North Melbourne's VFLW side will be hoping to build on its stirring win over Williamstown last week with a victory over the winless Western Bulldogs this weekend.

The lay of the land is a simple one for the Kangaroos. They must win to keep their finals hopes alive.

Although the Bulldogs remain winless for the season they'll certainly be no walkovers. They've experienced something of an uptick in form in recent weeks and have well and truly taken it up to sixth-placed Collingwood and fourth-placed Saints in their past two fixtures.

The Kangaroos have made a number of changes heading into the clash, with Candice Belbin, Dearne Taylor, Meghan Gaffney and Brooke Slaney coming into the side.

Gaffney comes in for her VFLW debut after starring alongside Belbin for Tasmania last week. The pair led the Apple Isle representative side to a one-point win over the Northern Territory in the Winter Series and both come into the side in strong individual form.

Taylor will play her first game for the side since the Round 8 victory over Darebin, while Slaney comes in for the first time since Round 10.

Star midfielder Annabel Scott will be hoping to get the edge on her former side. Since arriving at Arden Street she's evolved to become one of the most influential and consistent midfielders the competition has to offer.

Taylor Moss makes way along with AFLW-listed stars Perri King, Amy Smith and Tess Craven.

Framing up a fitting send-off

After being one of the strongest contributors to the Kangaroos' VFLW program since its inception in 2021, Molly Eastman is set to play her final game for the side this weekend.

After the clash with the Bulldogs Eastman will link up with expansion side Sydney, as it begins its pre-season preparations for the upcoming campaign.

Eastman finished as runner-up in the inaugural North VFLW best and fairest last season and was elevated to the post of captain in 2022. Her importance to the team and the program have been continuously underlined during her time at the club.

With all she's given to the club in the past two years she deserves to leave Arden Street as a winner.

Aside from being her final game for North, Saturday's game will be a double-dose of milestones for the captain with the clash also being her 50th game at VFLW level.

The finals arithmetic

Once the business end of the season is reached, much like it is now in the VFLW, the state ladder and the finals permutations that go along with it is one of the largest talking points going around.

With just two games left of the home and away campaign, teams are frantically figuring out what needs to happen to secure the best finish possible.

For the Kangaroos though, it's a simple solution. Win.

Collingwood, North Melbourne and Darebin are all competing for the last place in the top six and the taste of finals football that comes along with it. Unfortunately for the Kangaroos though, their destiny is not wholly in their hands.

The Magpies are a win and percentage clear of the chasing pack. Port Melbourne or Geelong need to register a win over the team in black and white for North to have a chance at making finals.

The objective is clear. Win and hope for the best. Even if finals can't be reached this campaign, finishing the season with three straight victories will help secure momentum going into the near future.

>> The game will be streamed live on vflw.tv

Saturday, May 21

North Melbourne v Western Bulldogs at Arden Street Oval, 2:30pm AEST

B: 1. M Eastman, 17. J Jones
HB: 18 A. Melnikas, 25. L Loughnane, 24. E Macdonald
C: 2. J Mourney, 23. A Scott, 3. H Ibrahim
HF: 21. E Paterno, 44. B Gibson, 4. A Rhodes
F: 16. G Nicholas, 49. D Taylor
R: 22. E McGrath, 12. R Hicks, 15. S Skinner
I/C: 10. C. Fitzgerald, 33. T Bradley, 7. B Slaney, 40 M Gaffney, 38. C Belbin

Emg: 29. T Moss, 14. M Klaumanns-Moller, 13. K Murrihy, 30. J Hillas

INS: 40. M Gaffney, 38. C Belbin, 7. B Slaney, 49. D Taylor
OUTS: 35. A Smith, 28. P King, 26. T Craven, 29. T Moss

North Melbourne’s VFLW team saw off a stern challenge from the last-placed Western Bulldogs at Arden Street on Sunday.

Only a win would keep the Roos’ finals hopes alive, but late in the third term scores were level.

With nearly 16 minutes played, the breakthrough came from debutant Meghan Gaffney.

Less than two minutes later Audrey Rhodes extended the lead to 12 points, and a four-goal final quarter made for much-needed percentage.

Coach Steph Binder was pleased her team was able to adjust their approach in-game, having gone into the main interval only a point up on their winless opposition.

"We knew the Bulldogs had been playing some pretty good footy in the last couple of weeks," she acknowledged.

"It was disappointing that we let them get the first couple of goals quite early on, but then we took control around the midfield and stoppages.

"In the second quarter we were able to get the ball forward a little bit more but we were held up by our shallow entries.

"Once we were able to move the ball a bit faster and get it in deeper, we really gave our forwards the best opportunity."

The Kangaroos enjoyed a spread of seven individual goalkickers, among them defender Jess Jones.

Binder believes it is a feature of her team’s forward line, not a bug, having set up her charges to challenge their opponents on multiple fronts.

"We always go in with a really dangerous forward line where we think everyone has the ability to either take big marks and kick set shots, or get to work at ground level," she explained.

"It’s always good when midfielders can fly forward and sneak a few as well, and one of the really pleasing things was that we got a goal from one of our defenders."

It is easy to imagine Tasmania Devils product Gaffney would surely have been pleased just to have been out on the field with experienced players.

Instead, the 19-year-old from Ulverstone set the game alight.

"She was great, she was a livewire and gave us a really good spark combined with (fellow Tasmanian) Candice Belbin," Binder reflected.

"Candice intercepted the ball and got it in our forward 50, we were able to keep it there and that’s how ‘Gaff’ got her goal.

"They really ignited the onslaught of goals for us, they lifted the team."

The game was skipper Molly Eastman’s last as a Roo, the defender having been signed by the Sydney Swans for their inaugural AFLW season.

Binder explained how Eastman, the runner-up in North Melbourne’s 2021 VFLW best and fairest, will be missed as a personality, not just as a player.

"It was really bittersweet for us," she recalled.

"The girls have loved running out behind Molly as captain, and for her 50th and final game we really wanted to send her off in the way that she deserved.

"I’m sad she’s not going to be leading us out (anymore) but everyone’s really happy and excited for what she’s going to achieve in the AFLW."

So how is the mood around Arden Street, going into the final home and away round?

The Kangaroos have four points and 17 percentage points to make up on Collingwood if they are to play finals this season.

On Saturday the Magpies will face fourth-placed Geelong, who have won nine of their 13 games and boast a healthy percentage of 157.

The Roos are scheduled to play the fifth-placed Southern Saints on Sunday, so they will know by game day whether their fate is in their own hands.

"The message is cancel all your holidays and hopefully we’ll be playing finals!" Binder laughed.

"Their game is on Saturday, so we’ll know exactly what we need to do on Sunday, whether our season is alive and how much we have to win by.

"We’ll be preparing really well to take on the Southern Saints with the mindset that we’re pushing for finals."

Binder and her side will travel to Trevor Barker Beach Oval in Sandringham for a brisk 9.45am AEST start on Sunday.

NORTH MELBOURNE      1.0     2.2     4.2     8.2     (50)
WESTERN BULLDOGS     2.0     2.1     2.2     2.3     (15)

GOALS
North Melbourne: Skinner 2, Gaffney, Jones, Paterno, Rhodes, Scott, Taylor
Western Bulldogs: Ryan, Sandral

BEST

Reni Hicks - 23 disposals, four clearances
Emily Paterno - 15 disposals, six tackles, one goal
Elizabeth McGrath - 17 disposals, 26 hitouts, five clearances
Brooke Slaney - 18 disposals, six clearances
Jess Jones - 14 disposals, four marks, four tackles