JUST a week after Sturt comfortably had North Adelaide’s measure, the two sides face off again to see what they can do differently. There was definitely more on the line for the Double Blues in Round 14 – needing a win to make finals – but the past month of results will have a few Roosters fans concerned heading into the post-season.

NEED TO KNOW

Date: Sunday, July 13
Venue: Maughan Thiem Kia Oval, Woodville
Local Time: 22pm

FORM

North Adelaide looked home and hosed after Round 9, having won six games and essentially booked their place in the finals series. However the Roosters would lose Layla Ebert to Melbourne among some other injuries and only managed one victory – a 13-point win over Glenelg – in the last month, losing four of their final five games, including to the other three finalists. Sturt on the other hand somehow lost to the bottom two sides, before toppling the Eagles and then last week, Roosters to survive a late charge from Central District and lock in fourth spot.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

North Adelaide: 8
Sturt: 5

These two sides have a finals history, having played twice during the 2022 season when then coach Krissie Steen guided North Adelaide to another flag, defeating Sturt in both the semi-final and grand final that season. Since then, Sturt has won four of the past five, with only the loss at Unley in Round 9 disrupting that run, which is a far cry from the Roosters’ nine of the first 10 encounters between the sides.

TEAMS

North Adelaide:

B: Lara Harding, Lauren Hoffmann
HB: Isabella Beaumont, Ella Metcalfe, Jamie Parish
C: Maya Fuller, Djimila Totham, Lauren Gauci
HF: Aprille Crooks, Sky Jensen, Polly Turner
F: Amber Ward, Ashleigh George
R: Jasmine Dallimore, Julia Clark, Caitlin Hardin
INT: Anja Bancevic, Nevaeh Ebert, Ruby Hancock, Sasha Hardin, Bailey Murray, Laura Niejalke, Lucy Reddaway, Erin Sundstrom

Sturt:

B: Tahlia Walker, Lily Whitcombe
HB: Gemma Grivell, Hannah Prenzler, Isabella Drew
C: Skout Young, Georgia Swan, Lily Whiteman
HF: Sienna Fox, Georgia King, Ruby Cunningham
F: Millie McCarthy, Molly Fletcher
R: Jasmin Fejo, Isobel Kuiper, Alisha Gepp
INT: Monique Bessen, Amy Brooks-Birve, Claudia Edmonds, Saskia Reynolds, Gypsy Schirmer, Lily Smart, Sophie Thredgold, Zara Walsh

CHANGES

North Adelaide:

In: Julia Clark, Ashleigh George, Erin Sundstrom, Amber Ward
Out: Zara Molloy (unavailable)

Sturt:

In: Amy Brooks-Birve, Gypsy Schirmer, Zara Walsh
Out: Nil.

DRAFT PROSPECTS

One of the huge positives about Sturt’s big win last week was a quiet game from star midfielder/forward Monique Bessen. The fact she is unlikely to be kept out of it two weeks in a row is a scary prospect for North Adelaide. Her South Australian teammate Sophie Thredgold and wing Lily Smart were both solid in Round 14, while lively Under 16s prospect Lily Whiteman is a name to keep an eye on. The potential return of Zara Walsh is a big one for the Double Blues, with both her and Georgia King incredibly gifted forwards.

For North Adelaide, Polly Turner is capable of playing at both ends, though has been named up forward to start as she did last round. The inclusion of Amber Ward and Ash George will add some more support in that regard, while midfielder Caitlin Hardin will learn off the returning Julia Clark, and defender Isabella Beaumont working with Erin Sundstrom.

PREDICTION

The team changes for both sides loom as a ‘now or never’ type move with a number of players returning from injuries for the match. Of course it could just be mind games for the big day, but no doubt if all are available the quality of the match will go up. On form, you have to tip Sturt to go again and get the job done, but that quartet of players are arguably four of the five most important Roosters returning.