BOTH Geelong and North Melbourne came into the AFLW competition in 2019, but the Cats have lost all five meetings between the pair.

Geelong has taken its game to yet another level this year, while North Melbourne has put both St Kilda and Carlton to the sword to record a whopping percentage of 555.

Is Friday night the Cats' best chance of finally scoring a breakthrough win against their AFLW twin?

Head-to-head battle

The two clubs took starkly different approaches to their initial list builds.

North Melbourne leaned on pre-existing connections with star players through the club's connection with then-VWFL club Melbourne Uni. That recruitment strategy – partly steered by now-AFL footy boss Laura Kane – fed on itself, with more players subsequently willing to make the jump to an already star-studded side.

The Roos also have an alliance with Tasmania, and a portion of its list comes from the southern state.

Meanwhile, Geelong went down a more traditional path, honing in on youth, particularly from the strong football regions of the city of Geelong, the Surf Coast and the inland Colac area.

It's meant the Roos have been perennial finalists, while the Cats have taken a longer route, initially playing as a very defensive side before adding attacking elements in recent years.

Season	Result
2019	Did not play each other
2020	North Melbourne by 46 points
2021	North Melbourne by 62 points
2022 S6	North Melbourne by 8 points
2022 S7	North Melbourne by 12 points
2022 S7 final	North Melbourne by 2 points

 

"You always partially compare yourselves with how other teams have been able to progress over the years," inaugural Roo Emma King said.

"They probably had a slower start than us, and now they're really coming to fruition. They're highly competitive, and they're definitely building into something nice and strong. It's always a good challenge."

Styles of play

North Melbourne has a very distinct kick-mark game, honed since the team burst onto the scene in 2019.

While it's not exactly "move it forward at all costs" mentality, by comparison, Geelong prefer to carry the ball with speed, boosted by powerful runners like Nina Morrison, Amy McDonald and Mikayla Bowen on the wing.

Both play attractive, high-scoring footy, with Geelong throwing (some) caution to the wind since the appointment of Dan Lowther and getting the ball into attack at pace.

But it still doesn't quite compare to the sheer number of looks North Melbourne affords its forwards, the Roos averaging 11 more inside-50s this season than the Cats.

Most excitingly for Friday night, Geelong may finally prove to be a team that can match North Melbourne's fearsome and deep midfield, the Cats having actually just shading the Roos in average clearances this year.

The last time these two teams played, it was an incredibly low-scoring slog of an elimination final, the ball trapped inside the Cats' attacking half, with only a resolute North Melbourne backline allowing the Roos to scrape over the line.

"We just haven't beaten them. I feel like there has been a bit of a rivalry growing over the last couple of seasons," Lowther said.

"[There have been] plenty of close games where we just haven't gotten over the line, so for me it would be nice to get one over the Kangaroos for the first time."

Both teams love piling on the goals, so hopefully a more open game ensues on Friday night, without the added pressure of a knock-out final.

Geelong	Average	North Melbourne
251.5	Disposals	275.5
153	Kicks	166.5
98.5	Handballs	109
56.5	Marks	63.5
74	Tackles	66
32	Clearances	33
34	Inside 50s	45.5
10	Goals	9

 

Key match-ups

Where North Melbourne may have an edge is its incredibly tall forward line, with few sides able to carry three key defenders with just 16 players on the field.

Annabel Johnson will miss the next month with a knee injury, meaning Rachel Kearns (nominally a forward, but played in defence last week as a late replacement) or fifth-gamer Mel Bragg may have to play above their height in defending one of Tahlia Randall, Kate Shierlaw and Emma King.

Lock in key backs Meg McDonald and Claudia Gunjaca to handle the other two.

The Cats have brought in ruck Liv Fuller, who did spend some time in defence in practice matches this year.

The midfield battle shapes as a closer affair than in recent years, as the young Cats continue their development and key Roos cog Jenna Bruton sidelined with a calf injury.

Mia King and Georgie Prespakis are both tough as nails and love winning the contested footy, while Jasmine Garner is in sizzling form and McDonald's agility round the contest and vision in traffic sets her apart.

Ash Riddell has also started the season full of running, and is a key linking player that will need to be stopped if the Cats are a chance.

"It's going to be fun to watch. They've been together for a long period of time, those guys at North, and they've gelled really well and they play quite instinctively together," Lowther said.

"You just watch their handball shape, the way they drive out and instinctively move towards each other. They're very well in tune and they get those metres gained from stoppage, with a strong ruck support as well. It'll be interesting to see if we can nullify that.

"Our transition away and our pressure round the ball needs to be elite. That's just the only word I can use for it, because they're just too dangerous to let run free. It's going to be a really strong battle, they've got a number of players who can go through, they've got some great talls that can rotate through the ruck, and (Kim) Rennie provides some really good support for them.

"Our mids are starting to gel as well, but they're nowhere near the experienced group that North Melbourne are."

Geelong has tinkered with its forward line over the past few years, and the combination of talls Jackie Parry and Aishling Moloney and small Chloe Scheer is now humming. The North Melbourne defenders are low-fuss and just get the job done, with Sarah Wright and Jas Ferguson likely to take the deepest Cats forwards.

Then there's Emma Kearney. So much of North Melbourne's drive comes from the skipper off half-back, but she can be burnt the other way if a dangerous forward plays off her.

Renee Garing could be employed in a shut-down role on Kearney, or Kate Surman could cause enough havoc to force Kearney to play a more defensive role.

There are tantalising match-ups across the park, and if Geelong come away with the four points for the first time, we should rate the Cats as a genuine top-four side.