Irish women will take centre stage for the AFLW Preliminary finals (last four) this weekend. Three of the four protagonists are powered by GAA ladies with Port Adelaide the only side without any Irish interest.
On Saturday afternoon, the North Melbourne Kangaroos will host the Adelaide Crows at Ikon Park in Melbourne. The unbeaten Kangaroos are Premiership favourites having completed the most dominant regular season campaign in AFLW history.
Three Irish players are in contention to feature against the Crows.
Vikki Wall, a two-time All-Ireland SFC winner with Meath, Niamh Martin, the winner of a TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate Championship with Tipperary, and Cork dual star Erika O’Shea, are all just one win away from the season decider on November 30.
Fermanagh’s Blaithin Bogue is still waiting to make her AFLW debut having only arrived in Melbourne a fortnight before the season started in mid-August.
Bogue has been named as an emergency player on several occasions this season and it would be a major surprise if her status changed this week.
In the second preliminary final on Saturday night, reigning premiers the Brisbane Lions will host the Adelaide Crows at Brighton Homes Arena.
Tipperary dual star Orla O’Dwyer, a two-time AFLW premiership winner with the Brisbane Lions, and Jennifer Dunne are key players for Brisbane and both are AFLW history makers.
In 2022, O’Dwyer became the first Irish player to be named on the All-Australian team and last year Dunne won an All-Ireland crown with Dublin followed by an AFLW premiership just a few months later.
Former Mayo captain Niamh Kelly, the second Irish player to be anointed as an All-Australian, is one of the Adelaide Crows standout players.
Donegal’s Amy Boyle-Carr is desperate for a recall against the Lions. The three-time Ulster champion was dropped in the final round of the regular season and has not featured in the Crows final campaign so far.
Adelaide are the ‘nearly team’ of AFLW having lost their past three preliminary finals by a total of just seven points. Making matters even worse., Adelaide lost to Brisbane by just two points in round five this season; by two points in a qualifying final last year; and by three points in round eight in 2023.
O’Dwyer believes the forthcoming preliminary final is destined to be another thriller between the two fierce rivals.
“We know them so well,” she said.
“The last few times there’s been less than a goal between us. I’m sure there’ll be nothing in it.”
Dunne concurs with her teammate’s assessment.
“We just have to look after ourselves,” she said.
“We have plenty to work on and we are looking forward to it.”
