The final round of the AFLW season quite literally came down to the final game, with the top eight only identified after 13 teams still had a viable chance of making it. For the first time, the Swans and Essendon will play finals, each in just their second season in the competition, and with the race to finals so tightly contested, the scene is set for an unpredictable four weeks ahead.
There has already been unrest regarding the scheduling, with both Victorian finals scheduled two hours apart – in Geelong and Carlton respectively – making it impossible for fans to attend both matches.
Fierce rivalries and a desire to avenge past losses often punctuate finals, and after a rematch between last year’s grand finalists saw the tables turn and Brisbane down reigning premiers Melbourne by 25 points in the final round, the hunger for victory is palpable.
The Adelaide Crows will face the Lions in the first qualifying final after the Crows finished top of the ladder, earning home ground rights, while Brisbane ended the home-and-away season in fourth place.
The Lions have beaten the Crows the last three times they have met, and while Brisbane have beaten every other team in the top four, interestingly they have been defeated by lower-ranked teams, raising questions around how they might perform when it comes down to the wire. But the Lions have earned themselves a double chance, which should go some way to instilling some confidence.
The Crows are a triple-premiership dynasty and opted to rest some of their strongest players in round 10, including captain Chelsea Randall, triple club champion Anne Hatchard, Stevie-Lee Thompson, Kiera Mueller and Jess Waterhouse. With fresh legs, unmatched finals experience and a home ground advantage, the Lions will need to be at their best to sink the Crows.
Sydney didn’t win a single game last year and, in emotional scenes, sealed a place in finals, taking the final spot in the top eight. The Suns enter just their second finals campaign, after finishing fifth. The two sides will face each other in the first elimination final on Saturday, on the Suns’ home turf.
Winning six of their 10 games, Sydney have exceeded lowly expectations this year, and with their head coach, Scott Gowans, having suffered a cancer diagnosis earlier in the year, it has been a bumpy road for the Swans to get to this point. They will need to dig deep to come out on top, with the Suns going in as favourites, but also with a short turnaround between landing back at home from Perth late on Monday and flying to the Gold Coast on Friday.
Gold Coast are without star midfielder Charlie Rowbottom due to an ankle injury which might go some way to evening the ledger, but youngster Lucy Single has been doing an impressive job at filling the void, quickly becoming one of the best taggers in the competition.
Geelong and Essendon will battle it out at GMHBA Stadium, in the Bombers’ first foray into finals footy. Finishing sixth and seventh respectively, the losers of Sunday’s game will be eliminated.
Geelong have enjoyed two emphatic wins in a row, most recently beating Hawthorn by 40 points and earning the home ground elimination final. The Bombers, meanwhile, were on the verge of missing out on finals based on percentage, after a loss to Gold Coast but Collingwood needed to knock them out with a big win over Richmond.
The upshot is that Geelong will likely be difficult to beat for Essendon, with Chloe Scheer and Georgie Prespakis in peak form, and a majority of their list having finals experience.
Melbourne will play North Melbourne at Ikon Park on Sunday, in the second qualifying final, and a match-up that will likely prove to be a fierce contest.
North have improved in leaps and bounds this year and have been beaten only by Melbourne and Adelaide. Yet the Demons have the obvious upper hand, having dominated all season and had such success in recent finals. They also have the AFLW’s first joint leading goalkickers from the same club – forward duo Eden Zanker and Kate Hore (20 goals each).
While Zanker and Hore are hard to beat in the forward line, North Melbourne’s defence is prolific, with star midfielder Ash Riddell and partner in crime Jasmine Garner averaging 32 and 30 disposals a game respectively this season.
With teams that have little to no finals experience looking to be able to contend against the reigning premiers and three-time premiership sides, no result is guaranteed. All four elimination finalists will be vying for their first finals victories, while one side will be desperate to prove they can defend their premiership title In the eighth season of the league, one thing is for sure – the odds are wide open and it’s anyone’s game.
