West Coast v Collingwood at Mineral Resources Park

A BIG final quarter saw Collingwood run over the top of West Coast on Friday afternoon, led well by captain Ruby Schleicher whose move into attack has proven fruitful.

Schleicher kicked two goals from her equal-team high 22 disposals, presenting as a damaging option ahead of the ball and pairing well with Ash Centra (11 disposals, two goals) who has shaken off an injury-riddled first season to be a powerful forward.

The much-awaited return of Brianna Davey was successful on limited minutes – the former captain finished with 15 disposals and four clearances on just 44 per cent of game time – and Mattea Breed (six disposals, one goal) played largely in attack.

Having returned to the backline permanently last year, Tarni White finished with 22 disposals and 11 intercept possessions, and Violet Patterson’s switch from wing to defence bore six intercepts and 14 disposals.

With Sabrina Frederick remaining in Melbourne to play VFLW footy, it was a trio of recruits who supported Imogen Barnett through the ruck. Maisie Nankivell – a midfielder in her first AFLW stint for Adelaide back in 2019 – worked through the backline and ruck before hyperextending her knee in the final quarter, Liv Lewis played limited game time but featured at stoppage, and most impressive was Ariana Hetherington.

A little undersized for modern AFLW rucks, Hetherington competed well in the air and was a powerful presence around the ground.

Young intercept defender Lucy Cronin (13 disposals, eight tackles) progressed to a role on the ball to great effect, and former Melbourne defender Jemma Rigoni split her time between the backline and midfield rotation.

The Pies weren’t the only side with some magnet moves on display, with West Coast co-captain Charlie Thomas (20 disposals, six tackles) playing as a midfielder, leaving the emerging Zoe Wakfer (19 disposals, 12 intercepts, four contested marks) to lead the backline.

Ella Roberts picked off where she left off last year – an All-Australian and best and fairest winning season at that – to finish with 32 disposals, one goal, and eight score involvements, and forward Charlotte Riggs has moved into the ruck to make the most of her leap in conjunction with the new ruck rules.

Draftee Jovie Skewes-Clinton kicked an impressive goal – and celebrated accordingly – playing in attack, and midfielder Mia Russo didn’t look out of place before having to come from the field with concussion.

Former Carlton forward Keeley Skepper’s day also finished early with some hamstring awareness, while Collingwood duo Brit Bonnici (cork) and Amy Smith (ankle) failed to finish the game.

WEST COAST              1.4          4.8          6.10       6.12 (48)
COLLINGWOOD          2.1          4.1          5.2          8.4 (52)

GOALS
West Coast: L.Wakfer, Skewes-Clinton, Roberts, Franklin, Bushby, Britton
Collingwood: Schleicher 2, James 2, Centra 2, Breed, Barnett

NOTABLE ABSENCES
West Coast: Sanne Bakker, Kayla Dalgleish, Bella Lewis, Lucia Painter, Lily Paterson, Courtney Rowley, Beth Schilling, Belinda Smith
Collingwood: Sabrina Frederick, Georgia Knight, Jordyn Allen, Ellie Brady, Lauren Butler, Kellyann Hogan, Kalinda Howarth

Sydney v Hawthorn at the SCG

IN A physical clash, the Hawks got the best of the Swans on Friday afternoon, with both sides missing chunks of their best 21.

The recruitment of key forward Jac Dupuy has proved an immediate success, with the former Sun kicking two goals from eight disposals, including an impressive snap out of the ruck. Her positioning straightened up the Hawks in the front half, allowing Aine McDonagh (13 disposals, two goals) to play more of a mid-sized, agile attacking role.

Kaitlyn Ashmore (16 disposals, two goals) moved from the wing to inside the contest, making the most of her line-breaking run and setting up plenty of attack, and Casey Sherriff offered the same with her booming boot from the back half.

The Hawks moved the ball with speed, and capitalised on any errors coming from an under-strength Sydney outfit.

Second-year player Grace Baba played the whole game down back, shaking off an early leg concern to impact in the absence of Emily Everist, while also finding herself in a couple of scuffles throughout the afternoon.

Meanwhile Lucy Wales successfully made her return from serious surgery that saw her miss the last month of the 2025 season.

Sofia Hurley (15 disposals, seven tackles) was Sydney’s best, moving with class and precision across the field, and Chloe Molloy played purely as a midfielder on her return from a back issue that ended her 2025 season prematurely.

New recruits Taylor Smith (three goals) and Maddie Quinn (one goal) paired well ahead of the ball for the Swans, but the side tended to lose shape in the front half making scores hard to come by.

With Alice Mitchell (ACL) out this year, Lexi Hamilton took up a key post role behind the ball, and Indiana Williams played in defence just days after being signed as a replacement.

