THE 2022 VFL Women’s season is starting to really fly by now, with the season reaching its halfway point this weekend. Teams, particularly in the middle part of the ladder, are now approaching the point in the season where they need to start thinking about cementing their place in finals.

But before then, there are another six matches this weekend for fans to enjoy.

Collingwood vs. Casey
Saturday April 2, 10am
AIA Centre

Casey is arguably one of the teams to beat so far this season, while Collingwood’s premiership defence is on shaky ground at the moment.

After playing their home games at Victoria Park so far this season, the Magpies return to their other home ground at Olympic Park for this clash.

Both sides will be full of AFLW talent to keep an eye on. The likes of Alison Brown, Jacqueline Parry and Brenna Tarrant go up against Eloise Chaston, Joanna Lin and Jordan Membrey, with the latter two returning from long term injuries in black and white.

Southern Saints vs. Port Melbourne
Saturday April 2, 12pm
Trevor Barker Oval

Both of these sides are coming off bad losses, and need to kick a bit of energy back into their seasons.

After aiming to go better then they did in 2021, it’s looking increasingly unlikely that the Borough will make finals at all, let alone reach new heights.

Meanwhile for the Saints, they were comprehensively beaten by the Dees last week, so they will be looking to get back on the winners list this week.

Fresh off her signing with the AFLW Hawks, Sophie Locke will be looking to have a stellar game for the Borough. She comes up against a backline consisting of the likes of Grace Buchan, who had a great game last week despite her side’s comfortable loss.

Williamstown vs. Darebin
Saturday April 2, 2pm
Williamstown Football Oval

These two sides have already met once this season, and back in Round 1 it was the Falcons who came from behind to take the win.

Darebin is in a bit of a purple patch at the moment, and currently sits on a three match winning streak. With a good run in the fixture in the next few weeks, a win this weekend will go a long way in suring up a previously unlikely finals berth for the Falcons.  

Williamstown, on the other hand, is only a game (and a fair bit of percentage) outside the top six, so will be desperate to get another win on the board that to build some momentum from.

North Melbourne vs. Essendon
Sunday April 3, 10:05am
Arden Street Oval

This is one of a number of clashes on Sunday that could be very one sided.

North Melbourne has been far from impressive this season, while the Bombers are one of this year’s premiership favourites.

Essendon’s forward line is particularly dangerous, so North’s defenders are going to have their work cut out for them on Sunday. Not only is the forward line full of different kinds of proven options, but the Essendon midfield is so strong that the Bombers’ forwards consistently get good delivery to them.

Western Bulldogs vs. Geelong
Sunday April 3, 11am
Whitten Oval

The second of the potentially one sided matches on Sunday sees the winless Dogs up against the Geelong.

Geelong is on a bit of a losing run at the moment, but the Bulldogs have been far from convincing this season, and remain rooted to the bottom of the ladder with zero wins to their name so far.

Combine this with the lopsided player with AFLW experience count, and this looms as a straightforward win to the Cats.

Hawthorn vs. Carlton
Sunday April 3, 12:35pm
Box Hill City Oval

Both of these sides are coming off good wins of very different margins last week, so will be keen to keep the winning momentum going this weekend.

Hawthorn will likely go into the match as favourites, but don’t write off Carlton just yet. The Blues beat the reigning premiers last week, so this has the potential for a very interesting match.