FOUR of the top five sides meet in the second half of our SANFLW Saturday preview with Norwood up against Glenelg hoping to hold onto a top four spot, while West Adelaide is looking to snatch that position up against reigning premiers, Central District.

FORM

Norwood is a side on the rise, coming off back-to-back wins against South Adelaide – one of the best performances in recent history – and North Adelaide to leap back into the top four. Now the Redlegs face a Glenelg team that aside from a disappointing loss to South in Round 5, has seen off every other challenge and now won four on the bounce for an overall record of 8-1.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Norwood: 8
Glenelg: 4

Norwood has the upper hand over Glenelg having won eight of the last 11 meetings between the sides since the teams faced off for the first time in Round 3, 2017. Glenelg has won three of the last five however, including in Round 6 of this year, but that was by a measly four points. The teams are yet to play at the neutral Prospect Oval.

TEAMS

Norwood:

B: Emily Bartsch (27), Rosie Boon (46)
HB: Emma Daley (55), Sophie Arkun (43), Charlotte Nenke (44)
C: Coby Morgan (2), Kate Alexander (61), Tahlita Buethke (1)
HF: Tesharna Maher (14), Grace Mulvahil (11), Shai Hiscock (13)
F: Elle Lineage (50), Lana Schwerdt (41)
R: Candice Belbin (26), Sophie Armitstead (36), Jade Halfpenny (22)
INT: Emma Clark (7), Ailene Hiebner (34), Kiana Lee (28), Sarah Branford (9), Charli Hazelhurst (39)

Glenelg:

B: Poppy Scholz (20) Alex Walker (24)
HB: Ellen Tyminski (18), Marie Martino (15), Lauren Edwards (34)
C: Eloise Mackereth (9), Lucy Armitage (14), Mel Hinge (17)
HF: Sam Franson (5), Matilda Wilmore (19), Jordan Horne (11)
F: Shay’Lee Dayman (4), Jess Searle (23)
R: Alex Pearce (30), Jo Miller (32), Jess Bates (29)
INT: Renee Wurfel (3), Grace Duffy (10), Jorja Eldridge (28), Tamsyn Morriss (12), Kiahni Russell (54), Demi McCarthy (33), Shae Partington (27), Alice Bradley (21)

CHANGES

Norwood has only needed to make the one change, with Amelia Rusden unavailable for Round 10, so the forward has been replaced by midfielder Emma Clark. Glenelg will be without Madisyn Freeman (hip), but regain a trio of players in Jess Searle, Matilda Wilmore and Jorja Eldridge coming back in, with Kayla Robran the only omission.

AFLW DRAFT WATCH

Playing on the wing, Coby Morgan will provided plenty of dare down the ground, with opponent Eloise Mackereth named up there, having played that role at times for South Australia at the Under 16 Championships. The pressure of Jordan Horne and Wilmore inside 50 will be important for the Bays, as will the intercepting force that is Poppy Scholz. Redlegs ruck Kate Alexander has a big day ahead of her, while Emma Daley has been named in defence again, and Charli Hazelhurst will match up on one of the Bays’ talls.

STATS THAT MATTER

Norwood is the second highest scoring team in the competition and third best at limiting the opposition scoring. The Bays are third and second respectively, making this as even a contest as it comes. Glenelg is clearly the best side to get the ball inside 50, averaging 35.2 per game, while Norwood is ranked second for converting inside 50s into shots, with a 40.2 per cent success rate.

PREDICTION

Norwood is more than capable of taking this game out, it will just be a case of whether or not the Redlegs bring their best. The Bays just keep ticking the wins over, and while they have lost some run over the last two weeks without Violet Patterson and now Freeman, Glenelg is still the team to beat this season.