Positively, ruck Ally Morphett (15 disposals, 23 hitouts) appears to be back to her best, and young defenders Lara Hausegger (14 disposals) and Ash Van Loon (nine intercepts, 13 disposals) stayed calm despite the Hawks’ attacking onslaught.

SYDNEY                  0.1          0.2          2.4          5.4 (34)
HAWTHORN            3.1          3.5          4.9          8.11 (59)

GOALS
Sydney: Smith 3, Quinn, Grunden
Hawthorn: McDonagh 2, Dupuy 2, Ashmore 2, Bodey, Bates

NOTABLE ABSENCES
Sydney: Imogen Brown, Zippy Fish, Laura Gardiner, Jasmine Grierson, Montana Ham, Emma Juneja, Tanya Kennedy, Amelia Martin, Julie O’Sullivan, Lulu Pullar
Hawthorn: Najwa Allen, Maya Dear, Mackenzie Eardley, Jasmine Fleming, Tamara Smith, Laura Stone, Elli Symonds, Matilda Van Berkel

North Melbourne v Essendon at Avalon Airport Oval

NORTH Melbourne proved to be a class above in its practice match against Essendon, cruising to a 46-point victory.

Both teams will be sweating on knee injuries to key players, with North Melbourne ruck Kim Rennie ruled out in the opening minutes, while Essendon key back Georgia Clarke was in considerable pain after a third-term marking contest, injuring her unstrapped left knee.

KANGAROOS v BOMBERS Full practice match stats

Tahlia Randall may also be set for some concussion time on the sidelines after copping a ball to the face from point-blank range, while Maggie MacLachlan was also involved in a heavy collision, and finished the game with ice on her knee.

Notable North Melbourne recruit Kristie-Lee Weston-Turner played as a tall defender, while the wing spot left vacant by Amy Smith (ACL) looks set to be filled by a combination of Amy Gavin Mangan and Abbey Favell.

Essendon recruit Zoe Prowse slotted straight into the backline, and was covering the ground well despite off-season surgery on both feet.

Skipper and key forward Bonnie Toogood (18 disposals and two goals) spent some time on the ball, rotating with Georgia Nanscawen (32 touches), while Maddy Prespakis‘ strong pre-season was on show with 32 disposals and a game-high eight clearances.

Matilda Dyke has floated between the wing and ruck support in her AFLW career thus far, but played a full-time defensive role against the tall North Melbourne forward line.

Draftee Nalu Brothwell showed some nice signs across half-forward, kicking the Bombers’ sole goal over the first three quarters, while her fellow draftee Maggie Johnstone didn’t play, but has had a particularly impressive pre-season through the midfield.

Ash Riddell picked up 33 disposals and seven clearances, Mia King finished with 24 and five, and Eilish Sheerin was at her bullocking best with 26 and six.

NORTH MELBOURNE    1.1   3.2   8.5   11.5 (71)
ESSENDON                   0.3   1.4   1.5   3.7 (25)

GOALS
North Melbourne: Randall 3, Shierlaw 2, O’Loughlin 2, Bogue, Riddell, V.Wall, McElligott
Essendon: Toogood 2, Brothwell

NOTABLE ABSENCES
North Melbourne: Jenna Bruton, Bella Eddey, Jasmine Garner, Emma Kearney, Nicole Bresnehan
Essendon: Daria Bannister, Brooke Brown, Maddi Gay, Georgia Gee, Maggie Johnstone, Amelia Radford, Sophie Van De Heuvel, Brooke Walker

Port Adelaide v Melbourne at Alberton Oval

Saturday, 11.30am ACST

Gold Coast v Carlton at People First Stadium

DESPITE going down to Carlton, Gold Coast’s young brigade showed some encouraging signs heading into the 2026 NAB AFLW season following a wooden spoon finish in 2025.

Coming into her second season, Havana Harris got busy in the front half for the Suns, winning a game-high 26 disposals and taking nine marks offering a real focal point in what is a very young forward line. She paired well with pre-season No.1 draft pick Lily Quigley who, wearing a signature black helmet, kicked two goals thanks to smart positioning and clean skill.

Dekota Baron brought some serious forward pressure as a tall option, with a neat smother in the pocket in the second term.

The club worked to create attacking transition down the field, wanting to employ the handball receive and put speed on the ball. It didn’t always work, but that was largely a result of Carlton’s consistent pressure and capacity to shut down space through the middle of the ground.

Daisy D’Arcy (six disposals, four intercepts) made a successful return from an ACL injury that kept her on the sidelines last year, adding a calm head in the back half, and replacement signing Paige Price (12 disposals, eight hitouts) rucked solo for the match in the absence of Darcie Davies.

