AFLW news: Teams and tips for Round 5 of the 2021 season

It’s second v fifth but only four points separate the Pies and Dees ahead of Round 5 of the AFLW season. Are our experts tipping an upset? TEAMS AND TIPS

Maddison Gay and Jordyn Allen in the thick of it during last year’s clash between the Pies and Dees. Picture: AAP

We’re about to leap over the half way mark of the AFLW season and the Dockers and Pies are sitting pretty at the top of the ladder.

SEE THE ROUND 5 TEAMS AS THEY DROP BELOW

But there is a chasing pack — the Lions, Crows, Dees and Dogs — all nipping at their heels just a game behind.

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Similarly, footy scribe Matt Turner (24) is on top of the News Corp AFLW tipping contest by the narrowest margins from Bulldog Ellie Blackburn (23), with four experts a couple more back on 21.

Will there be a shift of order in both competitions?

SEE OUR EXPERT TIPS BELOW

ROUND 5 TEAMS

**All times AEDT

GEELONG CATS V RICHMOND

7.10pm, Friday, GMHBA Stadium

CATS

B M.Brown M.McMahon

HB J.Ivey M.McDonald S.Van De Heuvel

C D.Taylor R.Webster A.McDonald

HF D.Higgins P.McWilliams R.Garing

F S.Williams R.Cranston

R A.O’Connor J.Crockett-Grills O.Purcell

Inter. R.Goring M.Keryk N.Garner G.Rankin M.Boyd

Emer. L.Gardiner O.Barber

In: M.Brown, R.Goring

Out: O.Barber (Omitted), L.Gardiner (Omitted)

TIGERS

B R.Miller H.Cordner

HB S.D’Arcy P.Monahan I.Ross

C H.Burchell S.Hosking T.Lavey

HF C.Wakefield E.McKenzie K.Brennan

F T.Stahl S.Frederick

R G.Seymour K.Jacques M.Conti

Inter. A.Makur Chuot K.Dempsey S.Dargan S.Molan M.Brancatisano

Emer. C.Bernardi S.Sansonetti

In: A.Makur Chuot

Out: S.Sansonetti (Omitted)

WESTERN BULLDOGS v GWS

3.10pm, Saturday, Whitten Oval

BULLDOGS

B: N.Ferres E.Gamble

HB: A.Guest K.Lynch E.Brown

C: B.Hunt E.Blackburn D.Berry

HF: E.Georgostathis I.Huntington B.Lochland

F: B.Toogood K.McLeod

Foll: C.Moody G.Newton K.Lamb

I/C: D.Marshall K.Rennie H.Scott S.Hartwig J.Fitzgerald

Emerg: I.Pritchard I.Grant

In: B.Hunt

Out: I.Grant (omitted)

GIANTS

B: T.Evans G.Garnett

HB: P.Randall A.Lister L.Stephenson

C: N.Barr B.Tully A.Eva

HF: H.Zreika J.Dal Pos T.Mackrill

F: C.Staunton R.Privitelli

Foll: E.McKinnon A.Parker E.Goodsir

I/C: E.Bennetts J.Allan R.Beeson T.Davies K.Smith

Emerg: L.Steane A.Schmidt

In: K.Smith

Out: T.Hetherington (ankle)

FREMANTLE V BRISBANE

5.10pm, Saturday, Fremantle Oval

DOCKERS

B: A.Stannett J.Cuthbertson

HB: M.Sergeant E.O’Driscoll L.Pugh

C: E.Antonio J.Stewart S.Cain

HF: K.Antonio R.Roux G.O’Sullivan

F: G.Houghton S.Duffy

Foll: M.Strom K.Bowers H.Miller

I/C: B.Webb T.Haynes P.Seth S.Verrier A.Sharp

Emerg: M.Hyde K.Grieve

In: B.Webb

Out: E.Gooch (managed)

LIONS

B: S.Campbell N.Grider

HB: E.Zielke K.Lutkins B.Koenen

C: J.Ellenger C.Svarc S.Conway

HF: G.Bodey D.Davidson C.Hodder

F: J.Wardlaw L.Arnell

Foll: T.Smith I.Dawes E.Bates

I/C: O.O’Dwyer A.Anderson R.Lugg I.Tahau T.Hickie

Emerg: J.Wuetschner J.Zanchetta

In: N.Grider

Out: L.Postlethwaite (ACL)

