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In sunny and hot summery conditions, the rampaging Narrm in their magnificent Indigenous guernseys, turned it on in the second half while keeping the low flying Eagles scoreless to run away with a dominating 70-point win. The Dees have scored ten or more goals in every game this year except in the loss to Adelaide. With 527 Points for, they are up 59% on last year and 85% up on their 7-season average. The Narrm Offensive is in full flight. Alyssa Bannan starred with 10 score involvements, a career-best 5 goals and picked up the maximum Coaches Votes too. Eden Zanker leads the AFLW goalkicking table with 17, Kate Hore 16 and Bannan is now in 7th position with 12 goals for the year. Lots of fire power. Newcomer Aimee Mackin kicked her first goal in AFLW and just looks dangerous out there with her pace, poise and vision. And you know she’s just gonna get better. Younger sister, Blaithin, has rapidly become one of our Narrm stars with her 2-way running, natural footy instincts, and ability to break tackles. When Tyla Hanks went off in the first quarter we were worried but thankfully she played the game out well earning 2 coaches votes. Others to earn votes were Blaithin Mackin (4), Liv Purcell (4), Kate Hore (2), Eliza West (3) and Banno (10). Also, it was good to see some of the last week’s quieter performers emerge. Westy was prolific, Casey Sherriff got creative, and Libby Birch proved again that she likes playing against West Coast. In terms of the game: Q1 The Eagles started with intensity, and we did too. Hanks is tackled in the forward pocket, appears hurt and heads off. We hope she’s okay. Young Georgia Campbell doing well. Improving each week. Casey Sherriff using her smarts gets a handball to the electric Bannan for the first goal. The uber popular Rhi Watt is now out there now. Meggs was really impressed by her footy skills. Gillard gives away a 50-metre penalty which results in the Eagles first goal. More electricity and skill from Bannan as she breaks away for her second. Following one of Liv Purcell’s eight inside 50s for the day, Bannan marks and kicks her third. She’s on fire. The Mackin sisters are in everything today and Aimee kicks her first ever goal in AFLW from a ball up just outside the goal square. It’s a good start for Narrm. ¼ time: Dees 4.1.15 Eagles 1.0.6 Q2 The Eagles have their best quarter, kicking one goal and keeping Narrm goalless. A quarter highlight for Meggs was Heathy’s tackle on the members wing wrapping up Davison. Don’t mess with our Taekwondo champion. ½ time: Dees 4.3.27 Eagles 2.0.12 During the break it’s nice to hear from former Demon, Krstel Petrevski, who speaks about her Eagles indigenous jumper design. Q3 Bannan hits up Zanker who goes back and slots her first goal. The Eagles defensive switch comes unstuck and Hore taps it to Bannon for her fourth goal. We are well on top now. Our next goal is the quarter highlight with all our Irish contingent involved. Goldie to Blaithin to Aimee who uses her deadly left boot from the boundary to hit up Casey Sherriff directly in front for our seventh goal. Will Schofield, the ex Eagles player and commentator, is effusive in his praise for Aimee. Aimee involved in the next goal too with an assist to Kate Hore. ¾ time: Dees 8.10.58 Eagles 2.0.12 Q4 Lily Mithen kicks to Kate Hore, surprise surprise, and Kate slots the first goal of the quarter. Bannan misses a running goal opportunity but it was a thrilling point to watch. We then realise it’s 7-point play as the Eagles fail to clear the ball and Zanker marks and goals for her second. Bannan then marks in front and achieving a career best 5 goals. With less than 30 seconds left, Banno marks and cramps up. Kate Hore takes the shot but hits the post. The siren sounds and an indigenous language version of it’s a grand old flag is played on the public address system. A convincing 70-point win. Coaches and next week Narrm Coach Mick Stinear was really pleased with the energy of the inclusions of Rhi Watt, Maeve Chaplin, Charlotte Wilson and Georgia Campbell. Last week our high forwards didn’t adjust enough to Adelaide’s