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Forward of the AFLW preliminary finals tomorrow, and the grand ultimate the next weekend, Kate O’Halloran has answered all your questions.
Which groups are left standing after qualifying finals?
The AFLW qualifying finals have been performed over two weeks this season, with a COVID-19 outbreak on the Pies ensuing of their match towards the Lions being postponed by per week.
After the match did ultimately get underway, the Lions have been far too good for Collingwood, with a small however vocal Gabba crowd cheering them on to a 50-point win.
Unsurprisingly, the Pies struggled to expire the sport, with coach Steve Symonds questioning in his post-match press convention whether or not his gamers (who he stated had been “cleared medically”) have been as much as taking part in to the extent required.
Collingwood had, nonetheless, struggled towards the highest sides this season, combating on admirably to make finals after shedding star midfielders Bri Davey (spherical one) and Brit Bonnici (spherical eight) to ACLs.
Brisbane, in the meantime, despatched yet one more reminder to the competitors to underrate them at their peril, successful the contested possession rely by 41, marks inside 50 by 11, tackles by 15, inside 50s by 24 and clearances by 14.
They now tackle the Demons for a spot in a document fourth grand ultimate for the reason that competitors’s inception.
Over at Arden Avenue Oval, the Dockers comfortably accounted for the Kangaroos in a match many predicted can be nearer than the 38-point ultimate margin.
It marked the second consecutive qualifying ultimate loss for the North Melbourne Tasmanian facet, who had overwhelmed the Dockers earlier within the season in Hobart, and would have fancied themselves at their Victorian residence base.
The Dockers, nonetheless, have constructed a house away from residence in Melbourne this season, spending over a month on the street and successful all 4 fixtures in Victoria.
That resilience will bode nicely for his or her away conflict towards the season’s minor premiers, the Adelaide Crows.
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When and the place are the preliminary finals being performed?
Each finals will happen on Saturday April 2.
The primary of those, between Melbourne and the Brisbane Lions, might be performed at 12:40pm AEDT on the MCG.
That is the primary time an AFLW recreation has been performed on the MCG, fulfilling the goals of most of the ladies taking to the sector — together with captain Daisy Pearce who’s determined to complete her taking part in profession with a premiership.
Brisbane defender Nat Grider, who has gained a premiership, went as far as to say that the event could also be “essentially the most thrilling [the Brisbane AFLW team] will ever play in”.
For a little bit of trivia, quite a few AFL Girls’s exhibition video games have been performed on the MCG (in 2013, 2015 and 2016), however there has not been an AFLW recreation (common season or finals) performed on the hallowed turf.
The second preliminary ultimate — between Adelaide and Fremantle — is happening in Adelaide immediately after that recreation finishes, at 2:10pm ACDT — that is 11:40am AWST within the west.
The Crows will host the Dockers at Adelaide Oval, the location of a number of AFLW grand finals, and the bottom the place they misplaced final 12 months’s grand ultimate to Brisbane.
How a lot does entry value, and do it’s essential buy tickets?
Each video games boast free entry because of an AFL sponsorship deal.
Tickets don’t should be pre-purchased for the Adelaide v Fremantle preliminary ultimate, however patrons attending the MCG must register right here for his or her free tickets earlier than the match.
Will there be a conflict with AFL males’s fixtures?
The AFL has cleared room within the males’s fixture for the AFLW preliminary finals, with the primary Saturday AFL recreation happening at 4:35pm.
Who wins the ultimate between the Demons and Lions on the MCG?
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This recreation looms as a basic, with the final two contests between these sides determined by a kick after the siren.
The latest of those, performed final month, noticed the Demons trailing 22-0 late within the first half, earlier than storming excessive of the Lions.
The Demons and Lions have met 5 instances throughout the historical past of the competitors, with Melbourne victorious on 4 of these events.
These victories, nonetheless, have all come within the common season, with the 2 sides by no means having met in a ultimate.
