TWO TITLE-contending heavyweights do battle in the second game of the Super Sunday triple-header for the opening AFL Women’s Under 18 Championships matchday. We preview the massive clash between Western Australia and Queensland.

NEED TO KNOW

Date: Sunday, June 22
Venue: RSEA Park
Time: 11:50am
Live stream: AFL.com.au or the AFL app

PREDICTED LINEUPS:

Western Australia:

B: Marie Polimeno – Ava Stewart – Sienna Timmermans
HB: Maya Louvel-Finn – Sunni-Quay Peters – Mia Carlshausen
C: Lexi Strachan – Renee Morgan – Olivia Crane
HF: Layla Quinn-Schofield – Olivia Wolmarans – Lucy Greenwood
F: Ella Gilbey – Alicia Blizard – Mel Grage
R: Cara Dziegielewski – Carys D’Addario – Juliet Kelly
INT: Heidi Ireland – Emma Henderson – Avuya Nomlatyu – Mia Russo – Charli Bassett

Top-agers missing: Evie Cowcher, Sienna Gerardi, Eva Flynn, Alira Fotu, Addison Opalinski, Zoe Keley, Melinda Bobby

Queensland:

B: Rhianna Ingram – Niamh McCarthy – Ameleia Murray
HB: Kaiya Hides – Lilly-ann Ryder – Alicia Gordon
C: Mikayla Nurse – Molly Ferguson – Sunny Lappin
HF: Aleah Stringer – Aiyana Pritchard – Mia Geere
F: Alannah Welsh – Harlee McIlwain – Edie Fraser
R: Monique Corrigan – Georja Davies – Annabelle Foat
INT: Stephanie Aguinaldo – Millar Brosnan-Ball – Sienna Burnham – Summer Browning – Stella Scott

Top-agers missing: Ava Usher, Dekota Baron, Jemma Foley

ONES TO WATCH

Olivia Wolmarans (Subiaco)
Key Forward | 180cm | 02/09/2007

The most damaging pure key forward in the draft crop, Wolmarans booted a lot of goals in this carnival as a bottom-ager, and is primed to do so again with another year of development under her belt. Ultra athletic and competitive in the air, Wolmarans does her best work on the lead with her knack of gaining separation on her opponents. Will be a handful for the Queensland defence.

Carys D’Addario (Swan Districts)
Midfielder | 168cm | 01/03/2007

A contested ball-winning star, D’Addario will be one of a number of West Australian midfielders looking to get on top of the contest around the coalface and set her side up forward of centre. She can get to the outside and impact there, and is incredibly strong overhead as well. Will be one of the more prolific ball-winners for the Sandgropers and team up well with her fellow inside midfielders.

Maya Louvel-Finn (East Fremantle)
Defender | 169cm | 20/03/2007

Coming into the carnival off the back of a sensational WAFLW season to-date, Louvel-Finn will be the general in defence given the absence of Evie Cowcher. She might not have the height of a tall defender, but she is so strong overhead and safe with ball in hand. Louvel-Finn has a penetrating kick and sets up a lot of scoring thrusts from the back half of the ground.

Georja Davies (Southport/Suns Academy)
Midfielder/Ruck | 185cm | 17/01/2007

Without a couple of her National Academy teammates, Davies will provide that strength speed around the contest and use her bigger frame to extract the ball to teammates with slick release handballs. She can go forward and be a target, or go into the ruck at stoppages, but has been excelling as an inside midfielder which is where she is tipped to play the most.

Sunny Lappin (Southport/Suns Academy)
Wing/Midfielder | 170cm | 28/11/2007

The daughter of Matthew and eligible to both the Blues and Saints under the rule, Lappin is a hard-running wing who has also played on-ball over the course of the season. She gets into ball-winning positions with nice footy smarts and can provide plenty of run and carry between the arcs. Expect her to be on the receiving end of a number of feeds in order to give-and-go into space.

Monique Corrigan (Aspley/Lions Academy)
Ruck | 187cm | 06/04/2007

Limited top-end matches compared to others this season, but the talented and athletic ruck will cause all sorts of headaches standing at 187cm. She often gets first hands to it, and the Aspley recruit is able to compete at groundlevel too. Watch for her to rotate out likely forward given there are a handful of ruck options in the game, but is a natural at the centre bounces.

WHERE IT’S WON

The elephant in the room is the fact the Maroons are missing two of the best players in the draft crop being Ava Usher and Dekota Baron. They, along with the injured Bronte Parker are all obvious starters in a stacked Queensland side, but will need to overcome those losses to get a positive result. In saying that, two-time WA MVP Evie Cowcher is a crucial omission from the Sandgropers side as she continues to recover from back stress fractures. National Academy forward Alira Fotu is also missing as she gains match fitness with South Fremantle this weekend.

The injuries mean that the midfield battle tips in the favour of Western Australia given its strength on the inside. Even with an underdone Mia Russo – who is recovering from illness off the back of hamstring soreness – the Sangropers have the likes of D’Addario, Renee Morgan and Juliet Kelly who are all known contested ball-winners. The knock on the midfield might be that it is a touch one-paced – except when Russo is in there, so perhaps a Lucy Greenwood adds a different look. The Queensland team will look to a mix of Davies, Annabelle Foat and the speed of Mikayla Nurse around the ball, with great depth to extract it through pace.

Furthermore the West Australian tall forwardline poses a big problem for the Queensland defence with its plethora of athletic options. In saying that, the same can be said of the Queensland attack given the likes of Harlee McIlwain and Alannah Welsh will burn off most opponents on the lead. Essentially it comes down to which side will win the ball out of the middle, and finding the right on-ball combination to get the victory.

PREDICTION

A really fascinating contest that is hard to lean one way or the other. If both side were at full strength, then you might lean towards Queensland and the state certainly can still win. However if the game is won and lost at the coalface, the feel is that the Sandgropers have a bunch of really strong contested ball-winning clearance midfielders, and a couple of key forwards who can move like smalls. Western Australia by five points.