Here we are at the end of the long Premier League season and we have a special two card match this year. In the big one, it is Caribou up against the Dynamos, while the Kruisers take on the All-Stars in the qualifier. Quebec Caribou vs. Darmstadt Dynamos The Caribou finished the regular season second overall with a 6-1 record, while for the Dynamos, a third placed finish and elimination threat at every turn was the motivation for finals. Fortunately for Darmstadt they made the big one, defeating the Kickers in the first elimination final, then the Storm in the knockout semis, funnily enough both by 36 points. Quebec on the other hand smashed the top of the table Islanders to book their spot in the big one. Quebec have the North Melbourne damaging duo of Jasmine Garner and Ash Riddell who have held them in good stead, while the dangerous Nina Morrison and Tyla Hanks are huge threats. Aishling Moloney's season has been nothing short of sensational up forward, while Lucy McEvoy has also enjoyed a great year down back. The Dynamos have the best fantasy player in the competition in Ebony Marinoff which has certainly helped guide them to a grand final. Injuries to the Magpies meant the likes of Britt Bonnici and Mikala Cann gobble up fantasy points, while Alice Edmonds through the ruck is a big advantage for the side. Can they cause the upset? The Caribou have been the marginal better side all year, but anything can happen in a grand final so expect a close one! Kyoto Kruisers vs. Adelaide All-Stars Quite a bit of distance between these two sides who are battling for the eighth qualifier spot next year. Funnily enough of the bottom four sides, the All-Stars finished with a 3-4 record, while the Kruisers did not win throughout the regular season. No one told FreoDockers though, as they guided the Kruisers to a stunning upset over the All-Stars in the first week of the finals. The All-Stars then went down to the Royals who blew away the Llamas, while the Kruisers got the second chance to qualify after overcoming the Llamas. The All-Stars have the more experienced lineup with old heads such as Katie Brennan, Darcy Vescio and Sabrina Frederick running around, while star defender Charlotte Thomas is in the back. The midfield looks a little shaky though Laura Gardiner and Amy McDonald are very good players. The Kruisers also have some quality players but lost Ellie Blackburn to injury. Georgie Prespakis, Jasmine Fleming and Montana Ham will be a great tio to have going forward, while Lauren Pearce and Tahlia Hickie as rucks is just greedy. Another tight contest awaits, can the All-Stars seek revenge? Or will the Kruisers come from winless to claim a qualifying spot? Good luck to all!
Another unlikely result sees the Krushers somehow still playing.... Here goes nothing! Def: Lauren Butler, Claudia Gunjaca, Aileen Gilroy (Lily Johnson) Mid: Orla O'Dwyer, Jasmine Fleming, Hayley Miller, Georgie Prespakis (Emma Swanson) Ruck: Tahlia Hickie (Lauren Pearce) Fwd: Ash Richards, Bella Eddey, Gabby O'Sullivan (Hannah Priest (OOP) IC: Kirsty Lamb, Montana Ham (Kerryn Peterson) Unavailable: Kaitlyn Shroj, Ellie Blackburn (both inj), Alyssia Pisano, Jess Rentsch, Kristie-Lee Weston-Turner
Adelaide All Stars Def- Thomas, Schliecher, Finn (O'Shea) Mids- Laura Gardiner, Drennan, Nanscagwen, Ashmore (Amy Mcdonald) Ruck- Fredrick (Wardlaw) FWD Banister, Taylor Smith, Tarni Brown (Sherriff) INT- Niahm Kelly, Brennan ( Molly mcdonald) Not Available or not picked- Vescio, Hosking, Breed, Barr, Goldrick
In the biggest game of the year, here is how the Caribou will line up against Dynamos DEF: Sheerin, O'Driscoll, McEvoy (Grider) MID: Riddell, Garner, Dowrick, Morrison (T. Kennedy) RUC: Allan (Seymour) FWD: A. Moloney, Bodey, Davidson (Wall) INT: Hanks, J. Fitzgerald (Postelthwaite)
The Dynamos will head into the big dance with the following line-up: DEF: B.Tarrant, T.Craven, J.Allen (C.Emonson) MID: E.Marinoff, B.Bonnici, R.Beeson, C.Whitfort (K.Dempsey) RUC: A.Edmonds (L.Wakfer) FWD: C.Mullins, J.Parry, C.Hodder (D.Ponter) I/C: T.Lucas-Rodd, M.Cann (D.Berry) One change with Jordyn Allen coming on field for Chantal Emonson.
