NORTH Melbourne Werribee will have the chance to secure an unprecedented third consecutive VFLW premiership after brushing aside Collingwood by 61 points in the preliminary final. The reigning back-to-back premiers booked their grand final place in dominant fashion, while minor premiers Williamstown survived a stirring Port Melbourne finish to win a pulsating derby by two points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
North Melbourne Werribee 12.5 (77) def. Collingwood 2.4 (16)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n North Melbourne Werribee flexed its premiership muscle from the outset at Arden Street Oval, kicking four goals to one in the opening quarter to establish an 18-point lead. Collingwood found a first major before the first break, but the Magpies could not manufacture any lasting momentum against the competition\u2019s benchmark side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Roos added another three goals to one behind in the second term, stretching the half-time gap to 35 points. Their control only tightened after the main break, with a 3.2 to 1.0 third quarter putting the contest beyond doubt ahead of the final change. A further two goals in the last term completed a comprehensive 12.5 (77) to 2.4 (16) victory and sent North Melbourne Werribee through to another grand final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alana Barba<\/a> led all comers with 23 disposals, and added five tackles across the ground. Ava Seton<\/a> was influential in the contest with 21 disposals – 12 contested – six clearances and nine tackles, while also kicking 1.1. Charlotte Ryan<\/a> (21 disposals – 11 contested – and seven tackles) and Abby Favell<\/a> (21 disposals and eight tackles) were similarly industrious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maddison Torpey<\/a> was pivotal around the stoppages, recording 12 hitouts and six clearances to go with 14 disposals and 1.1. Renee Tierney<\/a> gathered 14 disposals – 11 contested – and booted 1.1, while the Roos\u2019 pressure was underscored by strong tackling outputs from Favell, Seton and Shauna McElligott<\/a> (five tackles).<\/p>\n\n\n\n For Collingwood, Abbey McDonald<\/a> worked tirelessly for 19 disposals, five marks, six tackles and four inside 50s. Tahlia Sanger<\/a> won 14 contested possessions among her 18 touches, adding six clearances and a game-high nine tackles, while Stella Huxtable<\/a> also fought hard with 18 disposals – 11 contested – three clearances and seven tackles. Sophia De Castella<\/a> was productive with 13 disposals, eight tackles, four inside 50s and a goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Williamstown 6.4 (40) def. Port Melbourne 5.8 (38)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Williamstown has earned its place in the VFLW grand final after holding off a fast-finishing Port Melbourne by two points in a tense preliminary final at DSV Stadium. The minor premiers recovered from a slow opening quarter to take command through the middle of the contest, then had just enough in reserve when the Borough threw everything forward late.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Port Melbourne jumped out of the blocks and kept Williamstown scoreless in the first term, taking an 11-point advantage to the first break. The Seagulls responded emphatically in the second quarter with three straight goals, turning the deficit into a five-point half-time lead. Williamstown added 1.2 to Port Melbourne\u2019s 1.0 in the third term, leaving the Seagulls seven points clear at the final change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Borough launched one last charge in the final quarter, kicking 3.1 to 2.2 and reducing the margin to two points by the final siren. Williamstown\u2019s 14-point last term proved just enough to preserve its lead and secure a hard-earned 6.4 (40) to 5.8 (38) win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bella Smith<\/a> was outstanding in the Seagulls\u2019 victory, collecting 19 disposals and six tackles. Emily Eaves<\/a> had 16 disposals – 12 contested – five clearances, four tackles and a goal in a complete midfield performance, while Naomi Ferres<\/a> brought relentless defensive pressure with eight tackles from 15 disposals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Taelah Smith<\/a> provided drive with 15 disposals, six marks, five tackles and four inside 50s. Lilly Pearce<\/a> battled strongly in the ruck with 19 hitouts, six tackles and a goal, while Mia Zielinski<\/a> made the most of her opportunities in attack, kicking two goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Port Melbourne was brave in defeat, with Bella Stutt<\/a> (14 disposals, five clearances, four tackles, four inside 50s and three rebound 50s) providing a strong all-round influence. Mia Caffry<\/a> won eight contested possessions, four clearances and laid seven tackles from 13 touches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Courtney Jones<\/a> was busy in the forward half with 13 disposals, six tackles and six inside 50s, while Kaitlyn O\u2019Keefe<\/a> added 12 disposals, six tackles, four inside 50s and 3.2. Mackenzie Bourne<\/a> competed hard in the ruck with 18 hitouts, but the Borough fell agonisingly short of denying Williamstown a grand final berth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" NORTH Melbourne Werribee will have the chance to secure an unprecedented third consecutive VFLW premiership after brushing aside Collingwood by 61 points in the preliminary final. The reigning back-to-back premiers booked their grand final place in dominant fashion, while minor premiers Williamstown survived a stirring Port Melbourne finish to win a pulsating derby by two […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":222883,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22133,22138,22139,18230,15,3121,3134,22143],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-222876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-collingwood-vflw","category-north-melbourne-vflw","category-port-melbourne-vflw","category-round-review","category-state-leagues","category-vflw","category-victoria","category-williamstown-vflw"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=222876"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222876\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":222877,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222876\/revisions\/222877"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/222883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=222876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=222876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=222876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}