LAST TIME THEY MET
Back in Rd 6 last year, Fremantle smashed Geelong by 6 goals at GMHBA Stadium. Bowers (19 tackles) and the rest of the Freo midfield carved them up, holding them scoreless in the second half. Even more impressive doing this after defender Alex Williams did her ACL in the 2nd term and Ebony Antonio had to cover down back. Bowers was on record pace with 13 tackles to half time but then switched into attack mode for the remainder of the game - helping set up 4 unanswered goals in the 2nd half. Houghton, Miller and EAntonio were also amongst the bests for the Dockers. Despite the big win, Fremantle were still wasteful in front of goals, notching up a massive 13 behinds to go with their 6 goals. Meg McDonald was clearly Geelong's best player off half back but unfortunately we won't get to see her this weekend.
WHAT'S CHANGED?
Geelong improve their team with Nina Morrison returning from her ACL but also take a step backwards with their reigning B&F Meg McDonald taking her spot in the stands. It is likely the Cats will have followed successful attacking teams like Adelaide and Freo, and focussed a lot more on scoring goals since last season. Despite reaching a prelim last year due to the conference system, Geelong were the lowest scoring of all teams. They are likely to go into 2020 with a more dynamic and talented forward line but possibly at the expense of a weaker back line. Mia-Rae Clifford, their top goal scorer from 2019 is now on Freo's list.
The impact of Freo losing Hooker should become evident as early as Round 1 but a healthier Kara Antonio and Hayley Miller and extra runners on the outside is expected to fill the gap. The next tier of midfielders showed considerable promise and improvement through the WAFLW season and in the pre-season games. The injury to Tighe is unfortunate but 18yo Strom did not look out of place in the practice matches or in WAFLW, and Houghton and Roux will provide plenty of support in the ruck as required. Strom, Roux and Flood have all been confirmed as debutants this weekend. Up to another 5 debutants will be named tomorrow (most likely 3 more will debut).
TEAMS
Fremantle (edited to reflect likely positions)
B J.Cuthbertson 29, P.Seth 18
HB A.Stannett 24, E.Antonio 12, E.Gooch 8
C A.Sharp 1, K.Antonio (C) 15, S.Cain 20
HF G.O'Sullivan 22, G.Houghton 27, S.Duffy 6
F R.Roux 17, K.Flood 44
FOL M.Strom 21, H.Miller 19, K.Bowers 2
I/C/EMG K.Grieve 13, L.Pugh 32, L.Mascall 14, J.Stewart 7, L.Rohde 11, M.Clifford 4, B.Webb 26
Geelong
B M.Brown 19 M.McMahon 24
HB D.Taylor 28 M.Hickey (C) 18 R.Webster 21
C S.Van De Heuvel 27 R.Cranston 30 N.Morrison 9
HF D.Higgins 2 G.Clarke 17 R.Garing 12
F P.McWilliams 23 J.Ivey 5
FOL A.O'Connor 14 J.Crockett-Grills 6 O.Purcell 16
I/C/EMG A.McDonald 3 G.Rankin 10 A.Teague 40 R.Goring 44 R.Caris 1 M.Maguire 7 M.Keryk 45
Each team will have 2 players removed tomorrow.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
Geelong should be a better team than they were last year and they'll have moved some chess pieces, like Garing to their forward line but Freo's midfield should be good enough to win the clearances, get it forward with quick ball movement and overwhelm a McDonald-less defence. A smaller forward line does make a lot of sense for Geelong but it may also suit Freo given last year the defence struggled more against forward lines with tall marking options. It is also highly unlikely Freo's more experienced defenders will let the ball get out the back as often as it did against Adelaide a fortnight ago.
Freo's main weaknesses last year were an undersized ruck and their defence being weaker (mostly aerially) with Ebony Antonio needing to play forward a fair bit. How Strom performs will have a big knock on effect for the whole team. If she holds her own and halves the ruck contests Freo should have the class to at least match it against any other AFLW midfield. Should she struggle, it may require Houghton to slot into the ruck more often, and rob Freo of that key forward target possibly triggering Antonio to push forward and then leaving a gap in the back line. Freo has recruited well and should have most bases covered no matter what the situation though.
It is only round 1 but this is an important game for Fremantle to set the tone for the AFLW season. They'll be up and and about early and an ominous sign is captain Kara Antonio and Kiara Bowers already looking primed. Expecting it will be a bit of a slog early but the game will eventually open up and the team who can move the ball long and direct with a forward line that can dominate their opponents either in the air or on the ground with speed should be able to hammer the scoreboard heavily.
Backing the Freo girls to start strong at home against a team that they comfortably beat away last year.
Fremantle by 6 goals (is it weak to go the same margin as last year?)
