FOUR blockbusters dominate the round seven NAB AFLW fixture, with the top eight teams set to face off against each other.

Brisbane v Collingwood looks to be the pick of the bunch, while at the other end of the table, Geelong has a chance to break its duck against West Coast.

Friday, March 12

Gold Coast v Richmond at Metricon Stadium, 6.40pm AEST

• The Suns will be thrilled to be back on their own home deck for the first time since round one, having had games in Brisbane, Sydney, two in Perth and last week in Adelaide. Jamie Stanton (fractured ankle) is a huge loss, but Maddy Levi (knee) should add some flexibility in the ruck and up forward.
• The Tigers were completely blown out of the water in the first half against North Melbourne, but held them much better in the second. The return of Mon Conti (hamstring tightness) will be a huge boost for the team, and they've got steady bookends in Courtney Wakefield and Harriet Cordner.
• Tip: Richmond blew a golden chance to record its first ever win when these two teams met, back in round two last year. They won't let a victory slip again. Tigers by 23 points.

WATCH IT LIVE Suns v Tigers

Saturday, March 13

St Kilda v Greater Western Sydney at RSEA Park, 3.10pm AEDT

• All four of St Kilda's wins over the past two seasons have come at their training base of RSEA Park. The Saints know the ground (and the tricky wind) inside and out. St Kilda averages the second-most marks, but tellingly, the rest of the top eight occupy top eight slots on the ladder. Balancing with some run-and-carry should help.
• The Giants made a statement at selection last week, dropping senior faces Lou Stephenson and Bec Privitelli. Despite being blown off the park in the first half against Brisbane, the Giants did well to stem the flow, conceding just 1.2 after the main break. Bulldog Ellie Blackburn made an interesting point in commentary, saying she found their stoppage structures to be fairly predictable when she played against them the previous week.
• Tip: A real coin toss. The winner will still hang on to the faintest of finals hopes, and while the Saints have a home-ground advantage, the Giants might just have the edge here. GWS by eight points. 

WATCH IT LIVE Saints v Giants

North Melbourne v Western Bulldogs at North Hobart Oval, 5.10pm AEDT

• North Melbourne is well and truly back on the winners' list after consecutive victories over Carlton and Richmond. Against the Tigers, the Roos dominated play for the first half, absolutely controlling the footy through a strong kick-mark game. They had 80 more disposals and 22 more inside 50s.
• The Bulldogs managed to stick with Collingwood for a half, holding them up around stoppages and not letting them settle into their controlled ball movement. But the young Dogs wilted in the heat, and couldn't maintain the intensity, and with Izzy Huntington and Bonnie Toogood well held, kicked just two goals
• Tip: This will be a tough ask for the Bulldogs, who have been impressive this season but don't quite have the firepower yet to match it with the top sides. Roos by 26 points.

WATCH IT LIVE Kangaroos v Bulldogs

Melbourne v Adelaide at Casey Fields, 7.10pm AEDT

• More than any other team, Melbourne demonstrate the cliché "good kicking is good football". The Dees were much more accurate in front of goal last week, and got the win over a disappointing St Kilda. It'll be interesting to see if Daisy Pearce once again features up forward, or considering Adelaide's firepower, is sent back to defence.
• Adelaide is very much a death by a thousand cuts team, wearing opponents down under an extraordinary weight of inside 50s. They'll be without Nikki Gore in defence, after the youngster fractured her ankle. Fellow defender Najwa Allen has slipped under the radar somewhat this year, now averaging a career-high 12.3 disposals in a rebounding role.
• Tip: The Demons have a horror run home and will find the going tough against a multi-pronged Adelaide attack. Crows by 19 points.

WATCH IT LIVE Demons v Crows

Sunday, March 14

Carlton v Fremantle at Ikon Park, 1.10pm AEDT

• Carlton looked much more like the Blues of old last week against Geelong, finally shaking off its first-quarter horror starts and winning comfortably. Mimi Hill (ACL) will be a loss to a young midfield, while Grace Egan is gradually working her way into her top form after a relatively slow start to the season.
• Fremantle bounced back in style after its first loss in 12 games, tearing apart a hapless West Coast. Once again, the sheer number of forward threats coupled with a fierce defensive game (the Dockers average the most tackles in the competition) looks to be a winning formula for Trent Cooper.
• Tip: These sides have a history of brutal encounters and will meet for the first time since the 2019 preliminary final, which Fremantle will be keen to avenge. Dockers by 15 points.

WATCH IT LIVE Blues v Dockers

Brisbane v Collingwood at Hickey Park, 2.10pm AEST

• Brisbane just keep on keeping on, jumping out to a commanding lead against GWS in the first half to record its fifth win for the season. As has been the case for the last few years, the Lions are very much a high kicking team, averaging second for kicks but ninth for handballs.
• Collingwood is yet to taste defeat in 2021, winning six straight and even notching up a practice match victory. Stacey Livingstone and Ruby Schleicher have garnered plenty of attention for their strong work in defence, but Lauren Butler has performed admirably as the second key tall.
• Tip: Both these teams have very, very strong defences, so it'll be a matter of who breaks first. This is every chance to be quite a low-scoring affair, but the Lions might just have the edge. Brisbane by four points. 

