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2021 AFLW season: Round 8 preview

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Roar Guru
16th March, 2021
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We are on the home stretch in the 2021 AFLW season, with this round and next to determine the shape of the final six.

There will be two matches in Queensland this weekend, with the Gold Coast Suns and Brisbane Lions hosting Carlton and North Melbourne respectively, with the latter match to serve as a curtain raiser to the men’s match between the Lions and Sydney Swans on Saturday night.

Elsewhere, the Giants will start hot favourites against the Cats in Geelong, while Collingwood – fresh off their first defeat of the season – will be heavily favoured to hit back when they tackle St Kilda at Victoria Park.

A third win beckons for either Richmond or the West Coast Eagles, while the Western Bulldogs’ and Melbourne’s finals hopes hinge on them beating the Adelaide Crows and Fremantle respectively on the road on Sunday.

Here is your preview to Round 8.

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Gold Coast Suns versus Carlton
For the second consecutive round, the Gold Coast Suns have the honour of kicking off the round, and will do so against Carlton in what is effectively a dead rubber.

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After an even first quarter, the Suns crashed to their seventh consecutive loss (eighth if you also include their quarter-final loss to Fremantle last year), leaving them at risk of collecting the wooden spoon ahead of next week’s last-place decider against the Geelong Cats.

They failed to score in the second quarter but threatened an upset when they closed to within three points in the third quarter, before falling away in the final quarter to lose by 15 points.

Next for the Suns are Carlton, whose finals hopes all but evaporated when they threw away a healthy lead to lose to Fremantle by just four points at Ikon Park.

Madison Prespakis

(Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Notorious slow starters, the Blues led by 21 points at quarter-time and then by ten at the final change, after which Nicola Stevens kicked her second goal to extend the Blues’ lead to as much as 16 points.

But that was as good as it got for them, as they conceded the final three goals inside the last nine minutes to crash to their fourth defeat of the season.

The Blues must now defeat the Suns and GWS Giants on the road in their final two matches, and rely on Melbourne losing heavily to premiership fancies Fremantle and the Brisbane Lions, if they are to Bradbury their way into April.

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On the road, the Blues should take the points.

Prediction: Carlton by 18 points.

Geelong Cats versus GWS Giants
The first match on Saturday sees the GWS Giants start heavy favourites to defeat the Geelong Cats at Kardinia Park in the afternoon.

Though they are a long shot of breaking into the top six, the Giants still kept whatever hopes they had alive by defeating St Kilda by 20 points at Moorabbin Oval last Saturday, with a four-goal-to-nil first quarter setting up their third victory of the season.

It was dubbed master versus apprentice as Giants captain Alicia Eva was coming up against Saints superstar Georgia Patrikios, who she coached in the under-18s pathway not very long ago.

Not only did Eva take the points, but Core Staunton and Rebecca Privitelli both kicked three goals each as the Giants dominated from start to finish.

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They’ll fancy their chances of back-to-back wins for the second time this year when they face the Cats, who will be playing for nothing but pride in their final home game of what has been a season from hell.

A goalless first half set the tone for a 39-point loss to the West Coast Eagles in Perth, the result seeing them drop to bottom place on percentage ahead of next week’s wooden spoon decider against the Gold Coast Suns.

They were served well by Amy McDonald, who racked up 24 disposals and saved her side from an embarrassing defeat when she kicked their first goal with seconds remaining in the third quarter.

The short turnaround will hurt the Cats, and the Giants should take the points as they look to a much improved 2022 season.

Prediction: GWS Giants by 20 points.

Collingwood versus St Kilda
Fresh off the back of their first loss of the season, which came in heartbreaking circumstances against the Brisbane Lions, Collingwood will be primed for redemption when they face St Kilda at Victoria Park in the afternoon.

A COVID-19 case that leaked into the community in Brisbane forced their trip to the sunshine capital to be cancelled, with their match against the Lions instead being played at an empty Whitten Oval.

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The decision by the league, which came barely 24 hours before the first bounce, attracted criticism as the Pies have yet to leave Victoria all season but will do so when they face the Crows in Adelaide next week.

The Pies kicked the first goal of the match, but trailed at every change before threatening a comeback in the last quarter, in which they kicked two goals to nil, but their four misses ultimately proved to be very costly.

This was despite the best efforts of Brit Bonnici, who racked up 28 disposals – more than any other player on the field.

AFLW Collingwood.

(Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images)

On the other hand, any hopes St Kilda had of qualifying for the finals for the first time were dashed when they were beaten by the GWS Giants at home by 20 points.

The Saints failed to score a goal in the first quarter and while they pegged the margin back to just five points by halftime, they would not score again until Caitlin Greiser booted a consolation goal after receiving a free kick on the full-time siren.

This has left coach Peta Searle with plenty to ponder ahead of a tough clash against the Pies, whom the Saints have not yet had the chance to play.

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Back on their home deck, the Pies should bounce back and warm up for finals with a comfortable win.

Prediction: Collingwood by 18 points.

Brisbane Lions versus North Melbourne
A huge day in Brisbane sees the Lions’ women’s team face North Melbourne at the Gabba in the afternoon ahead of the men’s match between the Lions and Sydney Swans at night.

It will be the first time the Lions’ women’s team plays at the Gabba, and it shapes as a huge day for the club with the men’s team, who are the premiership favourites for season 2021, to also start hot favourites to thrash likely strugglers the Swans later in the evening.

