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GNFLW Round 16 preview: Top two battle it out in finals preview while Railways battle to secure third

Headshot of Jake Santa Maria
Jake Santa MariaGeraldton Guardian
Teagan Mundy clears the ball for Chapman Valley.
Camera IconTeagan Mundy clears the ball for Chapman Valley. Credit: Colin Sherman

With split rounds meaning there are only two games this weekend, a finals preview headlines the round’s GNFLW action as Towns and Chapman Valley face off in their last regular season game.

They will fight it out for top spot, although Chapman Valley holds the advantage with a big percentage lead, meaning Towns will have to win by a considerable margin to take out the minor premiership.

Towns will take confidence in the knowledge that they are the only team to have beaten the Royals this season, restricting them to just a single goal in the 23 to 6 win in round nine.

Chapman Valley were pushed all the way last weekend by the Rams, just managing to run them down in the final quarter to win by a single point.

Towns smashed a lowly Rovers, although it’s hard to read too much into that performance given how poorly the Rovers have been this season.

But the Bulldogs are on an eight-game winning streak, while the Royals have won their past five, so one of those streaks are set to come to an end this weekend.

Regardless of finishing in top spot or not, these two will meet again in the first week of finals so they will be keen to gain a psychological advantage by getting the wood over the other this weekend.

A rare personal feat could also be achieved if Olivia Bidwell can be named amongst the best players again, which would make it 12 nominations from 12 games to complete a perfect personal season.

There is an intraclub battle for the league’s leading goalkicker, as Royals Tayah Palmer and Lucinda Rouse are separated by just one goal, sitting on 26 and 25 goals respectively.

Palmer has kicked 11 goals in her past three games compared to Rouse’s four to snatch the lead in the race and on form should take out the award.

The other game will see Railways take on Mullewa as the Blues look to secure third spot on the ladder.

Despite winning one more game than the Rams in fourth, a three-game losing streak from rounds 10 to 12 in which they scored only a single point has left them with an awful percentage below 100.

With the Rams facing Brigades in the final round in a match they are expected to win, Railways will need to beat the Saints to ensure they are out of reach come next weekend.

The Blues should have enough, having beaten them in their past two encounters and rediscovering some form after their mid-season wobbles.

Towns will be hosting Chapman Valley on Saturday, while Railways will play at home on Sunday.

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