Draftee Mikayla Nurse (13 disposals, five intercepts) was tasked with running the wing alongside All-Australian Blue Dayna Finn (14 disposals, five marks) for the duration, and Georja Davies showed her capacity to be clean below the knees as a key defender.

Boom recruit Anne Hatchard (20 disposals, four clearances, six tackles) played bulk midfield minutes, leading the young group of onballers around her, while highly rated draftee Ava Usher struggled to get involved in the play around the ball.

For the Blues, it was a pair of former Suns that showed some strong footy, with Lauren Bella (15 hitouts) leaping at the footy with a newfound confidence, and Claudia Whitfort dobbing a goal early in the day. Meanwhile, former Adelaide midfielder Brooke Boileau offered some physicality around the midfield. The latter two blended well as part of Carlton’s broader midfield mix.

Despite playing in attack in last week’s match simulation, Darcy Vescio played in defence, and Erone Fitzpatrick ran the wing for most of the day, finishing with 14 disposals and a goal.

Poppy Scholz appears set to continue her role up forward, with two goals and pairing well as a key with Tara Bohanna, and Harriet Cordner once again showed off her strength down back.

GOLD COAST    1.1   1.4   2.4   3.5 (23)
CARLTON         1.1   3.3   4.3   5.3 (33)

GOALS
Gold Coast: Quigley 2, Veerhuis
Carlton: Scholz 2, Whitfort, Hill, Fitzpatrick

NOTABLE ABSENTEES
Gold Coast: Elise Barwick, Maddy Brancatisano, Darcie Davies, Katie Lynch, Sienna McMullen, Nyalli Milne, Bronte Parker, Charlie Rowbottom, Jamie Stanton
Carlton: Kiara Bischa, Yasmin Duursma, Tayla McMillan, Meg Robertson, Amelia Velardo

Fremantle v Richmond at The Good Grocer Park

Saturday, 10.30am AWST

Adelaide Crows v St Kilda at Unley Oval

Maybe Adelaide won’t drop as far as people are expecting this year, as the next generation of Crows helped the side to a big win over St Kilda on Saturday.

Wanting to take the ball off the line and use speed to attack, they set up neat opportunities for their forwards. Formerly a key defender, Kayleigh Cronin played a ruck/forward role in the absence of Lily Tarlinton, finishing with two goals, 11 disposals, and three clearances in what could become a dangerous shift.

It also helps to fill out a forward line without Danielle Paredes (nèe Ponter), while recruits Grace Egan (17 disposals, three behinds) and Chloe Bown (19 disposals, two goals) also showed they can be dangerous ahead of the ball.

Around the ball Ebony Marinoff got busy, finishing with a game-high 39 disposals and nine clearances, working efficiently around a moving midfield group that included Sarah Goodwin (29 disposals, one goal), Teah Charlton (20 disposals, six clearances), and replacement signing Juliet Kelly (seven disposals, six tackles).

There was a ruthlessness about draftee Ava Stewart, and Christina Leuzzi added plenty of pressure across the half forward line.

For fan-favourite Saint Jaimee Lambert (20 disposals, 11 intercepts), a role change is on the cards, spending much of the game behind the ball, allowing former captain Hannah Priest to remain forward this year.

Tyanna Smith was the Saints’ best, breaking lines with her power out of the contest and recording 21 disposals and a goal, and ruck Emmelie Fiedler made a successful return from an ACL injury that kept her on the sidelines last year.

The Saints spent plenty of time dominating territory in the third term, but simply couldn’t be productive on the scoreboard. There was a sloppiness about their ball use, opening the door for the well-drilled Crows to get dangerous on the turnover.

It meant the home side ran away with the game late as the visitors got increasingly tired.

J’Noemi Anderson – playing purely as a midfielder – came from the field after a heavy knock in the second term but was able to play on, and get into a couple of scraps with her opponents.

Adelaide will monitor Eloise Jones and Alice Tentye throughout the week, who both came from the field with head knocks throughout the day.

ADELAIDE    0.3    3.7    6.9    10.11 (71)
ST KILDA      1.1    3.1    4.2    4.2 (26)

GOALS
Adelaide: Munyard 2, Gould 2, Cronin 2, Bown 2, Newman, Goodwin
St Kilda: Smith, Richards, Hobson, Baskaran

NOTABLE ABSENTEES
Adelaide: Sarah Allan, Hannah Ewings, India Rasheed, Lily Tarlinton, Lucy Waye, Grace Kelly
St Kilda: Zoe Besanko, Kyla Forbes, Darcy Guttridge, Molly McDonald, Jade McLay, Chelsea Sutton, Olivia Vesely

Brisbane v Geelong at Brighton Homes Arena

Saturday, 2.15pm AEDT

Greater Western Sydney v Western Bulldogs at Henson Park

Sunday, 2.35pm AEST