ALL eight SANFL Women’s clubs depth will be tested across Round 9 of the season, with the state’s best talent from the Under 16s and Under 18s departing due to the National Championships in Perth. With just four rounds remaining, finals spots are on the line, with a mid-table logjam keeping a number of sides in it.

FORM

Kicking off the round at Wigan Oval, is a clash between two sides who lost in heartbreaking fashion last week. The Double Blues looked to have done enough at several times throughout the match against Central District but went down by two points, while Norwood’s slow start against North Adelaide cost them as the Redlegs also fell agonisingly short by two points. Both sides remain inside the top four, but only by percentage, making this a massive clash.

TEAMS

Sturt:

B: Sarah Wallace (37), Isabella Drew (28)
HB: Hannah Prenzler (20), Alex Ballard (19), Jaimee Wittervan (35)
C: Elsie Dawes (5), Georgia Bevan (7), Molly Fletcher (31)
HF: Georgia Swan (3), Alysha Healy (10), Ally Ladas (17)
F: Tessa Doumanis (4), Millie McCarthy (1)
R: Alex Pearce (38), Kate Harris (23), Isobel Kuiper (18)

INT: Claudia Edmonds (60), Georgia King (55), Jasmin Fejo (21), Amy Brooks-Birve (44), Jemma Valente (36), Tahlia Walker (40), Abbey Rigter (11)

Norwood:

B: Ashlee Gould (16), Emily Bartsch (27)
HB: Sarah Branford (9), Amelia Rusden (10), Lauren Smith (24)
C: Tahlita Buethke (2), Georgie Jaques (61), Morgan Johnston (1)
HF: Sophie Arkun (43), Tesharna Maher (14), Shai Hiscock (13)
F: Rosette Zerella (32), Jade Halfpenny (22)
R: Sachi Syme (4), Lana Schwerdt (41), Ebony O’Dea (63)

INT: Rosie Boon (46), Grace Whittaker (60), Alison Ferrall (19), Nicola Burns (23), Charlotte Nenke (44)

CHANGES

Sturt loses its trio of State Academy members in India Rasheed, Lily Whitcombe and Zara Walsh, while Jasmyn Hewett is also unavailable. Her out paves the way for a debut for Adelaide Lightning basketballer Jasmin Fejo, while Hahndorf’s Georgia King will also play her first game. Tall timber Alex Pearce and Tahlia Walker, and small forwards Abbey Rigter and Tessa Doumanis also return to the lineup.

Norwood has a fairly simple two-player swap with Molly Brooksby and Coby Morgan both out of the team, while captain Alison Ferrall and debutant Sophie Arkun (Payneham) replace them.

KEY PLAYERS

The midfield battle between the sides will be the one to watch, with Sturt’s Georgia Bevan, Isobel Kuiper and Kate Harris in good form going up against Lana Schwerdt, Ebony O’Dea and Sachi Syme. The ruck battle between Georgie Jaques and a combination of Pearce and Fejo will also be another element that could be key to the game.

PREDICTION

The match looms as a tight one with both sides capable putting in strong performances. Expect it to go down to the wire and be within a goal or two either way. The home ground advantage might marginally tip in Sturt’s favour.

FORM

Back in Round 6 these teams played out one of the games of the season, with a thrilling final term leading to the the Panthers getting the win by a point, 3.6 (24) to 3.5 (23). Since then, the Panthers have kept up their winning streak to move to 7-1 for the season, while Glenelg has dropped another two games to sink to fifth, 4-4 and in danger of slipping further with a loss here.

TEAMS

Glenelg:

B: Demi McCarthy (33), Marie Martino (15)
HB: Ellen Tyminski (18), Shay’Lee Dayman (4), Laura Chigwidden (24)
C: Andi Moilere (16), Madisyn Freeman (2), Morgan Blackwell (7)
HF: Lucy Armitage (14), Anju Goninon (31), Chelsea Packer (26)
F: Ella Boag (43), Alex Walker (35)
R: Anja Bancevic (55), Ellie Kellock (5), Tessa Kohn (13)

INT: Alice Bradley (21), Caitlyn Swanson (9), Rani Grant (34), Madison Bennett (17), Tamsyn Morriss (12)

South Adelaide:

