AFLW Round 4: The Team

AFLW Round 4 COLLINGWOOD v FOOTSCRAY Time & Place: Saturday Feb 25, 7:10pm Whitten Oval TV: 7Mate / Fox Sports 7:00pm Weather: Min 15 Max 21 Chance of rain 5%: < 1mm Wind: S 28kph Betting: Collingwood $3.25 Footscray $1.33

B: Cecilia McIntosh, Stacey Livingstone, Caitlyn Edwards

HB: Stephanie Chiocci, Nicola Stevens, Meg Hutchins

C: Amelia Barden

HF: Alicia Eva, Sarah D'Arcy, Jess Cameron

F: Emma Grant, Moana Hope, Jasmine Garner

R: Emma King, Lauren Tesoriero, Bree White

Int: Tara Morgan, Brittany Bonnici, Georgia Walker, Melissa Kuys, Ruby Schleicher, Christina Bernardi

Emg: Penny Cula-Reid, Kate Sheahan

Collingwood News Emma King has won more hitouts than any other ruck in the first three weeks of the season. Collingwood has named an unchanged line up for the first time in the inaugural AFL Women's season. The Magpies are yet to register their first win, but their narrow four-point loss to Brisbane was the team's best performance of the season to date. Goalless in the first half, the Pies outscored the Lions after the main break and very nearly pinched victory. "We had a really good four quarter effort last week from the playing group," coach Wayne Siekman told Collingwood Media. "We won the majority of our key stats, except of course the scoreboard, and as a match committee we were pleased with that and didn't feel there was any need to change the line up." Defender Penny Cula-Reid and the untried Kate Sheahan are the team's two emergencies. Their opponents, the Western Bulldogs, sit fifth on the competition ladder with one win from two games. They fell 14-points short against Melbourne last week, with Ellie Blackburn (26 disposals) and Emma Kearney (25 disposals) leading the charge. A trip to the Kennel won't be easy, but, as Siekman says, Collingwood's priority will be picking up where it left off in the final quarter against the Lions. "We've got to continue the momentum we had from last week's game, especially with the way we finished the game. "If we start that way, it gives us an opportunity to post our first win of the season. "We want the players to continue to play to the structure that we require against the opposition. They were executing it extremely well last week, and they saw the rewards." Ultimate Preview Amelia Barden has been one of Collingwood's leading midfielders in the early stages of the 2017 AFLW season. After their best performance in the AFL Women's competition to date, Collingwood is back in Melbourne to meet Victorian rivals the Western Bulldogs in a round four Saturday night clash at Whitten Oval. Recent Form The Magpies may not have a win on the board yet, but Siekman said he was confident his team's first victory wouldn't be too far away, after huge improvements were made against Brisbane in the team's first away trip of the competition. Having started slowly, the Magpies came out strong after the long break with all the momentum, and almost pinched victory from the hometown Brisbane Lions with only minutes to play. Despite the result, Siekman told the media post-game: "This was the first game we've played the full four quarters and the effort was still there until the final siren sounded." Meanwhile, last weekend the Western Bulldogs were defeated by 14-points on their home turf against Melbourne. The loss means the Dogs currently sit fifth on the ladder, with a 1-2 season record. Collingwood currently sits at the bottom of the ladder, but a big win against the Bulldogs could skyrocket them straight back up the other end of the eight. Keep an eye on… The Melbourne Stars: Collingwood's Jess Cameron and Western Bulldogs' Emma Kearney will put former alliances aside when they clash on Saturday night at Whitten Oval. Kearney (a right-arm medium pace bowler) and Cameron (a right-hand bat), both play for the Melbourne Stars in the Women's Big Bash League Speaking of Emma Kearney, the Bulldogs midfielder has been dominant in the middle in the first three weeks of AFLW competition. Kearney has amassed 20-plus disposals in each match, including 15 contested possessions against Melbourne For the Magpies, Nicola Stevens was one of the best afield last week against the Lions. The defender led the back half with 13 disposals and five marks, including a courageous pack mark with only minutes to play in the final term The importance of inside 50s: Despite missing captain and key forward Katie Brennan against the Demons, the Bulldogs took zero marks inside 50 last week For the Pies, getting the ball inside 50 with any purpose was their biggest problem. However, once adjustments were made in the second half, the Magpies were able to mark the ball inside the arc, with key targets Sarah D'Arcy (six marks) Jasmine Garner (three marks) presenting off the half forward line.