THERE'S just one finals position left coming into the final round of the NAB AFLW season, and it's down to North Melbourne and Carlton.

If the Roos beat Fremantle, they're in, but if they lose, it's up to Carlton to defeat GWS and do so in style in order to make up the percentage needed.

THE RUN HOME Who will snatch the last finals spot?

There are also eight players still in the running to be the competition's leading goalkicker.

Friday, March 26

Western Bulldogs v Richmond at VU Whitten Oval, 5.10pm AEST

• After winning four straight games, the young Bulldogs ran into some of the more experienced sides of the competition and have slid out of finals contention. The return of Kim Rennie to pair with Celine Moody should overwhelm the undersized Tiger ruck Gabby Seymour, while Izzy Huntington's still in the running for leading goalkicker.
• Friday night marks the first time these two sides have met, with stars Monique Conti and Katie Brennan set to renew acquaintances with the team they sensationally left at the end of 2019. Brennan is also in the hunt for leading goalkicker, while the Tigers are in good form, having won two games on the trot.
• Tip: This will be quite an intriguing battle with some of the young stars of the competition on show. The Tigers are in better form and could just scrape over the line. Richmond by five points.

WATCH IT LIVE Bulldogs v Tigers

Saturday, March 27

North Melbourne v Fremantle at Arden Street Oval, 1.10pm AEDT

• There's no two ways about it, everything is on the line for North Melbourne. Win, and the Roos have locked up the last finals spot on offer. Lose, and it'll be a nervous wait to see if Carlton can overhaul the percentage needed on Sunday. Integral midfielder Jenna Bruton's suspension is an unwanted blow.
• Fremantle will be making its first trip to Arden Street on the back of a surprise loss to Melbourne at home. Alongside Carlton, the Dockers have been serial slow starters this year – in part due to inaccurate and rushed shots on goal – so keep an eye on the scoreboard in the opening term. A top-two spot is still on the cards if Fremantle win by enough.
• Tip: Difficult one to call. North Melbourne has dominated weaker sides but struggled when denied room to move by top opposition, while Fremantle's recent form is patchy. Dockers by 10 points.

WATCH IT LIVE Kangaroos v Dockers

Melbourne v Brisbane at Casey Fields, 3.10pm AEDT

• Melbourne returns to its stronghold of Casey Fields, where it last lost a game in the final round of 2019. Daisy Pearce moving forward and Eden Zanker into the midfield has revitalised the Dees, while ruck Lauren Pearce is back to her "additional midfielder" form. 
• Brisbane is flying, sitting pretty in first spot and its sole loss coming back in round four. Opposition sides have lauded the Lions' full-ground pressure, built on the back of its experienced defensive line. Brisbane would have to lose badly to rescind its top-two spot.
• Tip: The two in-form sides of the competition have very distinctive styles, and it'll be an old-fashioned battle of attack (Melbourne) v defence (Brisbane). This year, the Lions have proven defence wins more often than not. Brisbane by eight points.

WATCH IT LIVE Demons v Lions

Gold Coast v Geelong at Metricon Stadium, 4.10pm AEST

• Gold Coast will be desperate for its first win coming into its final game of the season. The Suns have shown promising patches, and jumped Carlton last week, but have struggled to run out games with a young and inexperienced squad.
• Equally, Saturday marks Geelong's opportunity to record its first 2021 victory in its final match. The Cats can't take a trick on the injury front, with Denby Taylor (shoulder) the latest young star to suffer a serious injury. The battle of intercept defenders (Meg McDonald and Maddy McMahon v Lauren Ahrens and Jade Pregelj) will be fun.
• Tip: Someone will join Richmond with the unwanted record of winless AFLW seasons by the end of this match, and the Cats aren't moving the ball well at all. Gold Coast by 15 points.

WATCH IT LIVE Suns v Cats

Sunday, March 28

Adelaide v Collingwood at Norwood Oval, 12.10pm ACDT

• Adelaide will be full of confidence having comprehensively overrun the Western Bulldogs. Collingwood is one of the best-equipped sides to try and take on the Crows' forward line, which has had a different player stand up each week, including Chloe Scheer, Danielle Ponter and Ashleigh Woodland.
• Collingwood would have been thrilled with the successful return of dynamic defender Ash Brazill, who looks primed to take on Erin Phillips when the Crow pushes forward. The Pies were matched on the inside by the struggling St Kilda, but burned up the Saints around the ground with a hard-running outside game.
• Tip: A top-two spot – a week off and a home preliminary final – is effectively up for grabs for the winner of this game. Adelaide play Norwood Oval incredibly well, and could have the edge here. Crows by 13 points.

WATCH IT LIVE Crows v Magpies

Greater Western Sydney v Carlton at Blacktown International Sportspark, 4.10pm AEDT

• GWS will be hoping to be boosted by the return of Tanya Hetherington and Aimee Schmidt from ankle injuries, with the latter particularly important for a forward line which has struggled to kick goals. The Giants have battled to control the ball by foot, ranked second-last for marks this year.
• Carlton will know on Saturday afternoon if its finals hopes are still alive. If North Melbourne lose to Fremantle, the Blues will have to win big in order to jump the Roos into that last finals spot on offer. They've got the firepower to kick plenty of goals, having last week recorded the highest ever AFLW score.
• Tip: With finals on the line, Carlton will win this one comfortably, but it may not be enough to make up 18 per cent. Blues by 35 points.  

