Roos book AFLW preliminary final berth, extend winning streak to 25 beating goal-less Hawks
North Melbourne are now just two victories away from completing a perfect AFLW season after overcoming Hawthorn in Friday night’s qualifying final. Although the Roos struggled in attack, their control and precision across the field secured a comfortable 5.12 (42) to 0.3 (3) win.
The match at Ikon Park in Carlton drew 4,392 spectators, who watched as the resilient but outmatched Hawks battled injuries that hampered their performance. The Roos’ unbeaten streak, stretching back to the previous season, now stands at an impressive 25 consecutive games.
With the result, North Melbourne advance directly to the preliminary final and will rest for a week, while Hawthorn hope their injury list won’t worsen before next weekend’s elimination semi-final.
“That’s probably one area that we’ll look at,” said coach Darren Crocker. “Their ability to not just defend inside the defensive 50m arc, but also put pressure on the ball carrier — sometimes the ball carrier was under pressure and couldn’t get the ball into the areas they wanted to. We could have handled our forward entries a bit better at times.”
Among the Roos’ standouts were Libby Birch, Jasmine Garner, Ash Riddell, and Erika O’Shea, whose consistency across the ground anchored the team’s performance. For Hawthorn, Eliza West, Laura Stone, Tilly Lucas-Rodd, and Aileen Gilroy delivered strong efforts despite the challenges.
Kaitlyn Ashmore left the field with a calf injury in the final quarter, while Aine McDonagh fought through what appeared to be a painful knee issue.
Author’s Summary
North Melbourne continued their dominance with a 25th straight win, outclassing the injury-hit Hawks to secure a preliminary final spot and stay on track for an undefeated AFLW season.