WHILE three finals hopefuls look set for big wins against the bottom three sides, Round 9 of the AFL Sydney Women’s Premier Division sees a top four battle take place between the Bombers and Bulldogs. The round marks the halfway mark of the season, with the UTS Bats having their first bye and are the last team to do so.

NORTH SHORE BOMBERS vs. UNSW-ES BULLDOGS
Saturday, June 14 @ 11:30am
Gore Hill Oval

The game of the weekend and it’s time to see what the UNSW Bulldogs are made of and if they really are a finals contender. Their improvements thus far in 2025 have been substantial, but they still do have plenty of things they need to work on to compete at the top end. Last year, UNSW did its homework on North Shore and really shut the Bombers down in the lead-up to the final s series by ramping up the pressure on the ball carrier and not allowing any easy linkages.

North Shore still struggles with that facet when having to fight through enormous pressure, so it will be a very interesting tactical battle. Expect to see an enormous amount of contested ball and it will be the team that best gets the ball from the inside to the outside, that wins. UNSW’s weakness of not converting effort into scoreboard pressure is still there as well, so North Shore might just get it into its forwardline more often with the advantage going the Bombers’ way. However do not be surprised if the Dogs keep it to a really competitive low-scoring contest, with the teams very hard to split.

MANLY WARRINGAH WOLVES vs. PARRAMATTA GOANNAS
Saturday, June 14 @ 11:50am
Weldon Oval

Parramatta was a vastly improved unit last weekend against the Eagles and the league will be hoping for more of the same this weekend. The Goannas were much better and linking up through run and finding targets downfield, attacking with ball in hand and also applying pressure themselves. In Round 9, the Goannas come up against Manly who is looking to really ramp up all aspects of its game and try and sort out combinations in preparation for the finals.

At this stage of their development, the Goannas are not going to win the game, with the Wolves starting 100-plus point favourites. However, the Wolves will be looking for continued improvement in their extraction handpasses, kicking under pressure and repeat pressure acts which they have been working on of late. They will also look to get proactive through multiple chain disposals to try and find the most advantageous exit position from the stoppages. The Wolves should get it done very easily one would expect.

EAST COAST EAGLES vs. PENNANT HILLS DEMONS
Saturday, June 14 @ 12:00pm
Bruce Purser Reserve

East Coast Eagles put away their opposition by 100 points last round and the same is expected here. Pennant Hills is yet to unlock the secrets to offensive football, and the young squad is spending too much of its time having to defend repetitively with large margins and repeated losses continuing throughout the season. Having only scored nine points for and 862 against this year, the Demons will be hoping to turn that around a little in the match.

Pennant Hills needs to find a way to turn defence into offence as a priority and win the ball at the coalface then distribute with multiple possessions before turning it over. The young unit has great application and enthusiasm, but will look to build confidence and methodology in order to reduce the damage on the scoreboard from the opposition and begin to score too. East Coast by around 20 goals.

SYDNEY UNIVERSITY vs. ST GEORGE DRAGONS
Saturday, June 14 @ 5:00pm
Sydney Uni Oval

On the smaller confines of Sydney Uni Oval number one, the home team will really pose quite a problem for the Dragons’ developing offensive structures. Tight spaces and getting free with the football is already the Dragons’ Achilles heel and has been since their inception into the league. Expect to see the Student pressuring and clamping down on every single possession. Sydney Uni’s major development shift upwards this year has been its ability to be proactive and not just waiting to see what the opposition do and how to react to it.

Senior player and leader Saskia Johnson is one who has benefited from the change, having a stellar offensive year so far in 2025, adding to her constant and repeated defensive efforts on-field. The central ruck battle will be a crucial one and no team has found a complete answer to quelling the Students’ midfield. Thus, expect to see an armwrestle out of the centre to go the home side’s way, and the final score will be a result of how skewed that element is, and what St George can do to score themselves and minimise the damage when Sydney Uni does go inside 50. The Students by around 80 points.

Bye: UTS Bats