pressure. It was good to see improvement this week. Banno was brilliant. He praised the high-performance team for their work in building the fitness and strength of our team who embraced the hot conditions better than the Eagles. Eagles coach Michael Prior was unhappy with the AFL for scheduling (in a 10-week 18-team competition), the 2022 premiers against his 2022 Wooden Spooners. He is later forced to backtrack these comments. He felt they were in at half-time and thought Ella Roberts and Charlie Thomas were outstanding. Next week they take on the North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos at our second home ground, Ikon Park, on Saturday evening 21 October 23 at 7:15pm. What an epic battle this will be! Hope you’re getting a ticket. NARRM 4.1.25 4.3.27 8.10.58 11.16.82 WEST COAST EAGLES 1.0.6 2.0.12 2.0.12 2.0.12 GOALS NARRM Bannan 5 Hore Zanker 2 A Mackin Sherriff WEST COAST EAGLES Gibson Rowley BEST NARRM Bannan Hore Purcell Watt Hanks B Mackin WEST COAST EAGLES Thomas Roberts Gooch Hooker Lewis CHANGES NARRM Nil WEST COAST EAGLES Sarah Lakay replaced in selected side by Beth Schilling
 INJURIES NARRM Nil WEST COAST EAGLES Nil REPORTS NARRM Nil WEST COAST EAGLES Nil UMPIRES Hughes Laycock Wharton CROWD 1,232 at Mineral Resources Park Mineral Resources Park

The last game of Indigenous Round 7 sees Narrm flying to Perth to take on the 17th placed West Coast Eagles at the Perth Demons home ground, Mineral Resources Park, starting at 5:05pm Melbourne time. After being comprehensively outgunned by the Crows in last week’s second and third quarters, Narrm responded brilliantly to get within three points in the last, but alas it wasn’t enough. Eden Zanker was unstoppable with five goals against the best defensive unit in the AFLW. Edo earned 8 coaches votes and is now top of the goalkicking table with 15 goals above Kate Hore with 14. Hanksy too was recognised with four coaches votes for her superior midfield exploits. With five wins and a good percentage we have a strong platform to reload our season heading into finals and we must aspire to secure a Top 2 position and the double chance. This all means they must make short work of West Coast on Sunday. AFLW ladder crystal ball gazing fun Looking at the draw for the final four rounds, Meggs expects the Dees to have percentage boosting wins against West Coast and Fremantle (at Casey in Round 9). The blockbusters against North (Round 8 at Ikon) and Brisbane (Round 10, grand final rematch in Ipswich) will help determine the shape the Top Four. The Brisbane game may well decide who wins the McClelland Trophy. If the Demons win all four matches, we are certainties to finish Top Two. Drop 1 game and other results and percentage come in to play. North has gimme games against Port Adelaide and Western Bulldogs, but Meggs expects North to lose to Melbourne (Round 8) and Adelaide (Round 9 in Adelaide). Adelaide will continue winning, but Brisbane might outperform at their home ground in Round 8 and cause an upset. This leaves Melbourne finishing as minor premiers by percentage from Adelaide and four teams on 28 points. Meggs has Carlton, Richmond and Fremantle finishing outside the 8 on 20 points. It looks like it could be a very exciting finish to the home and away season. Irish players Aimee Mackin and Sinead Goldrick both suffered lateral ankle sprains against Adelaide. The AFLW Head of High-Performance said that “if all things go to plan, they should be okay” to play on Sunday. Unfortunately, Loz Pearce suffered an AC sprain and is still sore so she will likely be replaced by Georgia Campbell. Paxy will miss again due to concussion protocols. Mick Stinear commented in the post-match presser that there are 3 or 4 non-playing squad members putting their hands up for selection. After witnessing a lot of quiet performances last week, he may well select some fresh names. Ivey, Chaplin, Wilson, Johnson, and Watt are a few experienced names available. Our opponents, West Coast The Eagles squad is similar to last season with no new key signings. Captain Emma Swanson is a consistent performer leading her team and is supported in the midfield by