It’ll be do or die for Collingwood’s VFLW side when it takes on the Southern Saints in a preliminary final this Sunday at Adcon Stadium.

The top two sides will battle it out in a rematch of the first qualifying final where the Magpies overcame the Saints by 15 points at Victoria Park.

The Pies will return to Port Melbourne on Saturday having suffered their first loss in this finals series, going down to the Western Bulldogs by 12 points in a semi-final. The victory saw the Dogs progress through to the Grand Final.

The minor premiers struggled in front of goal with Chloe Molloy booting their only major for the day.

The Saints are coming off a 17-point win over Melbourne Uni last Sunday.

The winner of Sunday’s game will join the Dogs in the Grand Final on Sunday, September 22, while the loser’s season will come to a close.

 

Key focuses for the Pies

Ultimately, the Pies need to make the most of their opportunities and have greater intent particularly with their ball movement down the field.

At times, they looked rushed and unsteady in the semi-final. It’ll be crucial for them to settle into the game and play on their terms from the outset.

But the main focus for the minor premiers will be capitalising in front of goal.

Jaimee Lambert had an outstanding performance against the Saints in their first finals meeting. The midfielder finished with 23 disposals, 12 tackles and booted all three of the Pies’ majors for the match.

Britt Bonnici has been damaging during the finals series so far. She collected 31 disposals and 24 kicks in the two sides’ last encounter.

The Pies will likely come face to face with their former teammates Mel Kuys and Darcy Guttridge.

 

Key focuses for the Saints

The Saints are one of the biggest disposal getters in the game. It’ll be crucial for the Pies to combat this from the very beginning of the game.

The Saints struggled to get on the board in the two sides’ previous meeting, having only managed one goal. But they overturned this in their semi-final clash against the Mugars, scoring ten majors, with Caitlin Greiser claiming four. 

Tilly Lucas-Rodd has been influential down back, providing great speed and stamina collecting 20 disposals and 15 kicks in the semi final.

Collingwood will announce its side for the preliminary clash on Thursday night.

Please note this game is the first of a double header with the men’s VFL preliminary final of Williamstown v Essendon to follow at 2.10pm.

 

Tickets

Pre-sale tickets will be available for all finals matches, to help fans avoid any possible queues on game day.

Adults $15, concession/pensioners $10 and kids under 15 free and can be purchased here: https://vfl.com.au/presale/

 

Collingwood v Southern Saints 
Preliminary Final 
Sunday 15th, September, 11.45am
Adcon Stadium (Port Melbourne)