IT is Round 6 of the Victorian Football League Women’s (VFLW) and after a weekend off, everyone is back and no doubt raring to go again. There are some absolutely cracking match ups this weekend, so let us take a look at what is in store for VFLW fans this weekend.

Hawthorn vs North Melbourne
Saturday at 10am
Trevor Barker Beach Oval

Both these sides are coming off good wins last round, with North getting their first on the board for the season.

However overall Hawthorn have had a much better season then the Roos, so expect the Hawks to go in as favourites.

This match was originally scheduled to be played in Gippsland, but has been moved to become part one of a double-header at Sandringham.

Fresh off being announced as the Hawks’ second AFLW signing, Zoe Barbakos joins the Hawks side this week, while interestingly enough no AFLW players at all will be lining up for North this week.

Carlton v Collingwood
Saturday at 12pm
Ikon Park

Both these sides are coming off very different Round 5 matches, and quite frankly very different seasons.

Collingwood’s premiership defence has been quite up and down so far, but they did get a good win over the Borough last time out.

Carlton on the other hand will really need to get some winning momentum into their season and fat. They will have been frustrated by their narrow loss to the Falcons last time around, and will be hoping to avoid that kind of result happening again, especially against one of their biggest rivals.

Despite their AFLW season having come to an end already, Carlton will be purely relying on their VFLW listed players to get over the line against an undermanned Collingwood side, who because of Covid chaos at AFLW level have had to bring in a few top up players into their VFLW side this week.

Williamstown vs Port Melbourne
Saturday at 2pm
Trevor Barker Beach Oval

Both of these sides are coming off frustrating last round losses, so both will be keen to get back on the winners list this weekend.

One factor that may make things extra challenging for the Seagulls is the potential influx of Richmond players into the Port side. Now that Richmond’s season is done, those players may want a break or may be keen to get some more game time in, especially with the potential for a short turnaround between AFLW seasons.  

Despite Richmond’s AFLW season having come to an end already, Port will not have any extra AFLW Tigers in their side this week. This would be a sigh of relief for the Williamstown coaching staff, who will be desperately trying to reinvigorate what has been a frustrating season for them so far.

Casey vs Southern Saints
Sunday at 10:05am
Casey Fields

This clash is set to be an absolute cracker.

Casey is top of the ladder and having an absolute ripping season, while the Saints have already become the team that causes the upsets this season. They ended Collingwood’s undefeated run that had stretched over several years, they beat the Cats and almost beat the Bombers (but ultimately drew), so who is to say they will not beat the Dees this weekend?

Regardless, one thing that will play into Casey’s favour is that it is at Casey Fields. There is just no ground like it in the VFLW because of the conditions, and Casey know how to play it well.

Despite the week off at AFLW level, not all of Melbourne’s stars get a break. Maddison Gay, Sarah Lampard and Eliza West are among the Dees stars who will be running around for Casey on Sunday.

This is a stark contrast to the Saints, who will be purely relying on their VFLW listed players to help them get over the line.

Western Bulldogs vs Darebin
Sunday at 11am
Whitten Oval

Now on paper this would have been a very different clash even just two months ago. But now, for maybe the first time in a while, Darebin will go into a match as favourites.

The Falcons are having a bit of a revival this season, and percentage is the only factor keeping them out of the top six. They are currently on a two match winning streak, and a big win this weekend could go a long way to help them close that gap on the top six even more.

The Bulldogs on the other hand are having a forgettable season, so will be desperately hoping they can take a scalp this weekend.

Geelong vs Essendon
Sunday at 1pm
Deakin University

This is another potentially enthralling clash. Two of the top sides this season, coming off matches last round that didn’t quite go to plan for very different reasons.

Essendon are a star studded line up, even though they are not an AFLW club yet, but if any team was going to finally knock them off the Cats would certainly be one of them. Despite losing two in a row, the Cats are still one of the contenders this season so expect quite an entertaining battle in this one.

One thing that will make things just that bit harder for the Cats is that Bombers skipper Georgia Nanscawen is back for the first time in several weeks.