ANOTHER new match up gets added to AFL Women’s history tonight as the Western Bulldogs and Essendon meet under the lights of the Whitten Oval.

7:15pm AEDT
Whitten Oval

Recent form

The Bulldogs will be looking to quickly return to the winners list after they broke a two match winning streak last round.

Essendon meanwhile is currently on a three match winning streak, so will be looking to stretch it to four tonight.

Last time they met

As previously mentioned, these two sides have never clashed before in the AFL Women’s, so some history will be made tonight no matter what the result is at the final siren.

Key stat areas

Both of these sides prefer to handball the ball more than they kick it, so it will be interesting to see how these similar styles clash tonight.

Interestingly, the Bombers have been getting much more of the ball than the Bulldogs have this season, but they have also recorded more tackles.

The Bulldogs have been doing better than the Bombers when it comes to hit outs, but the Bombers have been doing better than the Bulldogs when it comes to clearances.

One area that the Bulldogs in particular will need to improve is their inside 50 efficiency, because not only is it poor by itself but it is significantly lower than Essendon’s.

Key match up/s

Much of Essendon’s strength does come from its midfield and their ability to win the clearance well. Madison Prespakis and Georgia Nanscawen are the most crucial players in this, with the pair often proving tough for opponents to match up on.

Jessica Fitzgerald and Deanna Berry are the ones that will probably end up on the pair, as they have the pace and tackling ability to match it with Prespakis and Nanscawen. Rylie Wilcox may end up on one of them too, but that would take away a weapon the Bulldogs have on the wing.