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Port Adelaide is on a six-match winning streak and preparing for its first AFLW final in the club's history.
A last-gasp Gemma Houghton goal on Sunday confirmed the sixth of those wins.
The team is now set to host Richmond at Alberton Oval in an elimination final this weekend.
Loading...The last time the Power lost in the AFLW was to the Tigers in week five by 21 points.
Richmond captain Katie Brennan starred with three goals, and Gemma Houghton was the Power's focal point at the other end of the ground.
But in the weeks since, things have changed. Port Adelaide has found its groove and, more importantly, an ability to win consistently.
Meanwhile, Richmond has returned two wins from six starts, albeit with a far tougher fixture.
The Power has solidified its highly contested, surge style of footy throughout its winning streak.
Its possessions are limited but largely contested, with quick kicks forward generating opportunities to gain territory and then compete again.
Richmond, meanwhile, has returned to finals off the back of a better-organised team defence and a cohesive forward line that can stretch opposition back lines.
| Port Adelaide 2024 average | AFLW ranking | Richmond Tigers 2024 average | AFLW ranking | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uncontested Marks | 22.1 | 18 | 28.8 | 17 |
| Inside 50 | 32.9 | 8 | 33.9 | 7 |
| Points for | 39.2 | 7 | 40.2 | 6 |
| Switch (%) | 4.5 | 15 | 2.7 | 17 |
| Long kick down the line (%) | 30.5 | 3 | 29.7 | 4 |
There are some areas in which both sides are similar — they sit 17th and 18th in the competition for uncontested marks, and third and fourth for choosing to kick long down the line.
Neither side chooses to regularly switch lanes moving down the field. Rather, they prefer to attack in a direct manner and then trap the ball in the front half. But their method of territory control and their main scoring sources differ significantly.
Port Adelaide boasts contested beasts. The likes of Abbey Dowrick, Maria Moloney, and Shineah Goody are sturdy at the feet of ruck Matilda Scholz, placing the club third in the competition this year for clearance differential. The only sides averaging a greater differential are fellow finalists North Melbourne and Fremantle.
They then force the opposition into a tough contested game of its own, with an average of 78.7 tackles per game.
This ground-ball strength extends to the forward 50 arc, in which the Power uses such pressure to trap the ball inside 50 and create repeat opportunities to score.
As a result of this style, Port Adelaide has generated 16.6 points per game from stoppage this season, the sixth-most in the AFLW.
It is here where they have an opportunity to break down Richmond's structured defence. Swiftly winning that contested ball at stoppage and surging forward with speed will limit the time in which the Tigers can generate the extra behind the ball that they rely on.
If Port Adelaide can move forward in such a way that it can isolate its forwards in one-on-one match-ups, it can genuinely challenge the Tigers' defence.
Richmond's territory control, however, is based on an intercepting game. Taking a note out of Adelaide's book, the Tigers work to get the ball forward, and press their defence high up the ground to squeeze the opposition.
The back line sets up in layers just outside their attacking arc, ready and willing to pick off opposition attempts to rebound out.
With such a method, Richmond sits second in the league for front-half intercepts, and fourth for points scored from those intercepts.
Once inside 50, the aerial dominance of players such as Katie Brennan, Caitlin Greiser, and Emelia Yassir often wins out to earn high-percentage shots on goal.
While Port Adelaide and Richmond share basic philosophies in style — go direct, get the ball forward, maintain forward territory — their chosen method to achieve such style differs greatly.
Off the back of such a clash in systems, Sunday's elimination final has the potential to throw up significant swings in momentum and is almost certainly sure to be a blockbuster.