North, Freo lose the edge
PACESETTERS North Melbourne and Fremantle will aim to avoid a shock early exit when the rejigged AFLW finals series starts today.
The coronavirus pandemic forced the AFL to cancel the final two rounds of the women’s season and head straight to finals.
Under the original finals format, the top three teams from each conference would have qualified, with both conference leaders given the first week off. That scenario would have given unbeaten Fremantle (6-0) and Conference A leader North (5-1) a deserved bye.
But that has now been thrown out the window, with a total of eight teams now included in what will be effectively be a series of elimination finals. The Dockers will host Gold Coast at Fremantle Oval today, while North Melbourne plays Collingwood at Princes Park. GWS hosts Melbourne today, while Carlton takes on Brisbane tomorrow.
Fremantle captain Kara Antonio concedes her team’s lofty ladder position now counts for little.
“We know as a footy club that finals series are completely different to home and away,” Antonio said.
“So ladder positions and past games go out the window. Whoever wants it more and whoever can hit the scoreboard when they get their opportunities [will win].
“It doesn’t really matter where you finished on the ladder, because every final is an elimination.
“The reality is we can get knocked out on the weekend, as can North Melbourne, and we both finished on the top of the ladder.”
North Melbourne boasts a percentage of 227.2, more than 62 per cent better than its nearest rival. The only blemish this year was a twopoint loss to Melbourne in the opening round. Since then they have gone on a five-game winning rampage.