Craig Starcevich’s side were preparing to play the Pies at home before a COVID-19 case leaked into the community in Brisbane, thus forcing them onto a plane to Melbourne where their match was relocated to an empty Whitten Oval.

Despite this setback, the Lions continued to underline their premiership favouritism, leading at every change and having to hold off a furious Pies fightback in the final term, in which the Lions failed to score a major.

They now sit in second place on percentage behind the Dockers, and face another serious test of their flag credentials when they face the Kangaroos at the Gabba.

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Sophie Abbatangelo

(Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images)

The Roos kicked three goals to nil in the first quarter against the Western Bulldogs in Hobart and that proved to be enough as they held on for an 11-point victory, consolidating their place in the top six in the process.

Emma Kearney and Jasmine Garner were the architects, with the former kicking a third quarter goal that gave her side a 21-point lead before the Bulldogs’ late charge fell short.

Darren Crocker’s side will be on a plane for the third time in four weeks, though it will be the first match they play away from home. The club played two home games in Tasmania in that period.

At home, the Lions should make it a day of celebration for AFL in the sunshine capital with a win.

Prediction: Brisbane Lions by 15 points.

Richmond versus West Coast Eagles
Strugglers this season, both Richmond and the West Coast Eagles go into this match on the back of some big victories last weekend.

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The Tigers overcame a sluggish start to defeat the Gold Coast Suns last Friday night, with Katie Brennan again leading the way while Monique Conti impressed after missing the Round 6 loss to the Kangaroos due to injury.

It marked their second win in three matches and while they will start favourites to defeat the Eagles this Sunday, they’ll be aware of a side that registered their largest ever victory on Monday, when they put the Geelong Cats to the sword by 39 points in the west.

West Coast Eagles AFLW

(Will Russell /AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Forward Imahra Cameron played the match of her life, with a three-goal burst in six minutes inspiring the westerners as they cruised to their second victory of the season, the result all but seeing them avoid the wooden spoon.

It was reward for effort and marked a 106-point turnaround from their 67-point Western Derby loss to Fremantle, before which they defeated the Gold Coast Suns by a solitary point.

This will be the only time the Eagles play in Victoria this season, owing to the recent restrictions on travel between Victoria and Western Australia, which have since been lifted.

While they will relish the chance to play in front of their Victorian-based fans, Richmond’s home-ground advantage will prove to be the telling factor.

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Prediction: Richmond by 16 points.

Adelaide Crows versus Western Bulldogs
The Western Bulldogs’ finals hopes will go on the line this Sunday when they make the trip to the City of Churches to face flag fancies the Adelaide Crows at Norwood Oval.

A poor first quarter proved costly as they fell to North Melbourne by 11 points in Hobart last Sunday, and this has left them requiring a miracle of sorts if they are to qualify for finals action next month.

Nathan Burke’s side could only muster three goals from 11 scoring shots, through Isabel Huntington (two) and Bonnie Toogood. In the end, they’d be left to lament a 1.4 (10) final quarter, during which they managed to keep the Roos scoreless.

Nathan Burke

(Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Their opponents, the Adelaide Crows, are coming off a sizable defeat at the hands of Melbourne, losing by 28 points at Casey Fields and only managing to kick two goals.

Danielle Ponter, who kicked four goals against the Suns in Round 6, was a late withdrawal and her absence was sorely felt as the Crows’ crashed to their second defeat by at least 28 points this year, after losing to Fremantle by five goals back in Round 3.

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The usual suspects in Chelsea Randall, Erin Phillips, Ebony Marinoff and Anne Hatchard were among their best, but still had their numbers lowered by their Demons counterparts, though Randall was able to kick one of their two goals for the night.

At home, the Crows should hit back with an eye on April.

Prediction: Adelaide Crows by 14 points.

Fremantle versus Melbourne
The final match of Round 8 sees Melbourne, fresh off their best performance of the season against the Adelaide Crows, make the trip west where their finals destiny will hinge on them causing an upset against Fremantle.

With the finals just weeks away, the Dees dominated from start to finish to defeat the Crows by 28 points, with Tyla Hanks and Kate Hore among their best players as they reversed one previous time when the Crows dominated them on their home turf at Casey Fields.

Hanks dominated in the midfield picking up 24 touches, while Hore chipped in with three majors as they shadowed their more seasoned opponents in all aspects on the field.

If they are to prove their finals worth, they will need to raise their game up a notch when they face the Dockers in Perth, with the ladder leaders displaying their fighting spirit to come from behind to beat Carlton at Ikon Park last Sunday.

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The Dockers failed to kick a goal in the opening quarter, and were as much as 16 points in arrears before three goals inside the final ten minutes. The last one went to Gemma Houghton, who had been blanketed by Charlotte Wilson all match, and it saw them hit the front at the death.

Following Collingwood’s defeat to the Brisbane Lions later in the day, the win saw the Dockers reclaim top spot on percentage, and with winnable matches against the Dees and North Melbourne to come, they may be a lock-in for the minor premiership.

In what is their final home game for the season before the finals get underway, the purple haze should ram home their advantage but not before an almighty challenge from the Dees, who will be playing away from home for the first time since Round 1.

Prediction: Fremantle by 12 points.

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