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Opinion
And then there were four.
The Adelaide Crows and Brisbane Lions are primed to set up yet another premiership showdown against each other, with the two powerhouse clubs of AFL women’s to start favourites in their respective preliminary finals against Fremantle and Melbourne.
Both the Crows and Dees have had to wait for three weeks to play their preliminary finals, after a COVID-19 outbreak within Collingwood’s camp forced its qualifying final against the Brisbane Lions to be postponed to the Sunday just passed.
The other qualifying final, played on March 19, saw the Dockers put an end to North Melbourne’s season with a 28-point win on the road which has reignited their premiership hopes.
The Dees, who have had a record-equaling seven players named for All-Australian selection, enter their home preliminary final against the Lions, to be played at the MCG, with the pressure of a state on their shoulders.
Why? Because they are the last remaining Victorian club in contention for the premiership, and they’ll be hoping to join the Western Bulldogs in 2018 as the only home-grown premiers in the short history of AFL Women’s.
As for the Lions, there is no better stage for them to fight to keep their premiership defence alive, playing on the very ground where their men’s counterparts famously claimed a hat-trick of flags between 2001-03.
The other prelim sees the Crows look to qualify for a fourth AFL Women’s grand final when they face a Fremantle side that has been building for the club’s first major piece of silverware for some time now.
Matthew Clarke’s side will have the massive advantage of playing at the Adelaide Oval, which will come after their men’s side has contested a Friday night home Showdown against Port Adelaide less than twenty-four hours earlier.
The lure of another home Grand Final will also spur them onto another strong performance against the Dockers, whom they beat by nine points towards the end of the regular season.
Here is your preview to the two preliminary finals.
Melbourne vs Brisbane Lions
Saturday, April 2
12:40pm AEST
Melbourne Cricket Ground
This season: Melbourne 5.5 (35) defeated Brisbane Lions 4.8 (32) in round seven at Metricon Stadium.
Last meeting in a final: Never
All of Victoria will be hoping to get behind Melbourne when they host the reigning premiers, the Brisbane Lions, in what will be the first official AFL Women’s match to be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
An impressive season saw Mick Stinear’s side finish second on the ladder, with just the solitary defeat for the season coming against the Adelaide Crows in round four at Norwood Oval.
They have otherwise been hard to beat at home, though in its final round match against Carlton three weeks ago had to hold on for a one-point win, securing the all-important home ground advantage for its preliminary final.
The match before that saw them defeat Fremantle by a league-record 88 points at Optus Stadium, becoming the first club in the league’s short history to score over 100 points in a premiership match.
Their first preliminary final will also come less than twenty-four hours after its men’s side faces Essendon in a Friday night AFL blockbuster, making for a huge weekend for the club which has never been in such a better position both on and off the field.
Standing in the way of them and becoming just the third Victorian club to qualify for the Grand Final are the Brisbane Lions, who kept its premiership defence alive with a 50-point thrashing of a depleted Collingwood side in its postponed qualifying final.
Quite appropriately, 50 points was the final margin in the 2003 Grand Final, in which the Lions thrashed the Pies to become the first triple-premiers since Melbourne in 1955-57 and the greatest premiership team of the modern era.
The match was delayed by eight days after a COVID-19 outbreak within the Pies’ camp saw them fall below the threshold of minimum number of players required to be able to field a side, effectively giving the Lions a bye, and the Crows and Dees a double-bye.
They’ll be boosted by the fact that Ruby Svarc was able to overturn her rough conduct charge against Jaimee Lambert at the judiciary earlier this week, meaning the Lions will be all systems go for their historic trip to the MCG to face the second-placed Dees.
(Michael Dodge/Getty Images)
The only match between these two sides this season saw the Dees come from 22 points down to win a thriller on the Gold Coast, after Lion Greta Bodey missed a shot after the final siren which would’ve given her side the victory.
Ex-Lion Tayla Harris kicked two goals for the Dees in that match, and she could again prove to be the difference as the club looks to qualify for the Grand Final for the first time, with the lure of a premiership farewell for Daisy Pearce high on their minds.
Despite the fact that the Dees will have the crowd in their corner, the Lions should prove too strong and march onto another Grand Final.
For the winner: A berth in the Grand Final, and for Melbourne home ground advantage in the decider if it’s Fremantle that they face.
For the loser: Season over, and if the Dees are beaten the premiership cup will once again leave Victorian borders.
Prediction: Brisbane Lions by 18 points.
Adelaide Crows vs Fremantle
Saturday, April 2
2:10pm ACST
Adelaide Oval
This season: Adelaide Crows 3.7 (25) defeated Fremantle 2.4 (16) in round eight at Fremantle Oval.
Last meeting in a final: Never
All that stands between the Adelaide Crows and a fourth Grand Final berth in six years are the Fremantle Dockers, who will be contesting their second preliminary final in four years and will be eager as ever to take the next step forward.
Once again, Matthew Clarke’s side finished as minor premiers for the second consecutive year, losing only one match for the season – a one-point thriller against the Western Bulldogs at home in round six.
It was also the Bulldogs that prevented the Crows from achieving a perfect regular season three years ago, when the Daughters of the West – the reigning premiers at the time – also pulled off a one-point win on the road in the first round of the 2019 season.
Nonetheless, the Crows have proven why they have been the most consistent side in the league’s short history, winning its other nine matches by an average of 24.3 points and boasting the best defence in the competition.
Fremantle, meanwhile, rebounded from a horror 88-point loss to Melbourne in the penultimate round of the regular season – in which they were missing up to half of their best side – to finish fifth on the ladder courtesy of a 37-point win over the Gold Coast Suns in the final round.
It was not enough for them to earn home ground advantage for its qualifying final against North Melbourne, but they nonetheless got the job done, winning by 38 points and honouring Ross Lyon’s famous “anywhere, anytime” pledge which he used to fire his men’s team up for finals matches.
A full team effort saw ten different players hit the scoreboard, while Kiara Bowers rebounded from a quiet first quarter to end with 21 disposals for the match and be among the side’s best players.
Trent Cooper’s side will also be keen to settle a score against the Crows, having lost by only nine points when the teams met at Fremantle Oval in round eight, with Anne Hatchard and Ebony Marinoff proving to be match-winners for the South Australians.
As impressive as Freo were against the Kangaroos, another team effort will be required if they are to conquer the challenge that is facing the Adelaide Crows and what’s expected to be a bumper crowd on their home soil.
For the winner: A berth in the Grand Final, and for the Adelaide Crows home ground advantage at the Adelaide Oval.
For the loser: Season over.
Prediction: Adelaide Crows by 14 points.
The permutations
If the Grand Final ends up being between:
* the Adelaide Crows and Melbourne or the Brisbane Lions – it will be played at the Adelaide Oval.
* Melbourne and Fremantle – it will be played in Victoria with a venue to be decided.
* the Brisbane Lions and Fremantle – it will very likely be played at the Gabba.
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