring shots, after which the players re-emerged from the sheds a few minutes late for the start of the second half.

Nonetheless, they put the Dogs on a leash after halftime, booting 7.2 (44) to the Dogs’ solitary goal to extend their unbeaten run and retain their place at the top of the ladder.

Their big test will come against the Lions, and I have a feeling that whoever wins this will assume outright premiership favouritism as we close in on the six-team finals series which is now only a matter of weeks away.

Despite the Pies’ undefeated record, the Lions at home should take the points.

Prediction
Brisbane Lions by 10 points.

West Coast Eagles vs Geelong Cats
For either the West Coast Eagles or Geelong Cats, a win will prove precious in the battle to avoid the wooden spoon.

To say the very least, both sides have suffered very poor seasons so far in 2020, with the Eagles’ only win coming by a solitary point against the Gold Coast Suns and the Cats churning through six heavy defeats as they stare down the barrel of the wooden spoon.

A week after outlasting the Suns in Round 5, the injury-plagued Eagles were brought back down to Earth last Sunday, thrashed by Fremantle by 67 points in the second Western Derby of the season at Optus Stadium.

But if there was one positive to take out of the match, it was that the Eagles managed to keep their cross-town rivals to only a solitary goal in the final quarter, but otherwise they still have plenty of work to do going into their forward-50.

Meantime, the Cats surprised many when they booted the first goal of their match against Carlton, through Rebecca Webster, but then capitulated after that to crash to their sixth consecutive loss this season.

This has left them winless and in second-last place on the ladder with two rounds to play after this weekend, and there is the possibility that the Round 9 match against the Gold Coast Suns could decide who finishes last, and therefore who claims the top draft pick in the draft later this year.

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Originally set to be played on the Sunday, the match has been moved back to Monday afternoon so as to allow the Cats to fly back home to Victoria in the evening, with border restrictions between that state and Western Australia set to be lifted at the end of the weekend.

The last thing the Cats need is to have to travel west in an attempt to move away from the bottom of the ladder and despite their injury concerns, the Eagles should claim the points in this one.

Prediction
West Coast Eagles by 6 points.