VFLW - Preliminary final vs Cats @ Windy Hill - 12noon Saturday 31 July 2021 - NO ENTRY

Football Discussion Essendon VFLW
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by Lucy Watkin

A SPOT in the 2021 VFLW Grand Final is on the line when football returns on Saturday at Windy Hill.

After a two week lay-off Geelong and Essendon will go head to head for the second time this season to see who will face Collingwood next week in the Grand Final

Before the COVID enforced break the Cats and Bombers played in thrilling semi-finals that were both decided by just 7-points.

Essendon fell short in a tight and low-scoring affair at Victoria Park against Collingwood, but a second chance keeps it in the Premiership race. Geelong, on the other hand, played out a stirring come from behind win at GMHBA Stadium to stay in the hunt for the flag.


Mia-Rae Clifford gets a kick away under pressure in the 2021 VFLW semi-finals. Picture: AFL Photos

Georgie Prespakis and Zali Friswell have played a big role in the Bombers finals series so far and in a strange twist will come up against the side that drafted them during the week. Both players were picked up by the Cats in the first round of the 2021 NAB AFLW Draft this week, Prespakis with pick two and Friswell with pick seven, a situation Friswell told AFL.com.au was “pretty weird”.

Prespakis has been particularly damaging for Essendon and she got off to a hot start in the semi-final but couldn’t shake a heavy tag in the second half. Could the Cats send a player, like tackling machine Tamara Smith, to curb the young star’s influence in the prelim?

Both sides have placed an emphasis on contested ball and tackle pressure this season, so expect to see a tight contest at Windy Hill.


Annabel Johnson attempts to mark under pressure in the 2021 VFLW semi-finals. Picture: AFL Photos

The biggest hurdle for each club will be which handles the return to football better after a two-week break. A strong start is crucial in a preliminary final and, after two weeks of no football, it could play a big factor in the result of the game.

The last time these sides met was back in round 10 at Deakin University in Geelong, with the Cats coming out as winners that day by 23-points. Sophie Van De Heuvel was the difference with 19 disposals, two goals and seven tackles, while Georgia Nanscawen led Essendon with 22 touches.

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ANNOUNCE IS ON KAYO ALREADY.

The official sources aren’t saying it, but the players are.

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Teams up early!

Only on the bugged AFL site, though


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Marianna Anthony back in after concussion took her out of the semi-final.

Slender slipped in the AFLW draft and after two quiet weeks is out here too.

Lennox replaces Ahrens (can’t get here from Queensland?) – FARK SYDNEY AND FARK HOTEL LEAKS.

We’re back to one tall forward, and no backup if we need another one down back.

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More analysis later, including whether Geelong have been allowed to play >10 AFLW players.

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If we take this as gospel:

  • Dicker in the back pocket is new. But Heil and Morcom are named on the bench, so just mentally swap one of them in.
  • Barba to kick all of the goal (hopefully not literally!)

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Clubs can select a maximum of 10 AFLW listed players in all Finals Series matches.

Geelong have named 13 AFLW players (plus 1 more as an emergency).

More good governance from the AFL.

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Nice to know the rules don’t apply to them.

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Geelong have made seven changes since we last met. Willams and Cranston starred against us last time, and Foley was annoyingly large.

Out AFLW VFLW Comment
R. Cranston 9 3 beast (now at Footscray AFLW)
A. McDonald 9 2 165cm midfielder
S. Williams 4 6 171cm utility
C. Remmos 2 7 173cm midfielder
T. Tatlock - 15 midfielder
N. French - 7 forward? (7 goals, low disposals)
J. Foley - 3 ex-AFLW Adelaide ruck
In AFLW VFLW Comment
D. Moloney 6 11 165cm goal-kicking midfielder
M. Boyd 5 10 178cm key forward
G. Clarke 3 13 177cm KPP (16 VFLW goals this year)
L. Gardiner 3 12 166cm midfielder
M. Maguire 2 8 164cm midfielder
R. Tierney 2 3 leading forward (actually uses hudl! (click for videos))
C. Leonard - 5 168cm GWV Rebel utility
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Our changes since we last met. One less tall (but note we played a large part of the previous game with Gardner injured, and moved Ahrens out of the midfield to CHB where she greatly improved her game). Geelong’s marking power hurt us in that game.

OUT IN COMMENT
Gardner Lennox Negative-to-neutral
Mackay Yassir Neutral-to-plus
Caruso Anthony Neutral-to-plus
Stepnell Gillard Plus
Finning Friswell Plus
Ahrens Prespakis Totally different!
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And 89.1FM delay free



 if anyone is ‘walking their dog’ in the vicinity of Napier and Brewster Streets :wink:

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From the Geelong team article:

The Cats have named the same 21 players that defeated the Saints in the Semi Final, with Renee Garing named at half-forward, following her stirring forward pressure in the second half against the Saints.

Crowds are not permitted at the match, in line with current Victorian restrictions. Livestream details for the VFLW and VFL this weekend are still to be confirmed

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Uh oh. The AFL are going to try to stream the game (instead?)

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@theDJR are we a chance or Geelong to strong ?

(didn’t see the last game us playing Geelong)

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Geelong are absolutely the favourites (despite losing to Collingwood three times this year, they were much more impressive against us than Collingwood was either time).

