IT IS season over for four of the nine AFL Sydney Women’s Premier League side as the last round of the regular season takes place. Though just four games remain, there is plenty of finals-defining battles with three sides battling out for four spots ahead of the post-season series.

UTS BATS vs. PARRAMATTA GOANNAS
Saturday, August 24 @ 10:10am
Waverley Oval

Expect to see a very tight game overall with a finals spot on the line for both sides. If Parramatta can repeat last weeks excellent start – slicing straight through the middle with beautiful clearance work and overall football – that will be too much for UTS.

Hannah Cerezo has been very impactful over the last few weeks and Aoife Berry through the middle is racking up possessions, but they have not done it against the top flight midfields yet and up against the combination of Caitlin Fletcher, Megan Mifsud and Amanda Farrugia, expect they will continue to learn and be the next top flight generation in 2025.

One of the key differences for the match will be the inside football linkages. Parramatta’s on-ball group likes to offload in handballs in close and there is usually a linkage player there to receive it and run off to deliver down the field. UTS often finds itself one out and having to find a way to force a possession downfield.

UTS currently has the advantage of recent form in the respective forwardlines, with Jessica Quade proving a handful for quite a few teams recently. Parramatta must have an agile and run with defender or rotation ready to go. Quade had quite a few others helping with creating opportunities last round.. but the accuracy cost them very dearly in the fourth quarter last round.

Multiple missed scoring opportunities left them in the sink or swim predicament for the final round. Any big marks forward of centre will change field position – which is both teams primary weapon – and really give an advantage. Parramatta by a goal to deny UTS a finals spot.

EAST COAST EAGLES vs. SYDNEY UNIVERSITY
Saturday, August 24 @ 12:10pm
Kanebridge Oval

While one side – East Coast Eagles – has nothing on the line other than a tune up for finals – everything is on the line for Sydney University. The Students will know what they are playing for entering their match, with the Parramatta-UTS clash having finished just before first bounce. If UTS wins, Sydney Uni will drop back to outside the top five and need to win to reclaim a top five spot, while if Parramatta wins, the Students will also be safe in the knowledge they have secured a finals spot.

East Coast’s Caitlin Reid up against Sydney Uni young star Kendra Blattman will provide a fantastic ruck battle. Sydney Uni played a much improved and more free flowing game last round and took it right up to Parramatta and the Students will want to keep testing themselves and their overall skills. That is where the game will be won or lost.

Whichever team will get the most number of clean football opportunities in the middle and win the contested ball, and thus get the ball downfield more often, for the most opportunities should win. East Coast win that particular area of play every week, even when they lose. Thus at this stage, it is hard to see the Students getting more opportunities, as the East Coast players might just be too strong and too experienced at escaping pressure for too long.

But, whatever the scenario, an interesting game awaits. The biggest test for the students will be if Caitlin Davidson is available. Having both her and Rylee McGartland working in tandem across the forwardline – if they get fed enough opportunities – is currently too much for any team in the league to handle.

However, through unavailability, it has not happened often enough throughout this season to really develop and get all of he intricacies right. Expect that will be one of East Coast’s goals in finals preparation. The Eagles by four goals, but if UTS win, expect the Students to go even harder with finals on the line.

ST GEORGE DRAGONS vs. MANLY WARRINGAH WOLVES
Saturday, August 24 @ 12:40pm
Olds Park

Astonishingly, Manly can still miss the finals altogether if a certain very set of circumstances happen. The Wolves would need UTS and Sydney Uni to both win huge, and then lose to the winless St George by about 150 points. But the latter result is not going to happen. In fact, the opposite is more likely to happen.

Despite Pennant Hills keeping it close for about seven minutes last week, Manly put the sword through the Demons by over a 100 points. Expect the same here. Whilst it was not universal or perfected yet there were some very pleasing additions to Manly’s football last round. In particular, Zara Hamilton found much more “space before delivery” by using deliberate footwork and evasion, with some downfield executions added at the end of each movement.

Additionally, Kenya Fahey found the football herself and went on some bursting runs, proactively adding offensive football to her usual tight defensive role and mindset. However it was the Wolves’ forwardline who finally found more method. Isabella Rudolph was excellent at the start of the match, judging ball flight and taking excellent marks, while finishing with different styles of kicks not seen in her repertoire before which set the tone for the avalanche to come.

For the Dragons , they impressed a lot of viewers last week with a consistent and commendable effort against the top Eagles. Despite the scoreboard, they never gave up. The Round 18 clash provides one last chance to learn and experience the standards of play around the football and with football in hand required at the level, and then spend the time to build for the 2025 campaign.

Manly by around 12 goals which could be more but do no be surprised if rotations come into play late in the game once the result is beyond doubt.

UNSW-ES BULLDOGS vs. PENNANT HILLS DEMONS
Saturday, August 24 @ 4:00pm
Henson Park

A fascinating game awaits, where there is nothing on the line for either team except the love of footy, pride and confidence going into the break to prepare for 2025. All defensive play and structures should go out the window and both teams should see what they can do against the teams finishing around the same spot on the ladder.

UNSW has been sneaky good at times this year, while also having been very unlucky at times and played the best quarter of football witnessed in the league this year against the Eagles (quarter one). The Bulldogs continue to have the same weaknesses and have trouble finding a way to convert effort into points.

For Pennant Hills, it was a season to forget, but also to learn from and they should be very carful not to assume that their young group will magically develop into a competitive team just with age. Sheridan Baker has been a find for the Demons in defence and has mixed it up and matched it with the top level athletes right across the year, and expect that to continue this week.

The question is, can they find enough offensive football and linkages to put a winning score on the board? Look out for an enormous amount of tackles and pressure-affected possession from both teams, and it will be the team that navigates the contests proactively to work out of the coalface that will win the match. The Bulldogs by eight points.

WEEK ONE FINALS:

Qualifying Final 1
2nd vs. 3rd

Elimination Final
4th vs. 5th

WEEK TWO FINALS:

Qualifying Final 2
East Coast Eagles (1st) vs. Winner of Qualifying Final 1

Semi-Final
Loser of Qualifying Final 1 vs. Winner of Elimination Final

WEEK THREE FINALS:

Preliminary Final
Loser of Qualifying Final 2 vs. Winner of Semi-Final

WEEK FOUR FINALS:

Grand Final
Winner of Qualifying Final 2 vs. Winner of Preliminary Final