AFLW Round 5: The Team

AFLW Round 5 COLLINGWOOD v FREMANTLE Time & Place: Saturday March 4, 1:35pm EDT Rushton Park, Mandurah WA TV: Fox Sports 1:30pm EDT Weather: Min 22 Max 33 Chance of rain 10%: < 1mm Wind: SSE 10kph Betting: Collingwood $1.93 Fremantle $1.87

B: Stephanie Chiocci, Stacey Livingstone, Celica McIntosh

HB: Meg Hutchins, Nic Stevens, Caitlyn Edwards

C: Amelia Barden

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

F: Emma Grant, Moana Hope, Jasmine Garner

Foll: Emma King, Lauren Tesoriero, Brittany Bonnici

Int: Christina Bernardi, Bree White, Melissa Kuys, Ruby Schleicher, Sophie Casey, Tara Morgan

Emg: Helen Roden, Georgia Walker

IN: Christina Bernardi, Sophie Casey
OUT: Kate Sheahan (knee), Georgia Walker (omitted)

Collingwood News Collingwood's AFL Women's outfit has made two changes for its trip to Mandurah to take on Fremantle. Midfielder Sophie Casey returns from a two-week suspension, while forward Christina Bernardi is back after missing last week's win over the Western Bulldogs with concussion. They replace the injured Kate Sheahan, whose season ended on debut when she tore her ACL, and youngster Georgia Walker, who has been omitted. Walker remains in the frame for a late call up as one of the two emergencies. For Casey, it marks a speedy return to the senior side after her two-week suspension. The midfielder won six disposals in the second round loss to Melbourne, but her night was soured by a collision with Demon Meg Downie. Bernardi, meanwhile, played in each of the team's first three games and was in line to take on the Western Bulldogs, only to miss out at the eleventh hour when she was replaced by Sheahan. The AFLW match against Fremantle will be a prelude to the AFL clash between the two teams at the same venue. On Friday, the two Collingwood teams will be training at Mandurah's Rushton Park. The AFLW line up will be on the track from 3pm and their AFL clubmates will appear at 4.30pm. Ultimate Preview Brittany Bonnici has been one of the constant's in the Collingwood midfield in the inaugural season of the AFLW competition. After tasting victory last week against the Bulldogs, Collingwood's AFL Women's team hits the road again in round five; this time heading west to meet a winless Fremantle on their home turf. At the Selection Table Despite the historic win, there was heartbreak for rookie Kate Sheahan this week after scans confirmed a season-ending ACL injury to her left knee. But as one soldier goes down, another comes in, and Sheahan's injury opens the door for a possible return of small forward Helen Roden, who hasn't played since the round one game at Ikon Park. After doctors took a precautious approach with Christina Bernadi last week (she sustained a head knock in the game against Brisbane in round three), the small forward looms as a likely inclusion for the team to face Fremantle. And if coach Wayne Siekman opts for a more experienced side heading west, he can call on his two most experienced footballers in defender Penny Cula-Reid and ruck Lou Wotton who haven't lined up since round two. Recent Form After three agonizing weeks, the Collingwood women's team secured their first AFLW victory, on an historic and emotional night at Whitten Oval. Thanks to a dominant third term performance which saw the team kick four unanswered goals, the Magpies held on to a seven-point lead against the Bulldogs to record their first AFLW points and push them up to sixth on the ladder. Coach Wayne Siekman said it was great to have 22 contributors in the win. "It was a big effort by the team to get that result tonight," he told the media post-game against the Bulldogs. "It's just great for our players – we are the biggest club in the country." If the Pies are to taste victory for the second week in a row, they'll have to beat the seventh placed Fremantle, who are yet to register a win, but sit only two points behind Collingwood on the ladder after their draw against the Giants in round three. The Dockers will be raring to go in front of a passionate home crowd, after falling to Adelaide by 23 points last week at Fremantle Oval. Keep an eye on… Collingwood midfielder and vice-captain Alicia Eva has been one of the Magpies' most consistent players in the AFLW, but her standout performance last week – which included 14 disposals, eight tackles, one goal and the job of shutting down the Bulldogs' best player, Emma Kearney – in the team's first-ever victory may have been her best display yet. On the other side of the field, Fremantle skipper Kara Donnellan has been superb in a tough campaign for the Dockers. The midfielder led from the front with 20 touches in team's loss last week, and is one the competition's most ferocious tacklers, recording 17 tackles in her last two matches. Collingwood's Emma King is firming as the All-Australian ruck of the AFLW, having had a dominant first year leading the Magpies' ruck brigade. The 186cm King leads the league with an average of 28.3 hitouts per match, and recorded 39 last week alone, which is more than all of the Bulldogs' rucks combined. The Magpies' third quarter score against the Bulldogs – a brilliant display of 4.1 (25) – was the equal-highest score recorded in a single AFLW quarter to date. They say the third term is the premiership quarter, so look for the Pies to come out strong after the long break again when they face Fremantle. This week, both Collingwood's men's and women's teams will travel to Western Australia as they both face their respective Fremantle opponents in a double-header of AFLW and JLT Community Series action. If you're a WA Magpie fan, make sure you get down to Rushton Park to see both your teams face off against the Dockers.