Melbourne Demons
Melbourne — like Adelaide — are coming off an prolonged break after ending second on the ladder.
This earned them computerized qualification via to the preliminary ultimate, in addition to the appropriate to host.
The Dees would not, nonetheless, have been banking on such an extended lay-off, having final performed towards Carlton on March 12.
The break may pan out both manner; the Demons might come into the sport with the refresh they wanted or be caught out with an absence of match health and halted momentum.
Tayla Harris looms as a possible match-winner towards her previous facet. The final time these two groups met, she took an equal AFLW document of seven contested marks, kicking 2.2 from 13 disposals.
Shannon Campbell received the job on Harris in spherical seven, however the Lions should depend on group defensive efforts to maintain all of Harris (18 objectives), Daisy Pearce (13), Kate Hore (11) and Alyssa Bannan (8) quiet.
Pearce additionally looms as a game-breaker, if not for her on-field efforts a lot as her capability to encourage her teammates.
With the competitors now in its sixth season, the Demons boast a 71 per cent win share from 49 video games (35 wins and 14 losses) — however are but to make a grand ultimate.
Pearce, greater than anybody, might be pushed by the ache of so many close to misses. Can she haul her facet throughout the road?
The ultimate additionally marks midfielder Karen Paxman’s 50 recreation milestone (making her the primary Melbourne participant to achieve the half century).
Over an excellent profession, Paxman leads the membership in all of disposals, tackles, clearances, rating involvements, metres gained, contested possessions, uncontested possessions, inside 50s, rebound 50s and intercepts.
Brisbane Lions
When Brisbane defeated Adelaide for the 2021 AFLW premiership, I described it as a case of a champion group beating a group of champions.
The cliché referenced a letter Emily Bates had despatched to the Lions’ fan base within the lead-up to the conflict towards the Crows.
This isn’t to say that Brisbane doesn’t have particular person star energy. Bates, satirically, is maybe one of the best instance.
The 2-time All Australian has taken her recreation to the following degree this 12 months, clinching the AFL Coaches’ affiliation (AFLCA) award forward of the Crows’ Anne Hatchard.
Extremely, she earned votes in all however one match this season, averaging 21.7 disposals, 10.6 contested possessions, 5.6 clearances and 6.9 tackles.
Coach Craig Starcevich went as far as to explain her — and her relentless professionalism — as “the epitome of the Brisbane Lions in how she prepares and the way she performs”.
Winger Orla O’Dwyer has likewise had a career-best season — mirrored by her choice amongst three teammates within the All Australian squad — and took aside Collingwood final week with a match-high 392m gained.
The larger downside for Melbourne, nonetheless, is the team-first perspective of the Lions.
As Gemma Bastiani identified in her finals preview, Brisbane boast the very best “one-percenters” of any group within the competitors (so-called one-percenters embody acts like smothers, spoils and shepherds) — a quantity which has elevated year-on-year since 2020.
Such selfless acts took the group to their breakthrough premiership final season, and stand them in good stead for making one other decider.
Who wins the ultimate between the Crows and Dockers on the Adelaide Oval?
Adelaide Crows
Like Melbourne, Adelaide come into this recreation within the uncommon state of affairs of getting had an prolonged break — final taking to the sector towards St Kilda on March 13.
This could go well with the older our bodies like these of Chelsea Randall and Erin Phillips.
Randall missed a month of footy earlier this season with a hamstring, whereas Phillips despatched shockwaves via the competitors when she “sprained” the identical knee she injured within the 2019 grand ultimate.
Each are vital to the Crows’ probabilities; Phillips loves the event of the finals stage, whereas Randall is the center and soul of the membership and might be determined to be there if her facet make the decider, after lacking final 12 months with concussion.
The Crows are additionally blessed with midfield bulls in Ebony Marinoff (voted the AFL Girls’s web site participant of the season) and Anne Hatchard, who got here second solely to Emily Bates within the AFLCA award.
