ENTERING the final month of the AFL Sydney Women’s Premier Division season, everything is heating up as finals spots become narrower for competing teams. We take a look at the four matches across tomorrow which should paint a better picture of the finals race.

In particular the battle for fifth – where Pennant Hills Demons and Sydney University both side on 20 points – is one to watch. The Demons take on reigning premiers East Coast Eagles, while the Students take on the winless Southern Power.

PENNANT HILLS DEMONS vs. EAST COAST EAGLES
Saturday, July 22 @ Greenway Park, 12:40pm

The most contested game of the round. Pennant Hills has rarely restricted East Coast from going straight through the middle at home, but if there is ever a game to do it, this is the one. If the Demons win, it will be a huge bonus, but if they lose they must restrict percentages.

Pennant Hills’ main strength this year has been its ability to make every possession pressurised for the opposition, but they still get punished by run, kick and marking chains.

The Demons are coming off a valiant club effort win last week, but East Coast will be disappointed with its small loss in the blockbuster game against UTS on the same day. The Eagles will be looking to do everything to gain back top spot, fix up their fluency issues and some defensive shakiness concerns before the big games really kick in.

Look for the two best half-back sweepers in readers of the play in the league going head-to-head at each end of the field in Demons’ skipper Eleanor Rugg and Eagles defender Renee Tomkins. Both are building nice defensive units around them, so expect the match to be a lower scoring game than normal.

If the Eagles are allowed to kick and mark freely to Caitlin Davidson and Brooke Bailey, it will be all over very quickly. For Pennant Hills, Kaitlin Quinlan to have a big game in trying to stop the aerial contests coming in.

The only way Pennant Hills win this game is if the Demons get the centre working offensively during without getting hurt the other way, and achieve enough exits to feed Brianna Wade up front with opportunities to hit the scoreboard.

East Coast is expected to win, but the question will be the exact margin, depending on a lot of the above factors.

NORTH SHORE BOMBERS vs. UNSW-ES BULLDOGS
Saturday, July 22 @ Gore Hill Oval, 10:10am

A must win game for North Shore Bombers to keep any reasonable hope of finals alive. UNSW-ES Bulldogs were very brave and fought for every possession against Pennant Hills last week.

North Shore’s style of play will mean the Bombers will be too quick, and decisive with the football around the contest and on astroturf. Unless the Bulldogs can find a way to get past the first contact with the footy and create a free runner themselves, this could be a blow out game.

The Bombers by a comfortable margin.

MANLY WARRINGAH WOLVES vs. UTS BATS
Saturday, July 22 @ Weldon Oval, 12:30pm

The game of the round and once again there is more than a chance of another upset. It was a huge achievement by UTS Bats last week to knock off the benchmark Eagles, but Manly bring UTS’ biggest test. That comes in the specific area of pressure right at the source which is a hurdle for UTS at the moment.

Manly brings running athleticism to everything and make every possession hard and under the heat of direct pressure. On the big ground at Weldon, where it takes a minimum three possessions to get the ball from end to end, it will be very tough for UTS to put on a big score.

Watch for an extraordinary amount play directed to deep wings and pockets, with the winning team the one who straightens and centralises with effective football the most. Given the enormous amount of contested possessions bound to happen in this game, the coalface extractions will be crucial.

Manly in a tight one.

SYDNEY UNIVERSITY vs. SOUTHERN POWER
Saturday, July 23 @ Sydney Uni Oval, 2:55pm

The game will be Sydney Uni’s best chance to gain the percentage needed in the battle for fifth place
and Southern Power will be looking to not make it easy for the Students. Jasmine Smith is an accomplished player in top form and if they let her get off the chain, she will be too big, too strong and to effective with runners around her.

If Southern Power cannot contain extractions around the contest and let the runners run and kick straight, then the middle might become a massive source of scoring for the home side. For Southern Power to be competitive in this game, they must use the small ground concepts and continue tight contests all day, and then figure out a way to get forward fifty entries and scores for themselves.