the capable Isabella Lewis, Irish player Aisling McCarthy and Dana Hooker. Defenders Charlotte Thomas and Belinda Smith are important high possession players. West Coast had a nice win against the Power in round 5 but have been otherwise one of the competition’s weakest opponents. Carlton beat them by 53 points in round 3 at Sunday’s venue. Meggs view Megg’s is anticipating a four quarter effort, where we maintain the contested footy rage, apply early scoreboard pressure and fly home with the four points. (plus a nice percentage boost). That’s not too much to ask? Kate Hore, Tyla Hanks and Eden Zanker continue to play starring roles each week but a key strength of Narrm remains the depth and versatility of this playing group. We’ll miss Paxy again of course but we know that Liv Purcell, Lily Mithen, Eliza West and plenty of others will step up. Last week Mick set Goldie and Blaithin Mackin midfield duties and they both excelled. Time to reload and get back on the winners list. Go Dees! Narrm by 48 points THE GAME West Coast v Narrm at Mineral Resources Park, Perth, on Sunday 15 October 2023 at 5:05pm (Melbourne time) HEAD TO HEAD Overall Narrm 2 wins West Coast 0 wins At Mineral Resources Park (Lathlain Park) West Coast Eagles 0 wins Narrm 0 wins The Coaches Stinear 1 Prior 0 wins MEDIA TV - Fox Footy, Kayo Mobile – AFL Live Official App Radio – Check local guides THE LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 11.13 (79) defeated West Coast 0.1.1 (1) at Casey Fields, 29 October 2022 Daisy’s Dees scored a huge 78-point one-sided win against West Coast in challenging windy and wet conditions at Casey Fields in Sarah Lampard’s 50th game. The match was the final round of the home and away season but the huge win felt more like a 1-point loss because one extra point would have secured the Season 7 minor premiership and the potential for a home grand final. But with 9 goal kickers and a dominant midfield there were no complaints about finishing Top 2 from the Coach Mick Stinear. Besides, only a few weeks later, we won our inaugural premiership so joyously on that sunny afternoon in Springfield. MELBOURNE 3.5.23 5.8.38 7.12.54 11.13.79 WEST COAST EAGLES 0.0.0 0.1.1 0.1.1 0.1.1 GOALS MELBOURNE Hore Zanker 2 Paxman Fitzsimon Purcell Bannan Mackin Hanks Heath WEST COAST Nil BEST MELBOURNE Paxman Purcell Birch Hore Mithen WEST COAST Thomas Roberts McCarthy Lackay INJURIES MELBOURNE Nil WEST COAST Nil REPORTS MELBOURNE Nil WEST COAST Nil CROWD 726 at Casey Fields THE TEAMS WEST COAST B Z. Wakfer S. McDonald HB B. Smith E. Gooch C. Thomas C J. Britton A. McCarthy C. Rowley HF K. Gibson E. Roberts S. Davison F A. Franklin D. Hooker FOLL S. Lakay I. Lewis E. Swanson I/C (from) K. Bartlett E. Elkington E. Hartill E. Humphries A. Schmidt J. Sedunary E. G. Smith L. Wakfer, IN E. Elkington A. Franklin E. Humphries S. Lakay J. Sedunary 
OUT S. Goranova (knee) M. Western (omitted) NARRM B L. Birch T. Gillard HB S. Goldrick M. Chaplin S. Heath C B. Mackin T. Hanks E. McNamara HF A. Bannan M. Fitzsimon C. Sheriff F E. Zanker K. Hore FOLL G. Campbell E. West L. Mithen I/C (from) G. Colvin G. Gall J. Ivey S. Lampard A. Mackin O. Purcell R. Watt C. Wilson IN G. Campbell M. Chaplin G. Gall J. Ivey R. Watt C. Wilson OUT M. Gay (soreness) T. Harris (hamstring) L. Pearce (shoulder) MILESTONE 50 club games – Libby Birch (Narrm) Injury List: Round 7 A Mackin (ankle) test S Goldrick (ankle) test L Pearce (Shoulder) test P Paxman (concussion) 1 week

“Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.” The ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu wrote a book, “The Art of War” which describes military and competitive strategy and tactics that in time have been adapted to other walks of life including business and sport. Famed NFL head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots is a strong adherent of the 5th century writings he has used to motivate players over two successful decades. There is only one sign in his locker room and it is a direct quote: “Every battle is won before it is fought.” Belichick studies his opponents closely to know their strengths and their weaknesses. "I will