THREE matches close out Round 6 of the AFL Women’s with the game spread across the country including a Country clash in Warrnambool.

1:05pm
Reid Oval

Recent Form

Both of these teams have had a pretty strong start to the season. Essendon and Geelong are currently sitting at three wins apiece, and will be keen to keep that winning ledger in the positive today.

History

These teams did meet in Essendon’s inaugural season last year, but it was the Cats who came away with the chocolates, winning by 15 points.

Key Stat Areas

Essendon handball the ball significantly more than Geelong, while the Cats kick the ball significantly more than the Bombers, so today’s clash will be one of very different gamestyles.

Another interesting area to look at is hitouts compared to clearances. Geelong has been doing better in the hit outs, but Essendon has been doing better in clearances, both overall and specifically when broken down into centre and stoppage clearances.

Key Match Up/s

Madison Prespakis vs Amy McDonald

As the saying goes it all starts in the middle, and these two really are the in and unders that get things going for their respective sides. They are the ones that feed it out to the outside runners, so will certainly want to keep the other quiet and keep first use of the ball out of a contest all to themselves.

Bonnie Toogood vs Georgie Rankin

Toogood is the focal point in attack for Essendon, and a lot of Essendon’s forward half success does rest on her shoulders. Rankin is the Geelong defender most likely to go to her as she is the one that can match Toogood the best for both height and mobility.

Ellyse Gamble vs Aishling Moloney

Up the other end, despite her relative newness to the game Moloney has already proven how much she belongs at this level and how much of a strong target she can be in attack for the Cats. Gamble or whoever else ends up on Moloney will have to be particularly mindful of her marking ability.

3:05pm
Ikon Park

Recent Form

Both of these teams have had a pretty strong start to the season. Richmond and Gold Coast are currently sitting at three wins apiece, and will be keen to keep that winning ledger in the positive today.

History

These two teams have met four times, with both sides winning two of those previous matches each.

Key Stat Areas

Much like the first game of the day, this one is also a clash in different gamestyles. Richmond is more of a kicking team, while Gold Coast is very much more a handballing team.

When it comes to these two sides, there is an interesting disparity between their number of inside 50s and their inside 50 efficiency. The Suns have had more inside 50s than Richmond, but the Tigers’ inside 50 efficiency has been better than the Suns has.

Key Match Up/s

Monique Conti vs Charlie Rowbottom

As the saying goes it all starts in the middle, and these two really are the in and unders that get things going for their respective sides. They are the ones that feed it out to the outside runners, so will certainly want to keep the other quiet and keep first use of the ball out of a contest all to themselves.

Eilish Sheerin vs Tara Bohanna

Bohanna is the link between the mid and forward line for the Suns, and for a tall forward is a lot more mobile than many are. Thankfully for the Tigers they have Sheerin, who certainly has the run to go toe to toe with Bohanna for the game.

Katie Brennan vs Vivien Saad

Up the other end, Brennan plays a very similar role for the Tigers as Bohanna does for the Suns, so Saad or whoever else ends up on Brennan will have to keep her trapped further up the ground so she cannot impact the attacking play for the Tigers.

5:05pm
Fremantle Oval

Recent Form

Both of these teams got back on the winners list last week so will be keen to remain on the winners list today. Fremantle got back on the winners list with a strong win over Richmond, while North Melbourne did so with a hard-fought win over GWS.

History

These two teams have played three times recently. Fremantle won the first of these clashes, but the Kangaroos won the two most recent meetings between the sides.

Key Stat Areas

There are plenty of areas particularly Fremantle will need to keep an eye on today.

One area of particular strength for North Melbourne is their clearances. They are doing a lot better than Fremantle across all three clearance categories, and once they establish dominance in the category can be pretty hard to stop.

Key Match Up/s

Hayley Miller vs Jasmine Garner

As the saying goes it all starts in the middle, and these two really are the in and unders that get things going for their respective sides. These two are the clearance queens that feed it out to the outside runners, so will certainly want to keep the other quiet and keep first use of the ball out of a contest all to themselves.

Aine Tighe vs Eliza Shannon

If this season has taught us nothing else about the Dockers, it is that Tighe is one hell of a valuable attacking option for those in purple. Although Shannon is not the tallest option in defence the Kangaroos have, she has proven her ability to play on players much taller than her, so may just be the one who has the unenviable task of playing on Tighe today.

Kate Shierlaw vs Laura Pugh

Up the other end, the equivalent of Tighe for the Kangaroos is definitely Shierlaw, who is not only a strong marker but also a very mobile target. Pugh or whoever else ends up on Shierlaw will certainly have a busy afternoon keeping this dangerous forward quiet.