We are likely the smallest team in the league. So losing Ahrens at CHB, previously Gardner at FB and Frew at FF, and now Slender at FF/CHF is significant. We just have to roll the dice, hope our rucks and the Georgie and Georgia Show can win us those clearances, and get some individual brilliance up forward from our smaller forwards buzzing around sole tall Clifford.

On their days Clifford, Barba, Davies, and Friswell are each definitely capable of kicking three goals.

The question is: will this be their day?

The good news is we are at home, albeit without a crowd, and I would hope we better understand how to play a game there with a 30km/h northerly wind (as forecast). I wanna see Geelong kicking out on the full on that stupid straight southerly wing, and us slotting goals from the shelter of the stands.

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Previous results:

2018: 14-59
2019: 39-44
2021: 16-39

2021-PF: IT’S TIME.

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2021 VFL Women’s Preliminary Final Preview: Geelong vs. Essendon

by Peter Williams

A GRAND Final spot is on the line tomorrow when Essendon hosts Geelong at Windy Hill in the 2021 Victorian Football League (VFL) Women’s preliminary final. Collingwood awaits the winner in the grand final, and has been waiting for a few weeks now after a fortnight out of football due to the Victorian lockdown. It has meant the AFL Women’s Draft has come and gone, and put a number of players in an unusual situation of playing against the team they have been drafted to for the 2022 AFL Women’s season.

ESSENDON vs. GEELONG
Saturday, July 31 @ 12:00pm
Windy Hill

In the preliminary final we find the second placed Cats having to travel to the fifth placed Bombers as part of a quirk in the unusual VFL Women’s finals series. Geelong lost to Collingwood in the quarter finals, as Essendon upset Casey Demons, unlocking a double-chance for the Bombers who had to use it when they also fell to the unbeaten Magpies. Meanwhile Geelong kept its hopes alive by taking down Southern Saints in the do-or-die semi-final, but now head north to Windy Hill where they look to get another crack at Collingwood in the 2021 VFLW Grand Final.

Last time they met: Geelong 5.9 (39) defeated Essendon 2.4 (16)

In a four-quarter performance, Geelong kicked away at Deakin University to draw or win every quarter against the Bombers. Sophie Van De Heuvel and Richelle Cranston booted two goals apiece as the Cats kept Essendon goalless in the first half, and then extended their 15-point final break lead to a 23-point full-time margin. Claudia Gunjaca and Rene Caris were deemed the best for the Cats, whilst Alex Morcom , Eloise Ashley-Cooper and Alana Barba , the latter of whom kicked one of the Bombers’ two goals, were among the best for the red and black.

Who are the AFL Women’s draftees?

The two with the strangest circumstance will be Top 10 picks, Georgie Prespakis and Zali Friswell . Both Calder Cannons products, playing for a team after being drafted by another was always going to be strange enough, but the fact the two Essendon VFLW talents are lining up against the Cats – the team they will play for next year – adds an extra unusual dimension to the mix. Prespakis has been named in Essendon’s ominous midfield, while Friswell has been named at half-forward.

Tahlia Gillard is also running around in the red and black after being picked up by Melbourne, while Richmond’s Emelia Yassir is also playing for the Bombers. Both will be expected to rotate through the forward line, with Gillard chopping out in the ruck. For the Cats, it is a little more straight forward, with Olivia Fuller and Gunjaca picked up prior to the AFL Women’s Draft as compensation selections, and Annabel Johnson drafted with Pick 15, the Cats’ last selection in the draft.

Essendon also has Elizabeth Snell (Western Bulldogs) on its list, but Snell has been named as an emergency, whilst Tara Slender (North Melbourne) was not selected. Similarly for the Cats, Annie Lee (Carlton) was not picked for the clash, but other draft hopefuls who unfortunately missed out on being picked up in Renee Tierney and Chloe Leonard (both Vic Country representatives) will don the blue and white hoops. For the Bombers, Vic Metro representative Kasey Lennox is another Calder Cannon named in the side.

Where will the game be won?

Both sides have star-studded midfields, with Georgia Nanscawen arguably the best player not on an AFL Women’s list, teaming up with top Victorian pick Prespakis, and fellow AFLW experienced talent Ruby Svarc . Barba rolls through the onball group. with Courtney Ugle providing some pace, and Ashley-Cooper another prominent player in there.

For the Cats, they have an AFL Women’s midfield, with Van de Heuvel, Darcy Moloney and Rebecca Webster roving to the recently upgraded Fuller. Add in Laura Gardiner off the bench, and the likes of Tamara Smith who can roll through there, and both sides have some serious talent to win around the stoppages.

Who will win?

Geelong deserve to be favourites, they finished higher, took control in the last game and have enough AFLW experience to hold the Bombers at bay. But the Essendon midfield is as good as a VFLW midfield gets, and the youth around the ground more than makes up for it. The Cats have more AFLW experience, particularly inside 50, but the Bombers share the goals around and no doubt Mia-Rae Clifford is a player who will be keen to impact the scoreboard for the red and black against her former side.

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Sending out all the good vibes. COME ON BOMBERS.

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1 2 3 Go Bombers!

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Waiting to hear back for confirmed time, but will probably have coach Brendan Major on some time around 11:10-11:20am for his pre-game interview on WARFRadio.com

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