force the enemy to take our strength for weakness, and our weakness for strength, and thus will turn his strength into weakness". Another quote that comes from “Art of War.” The relevance for Melbourne this week as it travels across the Nullarbor Plain to take on the West Coast Eagles at its home away from home, Perth’s Optus Stadium, should be obvious. The noise around the Eagles is about the string of injuries the club suffered in last week’s local demolition derby but the Demons must not consider that all they need to do is turn up and the four points are theirs for the taking. That’s not how things work at the elite level in sport. History is full of tales of those who have taken their apparent superiority over others for granted, allowed themselves to become complacent thereby creating their own weakness for the enemy to exploit. This year’s Saints have done exactly that in each of their opening matches and sit undefeated at the top of the ladder while the reigning premiers are in exactly the opposite space. So when the Demons come to Perth, it will be with business as usual in mind. They will focus on their strengths; their superior midfield, a powerful defence and an emerging forward line with its multifaceted strengths. They should not be distracted by the fact that the desperate Eagles are set to lose a swag of players from last week’s lineup as a result of injuries incurred in the course of battle with the Dockers. On the subject of business as usual, coach Simon Goodwin pulled some nice surprises last week in the face of his team’s loss to Brisbane and the hopefully short term absence of the skipper. The man who, in the past, has appeared reluctant to ring in too many changes, brought in youth and made a few moves that some of us have been clamoring about for some time — and it worked in surprising the enemy (not to mention some of the fans) to knock them off their pedestal. Smacked as if it was straight out of the Sun Tzu playbook. Melbourne by 27 points. THE GAME West Coast v Melbourne at Optus Stadium Sunday 9 April, 2023 at 5.20pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall West Coast 37 wins Melbourne 19 wins At Optus Stadium West Coast 3 wins Melbourne 3 wins Past five meetings West Coast 2 wins Melbourne 3 wins The Coaches Simpson 4 wins Goodwin 3 wins THE LAST TIME THEY MET Melbourne 16.16.112 defeated West Coast Eagles 5.8.38 at Optus Stadium in Round 9, 2022 The Eagles were in all sorts of pain as they languished out of form near the bottom of the table and spent most of the game struggling to be competitive. Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver dominated the midfield and Tom McDonald booted four goals in what turned out to be one of his last games for 2022. A crude Kade Chandler tackle put the Eagles' Luke Foley into concussion protocols and resulted in a two-match ban over the dangerous tackle which held back the young Demon’s career until he fought his way into the side at the start of this season. THE TEAMS WEST COAST EAGLES B T. Cole T. Barrass L. Duggan HB J. Jones S. Hurn J. Hunt C B. Hough E. Yeo A. Gaff HF C. West J. Darling G. Clark F N. Long O. Allen J. Waterman FOLL B. Williams R. Ginbey T. Kelly I/C J. Culley L. Edwards E. Hewett S. Petrevski-Seton SUB J. Rotham EMG L. Foley X. O'Neill J. Petruccelle IN G. Clark J. Culley L. Edwards B. Hough J. Rotham C. West E. Yeo OUT C. Chesser (knee) J. Cripps (broken ankle) J. McGovern (hamstring) L. Ryan (knee) D. Sheed (throat) L. Shuey (hamstring) A. Witherden (concussion) MELBOURNE 
 B J. Lever S. May M. Hibberd HB T. Sparrow H. Petty J. McVee C A. Brayshaw C. Oliver L. Hunter HF E. Langdon B. Fritsch J. Bowey F C. Spargo J. van Rooyen A. Neal-Bullen FOLL B. Grundy J. Viney C. Petracca I/C K. Chandler T. McDonald K. Pickett T. Rivers SUB J. Jordon EMG L. Dunstan J. Melksham A. Tomlinson IN T. McDonald K. Pickett OUT B. Brown (back) J. Melksham (omitted) Injury List: Round 4 Josh Schache - Concussion | Test Daniel Turner - Ribs | Test Joel Smith - Thumb | 3 Weeks Max Gawn - Knee | 3 - 4 Weeks Taj Woewodin - Finger | 4 Weeks Christian Salem - Knee | 4 - 6 weeks Will Verrall - Pelvis | 8 - 10 Weeks