This weekend we will see some of the best football in the short history of the AFLW competition.
Here is what it’s going to take for each team to get over the line and make it to the big dance.
Young Geelong gun Georgie Prespakis.Credit: Getty Images
Brisbane Lions v Geelong
Brighton Homes Arena, Saturday, 7.45pm (AEDT)
After a few uncharacteristic losses during the home-and-away season, Craig Starcevich’s Lions never wavered against the top sides in the competition. The Lions are the only team to have beaten every top-four side this year. Their game style stands up against the best.
Starcevich has used the players’ versatility across multiple lines to drive momentum shifts within games. Breanna Koenen, an experienced defender, has played minutes through the middle of the ground when needed, bringing a strong contest game and defensive coverage through the midfield.
Shannon Campbell, who was best on ground in last year’s grand final for her heroic defensive efforts down back, has at times been thrown forward to help bring the ball to ground for the likes of Courtney Hodder and Lily Postlethwaite to get to work in front of goal. These small but handy moves give the Lions multiple looks.
Shannon Campbell (right) celebrates the Brisbane Lions’ win over Adelaide.Credit: AFL Photos
Another key asset in the Lions’ game is their ability to lock the ball in their forward half and create turnovers. They do this through their pressure on the ball carrier. The Lions often send two or three bodies to the one player with the ball. This type of defence can make opposition teams panic, causing a loopy handball or rushed kick. This is where the Lions outnumbering the opposition at the contest does the most damage.
Their wings are also incredibly important in their structure. Two-way running by Orla O’Dwyer, Sophie Conway and Jade Ellenger means they often have a plus-one in the defensive 50 and in the forward 50, making it feel like there are more Lions on the field than there actually are.
On the other hand, the Cats have shown their enormous power to move the ball quickly and swiftly across the ground in the back-end of the season. They are the second-best side for disposal efficiency, which enables them to take the inside-45 kick, giving them more angles to move the ball. The Cats have an incredibly hard-working forward line.
New Irish recruit Aishling Moloney, Jacqueline Parry, Shelley Scott and Kate Darby all provide a strong aerial presence and hit-up leads inside 50. They then use their speed to lengthen the ground, taking opposition defences out of their shape.
Another key to making this forward line hard to play against is their constant positional swaps. As a defender, you may end up playing on five different players, which makes it difficult to adjust, particularly in a final. Young guns Georgie Prespakis, Nina Morrison and Amy McDonald are clean, tough, disciplined, and hard to beat through the middle of the ground. These players’ ability to tackle and get their hands out to a teammate drives a lot of their offence.
The verdict: Brisbane Lions by 21 points
North Melbourne v Adelaide
Ikon Park, Sunday, 3.05pm (AEDT)
North Melbourne have taken their game to another level. With the addition of tall and athletic forward Kate Shierlaw, it is harder for opposition teams to defend forward of centre. With arguably two of the best midfielders in the comp, 2023 coaches’ MVP Jas Garner and Ash Riddell, their tall forwards in Tahlia Randall, Mia King and Shierlaw get exceptional delivery inside 50.
North Melbourne’s defensive stability has always been incredibly strong with Emma Kearney leading the way; however their ferociousness around the ball has given them an edge this season. They recorded 104 tackles in their qualifying final against us (the Dees), their previous best was 83.
North Melbourne midfield star Ash Riddell.Credit: AFL Photos
North’s ability to effectively use a corridor long down the line kick to their talls has created havoc for defensive lines this season. They get more one v ones ahead of the ball, and if they do get that contested mark more centrally, they are then looking to drive it inside 50 quickly to get speed on the ball. They are the No.1 defensive 50 to forward 50 transition team in the comp. If Adelaide can’t stop that, they will be hard to beat.
But you have to admire how good Adelaide are at evolving their ruthless best every year. It is the Crows’ fifth prelim in the six seasons that preliminary finals have been scheduled, including the cancelled 2020 matches.
There is no doubt that experience is their greatest strength. Most, if not all, of their list are premiership players. Sarah Allan, Anne Hatchard, Ebony Marinoff, Chelsea Randall and Stevie-Lee Thompson are all three-time premiership players, an intimidating stat to come up against. Their game style holds up under pressure because it’s built for finals, winning contests and getting the ball forward.
What has made the Crows even more damaging in front of goal this season is the ability of their midfield to spread the ground from the contest. They have always been an incredibly strong surge-and-territory-based team (winning the ball and getting it forward quickly) but this season Marinoff and Hatchard have been able to work the ball out of a contest into uncontested possession chains. The Crows’ work rate to receive the ball in space is relentless and quickly tires opposition defences.
The Crows play both their wings quite close to the stoppage which often makes it hard for opposition teams to get clean clearances through the front of the stoppage. It also means they have extra defensive coverage once the ball hits the deck in their defensive half.