NORTH MELBOURNE v CARLTON

7.10pm, Saturday, University of Tasmania Stadium

KANGAROOS

B: D.Hardiman N.Bresnehan

HB: J.Duffin T.Randall A.Gilroy

C: K.Ashmore E.Kearney J.Bruton

HF: D.Bateman I.Eddey K.Gillespie-Jones

F: S.Abbatangelo D.Bannister

Foll: E.King J.Garner A.Riddell

I/C: E.Gavalas M.King T.Nestor V.Saad G.Campbell

Emerg: B.Lynch G.Hammond

In: D.Hardiman, J.Duffin, S.Abbatangelo

Out: B.Lynch (omitted), J.Grierson (managed), B.Brown (omitted)

BLUES

B: K.Harrington C.Wilson

HB: V.Laloifi G.Pound M.Guerin

C: L.Brazzale A.McKay M.Hill

HF: D.Vescio T.Harris G.Gee

F: N.Stevens E.O’Dea

Foll: B.Moody G.Egan J.Hosking

I/C: N.Plane L.McEvoy A.Downie D.Walker S.Gibbs

Emerg: J.Edwards C.Hammans

In: N.Plane, S.Gibbs

Out: M.Prespakis (suspension), J.Edwards (omitted)

ADELAIDE V ST KILDA

12.40pm, Sunday, Norwood Oval

CROWS

B: N.Gore 7 C.Gould 1

HB: L.Whiteley 22 M.Rajcic 32 S.Thompson 14

C: E.Jones 2 A.Hatchard 33 N.Allen 8

HF: A.Woodland 24 C.Randall – C 26 J.Mules 23

F: E.Phillips 13 C.Scheer 4

Foll: S.Allan 39 E.Marinoff 10 H.Button 6

I/C: D.Ponter 15 A.Foley 3 T.Charlton 25

J.Sedunary 19 H.Munyard 20

Emer: C.Biddell 12 A.Considine 16

In: C.Gould, J.Sedunary

Out: R.Metcalfe (Managed), R.Forth (Injured)

SAINTS

B: H.Priest 14 B.Jakobsson 8

HB: J.Van Dyk 36 N.von Bertouch 28 T.White 29

C: C.Phillips 35 R.Dillon 25 T.Meyer 34

HF: D.Guttridge 5 R.Saulitis 13 J.Vogt 10

F: C.Greiser 17 K.Shierlaw 12

Foll: R.Watt – C 7 G.Patrikios 21 C.Whitfort 4

Inter: T.Luke 22 I.Shannon 11 A.Brown 2

T.Lucas-Rodd 18 T.Smith 6

Emer: A.Burke 3 R.Ott 20

In: N.von Bertouch, R.Saulitis, A.Brown

Out: K.McCarthy (Injured), R.Ott (Omitted), N.Exon (Injured)

WEST COAST EAGLES V GOLD COAST

2.10pm, Sunday, Mineral Resources Park

EAGLES

B: A.Ward 33 C.Perera 27

HB: M.Collier 8 D.Liddle 23 T.Bresland 20

C: I.Lewis 6 A.McCarthy 11 M.Bowen 1

HF: A.Atkins 9 I.Cameron 19 N.Kelly 12

F: A.Janz 37 G.Kelly 15

Foll: P.Laurie 25 E.Swanson – C 13 H.Bullas 24

Inter: M.Caulfield 10 K.Pope 29 K.Gibson 2

B.Smith 14 L.Gauci 26

Emer: K.Orme 32 S.Davison 28

In: D.Liddle, N.Kelly

Out: S.McDonald (Omitted), C.Guard (Omitted)

SUNS

B: D.Heslop 25 J.Pregelj 42

HB: E.Keaney 30 L.Ahrens 7 C.Hammond 29

C: S.Watson 14 A.Drennan 33 D.D'Arcy 20

HF: M.Levi 6 J.Stanton 17 P.Parker 1

F: S.Perkins 28 K.Howarth 23

Foll: L.Bella 2 K.Surman 26 H.Dunn – C 24

Inter: J.Hickey 4 L.Kaslar 11 W.Randell 15

S.Riley 8 L.Single 13

Emer: G.Bevan 27 S.Virgo 22

In: J.Hickey, W.Randell, S.Riley

Out: B.Perry (Omitted), G.Bevan (Omitted), M.Ritson (Omitted)

