6:15pm
GMHBA Stadium

Recent Form

Both teams have had excellent first months of the season. Geelong has only suffered one loss so far this season, while the Dees have not suffered any.

History

These two team get to create their own little bit of history tonight, as tonight’s clash will be the first between the pair for premiership points.

Key Stat Areas

Unlike many of the opponents these two sides have had to face thus far this season, these teams match up pretty well across a number of categories.

Both teams prefer to handball the ball rather than kick it, so both sides will be wanting to establish dominance in that area.

However, one area that Melbourne are particularly dominant in is clearance, both overall and specifically in centre clearances and stoppage clearances, so Geelong’s midfielders will need to be mindful of that.

Key Match Up/s

Jacqueline Parry vs Tahlia Gillard

Parry really is the focal point of Geelong’s attack, with the tall target able to then spoil then ball for smaller crumbing team mates if unable to take the mark herself.

Therefore, Melbourne need a defender who is tall, but mobile enough to be able to keep up with Parry if she were to run for a lead, and Gillard is just the player for that role. Gillard also knows Parry’s game well, with the pair likely to have matched up on each other at training while the pair were team mates in Season 6.

Amy McDonald vs Liv Purcell

A key to both Geelong and Melbourne’s games is the teams’ midfields, and getting that handball game going and the key to that success on a more specific level lies with McDonald and Purcell. Both players who have similar roles on their respective teams, they are those in and under players to get that clearance and start and attacking movement going for their teams.

Claudia Gunjaca vs Kate Hore

Melbourne’s forward line is very multi pronged, with plenty of targets to keep the Geelong defenders busy. One of those is Hore, who has really lifted her game to another level in 2023.

Of the Geelong defenders named for tonight’s clash, Gunjaca is most likely to have the unenviable task of keeping Hore quiet, and has to be prepared for a fair amount of running to keep up with the Dees’ skipper.