THIS week’s semi-finals will undoubtedly see the best of the best duel one last time before the ultimate battle. Palmerston’s loss against Waratah was painful, but now they face the Southern Districts. The Pies have beaten the Crocs twice this season, but the Crocs are coming off a high after smashing the Saints. In the afternoon, Waratah will meet Darwin for another classic bout. The Warriors are heavy favourites for this match, and with the Buffs’ extended injury list, it is easy to see why.<\/p>\n
PALMERSTON MAGPIES V SOUTHERN DISTRICTS Southern Districts somehow find themselves in St Marys’ shoes at the moment, having met Palmerston twice this season and lost on both occasions. For the Crocs to win they must use every opportunity and advantage they have to deny the Pies the ball. the Districts’ first advantage lies in their ruck stocks. Ebony Miller<\/strong> and Indy Sleeth<\/strong> will make sure their hit-outs give their midfielders first use of the ball. Meanwhile, Jessica Stassi<\/strong> and Natasha Medbury<\/strong> will help to control the clearances. If things get dire, Miller and Sleeth can simply punch the ball forward to gain ground.<\/p>\n Crocs forwards must put Billie Byers<\/strong> inside 50 or she will rebound the ball like it was never there. If Tayla Thorn<\/strong> can get off to the start she had last week, it may set the perfect foundation for the Districts to rise from. Rhiannon Busch<\/strong> is a proven goal kicker and has had a stellar couple of weeks, while Charles Deegan<\/strong>, though recently getting extra attention from defenders, is always dangerous around goals.<\/p>\n On the other side of the field, Shenaida Bush<\/strong> and Freda Puruntatameri<\/strong> are starting to click. This could prove very damaging to the Crocs as both are very quick and deadly accurate. Lateesha Jeffrey<\/strong> and the Districts backline will have a tough task keeping this pair quiet. If they can, it could prove the difference between victory and defeat.<\/p>\n Palmerston will walk into this match favorites, but Southern Districts may give the Pies a shock in this heavyweight bout of the Semi-Finals.<\/p>\n TEAMS<\/strong><\/p>\n Palmerston Magpies<\/strong> Southern Districts<\/strong> WARATAH V DARWIN BUFFETTES Darwin’s tactics last week may have beaten Pint, but it will not do against Waratah. The Warriors have 15 premiership players returning for this match and no amount of waiting this team out will help the Buffs. The Buffettes have to go for broke and, missing key players in the midfield and forward line, they may have to mix it up. If Dominique Carbone<\/strong> starts in the centre of the ground, it will free up Machaelia Roberts<\/strong> to push forward. Darwin’s forward line looks completely different when Roberts has the opportunity to cause defenders headaches. This leaves Carbone, Jemma Iacono<\/strong>, and Kylie Duggan<\/strong> to tackle Lisa Roberts<\/strong>, Madeline Gault<\/strong> and Alysha Healy<\/strong> in the midfield, which could go either way.<\/p>\n The Buffettes cannot allow Waratah to dominate the clearances. Amy Chittick<\/strong> is the league’s leading goal kicker and now has Lauren O’Shea<\/strong> for assistance. If the Warriors’ forwards get a taste of blood, they will swarm the Buffs’ backline and devastate the scoreboard.<\/p>\n Waratah also has a player similar to Roberts in Sherayn Puruntatameri<\/strong>. She pushed out from half-back last week to bag three majors. Puruntatameri is an X-factor player, which makes her a difficult match-up for Darwin. Celina Whan<\/strong> might be the Buffs’ best choice for Puruntatameri if she plays down back.