B: Jaslynne Smith (35), Caitlin Radbone (34)
HB: Sam Pratt (22), Litonya Cockatoo-Motlap (18), Tiffany Copley (14)
C: Elise Barwick (24), Gypsy Schirmer (36), Cheyenne Hammond (29)
HF: Caitlin Ross (15), Jorja Hooper (38), Laquoia Cockatoo-Motlap (17)
F: Jordann Hickey (4), Lucy Northcott (12)
R: Soriah Moon (32), Caitlin Couch (8), Senna Gulden (25)

INT: Bri Cleggett (27), Charlotte Dolan (28), Lauren Clifton (41), Jess Kirk (7), Nari Wright (3), Mel Koster (48), Sarah Wright (5)

CHANGES

Glenelg’s hopes of winning in front of a home crowd is further hurt by the losses of Piper Window, Poppy Scholz and Violet Patterson for state duties, while Poppy’s older sister Matilda will miss due to an ankle injury. Coming into the sided is a Northern Territory debutant in Anju Goninon, as well as important player Alice Bradley back into the midfield. Morgan Blackwell, Anja Bancevic and Rani Grant also return to the Bays’ side.

South Adelaide will miss a quartet of State Academy members in Brooke Boileau, Holly Ifould, Esther Schirmer and Melissa Anderson. Also joining them out of the side are Nicole Mark and Taylah Levy, while Indy Tahau was a late out due to internal bleeding, replaced in the extended squad by Sarah Wright.

Incredibly, the Panthers have the luxury of welcoming back captain Brianna Cleggett from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury she sustained last year, as well as reigning co best and fairest winner Gypsy Schirmer. The likes of Jess Kirk, Caitlin Ross, Jorja Hooper, Lauren Clifton and Nari Wright also come into the team.

KEY PLAYERS

Schirmer will add some extra toughness to the South midfield, while the inclusion of Cleggett will provide extra height and a massive one-two punch in the ruck with Soriah Moon. The run of Elise Barwick and Cheyenne Hammond also adds a point of different to the Panthers’ lineup.

For Glenelg, the experience of Ella Boag, Ellie Kellock and Madisyn Freeman will be critical if the home side is to cause an upset against the ladder leaders, while Tessa Kohn will likely have more midfield minutes in the absence of Window.

PREDICTION

South Adelaide’s depth is insane and even minus the incredibly talented Under 18s prospects, welcome back a number of League quality players with ease. The Panthers should have the understrength Bays covered, with Glenelg looking to some fierce home crowd support to get them over the line.

FORM

The bottom two sides in the SANFL Women’s face off in realistically the last chance saloon for the loser. A loss in this game will firmly put a line through the finals chances of the recipient, while for the winner, it potentially moves them one win – and a lot of percentage – outside the top four with three games remaining. Woodville-West Torrens knocked off Glenelg last week to keep its slim finals chances alive and rise above the Bloods, while West Adelaide is hoping to snap a six-game losing streak here.

TEAMS

Woodville-West Torrens:

B: Audrey Holt (10), Leah Cutting (26)
HB: Cher Waters (20), Channy Mitchell (5), Amie Blanden (12)
C: Brianna Walling (13), Jasmine Simmons (11), Sophie Whitwell (42)
HF: Beatrice Devlyn (6), Annie Falkenberg (8), Hannah Scholar (19)
F: Marlie Fiegert (30), Bianca Portaro (3)
R: Natasha Holmes (40), Christina Leuzzi (46), Brooklyn Kraft (33)

INT: Ashley Baker (44), Yasmin Duursma (60), Sophie Zuill (24), Kayleigh May (48), Poppy Waterford (1), Isabella Benedictson (37), Ella Little (22)

West Adelaide:

B: Emma Kilpatrick (43), Jess Chyer (38)
HB: Lily Johnson (33), Georgie Pater (26), Tiana Fernandez (21)
C: Olivia Smith (22), Illish Ross (60), Millie Gentle (3)
HF: Ella Maxwell (45), Nicole Hooper (11), Molly Petersen (57)
F: Kendall Saffin (31), Gemma Houghton (67)
R: Tess Huxtable (49), Zoe Venning (9), Asha Dufour (46)

INT: Grace McNicol (21), Charlie Scutchings (12), Paris Francis (24), Kelly Barltrop (15), Saraid Kustermann (6)

CHANGES

Woodville-West Torrens will be minus star youngster Shineah Goody and fellow talented bottom-age forwards, Jemma Charity and Grace Martin. The trio are out of the side for the national championships, while Port Adelaide AFLW midfielder Abbey Dowrick is also missing from the team. Coming into the side is an extended bench headlined by AFLW-experienced players Yasmin Duursma and Ella Little, as well as classy forward Chantelle Mitchell.