Premier League Round 10 results were as follows Quebec Caribou 1001 @FreeKickLiam defeated Darmstadt Dynamos 828 @WillH_VI Congratulations to Liam who secured the 2024 Premier League title in his first year in the comp and commiserations to Will who makes it back to back Grand Final losses for the Darmstadt side. Best afield was Bec Beeson for the losing side, narrowly edging out Jasmine Garner for the premiers with Quebec players scoring 4 tons between them to Darmstadt's two. Quebec's 4 figure score was their 3rd in 9 games while Darmstadt posted their lowest score of the season as they managed their second sub 900 score of the season after their first was in the elimination final week. The premiers boast a strong and deep lineup and will look to contend strongly for the next few seasons while the Dynamos will be looking to add a few pieces and tweak their strength and conditioning approach to peak at the right time in season 2025. Kyoto Kruisers 694 @FreoDockers defeated by Adelaide All Stars 814 @Corza Congratulations to Corza who secured the 8th and final spot in the 2025 knockout competition with a comfortable victory which saw them edge out the Kruisers and secure a 2-1 Head to head advantage across the 2024 season. The All Stars inaugural season was tough, with injuries striking throughout and they will be looking to secure a top 6 spot next season with a better run with the injury gods. The Kruisers young list will improve over time and they will be targeting 2-3 wins or more as a goal for 2025 after winless (0-7) home and away campaign - with the completion of the 2024 season we now have set the 2025 Draft Order after finals:- 2025 picks 1, 11, 21, 31, 41, 51 Kruisers 2025 picks 2, 12, 22, 32, 42, 52 Llamas 2025 picks 3, 13, 23, 33, 43, 53 Royals 2025 picks 4, 14, 24, 34, 44, 54 All Stars 2025 picks 5, 15, 25, 35, 45, 55 Kickers 2025 picks 6, 16, 26, 36, 46, 56 Vultures 2025 picks 7, 17, 27, 37, 47, 57 Storm 2025 picks 8 18, 28, 38, 48, 58 Islanders 2025 picks 9, 19, 29, 38, 49, 59 Dynamos 2025 picks 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 Caribou We hope to have everyone back for next year (with rumours of an early August AFLW start) and hope that you all enjoy the @aflwomens finals and offseason in the meantime Cheers TTH
Based on aggregate scores for AFLW season 2024 the Premier League Best XIII is as follows:- Def - Gay, Newton, Newman (Webster) Mid - Marinoff, Garner, Riddell, Rowbottom (Conti) Fwd - Hore, C Randall, Aisling Moloney (Tripodi) Ruck - Strom (L Wales) IC - Anderson, Hatchard (Sherar) The breakdown by team and picks used to select them in the 2024 Premier League Re-draft are Caribou 3 - #9 Garner, #12 Riddell and #159 Moloney Vultures 2 - #7 Hatchard and #64 Newman plus Sherar #24 and Tropidi #164 emergencies Kickers 2 - #15 Anderson and #25 Strom plus Conti #6 emergency Islanders 2 - #95 Randall and #115 Gay plus L Wales #55 emergency Dynamos 1 - #1 Noffy Storm 1 - #2 Rowbottom plus Webster #49 emergency Royals 1 - #13 Hore Llamas 1 - #40 Newton Eight of the ten teams had at least one representative while the All-Stars and Kruisers did not manage a 2024 Best XIII representative, (including emergencies). Nine of the 13 players named were picked inside the first 40 re-draft picks, with Newman #64, Randall #95, Gay #115 and Moloney #159 showing the levels of elite talent available outside the early rounds of the re-draft.