<\/p>\n Waratah could easily turn this into an ugly game, but perhaps the rivalry will spur the Buffs to challenge the champions.<\/p>\n TEAMS<\/strong><\/p>\n Waratah<\/strong> Darwin Buffettes<\/strong> THIS week’s semi-finals will undoubtedly see the best of the best duel one last time before the ultimate battle. Palmerston’s loss against Waratah was painful, but now they face the Southern Districts. The Pies have beaten the Crocs twice this season, but the Crocs are coming off a high after smashing the Saints. In the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":40749,"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":[8,7232,137],"tags":[7501,5543,7472,7293,7355,7556,6092,7483,7487,5221,7129,5220,5740,7396,5155,5327,7242,6011,7686,7411,5157],"class_list":["post-45509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-northern-territory","category-womens","tag-alysha-healy","tag-amy-chittick","tag-billie-byers","tag-celina-whan","tag-charles-deegan","tag-dominique-carbone","tag-ebony-miller","tag-freda-puruntatameri","tag-indy-sleeth","tag-jemma-iacono","tag-jessica-stassi","tag-kylie-duggan","tag-lateesha-jeffrey","tag-lauren-oshea","tag-machaelia-roberts","tag-madeline-gault","tag-natasha-medbury","tag-rhiannon-busch","tag-shenaida-bush","tag-sherayn-puruntatameri","tag-tayla-thorn"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45509","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\/68"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45509"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45509\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nSaturday, March 2 12:30pm
\nTIO Stadium<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nB: 32. Jess Leamey\t 15. Charmaine Marshall\t 20.Ellie Misob
\nHB: 2.Jessie Brock\t 13. Billie Byers\t 10.Jacintha Misob
\nC: 3.Hayley Davey\t 24. Tabitha May\t 33.Janet Baird
\nHF: 31 Karlee King\t 1.Nicole Simons\t 7.Shenaida Bush
\nF: 28.Tanisha Garling\t 25.Wynonna Barlow\t 8.Freda Puruntatameri
\nR: 18. Bianca Mayo\t 5.Natasha Medbury\t 26.Jessica Stassi
\nInt: 31.Celina Lloyd\t 12.Joanne Huddleston\t 14.Tania Parriman
\n23.Tiffany Parriman\t 22.Vanessa Mouncy<\/p>\n
\nB: 17.Chiarah Corpos\t 30.Donna Reed \t21.Tyler Thornton
\nHB: 14.Maili Clarke\t 20.Holly Engelhardt\t9.Lateesha Jeffrey
\nC: 10.Megan Craufurd\t 35.Kelsey Patterson\t19.Danielle Opperman
\nHF: 26.Rhiannon Busch\t 2.Tayla Thorn\t 8. Maria Moussa
\nF: 15.Bella Clarke\t 4.Indy Sleeth\t 6.Charles Deegan
\nR: 3.Ebony Miller\t 5. Tahlia Holtze\t25.Chelsea Pember
\nInt: 28.Tess Hanna\t 14.Tessa W\t 22.Rachele Mchugh
\n32.Kiarah Jackson\t 1.Kimberley Mccouat\t12.Karina Brink<\/p>\n
\nSaturday, March 2 2:30pm
\nTIO Stadium<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nB: 8.Sharona Bishop\t 6.Rebecca Pryer\t 19.Alicia Stanley
\nHB: 15.Isabelle Rapson\t 16.Julieanna Kerinauia 12.Sherayn Puruntatameri
\nC: 3.Peta Starcevic\t 13.Lisa Roberts \t 2.Madeline Gault
\nHF: 17.Tarryn O’Hehir\t 4.Sue Nalder\t 5.Breanna Martin
\nF: 9.Amy Chittick\t 22.Lauren O’Shea\t 18.Molly Cooper
\nR: 7.Joanna Kolodziej\t 23.Pippa Cox\t 10.Alysha Healy
\nInt: 28.Trish Muller\t 29.Madeline Campbell 14.Jade De Melo
\n24.Alexandra Harrison-Wolff<\/p>\n
\nB: 25.Chevaune Fewings 15.Delsey Ah Wang\t19.Louise Johnstone
\nHB: 8.Keisha Tinley\t 12.Dominique Carbone\t11.Nicole Schmitt
\nC: 13. Alexander Bryan 3.Machaelia Roberts\t21.Zoe Anderson
\nHF: 22.Tamika Bullen\t 17.Melinda Taylor\t1.Mattea Breed
\nF: 10.Meridith Turner\t 6.Celina Whan\t 14.Bianca Stokes
\nR: 30.Tania Dhu\t 4.Kylie Duggan\t5.Jemma Iacono
\nInt: 27.Demi Cubillo\t 16.Nicolette Dunn\t7.Rachel Henderson
\n24.Jaala Alley\t 9.Eliza Keaney\t18.Danielle Totham<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"