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Airport Toyota Women’s Weekend Outlook - August 11th, 2022

By Tara Murray


After a cracker of a first week of finals, the three Airport Toyota Women’s preliminary finals shape up as three interesting contests.

The highest ranked team got through in five of the six finals in week one, but most of them didn’t have their own way.



For much of the Airport Toyota Women's Premier Division season, Keilor, Oak Park and Westmeadows have been the three top teams and it’s fitting they finish the season there.

The Blues are already through to the grand final, with the Kangaroos and Tigers both looking for their first women’s grand final.

The Kangaroos pushed the Blues all the way in their semi final, even having more scoring shots.

The Blues experience was enough to get them over the line and through to another grand final.

In the other semi final, the Tigers were able to kick away in the second half against Aberfeldie.

Scores were level at half time, before four goals to nil in the second half.

The score was the Tigers biggest in more than a month.

Not much has separated the Kangaroos and the Tigers this year.

The Kangaroos won one more game, with a better attack and slightly better defence.

The Kangaroos have won the both the games between the two sides, with a win in Round six by nine points and in Round 13 by just three points, proving the Tigers aren't far off the higher ranked team.

Both have the top line talent, with Gemma Wright, Courteney Munn and Jacinta Scott keys for the Tigers.

Felicity Theodore, Marnie Jarvis and Mia Briedis are among those for the Kangaroos.

With neither team having dominant goal kickers, if someone can pop up with two or three it could be the difference.


Airport Toyota Division One will see the two Moonee Valley based teams in Strathmore and Essendon Doutta Stars face off.

Strathmore has had the better of the two matchups between the sides, including a big win in the second last round of the regular season.

Both enter the preliminary final after different semi finals.

Strathmore’s match with Greenvale was a very physical one, with neither team giving an inch.

Players from both sides were left sore after some big hits and tackles.

The Mores defenders led by Elosie Freeman did a lot of heavy lifting especially in the first half when they were put under a lot of pressure.

The Stars on the other hand were able to control the game with Gisborne throughout. They led by 30 points at half time, but should have been further after wasting opportunities in the first quarter.

The experienced Shelby Myers and Meg Runting set up a lot of the attacks going forward.

When they could get the ball out of the middle quickly they looked dangerous.

While the Stars were good against Gisborne, Strathmore presents another challenge.


In Airport Toyota Women's Division Two, Airport West will face a Westmeadows 2 side full of confidence.

The Eagles, who lost to Tullamarine in the semi finals, have been a level above the Tigers this season.

They are the highest scoring team and had the second best defence. While their semi final loss to the Demons was disappointing, they were able to finish the game off well.

The Tigers won through to the preliminary final in a thriller against Coburg Districts.

The Tigers had to do it the hard way, trailing by 10 points at the last break. Six scoring shots to nil in the final quarter proved the difference.

While the Tigers will enter the match as underdogs, they have plenty of experience. Kate Sellers, Natailie Linton, Shelby Best and Nicole Cutajar have all played in higher levels in the competition and provide key players on the field.


THIS WEEKEND’S FIXTURES

OAK PARK 1 v WESTMEAODWS - PRELIMINARY FINAL
Saturday 3:05pm at Highgate Reserve


STRATHMORE v ESSENDON DOUTTA STARS - PRELIMINARY FINAL
Saturday 1:10pm at Highgate Reserve


AIRPORT WEST v WESTMEADOWS 2 - PRELIMINARY FINAL
Saturday 11:15am at Highgate Reserve

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