Saturday, April 3

Melbourne v Fremantle at Casey Fields, 1.05pm AEST

Recent form

• Melbourne come into the finals as arguably the form side of the competition, having knocked off Adelaide, Fremantle and Brisbane in the past three weeks.
• Fremantle has struggled for consistency in the past month, with slow starts meaning the team has been forced to play catch-up on multiple occasions. The Dockers just fell over the line against Carlton, and lost two thrillers to Melbourne and North Melbourne

Key players

• Eden Zanker's shift to the midfield has shaken things up for Melbourne's undersized engine room. Kate Hore is an important spark up forward for the Dees, while Karen Paxman can cause serious damage if allowed to roam free. Ruck Lauren Pearce is in excellent form and can dictate play around the ground.
• Midfield bull Kiara Bowers is hot favourite for the AFLW best and fairest, having already taken out the AFLCA player of the year award. Janelle Cuthbertson has become an important cog in defence and is most likely to take on Tegan Cunningham. Kara Antonio's experience and composure across half-forward has been crucial this year, while a lot of the Dockers' run is generated by Steph Cain on the wing.

Injury concerns

• Melbourne skipper Daisy Pearce is almost guaranteed to miss this week after suffering damage to her MCL, with Niamh McEvoy best-placed to be recalled from the VFLW. Integral rebound defender Sinead Goldrick was ruled out for the season last week after tearing her hamstring tendon.
• The Dockers have had no recent injury issues, with Aine Tighe and Leah Mascall on the long-term injury list.

Last time they met

• Round eight, 2021. Melbourne shot out to an early lead, recording four goals to Fremantle's six points at half-time, before the Dockers charged home in the last term, taking the lead. A cool conversion from Maddi Gay got the win for Melbourne, victorious by five points

Tip

• This is a difficult one to call, with Fremantle having the firepower to defeat Melbourne but not in the best of form. Fortress Casey might help the Dees here, having not lost a match at the tricky oval since 2019. Melbourne by four points.

WATCH IT LIVE Demons v Dockers

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MELBOURNE is through to a preliminary final after holding on against a dogged Fremantle to record a 17-point win on a warm day at Casey Fields on Saturday afternoon.

The Dees will face Adelaide next week, with the victor to line up in the Grand Final.

With the temperature reaching 32 degrees, Melbourne was all over the Dockers early with its pressure allowing it to head into the first break with a six-point lead, despite having kicked into the wind that quarter.

DEMONS v DOCKERS Full match coverage and stats

The Demons kept Freo scoreless in the second term and it looked like they had all the momentum, but the Dockers produced the response they seemingly always do after the main break. 

AFLCA AFLW Champion Player of the Year winner Kiara Bowers was typically relentless, laying 17 tackles to go along with 20 disposals to help her side turn the tide through the middle of the ground.

Melbourne regained ascendancy in the final term and dominated play but couldn’t convert accurately, keeping Fremantle in the game.

The Dees booted seven behinds and had a couple of shots that went out on the full before Maddison Gay kicked truly to seal the result with seconds left remaining in the contest.

Momentum on Melbourne’s side
It’s going to be hard to topple Adelaide but the Dees should enter that clash with confidence. They’ve won five matches on the trot (one of those was against the Crows) and dominated play in three of the four quarters on Saturday afternoon. To provide even more reason for optimism, skipper Daisy Pearce is tracking well in her return from a right knee injury, although she was sporting a brace. "I ran this morning which was a really good step, and put in a pretty good session in the gym, so it’s progressing a lot quicker than we thought (it would),” Pearce told Channel Seven.

Home ground advantage pays dividends
The Dees haven’t lost at Casey Fields since 2019 and their nous there was apparent. In the two terms they were kicking with the wind, they went long with the footy, and didn’t allow Freo to score. Stand-in captain Karen Paxman and Shelley Scott took advantage of the breeze, with the latter bouncing a snap through from 55m out.

‘Turbo’ shows why she’s considered a jet
Bowers was outstanding once again, showing why she’s considered the frontrunner for the AFLW best and fairest. Time and again, she was in the thick of things at the coalface and was integral when the Dockers made their charge in the third term. She will no doubt be disappointed with her side’s season being over but Bowers can hold her head high after another excellent individual display.

What's next?
Melbourne is set to go on the road to face Adelaide, with a spot in the decider on the line. For Fremantle, it will be a long road back to get to this stage again.

MELBOURNE           1.2    3.3      4.3       5.10 (40)
FREMANTLE             0.2    0.2       3.5       3.5 (23)

GOALS
Melbourne: Scott 2¸ Bannan, Tarrant, Gay
Fremantle: Sharp, Duffy, Houghton

BEST
Melbourne: Paxman, Gay, Scott, Mithen, Cunningham
Fremantle: Bowers, Miller, Sergeant, Cain, Seth 

INJURIES
Melbourne: Nil
Fremantle: Nil

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