IN THE second match between the two sides this season in as many weeks, it was again North Melbourne that triumphed against the Crows in the first AFL Women’s Qualifying Final at Ikon Park on Friday night.

The Kangaroos will now go through to a preliminary final, whereas the Crows will face either the Bombers or Dockers in South Australia next weekend, both who have lost to Adelaide by 33 points during the regular season.

Facing the media post-match, Adelaide head coach Matthew Clarke was disappointed but buoyed by some aspects of his side’s improved performance.

“They got well on top [in the end], they got us done through the midfield,” Clarke said.

“The game was basically one of two halves, we had it on our terms for the first half but didn’t make the most of those opportunities and they were more efficient when they got their chance in the second half.

“[It’s] disappointing but the first half is certainly the level that we think we are capable of, we’ve just got to make more out of it when it’s our turn.”

Unfortunately for the Crows, they had the ascendency in the first half, particularly, the second quarter but failed to truly make the Roos pay for their slower start.

Clarke addressed the factors that saw the momentum swing against them and how North made the most of their chances to storm home.

“That’s the game, we had our chance but ultimately due credit to North,” he said. “They responded, they got on top through that midfield and that’s always a crucial part of the contest so, lots to like from our end but ultimately still pretty disappointed by the outcome.”

“I wasn’t rapt about [the missed opportunities] but probably we tried to be a little bit cute about it at times and just probably didn’t get that depth of entry, so that’s reasonably easy to remedy.

“Equally there was a fair amount of pressure out there and North will look at that and say that no, they absorbed the pressure really well, so ultimately it could have been better but we didn’t so we’ve got to move on.”

When it came down to players with pure impact for statistics, it was Adelaide’s former captain Chelsea Randall that was influential. In one of her best games in the tri-colours, she kicked two goals (one, a result of a shrugged tackle) to finish with 22 disposals, 14 contested possessions, six tackles and six score involvements.

“She’s a pretty handy player, has been for a very long time and obviously gave us a great presence ahead of the ball, kicked a couple and looked threatening right till the end,” Clarke continued.

“We are very fortunate to have her, she’s an exceptional talent.”

Although understandably let down by the result, Clarke is resolute in his side’s ability to still get to the preliminary final which was the goal before the match on Friday anyway. Having won three premierships and participated in countless finals, the team knows what it takes to front their opponent in a fortnight.

“The reality is we came here with the opportunity to make a prelim and that’s the opportunity again next week, as i said, there’s a fair bit to like about the performance and we will build off of that,” he said.

“There are just a couple of things to tidy up and the reality is that we finished top four and that gives you the opportunity to have two cracks at it and we have to use both of them.”