Blaithin Bogue celebrates a goal during the AFLW Preliminary Final between North Melbourne and Melbourne at Ikon Park on November 22, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos
NORTH Melbourne has seen off its fiercest rival yet in its 26-game winning streak, fighting tooth and nail to overrun Melbourne by 10 points and qualify for a third consecutive Grand Final.
The Roos trailed by six points coming into the final break, with the Demons – driven by their sterling backline – having played out of their skin in the first three terms.
KANGAROOS v DEMONS Full match coverage and stats
North Melbourne threw everything and the kitchen sink at Melbourne in the last quarter, and it was the sink which finally got them over the line to secure the tough 6.10 (46) to 5.6 (36) victory.
Superstars Ash Riddell and Jas Garner missed snaps in the fourth term, and it seemed like North Melbourne’s 26th ship had sailed, but some lightning-fast hands from Alice O’Loughlin set up Blaithin Bogue for her third, Garner found inexplicable space at a forward stoppage, and Melbourne’s hearts shattered after its best-ever AFLW performance.
For all the talk of Melbourne’s star duo of Kate Hore and Tyla Hanks, it was the wily veteran winger Paxy Paxman who stood tall early, kicking the opener and setting up Ryleigh Wotherspoon for the second, as the Roos were caught back on their heels after a week off.
Melbourne, meanwhile, had the ideal preparation for a tightly fought preliminary final, with match-ups against Brisbane and Adelaide, and Hore’s snap got her side to an unlikely 19-point lead 12 minutes into the game, shocking the majority-Roos crowd into an anxious silence.
While Bogue helped reel some of the lead back in with a brace, the Dees still took a surprise seven-point margin into the first break, Tayla Harris putting an exclamation mark on the term with a classic speccy into the back of Ash Riddell, while Eden Zanker mocked crying to Libby Birch, shoving the Roo in the chest after a clash.
Riddell had just four touches in the first term – well down on her usual output – and the Harris mark added salt into the wound, but she converted a crucial set-shot to open the second, the Roos taking the lead for the first time.
Melbourne’s backline was absolutely phenomenal, with Tahlia Gillard, Maeve Chaplin, Saraid Taylor and Sinead Goldrick showing nerves of steel overhead and nullifying an out-of-sorts Randall, Emma King and Kate Shierlaw.
But the Dees couldn’t quite put the Roos away on the scoreboard, despite more than a few crucial one-on-one wins through the middle of the ground, kicking four behinds to nothing in the tensest of third terms.
Third-term blues ultimately sink Melbourne
But for a few stray bounces of the footy, there was every chance the Demons would have sent the Roos packing. Wotherspoon’s snap drifted just across the face, while Hanks’ running shot bounced the wrong side of the post. Melbourne added four points to zero in the third term, but if a few of those efforts had gone true, the Roos’ comeback may have been too far an ask.
Cream rises to the top
The spidey senses were tingling when Riddell and Garner missed fourth-term shots, and it seemed like it may not be North Melbourne’s day, but Garner rose to the occasion when the game was on the line, her goal proving a bridge too far for Melbourne. Ruby Tripodi provided a handy block on Shelley Heath at the forward stoppage, allowing Garner a step’s head start, and she roved Randall’s tap to perfection.
Up next
North Melbourne will play in the Grand Final on Saturday evening at Ikon Park, against the winner of Brisbane v Carlton, while it’s season over for Melbourne.
NORTH MELBOURNE 3.1 4.6 4.6 6.10 (46)
MELBOURNE 4.2 5.2 5.6 5.6 (36)
GOALS
North Melbourne: Bogue 3, Sheerin, Riddell, Garner
Melbourne: Hore 2, Paxman, Wotherspoon, Harris
BEST
North Melbourne: Garner, Kearney, O’Shea, Riddell, Smith
Melbourne: Gillard, Chaplin, Hore, Hanks, Goldrick
INJURIES
North Melbourne: Nil
Melbourne: Nil
Crowd: 7,057 at Ikon Park