Back in Rd 6 last year, Fremantle smashed Geelong by 6 goals at GMHBA Stadium. Bowers (19 tackles) and the rest of the Freo midfield carved them up, holding them scoreless in the second half. Even more impressive doing this after defender Alex Williams did her ACL in the 2nd term and Ebony Antonio had to cover down back. Bowers was on record pace with 13 tackles to half time but then switched into attack mode for the remainder of the game - helping set up 4 unanswered goals in the 2nd half. Houghton, Miller and EAntonio were also amongst the bests for the Dockers. Despite the big win, Fremantle were still wasteful in front of goals, notching up a massive 13 behinds to go with their 6 goals. Meg McDonald was clearly Geelong's best player off half back but unfortunately we won't get to see her this weekend.
WHAT'S CHANGED?
Geelong improve their team with Nina Morrison returning from her ACL but also take a step backwards with their reigning B&F Meg McDonald taking her spot in the stands. It is likely the Cats will have followed successful attacking teams like Adelaide and Freo, and focussed a lot more on scoring goals since last season. Despite reaching a prelim last year due to the conference system, Geelong were the lowest scoring of all teams. They are likely to go into 2020 with a more dynamic and talented forward line but possibly at the expense of a weaker back line. Mia-Rae Clifford, their top goal scorer from 2019 is now on Freo's list.
The impact of Freo losing Hooker should become evident as early as Round 1 but a healthier Kara Antonio and Hayley Miller and extra runners on the outside is expected to fill the gap. The next tier of midfielders showed considerable promise and improvement through the WAFLW season and in the pre-season games. The injury to Tighe is unfortunate but 18yo Strom did not look out of place in the practice matches or in WAFLW, and Houghton and Roux will provide plenty of support in the ruck as required. Strom, Roux and Flood have all been confirmed as debutants this weekend. Up to another 5 debutants will be named tomorrow (most likely 3 more will debut).
TEAMS
Fremantle (edited to reflect likely positions)
B J.Cuthbertson 29, P.Seth 18
HB A.Stannett 24, E.Antonio 12, E.Gooch 8
C A.Sharp 1, K.Antonio (C) 15, S.Cain 20
HF G.O'Sullivan 22, G.Houghton 27, S.Duffy 6
F R.Roux 17, K.Flood 44
FOL M.Strom 21, H.Miller 19, K.Bowers 2
I/C/EMG K.Grieve 13, L.Pugh 32, L.Mascall 14, J.Stewart 7, L.Rohde 11, M.Clifford 4, B.Webb 26
Geelong
B M.Brown 19 M.McMahon 24
HB D.Taylor 28 M.Hickey (C) 18 R.Webster 21
C S.Van De Heuvel 27 R.Cranston 30 N.Morrison 9
HF D.Higgins 2 G.Clarke 17 R.Garing 12
F P.McWilliams 23 J.Ivey 5
FOL A.O'Connor 14 J.Crockett-Grills 6 O.Purcell 16
I/C/EMG A.McDonald 3 G.Rankin 10 A.Teague 40 R.Goring 44 R.Caris 1 M.Maguire 7 M.Keryk 45
Each team will have 2 players removed tomorrow.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
Geelong should be a better team than they were last year and they'll have moved some chess pieces, like Garing to their forward line but Freo's midfield should be good enough to win the clearances, get it forward with quick ball movement and overwhelm a McDonald-less defence. A smaller forward line does make a lot of sense for Geelong but it may also suit Freo given last year the defence struggled more against forward lines with tall marking options. It is also highly unlikely Freo's more experienced defenders will let the ball get out the back as often as it did against Adelaide a fortnight ago.
Freo's main weaknesses last year were an undersized ruck and their defence being weaker (mostly aerially) with Ebony Antonio needing to play forward a fair bit. How Strom performs will have a big knock on effect for the whole team. If she holds her own and halves the ruck contests Freo should have the class to at least match it against any other AFLW midfield. Should she struggle, it may require Houghton to slot into the ruck more often, and rob Freo of that key forward target possibly triggering Antonio to push forward and then leaving a gap in the back line. Freo has recruited well and should have most bases covered no matter what the situation though.
It is only round 1 but this is an important game for Fremantle to set the tone for the AFLW season. They'll be up and and about early and an ominous sign is captain Kara Antonio and Kiara Bowers already looking primed. Expecting it will be a bit of a slog early but the game will eventually open up and the team who can move the ball long and direct with a forward line that can dominate their opponents either in the air or on the ground with speed should be able to hammer the scoreboard heavily.
Backing the Freo girls to start strong at home against a team that they comfortably beat away last year.
Fremantle by 6 goals (is it weak to go the same margin as last year?)
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