LAST night South Adelaide held on in another epic struggle, defeating Woodville-West Torrens by two points in the opening game of SANFL Women’s Round 7, but there is still plenty more action where that came from. Two of the remaining three matches in the SANFL Women’s take place today, including a grand final rematch between reigning premiers North Adelaide and the team the Roosters beat, Sturt.

FORM

Good Friday is certainly living up to its name with a massive clash to kick off the day as last year’s grand finalists go head-to-head in a must-win match for both sides. The losers in the 2022 decider will be favourites in the clash, as they sit with an even keel of 3-3 for the season, but are yet to win two consecutive matches and the 10-goal thrashing of Eagles in Round 6 just put them percentage ahead of Norwood inside the top four.

North Adelaide on the other hand is on a three-game losing streak and needs to snap out of it pretty quickly before the going gets too tough. A loss here and the Roosters are two games out of the finals spots with five matches to play.

TEAMS

North Adelaide:

B: Jamie Parish (19), Kristi Harvey (5)
HB: Erin Sundstrom (34), Ella Quinn (14), Ella Metcalfe (40)
C: Katelyn Pope (13), Julia Clark (33), Kalani Bates (16)
HF: Aprille Crooks (10), Sky Jensen (50), Jayde Visser (30)
F: Cristie Castle (1), Hannah Ewings (31)
R: Isabelle Starmer (11), Chelsea Farr (28), Jessica Edwards (2)

INT: Laela Ebert (9), Lauren Gauci (35), Lauren Hoffmann (45), Emma Chapman (8), Sarah Steele-Park (36), Ebony Miller (53), Monika Ney (27)

Sturt:

B: Sarah Wallace (37), Lily Whitcombe (24)
HB: Hannah Prenzler (20), Kiera Mueller (33), Alex Ballard (19)
C: Elsie Dawes (5), Jaimee Wittervan (35), Molly Fletcher (31)
HF: Georgia Swan (3), India Rasheed (6), Georgia Bevan (7)
F: Tessa Doumanis (4), Millie McCarthy (1)
R: Jasmyn Hewett (41), Kate Harris (23), Isobel Kuiper (18)

INT: Isabella Drew (28), Alysha Healy (10), Monique Bessen (16), Amy Brooks-Birve (44), Jemma Valente (36), Zara Walsh (57), Ally Ladas (17), Claudia Edmonds (60)

CHANGES

North Adelaide cannot seem to go a week without more names added to the injury list and this time it is Port AFLW defender Amelie Borg as well as Kristen Rothwell. Those losses are compounded by the omissions of the AFLW-listed players in Amber Ward and Brittany Perry having a scheduled week off. The Roosters regain some important players such as Chelsea Farr and Ella Metcalfe, while Ebony Miller, Emma Chapman and Monika Ney have also been added to an extended bench.

Sturt will be minus key midfielder Alisha Gepp who had to be helped off in a makeshift sling last week, but regain top-age State Academy inclusion Zara Walsh, and rebounding defender Alex Ballard from concussion. Ally Ladas and Claudia Edmonds were named on an extended bench.

KEY PLAYERS

The return of Cristie Castle last week was critical for the Roosters, with her and Port AFLW talent Hannah Ewings key inside 50. The Roosters will be buzzing with Katelyn Pope landing at the Power as well, while also celebrating midfielder Julia Clark‘s 50th SANFL Women’s game.

Sturt has its defence fit and firing now with Ballard, Kiera Mueller and Hannah Prenzler making a rock solid, yet aggressive half-back line, while the half-forward line of the dazzling India Rasheed, skilful Georgia Swan and all-round ability of Georgia Bevan makes it another crucial line.

PREDICTION

Sturt looks a bit more consistent and steady across the board and on paper seems to have a better resemblance of its best 21. North Adelaide is always capable of anything and the Roosters will be fuming after letting a 29-0 start slip against the Bulldogs last week. They have to patch together some parts of the team due to injury, but desperately need to win as the season nudges past the halfway mark.

FORM

Perhaps an even more intriguing match today is the clash between in-form sides, Glenelg and Norwood. While the Bays lost a heartbreaker by a point to South Adelaide last week, they had strung four consecutive wins together since a Round 1 loss. Despite boasting a 4-2 record with the strongest percentage in the league, Glenelg could slip outside the top four if the Bays go down here strongly and other results do not go their way.

Norwood has to win to jump back into the top four, and like Glenelg, is only percentage ahead of the two injury-stricken sides in North Adelaide and West Adelaide, but the Redlegs are in some fantastic form, having won three on the trot since going 0-3 to start the season. Only Sturt’s belting of Eagles in Round 6 knocked Norwood out of the finals spots.

TEAMS

Glenelg:

B: Marie Martino (15), Matilda Scholz (28)
HB: Ellen Tyminski (18), Shay’Lee Dayman (4), Demi McCarthy (33)
C: Sarah Goodwin (11), Madisyn Freeman (2), Brooke Tonon (40)
HF: Piper Window (8), Matilda Wilmore (19), Lucy Armitage (14)
F: Ella Boag (43), Chelsea Packer (26)
R: Alex Walker (35), Ellie Kellock (5), Tessa Kohn (13)

INT: Laura Chigwidden (24), Caitlyn Swanson (9), Jordan Horne (51), Violet Patterson (6), Tamsyn Morriss (12)

Norwood:

B: Charlotte Nenke (44), Ashlee Gould (16)
HB: Sarah Branford (9), Lauren Smith (24), Hannah Dunn (64)
C: Tahlita Buethke (2), Georgie Jaques (61), Morgan Johnston (1)
HF: Coby Morgan (51), Grace Whittaker (60), Lana Schwerdt (41)
F: Rosette Zerella (32), Jade Halfpenny (22)
R: Sachi Syme (4), Ebony O’Dea (63), Najwa Allen (66)

INT: Shai Hiscock (13), Rosie Boon (46), Tesharna Maher (14), Nicola Burns (23), Emily Bartsch (27)

CHANGES

Glenelg has kept it simple in the wake of its first loss in a month, with Demi McCarthy in for Jess Searle as the only change. Norwood has brought back some experience in respective current and recently added Port AFLW players, Ebony O’Dea and Georgie Jaques who replace the unlucky Elle Lineage and Kaitey Whittaker, with Charlotte Nenke also replacing last week’s debutant Charlie Hazelhurst.

KEY PLAYERS

Glenelg’s midfield and aggressive nature is what has seen it pile on the scores this season, able to get the ball forward and do a lot of damage to opposition defences. Piper Window, Madisyn Freeman, Ellie Kellock and Brooke Tonon get the sides moving, while Sarah Goodwin – whose game ended at quarter time iced up early last weekend – has been named for Round 7.

Norwood has been strong around the ground, but was smashed in the clearances last week, so the inclusion of O’Dea will be important and Jaques back in the ruck. Sarah Branford and Hannah Dunn provided plenty of run out defence and will look for much of the same today.

PREDICTION

It is a genuine coin toss game with Norwood just seemingly able to find wins at the moment, though this will be the Redlegs toughest encounter since their winning streak started. The Bays are ticking along nicely and will have just been reminded how tight the competition is with the one-point defeat to South last round, and will be determined to bounce back. At home, the Bays should get up in a thriller, but the Redlegs have the capacity to jump back inside the top four.