North Melbourne 16-14 Geelong
Vikki Wall contributed to North Melbourne's scoring tally as the Kangaroos qualified for the WAFL semi-final after a low-scoring 16-14 arm wrestle with Geelong.
Erika O’Shea missed out due to an eye injury picked up in the final ladder match last weekend, but she will get another shot at a knock-out tie having played in all 10 regulation games in her debut season.
She would have been delighted with the performance of fellow Irish player Wall and her team-mates who came up against a Geelong side that dominated for long stretches but failed to make it count on the scoreboard.
That meant the end of the road for Mayo’s Rachel Kearns, who also kicked a behind but it wasn’t enough for the Cats.
North Melbourne were able to welcome back captain Emma Kearney after she missed last week following a collision with team-mate Wall, and she brought a real calmness to proceedings.
Scores were at a premium throughout with all three goals coming in the first quarter – Sophie Abbatangelo and Alice O'Loughlin for North Melbourne and Darcy Moloney for Geelong – as the Kangaroos led 13-9.
The scoring rate plummeted from there, the victors leading 14-10 at the half and 15-11 by the third quarter. Geelong pushed for the win, but Shelley Scott missed a later chance.
Brisbane 39-22 Richmond
Orla O’Dwyer’s Brisbane booked a home preliminary after an impressive 17-point win over a Richmond side who will now face North Melbourne in the semi-final.
The Lions kicked five goals in all - from five different players - at the Metricon Stadium, with O’Dwyer’s carries proving to be a real prominent weapon for the side.
The Tigers were too dependent on Katie Brennan who kicked all three of her side’s goals.
Jesse Wardlaw and Brennan exchanged goals in the first quarter as the Lions took a 9-7 lead, and they stretched that into a 30-8 advantage by the half.
Richmond couldn’t eat into that lead in the third quarter and while Brennan pushed them forward in the last, they were never able to get close enough.
Melbourne 48-27 Adelaide
Holders Adelaide must navigate a semi-final after a comprehensive defeat by Melbourne on Friday night.
Niamh Kelly had nine disposals on the night, but Irish bragging rights belonged to Sinéad Goldrick and Blaithin Mackin who both featured for the Demons.
Melbourne hadn’t conceded a score in the first quarter of their last four games, but Adelaide ended that run thanks to goals from Danielle Ponter and Caitlin Gould.
However, as the game wore on Melbourne found their feet and a second-quarter shut-out saw them lead 22-20 having trailed 20-2 at the first-quarter mark.
The lead was just four points heading into the final quarter, but the Demons finished strongly to book a preliminary final spot.
They will face Collingwood or the Western Bulldogs in that, with the clubs facing each other on Sunday morning.
