Melbourne off to preliminary final after thrilling win over Adelaide Crows in semi-final
Demons coach Mick Stinear has channelled Leigh Matthews’ famousage adage of ‘if it bleeds, you can kill it’ after a Kate Hore-inspired semi final win set up a date with the unbeaten Roos.
Melbourne AFLW coach Mick Stinear has channelled his inner Leigh Matthews, declaring that the seemingly invincible Kangaroos are “human” and can be beaten in next week’s preliminary final.
Matthews, while coaching the Brisbane Lions in 2001, famously quoted Arnold Schwarzenegger from the movie Predator when he said of the Bombers, who had won 32 of their previous 34 games, “If it bleeds, we can kill it”.
It did the trick as Brisbane ended up beating Essendon by 28 points.
Stinear’s side faces a similarly daunting task this week, considering North Melbourne are riding an AFLW record 25-game winning streak, and are unbeaten in their past 27 matches.
But Stinear insisted he was confident that the Demons could achieve mission impossible and make their way through to their third grand final in five seasons.
“Every team’s human,” Stinear said.
“There’s opportunities to be had, but against a high-quality team, you’ve got to put the pressure on, you’ve got to play your best footy and we’ll need to be on our best, that’s for sure.
“North have worked bloody hard and they won’t be making it easy for us, so we welcome the challenge.
“We’ve been building towards this and if you want to be the best, you’ve got to take it away from the best.”
Melbourne earned their place in the penultimate week of the season after downing Adelaide by 11 points in Saturday’s second semi-final. It was a result that brought to an end Matthew Clarke’s tenure as Crows coach, which included two premierships.
“I’ve just enjoyed it immensely and ... every year that I’ve been fortunate enough to be the coach has just been a tremendously enjoyable experience and we’ve chased success really hard,” Clarke said.
Stinear said Clarke had done “a terrific job” in his time in the role.
“We’ve been chasing them for a decade, really, and he’s been setting the tone for the majority of that,” Stinear said.
“We’re not the team that we are today if it wasn’t for them setting the bar so high.
“Just massive respect for ‘Doc’ (Clarke) and his contribution to women’s footy and the environment he’s created.”
But while Adelaide’s run of five consecutive preliminary finals has come to a halt, and Clarke’s reign ins now over, the outgoing coach didn’t necessarily think it was the end of an era for them.
“The age profile of our group is pretty good, and while we’ve got some really experienced players, they’re actually still quite young in the game. So I think there’s enough talent,” he said.
“We’ve been able to hold a pretty strong squad together and still always have an eye on the future in terms of making sure we don’t fall off a cliff.”
HORE THE HERO AS DEES END CROWS’ SEASON IN HEARTBREAK
A vintage performance from Melbourne captain Kate Hore has catapulted the Demons into their third AFLW preliminary final in six seasons after they outlasted fellow competition heavyweights Adelaide by 11 points in a pulsating second semi-final at Princes Park on Saturday.
In what was a high-stakes clash between two members of the league’s ‘Big Four’, Melbourne jumped out of the gates to lead by 14 points in the opening term, before Adelaide hit back with five of the next six goals to lead by 13 in the second quarter.
But the seesawing clash took another decisive turn in the second half, as Melbourne responded with six of the next seven majors to storm home to a memorable 9.6 (60) to 7.7 (49) victory.
Hore finished with 26 touches, seven marks and three goals and was at the forefront in the crucial moments.
She kicked the goal of the day midway through the third quarter after keeping her feet in the marking contest against Chelsea Biddell, gathering the loose ball and, while being chased by Maddi Newman, kicking a sensational dribbler from the pocket to put the Demons back up by a point.
And she gave her team back the lead again early in the final term when she broke the Keeley Kustermann tackle and, after being taken high, took advantage and banged it home from 25m out in front.
END OF AN ERA
The result snapped the Crows’ run of five consecutive preliminary finals and ended their legendary dual premiership coach Matthew Clarke’s reign on a sour note.
CROWS RUE INEFFICIENCY
The Demons finished with comfortable buffers in disposals (282-254) and handball-receives (80-59) as their running game on the outside killed the Crows.
Adelaide ended up with a massive advantage in inside 50s (46-31), but their forward efficiency was poor. That was best summed up by the fact that, after scores were level at three-quarter time, they had seven of the first 10 forward entries of the final term, but while they failed to split the big sticks, the Demons kicked three goals from their first three entries.
MIGHTY MAC
Eliza McNamara was also pivotal for the winners with 25 touches (13 contested) and five marks, while Shelley Heath was influential, too, with 24 disposals (11), eight tackles, six clearances and five grabs.
Ebony Marinoff was once again Adelaide’s best with 27 possessions (15), nine tackles and a major.
Tahlia Gillard, TAKE A BOW ðŸ‘#AFLWFinalspic.twitter.com/OH3KwiDU9K
— AFL Women's (@aflwomens) November 15, 2025
GILLARD THE GLOVE
With a few seconds remaining in the third quarter, Niamh Kelly took a bounce and tried to get past Tahlia Gillard on the 50m line with designs on running towards goal, but the Demon was up to the task, reining in the speedy Crow, earning a holding-the-ball free kick and preventing a scoring opportunity for Adelaide.
And with 20 seconds to go and the result in hand, Gillard (16 disposals) repeated the dose when she ran down Chelsea Randall who also attempted to run towards goal after taking a bounce.
JOB AHEAD OF DEES
But the celebrations for Melbourne will be tempered by the fact that they must now face all-conquering North Melbourne in a grand final qualifier next weekend.
The Kangaroos are riding a record 25-game winning streak, and are unbeaten in their past 27 matches. The last time Darren Crocker’s side tasted defeat was 714 days ago in the 2023 grand final.
The Dees are rolling as Wotherspoon takes a huge grab and converts 💪#AFLWFinalspic.twitter.com/YgErtdWmk7
— AFL Women's (@aflwomens) November 15, 2025
DEMONS HIT WITH SANCTION OVER HANDLING OF HEAD KNOCK
— Lauren Wood
Melbourne has been hit with a reprimand and its doctors forced to undergo further concussion training over its handling of key forward Eden Zanker’s head knock.
Zanker is sidelined for today’s semi-final against Adelaide after entering concussion protocols last Sunday with the timeline that occurred coming under question by the league.
The Demons were this week issued with a please explain relating to their handling, with the league telling this masthead on Saturday that changes were required before the semi-final clash.
“The AFL has issued a reprimand to Melbourne in relation to a breach of the concussion protocols and will provide further training to the Melbourne doctors in advance of tomorrow’s match,” the league said.
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“Zanker is currently in concussion protocols and will not play in Melbourne’s AFLW Semi-Final against Adelaide.
“The AFL will consider learnings from this process and breach in the upcoming annual review of the AFL & AFLW Concussion Guidelines.
“The health and safety of our players is of paramount importance, and it is vital that there is strict adherence to the concussion guidelines to ensure that a player that suffers a head knock is appropriately managed.”
Originally published as Melbourne off to preliminary final after thrilling win over Adelaide Crows in semi-final
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