Bottom four are all elimination finals. The highest-positioned (i.e. not us) winner of those four teams earns a double chance and an opportunity to proceed straight to the Grand Final.
(Norf and Pies can not be eliminated in the first week. The winner of that game retains their double chance and is guaranteed to at least reach the Prelim Final.)
My prediction is an 11am start on Saturday 9th August (as the Hawks men are scheduled to play from 2pm).
Possible similar logic and timing for Norf on the Sunday – though that seems less likely, given it would disadvantage the top two teams going into the second week of finals.
Sandy men play away next week, so no hints there.
Probable eligible players listed below (mostly in order of games played). We are of course guessing on the non-published rules that apply: there may be a ban on AFLW players next week during their “pre-season bye” – I’ve subtracted them all except Brooker, who I expect we could get an exception for.
On VFLW list but did not play a game:
Split results this year (both teams winning away) but that was the only loss we’ve conceded to them in the last ten games.
| When | For | Against | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-01 | 21 | 60 | -39 |
| 2018-06 | 14 | 41 | -27 |
| 2019-05 | 20 | 56 | -36 |
| 2021-03 | 55 | 27 | 28 |
| 2021-06 | 29 | 15 | 14 |
| 2022-12 | 31 | 31 | 0 |
| 2022-QF | 60 | 7 | 53 |
| 2023-01 | 27 | 27 | 0 |
| 2023-08 | 32 | 15 | 17 |
| 2023-EF | 31 | 21 | 10 |
| 2024-11 | 39 | 29 | 10 |
| 2025-07 | 25 | 42 | -17 |
| 2025-12 | 55 | 33 | 22 |
H&A Stats Leaders (leaders, us, Hawks, maybe a few others)
Apart from goals, the numbers below are averages… but the rankings are sorted by totals.
Abbey McDonald would be a fairly universal Top 10 if she’d not missed four games.
Disposals
1 - Madeleine di Cosmo (Norf) 23.9
2 - Ange Gogos (Darebin) 25.4 (needed 4 in the final innings, had zero)
4 - EL CHASTON 20.1
e9 - Isla Baldwin 17.6
14 - Tess Cattle 16.8
16 - MADDISON FORD 16.1
e21 - BROOKE PLUMMER + Stasia Stevenson 15.4
23 - Matilda van Berkel 15.4
25 - ABBEY MCDONALD 21.3
Goals
1 - Nyakoat Dojiok (Norf) 37 
e2 - Mon DeMatteeeeoooooo (Darebin) 18
e5 - Jess Matin 16
e7 - TIA DAVIDGE 14
12 - CHRISTINA BERNARDI 12
e23 - JAYDA RICHARDSON + Olivia Fogarty 7
e30 - BROOKE PLUMMER + Annabelle Embleton + Emma Stilve + Stasia Stevenson 6
Marks
1 - Matilda van Berkel 4.8
3 - EL CHASTON 4.4
5 - BROOKE PLUMMER 3.9
e7 - MADDISON FORD 3.6
e14 - Annabelle Embleton + Jess Matin 3.4
18 - Gabrielle Collingwood 3.2
e27 - Isla Baldwin 2.6
e32 - ISABELLA PORTER + TIA DAVIDGE 2.7
Tackles
1 - Ange Gogos (Darebin) 10.2
5 - Stasia Stevenson 8.4
e14 - Isla Baldwin 6.8
27 - ASHLEA MELNIKAS 6.7
e31 - EL CHASTON 5.1
e35 - Paige Price 4.8
Kicks
1 - Ange Gogos (Darebin) 18.2
6 - EL CHASTON 12.1
7 - Matilda van Berkel 12.0
8 - BROOKE PLUMMER 11.8
e12 - Tess Cattle 11.4
e20 - Isla Baldwin 9.9
e23 - MADDISON FORD 9.5
32 - Gabrielle Collingwood 8.9
e38 - ABBEY McDONALD 11.7
e38 - Jess Matin 8.4
Handballs
1 - Madeleine di Cosmo (Norf) 11.2
9 - EL CHASTON 8.1
3 - Isla Baldwin 7.8
14 - Stasia Stevenson 7.6
18 - ABBEY McDONALD 9.6
e19 - Rosie Dillon 7.7
e19 - MADDISON FORD 6.6
31 - ASH MELNIKAS 6.7
36 - Tess Cattle 5.4
e27 - AVA JORDAN 5.4
Hit-outs
1 - Paige Price 32.4
6 - LAYLA PRINCE 20.8
… big gap …
29 - Annabelle Embelton 4.2
e37 - JAYDA RICHARDSON 4.0
It was exactly 100 days from the previous one, but we got an acknowledgement on the EFC website!
I guess five years of finals in a row was just barely enough to warrant a mention.
P.S. Manfre presumably resumes her chemistry studies in the US from 25th August. Unknown how much earlier than that she may leave.
ESSENDON
B: M. Ford (42), D. Ryan (51)
HB: G. Azzopardi (67), B. Plummer (57), A. Melnikas (64)
C: L. Thompson (74), C. Bernardi (47), I. Porter (70)
HF: S. Orritt (68), T. Davidge (77), S. Molan (73)
F: E. Chaston (61), O. Manfre (43)
R: L. Prince (44), A. McDonald (53), S. Ford (45)
INT: M. Robinson (80), T. Gilcrist (58), M. Ibrahim (41), S. Johnston (79), M. Mifsud (46)
EMG: M. Harrison (54), M. Klaumanns-Moller (75), E. Harris (76), M. O’Connell (56)
IN: M. Ibrahim, M. Mifsud, S. Molan
OUT: G. Brooker (unavailable), A. Jordan (ankle), M. Klaumanns-Moller (omitted)
BOX HILL HAWKS
B: A. Embelton (24), M. Van Berkel (6)
HB: S. Stevenson (5), E. Robins (80), E. Juneja (23)
C: A. Torcasio (30), R. Dillon (7), E. Stilve (22)
HF: A. Cariss-Brett (4), A. Prosser-Shaw (21), S. Gibbs (29)
F: G. Collingwood (10), M. Lee (33)
R: P. Price (27), O. Fogarty (2), I. Baldwin (12)
INT: B. Neaves (25), J. Matin (18), R. Murdoch (34), T. Cattle (3), N. Exon (19)
EMG: M. Bell (39), N. Furjanic (31), D. Spamer (1), E. McLinden (35), S. Lane (37), M. Zielinksi (50), H. Griffiths (13)
IN: A. Cariss-Brett, M. Lee, A. Torcasio
OUT: S. Butterworth, D. Flockart, E. Symonds (AFLW)
Head-to-head:
With Jordan out, the all-games-this-year list drops to Chaston and Ford (both on a 39 game streak), Plummer, and Prince.
(Davidge would be on the same 39-game streak if she was not harshly dropped in round two to fit the 10 AFLW players.)
Our (roughly paired) changes since we last beat the Hawks:
| OUT | IN |
|---|---|
| Eva Downie | Sophie Molan |
| Ava Jordan | Megan Mifsud |
| Marli Klaumanns-Moller | Taylah Gilcrist |
| Kayla Peake | Madison Ibrahim |
Obviously Froggy “I’m a forward, I’m always named there” Molan is a big bump on Downie; the others are conceding experience but not necessarily form.
VFLW use two different Molan photos to highlight their Twitter post and website article 
Hawks changes since that game:
IN: Torcasio, Lee
OUT: Griffiths, Lane
