Opinion
We are now past the halfway point of the AFL Women’s regular season and only the Adelaide Crows remain unbeaten as they continue their march towards a third flag in six years.
Without captain Chelsea Randall, the Crows, led by the ageless Erin Phillips, showed their class against Carlton to prove why they are the premiership favourites, and will be expected to continue on their merry way against the Western Bulldogs on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the fate of the West Coast Eagles and Fremantle remains unclear, with both clubs flying home in the anticipation that their state’s borders would be reopen by now, only for WA’s grand reopening to be delayed indefinitely due to concerns over the omicron variant of COVID-19.
Both sides are now locked up in quarantine for two weeks, after which it is unknown whether their seasons will continue. It is unlikely that their respective scheduled matches against Collingwood and Carlton will go ahead this weekend, the latter of which is due to be played in Perth.
Among the other matches of the round, the Brisbane Lions, North Melbourne and Melbourne will be expected to start favourites in their respective matches against strugglers St Kilda, Richmond and the GWS Giants.
The Saints’ heartbreaking loss to the Eagles leaves them as the only winless team after five rounds and for them it will be a tough ask facing a Lions side that have fared well in their premiership defence so far despite being decimated by injuries.
Here is your preview to Round 6. Please note that there are no previews for the Collingwood versus West Coast Eagles and Fremantle versus Carlton matches, with the anticipation that they will be postponed due to WA’s border restrictions.
St Kilda versus Brisbane Lions
As the only winless side after five rounds, it is tough seeing when St Kilda’s first win of the season will come, and there is zero chance of it happening this Friday when they host the Brisbane Lions at a venue still to be determined.
Playing their first match in 17 days, the Saints started well, leading by two points at quarter time. But after the Eagles took the lead at the main break, neither side were able to kick a major in the second half, with the Saints ultimately falling just two points short.
Captain Hannah Priest was their best with 23 disposals while their only two goals were kicked by Jessica Matin and Caitlin Greiser.
The return of superstar Georgia Patrikios to the side remains unclear, with the club’s two-time best and fairest having so far refused to disclose her COVID-19 vaccination status.
(Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, the Brisbane Lions continue to defy a horror injury toll, making a statement against Collingwood with a 24-point win in testing, windy conditions at Maroochydore.
Emily Bates was a clear best-on-ground with 23 disposals while Zimmi Farquharson booted two majors in her third match.
This will be the first time the Saints and Lions face each other, and the contrast between the Saints’ struggles and the Lions’ experience should be there for all to see on Friday night.
Prediction: Brisbane Lions by 20 points.
Richmond versus North Melbourne
Fresh off handing Fremantle their first defeat for the season, North Melbourne will start hot favourites to keep the rage going against a struggling Richmond side at Punt Road Oval in the only match on Saturday that’s certain to go ahead.
Led by Jasmine Garner and Ash Riddell, who racked up over 50 disposals between them, the Roos repeated last year’s result against Freo, despite booting only three goals from 11 scoring shots.
Admittedly, though, they took advantage of a Fremantle side that was not only playing their fourth match in 16 days, but were also missing suspended superstar Kiara Bowers, who is now ineligible for this year’s best-and-fairest award.
Though they should start favourites to notch up their fifth win in six matches, they’ll be aware of a Richmond side that have lost their past four matches, the latest of them a 17-point loss to the Western Bulldogs at Whitten Oval.
(Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
Compounding a disappointing day for the Tigers was a serious knee injury to Hannah Burchell, which was later confirmed to be the dreaded ACL injury meaning she will take no further part in the season.
Monique Conti continues to prove her worth to the yellow-and-black, however, racking up 19 disposals against her former teammates with whom she was a part of the club’s 2018 premiership.
The corresponding match saw North win by 35 points in Round 6 last year, but on that occasion the Tigers were without Conti, so they will be banking on another good effort from her to keep them in the contest against the Roos.
In the end, however, the Roos’ class should show out as Darren Crocker continues his pursuit of a first premiership win as a coach, having been part of the Kangaroos’ premiership-winning side (alongside Dani Laidley and Adam Simpson, among others) in 1996.
Prediction: North Melbourne by 18 points.
Melbourne versus GWS Giants
Having dispatched of the Gold Coast Suns last Saturday night, Melbourne will look to keep their season going when they welcome the GWS Giants to Casey Fields on Sunday afternoon.