FORM

Since suffering a five-goal loss to South Adelaide in Round 7, Central District has clawed its way to back-to-back wins over the Eagles and Double Blues. Though not always convincing for four quarters, the Dogs have that aura about them that they can comeback from anything. West Adelaide went down in a hard-fought 10-point loss to Glenelg last week after being level at there quarter time but had been in form, winning back-to-back matches since a heavy loss to Central District.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

West Adelaide: 4
Central District: 6

Since West Adelaide won four of the first five encounters against the Bulldogs, Central has dominated winning the past five matches to go ahead in the head-to-head. The last four have been by an average of 40.3 points, including a 40-point win over the Bloods back in Round 6 at home. At Hisense Stadium, the results are split at two-apiece, but the most recent meeting there last year resulted in a nine-goal win to the Dogs.

TEAMS

West Adelaide:

B: Emily Mableson (44), Jess Chyer (18)
HB: Lucy Boyd (2), Madi Russell (1), Tiana Fernandez (20)
C: Emma Kilpatrick (27), Zoe Venning (9), Bec Hansen (10)
HF: Emma Chapman (23), Nicole Hooper (11), Ella Maxwell (29)
F: Lucy Waye (50), Chloe Tonkin (14)
R: Tess Huxtable (25), Hannah Button (7), Asha Dufour (15)
INT: Jessica Macolino (13), Molly Petersen (28), Olivia Smith (6), Georgie Pater (26), Ruby Ballard (22), Paige Allan (35), Grace McNicol (21), Nicola Biagi (40)

Central District:

B: Shelby Raven (36), Tara Lord (31)
HB: Sophie Eaton (12), Miyu Endersby (3), Caitlen Teague (17)
C: Liz Wilson (14), Shelby Smith (1), Jasmine Evans (27)
HF: Laitiah Huynh (41), Mikaylah Antony (54), Caitlin Wendland (42)
F: Lauren Breguet (28), Tessa Doumanis (8)
R: Katelyn Rosenzweig (2), Jovanka Zecevic (23), Tess Gerhardy (33)
INT: Tiarna Grovermann (45), Charlotte Riggs (9), Dakota Williams (38), Tarly Borgas (16), Karissa Searle (22), Erica Rowe (19), Maddy Lane (43), Ella Sergi (37)

CHANGES

West Adelaide will be thrilled to bring back not only Hannah Button, but fellow inside midfielder Jess Macolino who returns for the for the first time in 2024 after more than 12 months on the sidelines. The duo is joined in the side by former Dog, Nicola Biagi as part of an extended bench with only forward Kendell Saffin (calf) a confirmed out at this stage. Central District will be without tall Georgia Avery but have replaced her with a like-for-like with debutant Erica Rowe.

AFLW DRAFT WATCH

Athletic talls Charlotte Riggs and Miyu Endersby have been teaming up well to cover multiple positions this year, while Mikaylah Antony has made the final cut of the South Australian squad after being a late inclusion. Sophie Eaton and Jasmine Evans will provide class across the ground, while Tara Lord has made a solid start to her League career as and Under 16s talent.

West Adelaide also has a stack of young stars with top-agers Emma Kilpatrick and Lucy Boyd strong at turning defence into offence, while the composure of Emily Mableson off half-back has been impressive. Ruby Ballard brings the heat in the forward half, while Asha Dufour racks it up around the stoppages, and Chloe Tonkin has proven to be a terrific target inside 50.

STATS THAT MATTER

Central District is the highest scoring side in the competition (42.8 points) but also concede the most points (44.9) so the Bulldogs are not afraid of a shoot out. Their accuracy of 53.3 per cent is also the best in the competition, and they convert the most inside 50s into shots. However like the scoring, they get opened up the other way which is how West Adelaide can get involved. The Bloods are second for their ball efficiency in turning possessions into scoring shots, and while they might not be scoring at the rate that the Dogs do, have used the ball efficiently.

PREDICTION

With the West Adelaide inclusions and playing at Richmond, it will make for a ripping contest. The Bloods have arguably been more consistent over the last few weeks, but the Dogs have their moments in games where they can kick goals quickly and find a way to win. They have the firepower to notch up another victory here, but it is a must-win for the Bloods who sit fifth.