COLLINGWOOD V MELBOURNE

3.10pm, Sunday, Victoria Park

MAGPIES

B: L.Butler 23 S.Casey 22

HB: S.Chiocci – C 17 S.Livingstone 12 J.Allen 6

C: R.Schleicher 18 J.Lambert 13 M.Cann 25

HF: A.Sheridan 14 S.Alexander 24 E.O’Dea 50

F: C.Molloy 2 A.Newman 16

F: S.Norder 1 B.Davey 3 B.Bonnici 8

Inter: A.Porter 9 J.Membrey 21 T.Brown 26

J.Lin 20 E.Fowler 15

Emer: A.Moloney 40 K.Stratton 41

In: A.Newman

Out: S.Rowe (Injured)

DEMONS

B: G.Colvin 32 L.Birch 9

HB: S.Lampard 8 D.Pearce – C 6 S.Goldrick 23

C: C.Sherriff 18 M.Gay 3 S.Heath 30

HF: E.Zanker 29 K.Hore 10 S.Scott 12

F: J.Parry 19 L.Mithen 14

Foll: L.Pearce 15 K.Paxman 4 T.Hanks 5

Inter: C.Emonson 11 E.McNamara 22 A.Bannan 16

N.McEvoy 17 T.Cunningham 1

Emerg: B.Tarrant 20 M.Fitzsimon 24

In: S.Goldrick, K.Hore

Out: L.Magee (Omitted), B.Tarrant (Omitted)

Maddison Gay and Jordyn Allen in the thick of it during last year’s clash between the Pies and Dees. Picture: AAP

Matt Turner 24

Geelong 11

Western Bulldogs 14

Fremantle 16

North Melbourne 8

Adelaide 19

Collingwood 15

West Coast 17

Last Week 7

Ellie Blackburn 23

Richmond

Western Bulldogs

Fremantle

North Melbourne

Adelaide

Collingwood

Gold Coast

Last Week 6

Ebony Marinoff 21

Richmond

Western Bulldogs

Fremantle

North Melbourne

Adelaide

Collingwood

West Coast

Last Week 6

Glenn McFarlane 21

Richmond 1

Western Bulldogs 15

Fremantle 12

North Melbourne 10

Adelaide 17

Collingwood 9

West Coast 5

Last Week 4

Liz Walsh 21

Richmond 5

Western Bulldogs 18

Fremantle 12

North Melbourne 8

Adelaide 27

Collingwood 9

West Coast 12

Last Week 5

Rebecca Williams 21

Geelong 6

Western Bulldogs 8

Fremantle 6

North Melbourne 7

Adelaide 8

Collingwood 9

West Coast 8

Last Week 4

Chris Cavanagh 20

Richmond 1

Western Bulldogs 12

Fremantle 6

North Melbourne 12

Adelaide 18

Collingwood 1

West Coast 6

Last Week 4

Kate Salemme 20

Richmond 3

Western Bulldogs 20

Fremantle 22

North Melbourne 17

Adelaide 12

Collingwood 7

West Coast 4

Last Week 4

Dan Andrews 19

Richmond 20

Western Bulldogs 40

Brisbane Lions 5

Carlton 30

Adelaide 10

Collingwood 10

West Coast 15

Last Week 4

Michael O’Brien 19

Richmond 10

Western Bulldogs 13

Fremantle 9

Carlton 5

Adelaide 18

Collingwood 10

West Coast 20

Last Week 4

Mark Robinson 19

Richmond 8

Western Bulldogs 12

Fremantle 21

North Melbourne 3

Adelaide 11

Collingwood15

West Coast 12

Last Week 4

Kate McCarthy 18

Richmond

Western Bulldogs

Fremantle

North Melbourne

St Kilda

Collingwood

West Coast

Last Week 3

Darcy Vescio 17

Richmond

GWS Giants

Brisbane Lions

Carlton

Adelaide

Melbourne

Gold Coast

Last Week 6

Sarah Jones 16

Richmond 5

Western Bulldogs 12

Fremantle 9

North Melbourne 13

Adelaide 19

Collingwood 3

West Coast 20

Last Week 4

Kiss of Death 7

Geelong 13

GWS Giants 13

Brisbane Lions 13

Carlton 13

St Kilda 13

Melbourne 13

Gold Coast 13

Last Week 3

Madison Prespakis’ Appeal against a one-match ban for a tackle has failed. Picture: AFL Photos/Getty Images

TRIBUNAL DECISION IN ON PRESPAKIS’ APPEAL OVER ‘UGLY’ TACKLE

Carlton AFLW superstar Madison Prespakis will miss this Saturday’s crunch game with North Melbourne after failing to overturn her rough conduct charge at the tribunal on Wednesday night.

The reigning AFLW best-and-fairest was challenging the one-game ban offered to her for a dangerous tackle on Richmond’s Sarah Hosking last weekend.

