TONIGHT’S action in the AFLW could be season defining, as top two and top eight aspirations go on the line in the far north.

6:45pm local time (7:45pm AEDT)
Cazalys Stadium

Recent form

Hawthorn has continued its break out season, and currently sit second on the ladder with only one loss to date so far this season.

Naarm meanwhile has had quite the turnaround from first half of the year to the second, and is currently on a four match winning streak.

Last time they met

These two sides have only met once for premiership points, which was early on last season.

That particular evening down in Frankston saw the Dees pick up a big win, really restricting Hawthorn’s scoring early and then kicking away in the second half.

Key stat areas

Both of these sides drastically prefer to kick the ball more than they handball it, but with the humid conditions they will face tonight, this may change how they go about moving the ball. Hawthorn are a strong marking side though which will help.

There is also a drastic gap between the inside 50 efficiencies of the two sides this season, which is something particularly the Dees need to be wary of heading into tonight.

Key match up/s

Success in any game starts in the midfield, and tonight’s midfield battle is sure to be an entertaining one.

Casey Sherriff returns to the Hawthorn side tonight to provide some added speed through midfield, cause plenty of headaches for her old side and work well in tandem with the likes of Jasmine Fleming and Emily Bates.

The trio face a Naarm midfield in Tyla Hanks, Kate Hore and Olivia Purcell that is certainly not going to bend over and let them walk over them, so the ensuing battle is sure to be an entertaining one.