WATCH IT LIVE Giants v Blues

West Coast v St Kilda at Mineral Resources Park, 3.10pm AWST

• The Eagles will be a little battered and bruised after a tough encounter in the wet against Richmond, but impressed with their high-pressure and fierce-tackling game. They'll once again be without skipper Emma Swanson (suspension), with Aisling McCarthy needing to pass a test after copping a knock to her knee.
• St Kilda was happy to match the power of Collingwood in clearances, but seriously struggled with the outside ball and producing deep and effective inside 50s. This will be a game for the young Saints, with senior stars Kate McCarthy (leg) and Nat Exon (shoulder) once again ruled out.
• Tip: These two sides have never met before, having joined the competition last year, and it could be a tight and low-scoring affair. The Eagles have been more effective in attack. West Coast by 17 points.

WATCH IT LIVE Eagles v Saints

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NORTH Melbourne has sewn up the last finals spot by the skin of its teeth, beating Fremantle by one point in a thriller at Arden Street.

After trailing at three-quarter time, young forward Daisy Bateman showed great composure to take the lead, with the Roos holding on for dear life for the remaining seven minutes in the 4.6 (30) to 4.5 (29) win.

KANGAROOS v DOCKERS Full match coverage and stats

The Dockers had yet another slow start but charged home in the second half, starting to win more clearances and causing great panic in North's defensive line, with the hosts giving away numerous free kicks in front of goal.

North Melbourne had initially got off to a flyer, dominating the early stoppages before a clean, curling goal on the run from Sophie Abbatangelo.

But the Kangaroos were unable to capitalise on their early ball as a Freo defence – led by Janelle Cuthbertson, Laura Pugh and Ash Sharp – rebounded with ease, with the Roos recording just one first-quarter goal from 10 inside 50s.

Without integral midfielder Jenna Bruton (who was suspended for a dangerous tackle), Emma Kearney played more of a sweeping role, and had 11 touches in the first quarter. Ash Riddell picked up where the skipper left off after the first break with 19 to half-time and 33 by the final siren.

North key defender Tahlia Randall went over on her ankle after going up for a mark and left the ground in considerable pain in the third term, with Kiara Bowers capitalising on the opposition's lapse in concentration.

Randall later returned to play a key role in the final quarter.

After Emma O'Driscoll sprayed a rare shot in front of goal, Freo skipper Kara Antonio kicked a goal to put the team in the lead.

The fourth quarter kicked off with three straight behinds to North Melbourne as the Dockers struggled to clear their defensive half. 

Fremantle had an opportunity to take back the lead in the final 90 seconds after a superb passage of play with Kiara Bowers and Ebony Antonio showing incredible vision to pierce North's defence, but Tiah Haynes' set shot drifted wide.

Star Dockers forward Gemma Houghton could come under MRO scrutiny for a bizarre, deliberate late knee to Randall in a marking contest in the fourth quarter.

The ladder now
North Melbourne has ended Carlton's faint finals hopes with its win, and will qualify for its second finals series in its three-year AFLW history. Fremantle has lost its chance at a top-two spot and home preliminary final and will be hoping Brisbane defeats Melbourne in order to hold onto a home qualifying final. There is a strong chance these two sides could face off next week in Western Australia.

Last-quarter heroics
Tahlia Randall has arguably been North Melbourne's most important defender this year, and when she rolled her ankle in the third term it looked as if the Roos' finals hopes had gone down with her. The defender's return to the field was heralded by coach Darren Crocker: "I don't normally individualise, but I made a mention of her and Danielle Hardiman, who both went down … I think that's a really good sign going forward."

Riddell's road to success
Ash Riddell hit the ground running and did not stop until the final siren. She recorded 33 disposals for the match – just shy of Anne Hatchard's record of 34 and a club record – as well as nine clearances, seven inside 50s, seven intercepts and three tackles. Most pleasingly for the Roos was that fact the 33 touches was at 72.7 per cent efficiency. 

Say what?
"The heart rate is all right – it's the life of a coach that it's more relief than elation, although you would have seen me at the end and it was pretty much elation. Just felt like we controlled large parts of the game, we controlled the forward half battle, but they looked dangerous when they went forward quite regularly. For the girls to just find a way to win was great for them." – North Melbourne coach Darren Crocker

"I thought North were definitely on top early, and they were on top through the midfield, but we really pressured them and got the game on our terms for the middle two quarters and at three-quarter time, kicking with the breeze, it looked set up for us, but to North's credit, they were really good and our pressure dropped right away." – Fremantle coach Trent Cooper

Up next
We won't know for sure until the finals fixture is released, but if Melbourne loses to Brisbane, there is a strong possibility these two sides will face off in Western Australia. What is known is both will be playing sudden-death finals.

NORTH MELBOURNE     1.0     2.2     3.3     4.6 (30)
FREMANTLE     0.1     2.1     4.2     4.5 (29)

GOALS
North Melbourne: Abbatangelo, Bannister, Garner, Bateman
Fremantle: Houghton, O'Sullivan, Bowers, K. Antonio

BEST
North Melbourne: Riddell, Kearney, Garner, E.King, Bannister
Fremantle: Bowers, Cain, O'Sullivan, Cuthbertson, Haynes

INJURIES
North Melbourne: Randall (ankle) 
Fremantle: Nil

Reports: Nil

Crowd: 1223 at Arden Street Oval

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