The Dees withstood the threat of the Suns, who last year suffered the ignominy of a winless season but had won their previous two matches. Melbourne won by 12 points and buried the disappointment of their Round 4 loss to the Adelaide Crows on the road.
Eden Zanker took the points in her individual battle with top draft pick Charlie Rowbottom, finishing with 18 disposals and eight tackles, while prized recruit Tayla Harris booted two goals.
(Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Mick Stinear’s side will start prohibitive favourites against the GWS Giants, who had their Round 5 match against St Kilda postponed due to positive COVID cases in their camp. Before that, they defeated the Western Bulldogs by 21 points at Henson Park.
The top draft pick in 2016, Nicola Barr, was an unlikely hero up forward as she booted the first three goals of her 33-game career to propel the Giants to their second win of the year, after which she inadvertently dropped the f-bomb during the post-match interview.
The win over the Dogs continues the club’s reputation as being flat-track bullies, in the manner that they beat the teams they are expected to yet struggle against the heavyweights like we saw against Fremantle and North Melbourne in Rounds 2 and 3 respectively.
Try as they may, the Dees should take the chocolates and along with the Kangaroos continue to fly the flag for Victoria in the face of the Adelaide Crows’ dominance so far this season.
Prediction: Melbourne by 18 points.
Adelaide Crows versus Western Bulldogs
Currently standing alone at the top of the AFLW ladder, the Adelaide Crows will be heavily favoured to make it six wins from as many starts when they welcome the Western Bulldogs to Norwood Oval on Sunday afternoon.
Even without injured captain Chelsea Randall, the Crows showed their class last Sunday, defeating the struggling Blues by 39 points in Melbourne to extend their percentage and create a one-game buffer on Fremantle, who lost to North Melbourne later in the day.
Another impressive performance by Erin Phillips sees speculation continue to grow that she will cross to Port Adelaide when they enter the competition at the end of this year, at which point she will be 37.
(Photo by Mark Brake/Getty Images)
The Crows were also well served by Ebony Marinoff and Anne Hatchard, who racked up over 50 disposals between them, while Ailish Considine chipped in with two second-half majors, the second of them on the run.
Next in the line of fire are the Western Bulldogs, who toasted their coach Nathan Burke’s 52nd birthday with a much-needed 17-point win over Richmond – their first win for the season.
A tight first half turned into a convincing win thanks to the efforts of captain Ellie Blackburn and Celine Moody, who each kicked a goal in the third quarter to put the match beyond the Tigers’ reach.
Fresh off their first win for the season, they will now get ready for the AFLW’s toughest road trip, travelling to the City of Churches where they suffered a humiliating 56-point loss in the corresponding match last season.
At home, the Crows should show absolutely no mercy.
Prediction: Adelaide Crows by 24 points.
Gold Coast Suns versus Geelong Cats
After two wins on the trot extinguished the prospect of another winless season, the Gold Coast Suns were brought back down to earth against Melbourne last Saturday night, losing by 12 points after threatening a third consecutive fourth-quarter comeback.
Prior to that, they came from behind to beat the West Coast Eagles in Melbourne while they withstood a late surge from Richmond to win by five points at Metricon Stadium. That preceded a close loss to the GWS Giants in the opening round.
Top draft pick Charlie Rowbottom continues to impress in her debut season, engaging in an entertaining battle against Eden Zanker, who ended up taking the points for her side.
They will fancy their chances of a third win against the Geelong Cats, who after weeks of encouraging performances for no wins finally got on the board with their three-point win over the West Coast Eagles at Kardinia Park last Friday night.
Daniel Lowther’s side had led for the majority of the evening, only to fall behind with 90 seconds remaining when Aimee Schmidt booted a major for the Eagles to leave the Cats staring down the barrel of yet another heartbreaking defeat.
But rather than throw in the towel, they reclaimed the lead in less than a minute thanks to a goal from Darcy Moloney that put them back three points to the good.
Moloney’s heroics aside, Nina Morrison also swooped on the ball in attack at the death to ensure victory for her side, while Amy McDonald racked up 24 disposals to be her side’s best.
The Cats can also take heart that they won the corresponding match last year by 17 points, which saved them from a winless season and sentenced the Suns to such embarrassment, and as such, the wooden spoon.
While both sides have improved since then, I think the home side should claim the points here.
Prediction: Gold Coast Suns by six points.
In doubt: Collingwood versus West Coast Eagles and Fremantle versus Carlton. If these matches can go ahead, then previews for those matches will be included later in the week.
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