Roos look to pounce in Phillips’ absence

NORTH Melbourne is feeling slightly robbed that Adelaide superstar Erin Phillips is out of their Round 5 AFLW blockbuster at North Hobart Oval today, but Kangas coach Scott Gowans says it boosts their goal of finishing on top of Pool A.

The reigning premier, sitting one spot behind secondplaced North Melbourne Tasmania Kangaroos in its pool, has rested Phillips for the Hobart trip.

Gowans said his players wanted to prove they are the best against the best.

“It’s not good she’s out but that helps us because she’s a superstar,” Gowans said. “We are disappointed because we want to always be tested against the best, and from a footy point of view I love to see the best players play.

“We want to win, but we don’t want it said that we won because Erin Phillips didn’t play. But she’s also just one player in a team that’s very good so we’ll have to be strong and play our best to win.”

A win would maintain North Melbourne’s pressure on Brisbane for top spot in Pool A, with the team that finishes first earning a rest in the opening week of finals.

“It’s huge — the old eightpoint game for us,” Gowans said. “It’s a chance to beat a good opposition and establish ourselves in the top two or three and put them [Adelaide] behind the eight-ball, so it’s a big game in that perspective. It’s still our aim to finish on top of the pool and we are unashamedly aiming to finish first.”

North Melbourne had an amazing experience at North Hobart Oval last season when it debuted in the AFLW with a big win over Carlton in front of 5000 fans.

Queenslander Elisha King is out of the side with a knee injury while Tasmanian Chloe Haines’ season is over after she ruptured her ACL in a VFLW practice match on Sunday.

Today’s team will include Tassie Kangaroos Britt Gibson, Nicole Bresnehan, Ellie Gavalas and Mia King, with Emma Humphries an emergency.

“All the girls are really excited to play at North Hobart,” Gowans said. “It’s a ground with an amazing atmosphere because the spectators are elevated and the support we get sounds louder than other venues.

“We are expecting another big crowd, and the whole team is super-excited about playing there. I think because we do our Community Camp there, and we’ve done training sessions there, everything is familiar — where we stay is familiar, how we get to the ground is familiar, the whole thing is familiar.”