The good news:
The bad news: they’re still premiership favourite, and for every Bernadi we’ve added since the practice match they’ve probably added a Dojiok.
Busiest 20 players:
Take with lashings of salt; the above may include some practice games, and outside this list are key players like Dojiok/Sutton/Tierney/Zander vs Richardson/McDonald/Molan.
Stats Leaders (leaders, us, Werribee, maybe a few others).
Apart from goals, the numbers below are averages… but the rankings are sorted by totals.
Norf love to possess the ball, we have more marking.
Hurry up more rounds, so we have fewer ties.
Disposals
1 - Ange Gogos (Darebin) 28
e3 - Madeleine di Cosmo (Norf) 22.5
e6 - Tessa Boyd (Norf) 20
e8 - CHLOE ADAMS 19
e10 - Alana Barba (Norf) and Caitlin Fletcher (Norf) and Stella Reid (Norf) and others 18.5
e16 - Charlotte Ryan (Norf) and Taylor Ortlepp (Norf) and others 17
20 - Bridget Deed (Norf) and Elizabeth Jackson (Norf) and others 16.5
Goals
e1 - Nyakoat Dojiok (Norf) and others 4
e5 - JAYDA RICHARDSON and Zoe Savarirayan (Norf) and others 3
e18 - CHRISTINA BERNADI and TIA DAVIDGE and GRACE BELLONI and Renee Tierney (Norf) and Madeleine di Cosmo (Norf) and others 2
Marks
1 - Lulu Beatty (Darebin) 14 (!)
e5 - Bridget Deed (Norf) and others 5
e11 - EL CHASTON and others 4.5
e16 - BROOKE PLUMMER and JAYDA RICHARDSON and MADDISON FORD and TAYA CHAMBERS and Madeleine di Cosmo (Norf) and Stella Reid (Norf) and others 4
Tackles
1 - Megan Williamson (Willy) 10.5
e6 - CHLOE ADAMS and others 9
e18 - Alana Barba (Norf) and others
Kicks
1 - Ange Gogos (Darebin) 40
7 - Stella Reid (Norf) 13.5
e8 - BROOKE PLUMMER and Charlotte Ryan (Norf) and others
12 - Tessa Boyd (Norf) and others 12.5
Handballs
1 - Madeleine di Cosmo (Norf) 13
3 - CHLOE ADAMS 10.5
4 - Alana Barba (Norf) 10
e5 - Taylor Ortlepp (Norf) and others 9.5
e7 - Caitlin Fletcher (Norf) and others 9
e9 - Elizabeth Jackson (Norf) and others 9
e11 - Bridget Deed (Norf) and others 8
e16 - Tessa Boyd (Norf) and others 7.5
e18 - Zara Flanigan (Norf) and others 7
Hit-outs
1 - Kate Reynolds (Norf) 31
3 - LAYLA PRINCE 25
e20 - Zara Flanigan (Norf) and others 6.5
(Sienna Hobbs beat Reynolds in the practice match. Prince was secondary ruck in that game and while Reynolds is a big unco who contributes little around the ground, she’s a big mountain to jump over.)
Norf ANNOUNCE first:
North Melbourne Werribee has made a pair of changes to its side ahead of its Round 3 bout with Essendon on Saturday morning at Windy Hill.
Charlotte Blair returns to the team after missing the Roos’ Round 2 win over Williamstown due to a hamstring complaints. Blair is joined in the squad by club debutant Sarah Ingram, a skilled midfielder who made the switch from Collingwood to Arden Street following two AFLW games in 2024.
Heading out of the line-up are Matilda Zander (omitted) and Caitlin Fletcher (unavailable).
Recruit Gen Lawson-Tavan is set to become just the second player in [modern] VFLW history to notch 100 League games. Lawson-Tavan notched 76 appearances for Darebin, 21 for Carlton and will run out for the third time as a Roo on Saturday.
| B | N. Hales (30) | T. Boyd (17) | |
| HB | E. Jackson (19) | C. Ugle (1) | J. Douglas (13) |
| C | S. Reid (6) | R. Tierney (23) | S. Ingram (21) |
| HF | B. Deed (15) | N. Dojiok (40) | T. Meier (2) |
| F | Z. Flanigan (16) | Z. Savarirayan (35) | |
| R | K. Reynolds (44) | A. Barba (11) | M. Di Cosmo (12) |
| INT | T. Ortlepp (34) | C. Blair (26) | C. Ryan (5) |
| R. Sutton (4) | G. Lawson-Tavan (32) | ||
| EMG | A. Ling (24) | G. Nicholas (9) | C. van Der Vlies (33) |
| M. Zander (10) |
All AFLW players withdrawn. I’d hoped we have them this last week, but no.
sFord/Melnikas/Orritt play their first games for the year. Lots of other regulars back in.
