Port Adelaide is on a six-match successful streak and making ready for its first AFLW last within the membership’s historical past.
A final-gasp Gemma Houghton objective on Sunday confirmed the sixth of these wins.
The crew is now set to host Richmond at Alberton Oval in an elimination last this weekend.
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The final time the Energy misplaced within the AFLW was to the Tigers in week 5 by 21 factors.
Richmond captain Katie Brennan starred with three objectives, and Gemma Houghton was the Energy’s point of interest on the different finish of the bottom.
However within the weeks since, issues have modified. Port Adelaide has discovered its groove and, extra importantly, a capability to win constantly.
In the meantime, Richmond has returned two wins from six begins, albeit with a far harder fixture.
The Energy has solidified its extremely contested, surge model of footy all through its successful streak.
Its possessions are restricted however largely contested, with fast kicks ahead producing alternatives to realize territory after which compete once more.
Richmond, in the meantime, has returned to finals off the again of a better-organised crew defence and a cohesive ahead line that may stretch opposition again strains.
| Port Adelaide 2024 common | AFLW rating | Richmond Tigers 2024 common | AFLW rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uncontested Marks | 22.1 | 18 | 28.8 | 17 |
| Inside 50 | 32.9 | 8 | 33.9 | 7 |
| Factors for | 39.2 | 7 | 40.2 | 6 |
| Change (%) | 4.5 | 15 | 2.7 | 17 |
| Lengthy kick down the road (%) | 30.5 | 3 | 29.7 | 4 |
There are some areas during which each side are comparable — they sit seventeenth and 18th within the competitors for uncontested marks, and third and fourth for selecting to kick lengthy down the road.
Neither aspect chooses to recurrently swap lanes shifting down the sphere. Fairly, they like to assault in a direct method after which entice the ball within the entrance half. However their technique of territory management and their important scoring sources differ considerably.
Port Adelaide boasts contested beasts. The likes of Abbey Dowrick, Maria Moloney, and Shineah Goody are sturdy on the ft of ruck Matilda Scholz, putting the membership third within the competitors this 12 months for clearance differential. The one sides averaging a larger differential are fellow finalists North Melbourne and Fremantle.
They then drive the opposition into a troublesome contested recreation of its personal, with a median of 78.7 tackles per recreation.
This ground-ball power extends to the ahead 50 arc, during which the Energy makes use of such stress to entice the ball inside 50 and create repeat alternatives to attain.
On account of this model, Port Adelaide has generated 16.6 factors per recreation from stoppage this season, the sixth-most within the AFLW.
It’s right here the place they’ve a chance to interrupt down Richmond’s structured defence. Swiftly successful that contested ball at stoppage and surging ahead with velocity will restrict the time during which the Tigers can generate the additional behind the ball that they depend on.
If Port Adelaide can transfer ahead in such a method that it could actually isolate its forwards in one-on-one match-ups, it could actually genuinely problem the Tigers’ defence.
Richmond’s territory management, nonetheless, relies on an intercepting recreation. Taking a observe out of Adelaide’s e book, the Tigers work to get the ball ahead, and press their defence excessive up the bottom to squeeze the opposition.
The again line units up in layers simply outdoors their attacking arc, prepared and keen to choose off opposition makes an attempt to rebound out.
With such a technique, Richmond sits second within the league for front-half intercepts, and fourth for factors scored from these intercepts.
As soon as inside 50, the aerial dominance of gamers akin to Katie Brennan, Caitlin Greiser, and Emelia Yassir typically wins out to earn high-percentage pictures on objective.
Whereas Port Adelaide and Richmond share primary philosophies in model — go direct, get the ball ahead, preserve ahead territory — their chosen technique to attain such model differs enormously.
Off the again of such a conflict in techniques, Sunday’s elimination last has the potential to throw up vital swings in momentum and is sort of definitely positive to be a blockbuster.