They may, nonetheless, be with out Eloise Jones on the wing, whose enchantment towards her ban for a harmful deal with failed.
The Crows’ different secret weapon is the venue and crowd.
Fremantle have by no means performed at Adelaide Oval, whereas the Crows have turned the bottom into one thing of a fortress; South Australians have arguably supported ladies’s soccer like no different state, with 53,034 displaying as much as the grand ultimate towards Carlton in 2019.
If Adelaide can draw one other large crowd for the preliminary ultimate, the environment might be one thing to behold.
Fremantle Dockers
The Dockers know they’ve the sport to match it with the Crows.
When the 2 sides met at Fremantle Oval in late February, the hosts went down by simply 9 factors in a low-scoring, high-pressure, finals-like contest.
They’ve additionally seen proof that the minor premiers should not indestructible, with a wily Bulldogs outfit getting the higher of the Crows by a solitary level in one of many video games of the 12 months in spherical six.
The Canines supplied a blueprint for the way to defeat the Crows, locking down Adelaide’s midfield initially of the match and defending their lead within the dying phases with manic, all-in, selfless stress.
One factor you’ll be able to assure is that the Dockers will carry the stress: they laid 72 tackles to 38 within the recreation between the 2 sides earlier this season.
On this regard, Fremantle have arguably the largest weapon within the recreation in Kiara “Turbo” Bowers, who shared final 12 months’s finest and fairest with Bri Davey however is ineligible for this 12 months’s award after being suspended earlier within the 12 months.
Regardless of taking part in solely seven video games, Bowers continues to be second on the deal with rely with 82 for the 12 months (behind Brisbane’s Cathy Svarc).
She looms as a formidable pairing with new captain Hayley Miller, who has shone within the function and leads the competitors for metres gained.
Miller will play her fiftieth AFLW recreation this weekend, and is the primary Docker to achieve the milestone.
How can I watch the video games if I can not attend?
All the AFLW finals matches might be broadcast dwell on the Seven Community, Fox Footy, Kayo, and by way of the AFL Official App.
Matches can even be streamed dwell by way of womens.afl and the AFLW Official App.
What if COVID strikes once more?
The AFL have stored their playing cards near their chest on this one, saying solely that they may work carefully with the golf equipment concerned previous to any resolution being made.
You’d assume one other re-schedule is probably going ought to one other outbreak happen, however contact wooden it is not crucial.
When and the place is the AFLW grand ultimate?
Certainly one of AFLW’s distinctive traditions is that the grand ultimate is hosted by the group which wins via to the decider and completed highest on the ladder.
Following that logic, the sport might be held in Adelaide if Adelaide win. If Adelaide lose, the sport might be hosted by whoever wins the Melbourne v Brisbane recreation, given each completed larger than Fremantle.
So, with simply over per week to go, the grand ultimate may nonetheless be in three totally different states.
The date and begin time is, nonetheless, locked in: it is going to happen on Saturday April 9 at 12:30pm AEDT.
As with the preliminary finals, room might be created within the males’s fixture to make sure the sport has “clear air”.
Most significantly, did Ash Barty retire so she will be able to play AFLW subsequent 12 months?
Ha ha. It appears that evidently’s the query on everybody’s lips (and dominating Google searches for ‘AFLW’).
Everybody is aware of how a lot Barty loves the Tigers, and the AFL Girls’s web site subsequently claimed “not less than 4 golf equipment” can be placing out the feelers to the previous world primary.
Following Barty’s shock retirement, Darcy Vescio was at their witty finest on Twitter, posting a picture captioned “Ash Barty’s telephone proper now”.
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In a listing of missed calls was 10 from Kate Sheahan — Richmond’s Head of Girls’s Soccer, and a former skilled tennis coach.
For added leisure, Vescio added one from “Garry”, presumably a reference to Barty’s accomplice, Garry Kissick.
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