A VIRTUAL SANFLW elimination takes place this afternoon, with the loser of West Adelaide and Sturt essentially out of finals contention, especially if Norwood gets up tomorrow. In the other match, a top three clash between ladder leaders Glenelg and third placed Central District has plenty of intrigue regarding double chances and home finals.

FORM

Sturt kept its minute chance of making finals alive last round with a 27-point win over Woodville-West Torrens, eliminating the Eagles in the process, while West Adelaide had a heartbreaking one-point loss to South Adelaide, knocking the Bloods three points adrift of the top four.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Sturt: 5
West Adelaide: 6

West Adelaide sits one win clear of Sturt in the head-to-head between the sides, but the Double Blues do have a 2-1 record at Unley including winning there lst season by a point. West Adelaide snapped a five-game winning streak by Sturt against the Bloods back in Round 3, and will be looking to make it back-to-back victories here.

TEAMS

Sturt:

B: Lily Whitcombe (24), Sarah Wallace (37)
HB: Sophie Thredgold (17), Hannah Prenzler (20), Isabella Drew (28)
C: Claudia Edmonds (22), Kate Harris (23), Molly Fletcher (31)
HF: Georgia Swan (3), Millie McCarthy (1), India Rasheed (6)
F: Summer Ross (42), Georgia King (55)
R: Jasmin Fejo (36), Alisha Gepp (15), Isobel Kuiper (2)
INT: Grace Powell (11), Winnie Thornquest (25), Amy Brooks-Birve (44), Tahlia Walker (18), Jaimee Wittervan (35), Monique Bessen (16), Gemma Grivell (13), Ruby Cunningham (5)

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), Olivia Smith (6)
HF: Molly Petersen (28), Nicole Hooper (11), Ella Maxwell (29)
F: Illish Ross (60), Chloe Tonkin (14)
R: Tess Huxtable (25), Asha Dufour (15), Jess Macolino (13)

INT: Grace McNicol (21), Georgie Pater (26), Lucy Waye (50), Emma Chapman (23), Ruby Ballard (22), Kendell Saffin (31), Nicola Biagi (40), Sarah Campbell (47)

CHANGES

Sturt will be thrilled to welcome back Monique Bessen from concussion protocols, while Ruby Cunningham and potential debutant Gemma Grivell join an extended bench. West Adelaide will be without winger Paige Allan for the clash in the Bloods’ only confirmed change, but do regain the likes of Tess Huxtable and Georgie Pater for the match.

AFLW DRAFT WATCH

Bessen will join her partner-in-crime and fellow star midfielder/forward India Rasheed once again, while fellow State Academy members Edwina Thornquest (defender/forward) and Sophie Thredgold (defender) have been performing well.

The Bloods have no shortage of State Academy members in their midst, with top-agers Asha Dufour, Emma Kilpatrick and Ruby Ballard rotating both sides of midfield, and defenders Lucy Boyd and Emily Mableson impacting from behind the ball. Chloe Tonkin stepped into the ruck last week in the absence of Huxtable, but expect her to return to her more permanent forwards spot in Round 12.

STATS THAT MATTER

Sturt is ranked second in clearances with 27.8 per game, ahead of the Bloods who sit in seventh with 24.6. The Double Blues do concede more clearances however, and the teams are relatively even across the board in terms of their forward efficiency, though West is ahead in finding the ball.

PREDICTION

West Adelaide has played the better and more consistent form this season, and getting within a point of South Adelaide last week shows the Bloods are not too far off the pace of the contenders. If they win, it means the finals race is alive in the last fortnight, while a loss, and a win to the Redlegs would see the top four confirmed.

FORM

Glenelg had a slip-up last round during its shock loss to last placed North Adelaide, just hte Bays’ second defeat this season. However it opened the door for its rivals, and a loss to the Bulldogs here would see Glenelg potentially slip to second. The Bulldogs had been teetering on the edge for a number of weeks, scraping through with wins, but that luck ran out with Norwood able to hold them out in a tight contest and now they must win to avoid slipping to fourth spot.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Glenelg: 8
Central District: 0

It is one of the most unique head-to-heads, with Central District yet to beat Glenelg in its women’s club history. Despite winning the flag last season, the Dogs still lost both those games, and in 2024, the Bays smashed the Bulldogs by seven goals in a commanding performance.

TEAMS

Glenelg:

B: Alice Bradley (21), Alex Walker (24)
HB: Ellen Tyminski (18), Marie Martino (15), Tamsyn Morriss (12)
C: Georgie Fielder (59), Madi Freeman (2), Matilda Wilmore (19)
HF: Sam Franson (5), Eloise Mackereth (9), Violet Patterson (6)
F: Shay’Lee Dayman (4), Jess Searle (23)
R: Alex Pearce (30), Jo Miller (32), Jess Bates (29)
INT: Renee Wurfel (3), Grace Duffy (20), Jorja Eldridge (33), Alana Baker (25), Jordan Horne (11), Kiahni Russell (54), Lucy Weatherald (42)

Central District:

B: Jovanka Zecevic (23), Tara Lord (31)
HB: Liz Wilson (14), Dakota Williams (38), Lauren Breguet (28)
C: Sophie Eaton (12), Shelby Smith (1), Jasmine Evans (27)
HF: Laitiah Huynh (41), Mikaylah Antony (54), Maddy Lane (40)
F: Katelyn Rosenzweig (2), Charlotte Riggs (9)
R: Miyu Endersby (3), Caitlen Teague (17), Tess Gerhardy (33)
INT: Tiarna Grovermann (45), Tessa Doumanis (8), Karissa Searle (22), Tarly Borgas (16), Erica Rowe (19), Georgia Mckee (21), Georgia Avery (18)

CHANGES

Glenelg will be thrilled to welcome back young gun Violet Patterson for the clash, as well as unveil Under 16s debutant Georgie Fielder who impressed during the national carnival. The pair return alongside bottom-ager Jordan Horne, while Lucy Armitage, Demi McCarthy and Mel Hinge are the outs.

Central District will finally recall star top-ager Georgia McKee, with the AFLW Academy returning and replacing Shelby Raven.

AFLW DRAFT WATCH

Patterson returning provides some more speed around the ball for the Bays, with both her and Horne strong inclusions for defensive pressure. Eloise Mackereth has been a source for scoring this season and expect that to continue, while Matilda Wilmore and Fielder have been named on respective wings.

McKee completes the Bulldogs’ trio of AFLW Academy members, with Charlotte Riggs in great form, and Jasmine Evans capable of anything. Riggs playing forward/ruck has allowed double bottom-ager Miyu Endersby to slot into defence, while 2023 Under 16s South Australian MVP Sophie Eaton has natural class. The inclusions of Mikaylah Antony and Tara Lord this season have also been good ones for the Dogs.

STATS THAT MATTER

It promises to be an enthralling contest with Central District averaging 38.9 points per game, the most in the league, while also conceding the most with 41.9 per match. Glenelg generates the most scoring shots of any side (12.0) but has the second worst accuracy (41.7), while Central District is the most accurate, but also allows the second most inside 50s and most scoring shots. Glenelg concedes the second least scoring shots.

PREDICTION

Glenelg has been more consistent throughout the year, but the loss last week could be good for the Dogs to just focus on some of the areas of improvement, particularly defensive elements after papering over the cracks the previous weeks by being good enough to win. At home the Bays deserve favouritism, but still missing some key players such as Poppy Scholz means the number one scoring team could put a lot of pressure on the home side’s defence.