Hobbs comes in to ruck, or be a forward.
Ibrahim debuts.
Harrison, SammyJ, and Mifsud can perhaps feel slighted, based on form displayed in their most recent appearances.
IN: G. Azzopardi, L. Bateman, T. Davidge, S. Ford, S. Hobbs, M. Ibrahim, A. Melnikas, S. Molan, S. Orritt, E. Tassiopoulos
OUT: E. Gough (knee), C. Adams, G. Belloni, M. Busch, T. Chambers, M. Dyke, A. Gaylor, H. Ridewood, S. Strong, M. Van Dyke (managed)
NEW: Madison Ibrahim, 18, 173cm, Corowa-Rutherglen/Murray Bushrangers
Plummer as deep defender and Molan named forward is interesting, but perhaps the latter is rotating with Bernadi specifically as rover/Mini specifically as ruck-rover 
Mind you, Norf are also persisting in naming Ugle as CHB.
B: L. Bateman (63), B. Plummer (57)
HB: M. Robinson (80), E. Chaston (61), M. Ford (42)
C: I. Porter (70), S. Ford (45), S. Orritt (68)
HF: M. Albrecht (48), T. Davidge (77), J. Richardson (52)
F: S. Molan (73), A. McDonald (53)
R: L. Prince (44), C. Bernardi (47), A. Jordan (62)
INT: A. Melnikas (64), S. Hobbs (81), G. Azzopardi (67), M. Ibrahim (41), E. Tassiopoulos (49)
EMG: M. Mifsud (46), S. Johnston (79), M. Klaumanns-Moller (75), S. McIntosh (78)
Could’ve gone harder with changes.
Roughly break-even for us when compared to the disastrous Elimination Final last year.
| Out | In | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Ellie Huggard | Grace Azzopardi | Half-back |
| Tayla Hart-Aluni | Maddison Albrecht | Zippy small forward |
| Drew Ryan | Madison Ibrahim | Wing |
| Ruby Mahony | Abbey McDonald | Key mid |
| Bailey Hunt | Brooke Plummer | Big-bodied mid |
| Jaimee-Lee Morrow | Sienna Hobbs | Ruck |
| Sarah Perkins | Layla Prince | Big? |
Norf have a greater amount of turnover:
| Out | In |
|---|---|
| A. Ling (24) | B. Deed (15) |
| A. Rhodes (4) | C. Blair (26) |
| B. Slaney (7) | C. Ryan (5) |
| E. King (5) | C. Ugle (1) |
| E. Paterno (21) | G. Lawson-Tavan (32) |
| G. Nicholas (9) | J. Douglas (13) |
| J. Guy (8) | R. Sutton (4) |
| J. Jones (17) | S. Ingram (21) |
| M. Daw (38) | S. Reid (6) |
| M. McSweeney (22) | T. Boyd (17) |
| M. Zander (10) | T. Ortlepp (34) |
| P. Ryan (27) | Z. Savarirayan (35) |
History of games versus the creature currently labelled “Norf Werribee”:
| Who | When | For | Against | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MelbUni | 2018-02 | 28 | 36 | -8 |
| MelbUni | 2019-07 | 40 | 27 | 13 |
| Norf | 2021-12 | 25 | 29 | -4 |
| Norf | 2022-07 | 88 | 14 | 74 |
| Norf | 2023-11 | 37 | 45 | -8 |
| Norf | 2024-09 | 3 | 69 | -66 |
| Norf | 2024-EF | 13 | 76 | -63 |
Practice match a month ago was a more respectable -10.
SammyJ in the warmup.
Not a surprise: Molan and Porter with the defenders, and AbbeyMcDonald with the mids.
SammyJ not playing.