West Adelaide has some huge losses from its side with top draft prospect Lauren Young missing alongside Ruby Ballard and Lucy Boyd. Replacing those on an extended bench are a stack of potential debutants including Kendell Saffin, Annie Brearly, Madeline Fitzgerald and Allani Dawes, as well as the experience of Iilish Ross, Nicole Hooper and Paris Francis.

KEY PLAYERS

Minus their top-end future AFLW players, both sides will be looking to their depth for the game. Duursma and Ross are crucial inclusions for respective sides, while Gemma Houghton is important inside 50 without Young there. In defence, the Bloods will look to Emma Kilpatrick – who was overlooked just for the Round 1 AFLW Under 18s clash, as well as Georgie Pater and Lily Johnson. For the Eagles, Beatrice Devlyn and Leah Cutting provide that AFLW experience while captain Annie Falkenberg has been in ripping form this year.

PREDICTION

Woodville-West Torrens will head into the match as favourites hoping to reach their third win of the season and hand West Adelaide a seventh straight loss. It has been an incredibly tough year for the Bloods who showed how much talent they had in the opening few rounds before losing a stack of players to injury. A win would be great for the confidence, but the Bloods will need to play four quarters minus their best player.

FORM

Central District is buzzing coming off a remarkable comeback against Sturt, the second time the Bulldogs have come from the clouds to mow down an opponent. The first was against North Adelaide when the Dogs came from a 29-0 deficit back in Round 6 to kick seven of the last eight goals and run over the top of the Roosters, 7.1 (43) to 5.8 (38). North Adelaide finally got on the board with its third win last week over Norwood following four straight losses.

TEAMS

Central District

B: Laitiah Huynh (41), Jessica Allan (35)
HB: Caitlen Teague (17), Charlotte Riggs (9), Shannon Murphy (10)
C: Dakota Williams (38), Shelby Smith (1), Julia Teakle (6)
HF: Jovanka Zecevic (23), Georgia Avery (18), Demi Sonneman (20)
F: Karissa Searle (22), Lauren Breguet (28)
R: Olivia Levicki (13), Maria Moloney (66),  Madison Lane (40)

INT: Caitlin Wendland (42), Katelyn Rosenzweig (2), Georgia Madigan (7), Chantel Reynolds (30), Tess Gerhardy (33), Aisha Thomas (16)

North Adelaide:

B: Ella Metcalfe (40), Kristi Harvey (5)
HB: Amelie Borg (22), Ella Quinn (14), Aprille Crooks (10)
C: Katelyn Pope (13), Julia Clark (33), Erin Sundstrom (34)
HF: Lauren Hoffmann (45), Sky Jensen (50), Brittany Perry (19)
F: Doreena Hansen (41), Hannah Ewings (31)
R: Isabelle Starmer (11), Chelsea Farr (28), Jessica Edwards (2)

INT: Kalani Bates (19), Kelsei Ley (63), Tayla Gordon (23), Lauren Gauci (35), Sarah Steele-Park (36), Cristie Castle (1), Kirsten Rothwell (15)

CHANGES

Central District will be minus the services of State Academy representatives Charlotte Riggs, Elaine Grigg and Jasmine Evans, but do regain a couple of AFLW-experienced players in Maria Moloney and Julia Teakle, as well as Aisha Thomas for the clash.

North Adelaide has also made minimal changes, with only Laela Ebert missing due to State Academy duties, and Jamie Parish the other out of the side. Coming in for an extended bench are Kalani Bates, Cristie Castle, Ella Metcalfe and Kristen Rothwell.

KEY PLAYERS

Central District’s midfield of Moloney, skipper Shelby Smith and Caitlin Wendland have been outstanding this year, while Katelyn Rosenzweig is coming off a four-goal game and will be joined by Teakle (three goals last time out) in a strong forwardline. The trio of Academy players will hurt, but the Bulldogs have the depth, while the Roosters are largely untouched by the state representation. Though they have lost quite a few players this year to injury or moving interstate, the likes of Katelyn Pope, Hannah Ewings and Jessica Edwards are consistently among the best running around in the competition, and Isabelle Starmer will get to play her former side for the second time.

PREDICTION

Central District should still have enough depth to cover the game, though one can never count the Roosters out, especially after their inspirational win over Norwood last week. They have just got to piece together four quarters of football in order to get the job done, because their best is good enough, but they just lapse at times which has proved costly.