North Melbourne Werribee completed its finals preparation with a 17-point victory over Sandringham in its closing home-and-away game on Sunday morning.

Accuracy in front of goal was one of the only blights in a quality all-round display, which saw the Roos pick up the 5.12 (42) to 4.1 (25) victory at Trevor Barker Beach Oval.

ZEBRAS v KANGAROOS Full match coverage and stats

It was a valiant effort from the hosts to stay in the contest, but the Roos kept them at bay, holding the lead from the 12th minute mark of the first quarter.

Maddie Di Cosmo led the way out of the middle, racking up a game-high 32 disposals and 12 tackles in another spirited performance.

The midfield bull showcased her ball-winning ability all afternoon, most notably with the opening centre clearance to help set up the Roos’ opener.

She worked perfectly in tandem with Alana Barba, who finished with 25 disposals and 12 tackles.

Rapid Renee

20 seconds was all it took for Renee Tierney as she slotted her first with one of the quickest goals in VFLW history.

With Di Cosmo and Taylor Ortlepp blazing away out of the opening bounce, the skipper was able to collect a loose bouncing ball and straighten up from 30 metres to give her side the early ascendancy in her return to the side.

Dashing Douglas

Jemmika Douglas reaffirmed her place as a pivotal piece of the Roos lineup, picking up 12 disposals and seven intercepts.

The No.13 patrolled the game off half-back with her running power and intercept work, even dipping into her bag of tricks to rein in the ball with a one-handed intercept mark going back with the flight midway through the opening term. 

Bringing the heat

Mostly known for their damage in attack, the Kangaroos will take plenty of confidence in their tackle pressure as they approach an exciting finals campaign.

North Melbourne Werribee’s pressure was relentless against the Zebras, laying a season-high 93 tackles for the game, with star mids Di Cosmo and Barba leading the way with 12 each, followed by Elisabeth Jackson (7) and Georgia Nicholas (6).

What the coach said

VFLW Coach Brett Gourley on the win: “I felt like we controlled the game pretty well. We had a lot of time in forward half, which is what we’re after, and unfortunately we just couldn’t capitalise and make the most of our opportunities.

“It was obviously really pleasing to get another win and finish the home-and-away season with only a couple of losses, so onto finals!”

On finals preparation: “Winning form is good form and we’ve been fortunate enough to win a few on the trot, which is nice. Unfortunately, you don’t get a head start, and Collingwood will be a really tough opposition.

“They will be a really tough team to come up against and we have to make sure we are prepared.”

On the Roos’ tackling: “Pressure was a big focus for us today. We knew that they have been a strong contested ball team in the last few weeks and are a strong contested team.

“We knew the type of footy that they were going to bring and we knew we had to match them on the inside. We were trying to get them on the outside, but the slippery conditions made it a bit tricky for us to take the ball off the line and go forward from there.

“Once we get into finals as well, the pressure and intensity of the game increases, so it’s nice to know that we have got some confidence going into next week in that area.”

Next up 

North Melbourne Werribee will continue its premiership defence as it begins its 2025 VFLW finals campaign next weekend against Collingwood at Arden Street. Match details are to be confirmed.

SANDRINGHAM                                1.0    2.1    3.1     4.1     (25)
NORTH MELBOURNE WERRIBEE    2.1    3.4    5.6    5.12    (42) 

GOALS 
Sandringham: Membrey 2, Livingstone, Kearns
North Melbourne Werribee: Tierney 2, Nicholas 2, Savarirayan