North Melbourne are two wins away from an undefeated season after defeating Hawthorn in an AFLW qualifying final on Friday night.
The Roos had a poor night in attack but were too polished around the ground as injuries hit the brave but overmatched Hawks in front of 4392 fans at Ikon Park in Carlton.
Alice O’Loughlin of the Kangaroos celebrates a goal.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
The Roos undefeated streak, dating back to last season, is now up to 25 games in succession as they won 5.12 (42) to Hawthorn’s 0.3 (3).
North will rest up for the next week while the Hawks will hope the injuries which hit them on this night won’t carry over to next weekend’s elimination semi-final.
Roos coach Darren Crocker praised his side’s patience but said they would look at their forward play after missing out on several scoring chances.
“That’s probably be one area that we’ll look at,” Crocker said.
“Their ability to not just defend inside the defensive 50m [arc], but also put pressure on the ball carrier – sometimes the ball carrier was under pressure and they couldn’t get the ball in the areas they wanted to.
“We could have been a little bit better with where we put the ball at times.”
Libby Birch, Jasmine Garner, Ash Riddell and Erika O’Shea were among North’s best players but they were typically strong across the ground in a fiery match while Eliza West, Laura Stone, Tilly Lucas-Rodd and Aileen Gilroy were among the Hawks best.
Kaitlyn Ashmore hurt her calf and didn’t return in the final term while Aine McDonagh played through what looked like a painful knee injury.
The Hawks will play the winner of the elimination final between Carlton and West Coast which will be played at Ikon Park on Saturday.
“They made it a really tight, high-pressure contest,” Crocker said.
“But we’ve got a lot of trust in the way we play, our system and our identity. Hopefully, teams can hold us for a period of time but it will open up at some point.”