It was graded as careless, medium impact and high contact, which carried a one-week suspension with an early plea.

Hosking had to leave the field to undergo a concussion test after her head hit the turf but was later given the all-clear and returned to play.

The Blues attempted to downgrade the impact level to low but jury upheld the charge, saying the tackle had put Hosking in a “in a vulnerable position” and “drove her into the ground”

AFL advocate Jeff Gleeson, who successfully argued it was a dangerous tackle, put it to Prespakis during the virtual hearing she pinned Hosking’s arms to her body “all the way to the ground.”

Maddy Prespakis tackles Sarah Hosking. Screengrab: Fox Footy

The Carlton star disputed the notion.

“I just have hold of her, that’s it,” she said.

“I’m not pinning … I fall back with her.”

Carlton counsel Peter O’Farrell pointed out Hosking played out the game, has not missed a training session and will play this weekend.

The AFL advocate argued it had the potential to cause injury, with Gleeson labelling the tackle as “difficult to watch.”

These terms were later labelled by the Blues legal counsel as “overblown.”

LEGEND’S FEARS ON AFLW SLING TACKLES

—Liz Walsh

AFL great David King has expressed concern that sling tackles are becoming too prevalent in the AFLW and could endanger the health and wellbeing of players if not stamped out.

The 241-game Kangaroo told the Herald Sun: “What I’m seeing more and more is the tackler really putting some emphasis on dumping the player into the ground.

“Concussion is a big talking point at the moment, but it’s deeper than that, I just wonder if it’s something the law makers have to keep their eye on.”

King said he saw Melbourne’s Lily Mithen being thrown into the ground a number of times during the Demons’ 13-point loss to the Western Bulldogs on Sunday.

“She was tackled with ferocity and it’s almost becoming part of the finishing manoeuvre in AFLW that players are getting dumped into the ground … with (the tackler) trying to really drive those shoulders into the ground,” he said.

“Sometimes you’ve got to protect the players from themselves, they’re super competitive and they want to win and they want to do the right thing by their teams, but it has crept into the game, I think, this season and it’s a bit of an ugly look for potentially attracting more young women into AFLW.

David King is concerned by the tackling technique being used in AFLW.

“It’s certainly something that (the AFL is) ironing out of the men’s competition and I’d like to see the same approach to the women’s.”

His comments come as Carlton announced they would challenge the one-game suspension handed to reigning AFLW best and fairest midfielder Madison Prespakis for a dangerous tackle on Richmond’s Sarah Hosking.

The 20-year-old’s case will be heard by the Appeals Board on Wednesday evening.

Earlier this year, Crow Ebony Marinoff had her three-game suspension for a dangerous tackle on Giant Brid Stack in a practice game overturned by the Appeals Board.

In the opening four rounds of the 2021 season, the MRO has laid eight charges for dangerous tackles and suspended three players: Collingwood’s Aliesha Newman (Round 1) and Giants’ Tarni Evans (Round 2) for one game each, and now Prespakis.

David King says he’s worried dumping tackles could deter potential AFLW players.

Prespakis was also charged for a dangerous tackle in Round 2, but was offered a reprimand.

Two-time AFLW best and fairest winner Erin Phillips said duty of care was important when tackling.

“We are taught to tackle fierce and aggressively, but also with duty of care and safety for the person we’re tackling, we spend a lot of time doing that,” the Crows midfielder said.

“Obviously there’s always going to be talk about protecting … the head, and concussion now is a big topic, but for us, all we can do is keep controlling what we do and we are definitely taught to tackle with duty of care.”

Overall, King said he was a real fan of the league.

“I love the competition, it’s getting better, some of the girls coming in area so skilful and they’re driving the elevation of the whole standards across the whole competition, so it’s very exciting,” he said.

AFLW BEST-AND-FAIREST BANNED FOR ROUGH CONDUCT

Carlton’s gun midfielder Madison Prespakis has been offered a one-match suspension by the AFL’s match review officer after being charged with rough conduct for a dangerous tackle on Richmond’s Sarah Hosking.

The second-quarter tackle left Hosking in the rooms getting tested for concussion, and swung the momentum in Carlton’s favour after the Tigers had kicked the opening three goals of the game.

The MRO assessed the incident as “careless conduct, medium impact and high contact”, and classified it as a one-match sanction with an early plea.

Prespakis is the AFLW’s reigning best-and-fairest winner.

The offer of a one-game suspension comes despite Blues coach Daniel Harford saying after his side’s thrilling five-point win that his initial reaction was there wasn’t an issue with the tackle.

