Primetime on Saturday night is a fitting slot for this match-up between two of the teams still contending for the AFLW minor premiership.
Here are four questions ahead of Melbourne v North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos at the Demons' home ground of Casey Fields.
Who picks up their second loss of the season?
The Kangaroos and Demons are both part of a logjam at the business end of the AFLW ladder. After seven rounds the top four (Adelaide, Fremantle, North Melbourne and Melbourne) are split only on percentage.
Both sides have registered six wins and one loss this season. North lost to Adelaide in Round 2, while Melbourne lost to the same opposition in Round 4. Even on percentage these sides can hardly be split, with North’s percentage of 168.4 just 3.4 per cent higher than the Dees.
This game, on paper at least, screams ’tight contest’. Whoever wins will gain some breathing room in the battle for the top four, while the losers could be thrown back into a battle for positioning in the top six.
How to stop Tayla Harris?
Melbourne are the highest-scoring team in the competition so far this season, tied with Fremantle on 302 points for the year. That record is, in part, thanks to Tayla Harris.
Crossing from Carlton ahead of the season, Harris currently sits second in the leading goalkicker charts with 13 majors for the year. She also tops the contested marking rankings having taken 18 for the year - twice as many as anybody else in the competition.
The Kangaroos have a number of weapons capable of taking on the in-form forward. Dani Hardiman returned to the side against Collingwood and looks to be the most obvious candidate to lock Harris down.
Jas Ferguson is another option should she return to the side after missing last week due to health and safety protocols. The first year defender has often thrived in the deepest defender role and continues to improve in her first season at the top level.
Sarah Wright is gaining a reputation as a strong lockdown defender, while Brooke Brown possesses the size and speed to cause Harris problems.
Whoever gets the task on Harris is in for a difficult game, but successfully negating her influence on proceedings will go a long way towards a Kangaroos victory.
Can Jas Garner maintain her current form?
Over the last three games, Jas Garner has been the most in-form player in the competition. After a slow start to the season, by her lofty standards, Garner has absolutely exploded in recent weeks.
Following 29 disposals against Fremantle in Round 5, she registered 26 touches and a goal in the win over Richmond. However she saved her best performance of the season for the Magpies last week.
With 26 disposals and three goals, Garner dominated her former side on route to a strong team victory.
With the likes of Tyla Hanks and Karen Paxman running through the middle for the Demons, Garner and company are almost certainly in for a tough battle this weekend. Can the reigning best and fairest winner continue her streak of strong performances on route to another victory?
Will the North v Melbourne theme at Casey Fields continue?
The North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos have played three games at Casey Fields in their time in AFLW, and all games have been tight, tense affairs.
The Kangaroos won their first game at the venue, defeating the home side 34-38 in Round 4, 2019 thanks largely to a three-goal performance from Emma King.
In Round 1, 2020, the Demons got their revenge with a two-point win, while Round 3 of 2021 resulted in a high-scoring nine-point win for the home side.
Three games separated by a grand total of 15 points. While this is the first game to be played at the venue in the second half of a season, recent clashes indicate a close, high-quality game is on the horizon.
