JUST the one match takes place tomorrow to complete Round 3 of the SANFL Women’s competition as Woodville-West Torrens hosts Norwood at Thebarton Oval. A familiar face returns to the Eagles nest as they search for their first win against an in-form Redlegs outfit.,

FORM

Norwood enters the Round 3 clash coming off an inspirational final term with the breeze against South Adelaide, running away with the match by 20 points. In Round 1 the Redlegs fell short of Central District, so the form stacks up. The Eagles on the other hand went down to the Bulldogs with a disappointing first term, but then broke even after that, having pushed Sturt to the limit in Round 1 but fallen short by seven points.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Woodville-West Torrens: 1
Norwood: 8

Norwood unsurprisingly holds an 8-1 record over the Eagles with the Redlegs consistent finals performers, while the Eagles are yet to taste their post-season action. Woodville-West Torrens’ sole win came in Round 9 of the 2022 season where they ran away 23-point winners in Norwood’s ‘down’ season. The sides are yet to play at Sturt’s spiritual home of Thebarton Oval until tomorrow.

TEAMS

Woodville-West Torrens:

B: Lily Tarlinton (49), Christina Leuzzi (19)
HB: Audrey Holt (10), Annie Falkenberg (8), Leah Cutting (26)
C: Olivia Evans (28), Sophie Zuill (24), Poppy Waterford (1)
HF: Grace Martin (7), Rosette Zerella (32), McKenzie Dowrick (23)
F: Klaudia O’Neill (18), Taylah Levy (60)
R: Brooklyn Kraft (33), Brianna Walling (13), Marlie Fiegert (30)
INT: Renee Forth (27), Ashley Baker (44), Bianca Portaro (3), Shineah Goody (34), Amie Blanden (12), Cher Waters (20), Imogen Trengove (22), Popi Gikas (2)

Norwood:

B: Emily Bartsch (27), Charlotte Nenke (44)
HB: Rosie Boon (46), Charli Hazelhurst (39), Najwa Allen (66)
C: Coby Morgan (2), Kate Alexander (61), Tahlita Buethke (1)
HF: Amelia Rusden (10), Shai Hiscock (13), Jade Halfpenny (22)
F: Adrienne Davies (8), Stephanie Simmonds (17)
R: Sachi Syme (4), Elle Linage (50), Sarah Branford (9)
INT: Nicola Burns (23), Kiana Lee (28), Candice Belbin (26), Lana Schwerdt (41), Tesharna Maher (14)

CHANGES

Norwood 2022 club best and fairest winner and speedy midfielder Tesharna Maher got through training on Thursday and returns to the fold to provide some dare and dash across the field for the Redlegs. She is the only inclusion for the impressive fourth placed side, with Emma Clark the one to make way,.

Woodville-West Torrens welcome back a familiar face in star AFLW draftee Shineah Goody for the clash as part of an extended bench, with bottom-ager Imogen Trengove also named as a potential debutant. No omissions have been made for the Eagles as of yet.

AFLW DRAFT WATCH

Grace Martin played some great footy last week racking up seven clearances as she spent significant time in the midfield. Forward-turned-defender Klaudia O’Neill has shown some strong signs in the back 50, while tough defender Bianca Portaro was among the best Eagles last week. If she plays, expect Trengove to be an eye-catching talent wherever she plays.

For the Redlegs, Coby Morgan is developing her wing craft nicely at the moment and could be up for a breakout game after promising signs in patches through the first fortnight. Over the next two seasons, Charli Hazelhurst and Kate Alexander are names to remember, while defender Emily Bartsch has draftable qualities,.

KEY MATCHUP

Jade Halfpenny (Norwood) vs. Annie Falkenberg (Woodville-West Torrens)

The Eagles defence is strong but has still conceded high amounts of scoring. Falkenberg is the spiritual leader and will be a perfect fit in the marking contests for Halfpenny, then drop back when she goes high to mop up in defence. Halfpenny is always a threat be it inside 50 or through the midfield, with great hands and a booming kick.

STATS THAT MATTER

The sides are at the opposite ends of the defensive scale with Norwood keeping its opponents to 30 points per game on average the first two weeks ranking second, wile the Eagles are last with 54.5 points. Woodville-West Torrens is marginally ahead in the scoring (40-39), and look to implement a handball-heavy game averaging 94 per match, clear of the rest of the competition. The Eagles also stack up in the clearances, ranking second overall with 28.5 per game, while the Redlegs are 26.5 in fifth.

PREDICTION

Norwood’s form looks good enough to reach finals on paper, and while the Eagles are capable – and barring a forgettable first quarter against Central District – with potential to cause an upset. The Redlegs are deserving favourites here and should get up, but Woodville-West Torrens know how to get hands to the ball and have a few dangerous targets inside 50.