“I must admit we saw that in the box and thought it was a tackle with momentum and there was nothing wrong with it, so we were annoyed with the free kick,” Harford said.

“I haven’t seen it up close, but we didn’t have too many problems with how it was handled from Mads’ end.

“Mads is a bull, and she cops a fair bit every week, she actually cops more than she gives, we don’t get a lot of support for her from the fraternity.”

Sarah Hosking will take part in the second half after passing a concussion test following this tackle from Maddy Prespakis.#AFLW | #AFLWBluesTigerspic.twitter.com/LBZ4IfC9Lk

— AFL Women's (@aflwomens) February 20, 2021

Harford said because Hosking returned to the field he thought Prespakis, who was reprimanded for rough conduct in Round 2, had no case to answer.

“She’s a physical player, a grunt player, and that’s part of her makeup and why she’s so good because she competes so hard,” he said.

The MRO also charged three other players: Gold Coast’s Hannah Dunn was charged with making careless contact with an umpire during the fourth quarter of the Round 4 match against Fremantle and can accept a reprimand with an early plea.

North Melbourne’s Daria Bannister was charged with engaging in rough conduct against Collingwood’s Jordyn Allen and offered a reprimand with an early plea, while Western Bulldogs Bonnie Toogood was charged with rough conduct (dangerous tackle) against Melbourne’s Lily Mithen and was also offered a reprimand with an early plea.

ROUND 5 FIXTURE: VIC CLUBS HIT THE ROAD

– Liz Walsh

After three weeks of saying put, Victoria’s AFLW teams are back on the road, with St Kilda, North Melbourne and Carlton all set to travel next weekend for the first time this season.

The Kangaroos and the Blues will head to the Apple Isle to play each other at Launceston’s University of Tasmania Stadium on Saturday night, where North Melbourne will be looking to snap its two-game losing streak.

St Kilda will head to Adelaide to face the Crows at Norwood Oval on Sunday.

Since the beginning of the season, the only Victorian team to have travelled outside of the state is Melbourne, which defeated Gold Coast by 21 points at Metricon Stadium on January 30.

After Round 1, a COVID-19 lockdown in Perth and then a further virus outbreak in Melbourne meant the AFL was forced into multiple rewrites of its fixture to avoid border closures and ensure the season could continue.

MORE: PHILLIPS MASTERCLASS ENDS LIONS’ GOLDEN RUN

North Melbourne’s Bethany Lynch will play in Tasmania in Round 5.

The AFL is currently releasing its fixture on a week-by-week basis to keep on top of snap border closures.

For the past three weeks, the fixture rewrites have seen the eight Victorian clubs stay home and playing against each other, while the six interstate clubs have been flying across the country to play games.

It had been the AFL’s hope that in those three weeks, borders would reopen to allow travel between the states again.

Round 5 – the AFLW’s first Indigenous Round – will kick off on Friday night with a clash between winless teams Geelong and Richmond, in which both will be hoping to post their first victory of 2021.

GWS will also be back on the road, heading to Whitten Oval to face the Western Bulldogs on Saturday, while Brisbane will fly to Perth to face the unbeaten Fremantle, which is riding high on an 11-game winning streak stretching over two seasons.

The also-unbeaten Collingwood will take on Melbourne at Victoria Park on Sunday, before West Coast faces Gold Coast in Perth.

St Kilda is heading to South Australia next weekend.

Crowds will be permitted at all the games unless otherwise advised. Tickets go on sale on Wednesday.

AFL Head of Women’s Football Nicole Livingstone said the league would continue to take the advice of governments and health officials as it worked through fixtures for upcoming rounds.

“We will continue to remain adaptable as we listen to and work closely with each stakeholder to ensure the best possible outcome for everyone in the game,” she said.

“While COVID-19 continues to impact the community, the health and welfare of our players and the community remains the priority and we remain committed to delivering a full season in a safe manner led by respective governments, public health officials and medical experts.”

AFLW ROUND 5

Friday, February 26

Geelong v Richmond, GMHBA Stadium 7.10pm AEDT

Saturday, February 27

Western Bulldogs v GWS Giants, Whitten Oval 3.10pm AEDT

Fremantle v Brisbane Lions, Fremantle Oval 2.10pm AWDT

North Melbourne v Carlton, University of Tasmania Stadium 7.10pm AEDT

Sunday, February 28

Adelaide v St Kilda, Norwood Oval 12.40pm ACDT

Collingwood v Melbourne, Victoria Park 3.10pm AEDT

West Coast v Gold Coast, Mineral Resources Park 2.10pm AWST