WATCH IT LIVE Lions v Magpies

Monday, March 15

West Coast v Geelong at Mineral Resources Park, 2.10pm AWST

• This game has been pushed back to Monday due to WA border restrictions and will be played in the afternoon to allow the Cats to return home that night.
• West Coast were blown off the park against Fremantle and will be much happier facing a team around its own level of development. The club's first draftee last year, Bella Lewis, is growing in confidence by the week, recording a career-high 17 disposals against an experienced Dockers midfield.
• It's been a nightmare year for Geelong, but at least the Cats recorded what was comfortably their highest score for the season last week (31 points). Concerningly for a side who is yet to win a game, the Cats average the fourth-fewest tackles in the competition.
• Tip: This should be a closely fought affair. The Eagles have the home ground advantage, but the Cats are building. Geelong by four points.

WATCH IT LIVE Eagles v Cats

Did you head to the footy over the weekend? Tell us your thoughts! Take the survey now

FREMANTLE has charged home to knock off a valiant Carlton, booting three quick goals in the last nine minutes of the match to win by four points.

Sabreena Duffy kicked a dribbler from the goalsquare and a bomb from 50m before Gemma Houghton – who had been blanketed the entire match by Charlotte Wilson – marked and converted from 30m for 6.9 (45) to 65 (41) win.

BLUES v DOCKERS Full match coverage and stats

Carlton needed to win this match to keep its finals hopes alive, and the team's first quarter – traditionally its weakest this year – was a reflection of the situation, leading by 21 points at the first break.

The visitors responded in the second term as any good team should, drastically increasing their tackle pressure and locking the ball inside their attacking half.

Fremantle had trailed Carlton in the contested ball count by 18 in the first quarter. But the back of some hard work from Kiara Bowers, Hayley Miller and Duffy, the Dockers reversed that in the second term to win that quarter's tally by eight.

The sides traded goals in the third term, with Gibbs converting a composed shot on the run, followed by an excellent set shot near the boundary from Jasmin Stewart and then a clean front-and-centre crumb from the ever-dangerous Georgia Gee.

Nicola Stevens' powerful season across half-forward continued, kicking a vital goal – her second – at the start of the final term to the roar of the Carlton faithful, but it was the last Carlton score for the match.

Bowers' elite endurance held her in good stead with a 28-disposal, 10-tackle and 10-clearance performance, while Ebony Antonio and Steph Cain (14 each) held their wings well.

Carlton's defensive combination of Wilson, Kerryn Harrington and Mua Laloifi held up for all but the final 10 minutes of the match, while in-form Dockers key back Janelle Cuthbertson had an intriguing battle with Tayla Harris, taking the chocolates.

With Harris returning from a week off and fellow key forward Serena Gibbs retaining her place in the side, Al Downie was employed in defence.

The ladder now
With Collingwood still to play, Fremantle has now retaken top spot on the ladder by a mere three per cent and look assured of its third straight finals appearance. The situation is much more dire for Carlton. With winnable games to come against Greater Western Sydney and Gold Coast, the Blues will be sweating on Melbourne – the closest team by percentage – dropping its upcoming matches to Fremantle and Brisbane by a considerable margin.

Blink and you'll miss it
Carlton ruck Breann Moody got away with a moment of madness in the third term after marking the ball deep in Fremantle's defence. She turned and decided to rush the ball through in quite an unorthodox manner – kicking it through as if it were her own goals. The behind was paid, a free kick to Fremantle was not, and the Blues retained possession.

Defensive Bowers strengthens best and fairest claims
Fremantle coach Trent Cooper said the Dockers planned to have Kiara Bowers play a quasi-defensive job on reigning AFLW best and fairest Maddy Prespakis, except when the Blue rested forward. Judging by the former's performance, Prespakis may well be handing the medal over to the Docker next month. Bowers beat the young gun in the best way possible, by winning her own footy, recording 28 disposals (after just four in the first term), 10 tackles and 10 clearances.

Say what?
"We always thought we were a chance, because we're a pretty fit side and we had the scoring end, but needing three goals with six minutes and six seconds to go, it wasn't looking great at this stage. Our pressure (was where we won it), and that was where it was lost early. They are an amazing handball side, they're the best in the comp, and we wanted to keep their handball efficiency low. The first quarter, they were at 87 per cent." – Fremantle coach Trent Cooper

"A few things went wrong, we tripped over a couple of times, had a free kick go against us which got momentum and territory back their way. It was a little five-minute window of disaster from our perspective. Nothing we did wrong, it was just the way the game unfolded. That's why it's so difficult to take. We didn't do too much wrong, but they did a lot right in the end." – Carlton coach Daniel Harford

Up next
If plans aren't changed due to the positive COVID-19 case in Brisbane, Carlton will travel to Metricon Stadium to play Gold Coast on Friday night. Fremantle will be back on its home deck but face a Melbourne side full of confidence after knocking off Adelaide.

CARLTON               3.4     3.5     5.5     6.5     (41)
FREMANTLE     0.1     2.3     3.7     6.9     (45)          

GOALS
Carlton: Stevens 2, Vescio, Harris, Gibbs, Gee
Fremantle: Stewart 2, Duffy 2, Cain, Houghton

BEST
Carlton: Harrington, Stevens, Moody, Prespakis, Vescio, Laloifi
Fremantle: Bowers, E. Antonio, Duffy, Cain, Pugh, Stewart

INJURIES 
Carlton: Nil
Fremantle: Nil

Reports: Nil

Crowd: 2048 at Ikon Park

Did you head to the footy over the weekend? Tell us your thoughts! Take the survey now