A spot in the Season 7 AFLW Grand Final will be up for grabs on Saturday when the North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos head to Ikon Park to take on the Demons in a preliminary final.

The Roos are high on confidence after steamrolling the Tigers by 36 points in semi-final action, while Melbourne should be well rested after its weekend off thanks to its qualifying final win over Adelaide.

Although these two clubs don't share the same accolades, a match between Melbourne and North Melbourne has never been decided by more than 10 points, which makes this contest all the more intriguing.

Make sure you're ready to go with this week's gameday guide.

Set your matchday reminders

Saturday, November 19
Melbourne v North Melbourne at Ikon Park, 3.10pm AEDT

The Kangaroos are halfway to claiming premiership glory, but the toughest part of the finals series still looms large.

A rested and powerful Melbourne outfit awaits a North Melbourne side that was unable to complete a late fightback back in Round 2, thus falling to the Dees by just two points.

Both sides clubs have come a long way since then and with each club in promising form, it's a contest that shouldn't be missed.

North Melbourne barely gave Richmond a sniff after quarter-time in its semi-final, as it kicked eight goals to three to run out massive winners at the Swinburne Centre.

Ash Riddell (30 disposals, seven clearances) led from the front, while Jas Garner (22 disposals, eight clearances, two goals) broke a tag - that kept her uncharacteristically quiet in Round 10 - in dominant fashion.

As for the Demons, they overcame a precarious start against Adelaide two weeks ago to claim an impressive 21-point victory and a home preliminary final.

Ticketing

Don't miss out on purchasing a ticket for this blockbuster preliminary final at Ikon Park!

You can get your ticket here.

Membership

If you haven't already, become an AFLW Season 7 North Melbourne member.

Joining up is a great way to support not only the AFLW team, but the entire football club and AFLW competition!

Watch on TV or stream on your phone

The game will be broadcast live on Channel 7, Foxtel, Kayo Sports and on the AFLW app and website.

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Bring on the Season 7 preliminary finals!

The North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos will have an opportunity to reach their maiden AFLW Grand Final when they challenge Melbourne at Ikon Park in a preliminary final.

Inspired by a determined Jas Garner, the Roos continued their undefeated streak at Punt Road Oval and sent Richmond out of finals in straight sets last week, thanks to a resounding six-goal victory.

North moved the ball effectively and worked hard to control possession throughout the semi-final, finishing with 14 more uncontested possessions and 33 more marks than the Tigers.

Picking apart Melbourne's defensive structure in a methodical manner may to prove a tougher task, however, which is going to make winning the contested ball at the source all the more important considering the talent both clubs possess in the midfield.

Headed by captain Daisy Pearce, the Demons will enter the prelim refreshed after a 21-point qualifying final win over Adelaide granted them a week off.

They had to overcome a shaky start however, having conceded three goals in the opening quarter while failing to kick a major themselves.

With the premiership enticingly close, here are three narratives to keep an eye on as the Roos look to book a spot in the Season 7 AFLW Grand Final.

Last time out  

The Kangaroos were left heartbroken after a frantic final quarter saw them jump in front thanks to an opportunistic second Emma King goal, only for the Demons to retake the lead minutes later through Alyssa Bannan to subsequently claim a two-point victory at the MCG in Round 2, 3.8 (26) to 4.0 (24).

It was King in her 50th game who got the Roos off to the perfect start with a well-converted set shot in the opening minutes, and despite Melbourne pushing their lead out to 11 points midway through the third term in a low-scoring affair, North's resilience kept it in the contest until the final stages.

Outside of a couple of lapses in the second quarter, North Melbourne's defence predominantly outsmarted the Demons' attack. Sarah Wright was able to clamp down on Pearce after she booted her side's first two goals, while fellow key defender Jasmine Ferguson remained calm and composed in the face of pressure.

Star midfielders Ash Riddell and Jas Garner had no problems finding the pill across the MCG's wide surface. Riddell led all comers in both disposals and tackles with 26 and eight respectively, while Garner was immense when it came to clearing stoppages, finishing with 10 clearances from her 22 touches.

The match also saw Kim Rennie take another step towards becoming one of the best rucks in the AFLW. The return of her presence in the elimination final against Geelong was notable from the first bounce and she'll undoubtedly play a crucial role in North's engine room on Saturday.

Forward dynamos

North Melbourne's attacking contingent needed to fire against the Tigers, and it did emphatically.

Spearheaded by key forward Tahlia Randall and ruck/forward Emma King, the Kangaroos' forward line always contains an aerial threat, but when their small/medium fleet starts regularly getting their hands on the footy inside 50, it becomes a huge issue for oppositions.

Like Randall and King, Sophie Abbatangelo has the ability to take a strong contested mark but can also get dangerous at ground level, while winger-turned-forward Bella Eddey and the spry Alice O'Loughlin have become threatening smalls when not paid enough attention.

Ellie Gavalas is another clever, hard-working forward evidenced by a play in the second term against the Tigers that saw her continue North's goalkicking flurry after shrewdly intercepting a Jess Hosking handball.

If the Roos can consistently get on top of the contested possessions early and generate regular entries inside 50, then throwing Jas Garner down forward sporadically could be a handy scheme to run after she looked unstoppable in one-on-one situations close to goal last week.

North Melbourne girls are hard to beat…

There's been a lot of conversation about whether North have reached the level of the widely considered 'top three clubs' of Adelaide, Brisbane and Melbourne, and Saturday serves as perhaps the most significant opportunity to further verify that it does.

A shift in mentality to begin Season 7 has seen North take another step towards bridging the gap between itself and the aforementioned trio of clubs, while also continuing to stay above the likes of the Tigers and Cats in the food chain.

With its sturdy backline, star-studded midfield, energised forward line and overall mix of versatility, North has consistently proven to be difficult side to play against throughout this campaign.

The Kangaroos may be taking on the 'underdog' moniker considering the differing routes each side has taken to reach the preliminary finals, but that isn't going to stop those in the royal blue and white who are currently bursting with confidence.

The North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos have gone down to the Demons by 17 points at Ikon Park, ending their Season 7 finals campaign.

In their first ever preliminary final, the Roos took control of the inside-50 tally, but their execution heading inside 50 flattered to deceive with the final score reading 5.3 (33) to 2.4 (16).

The result remained in the balance up until the final stages of the fourth quarter, but a late Daisy Pearce sealed a Melbourne Grand Final berth

It wasn't easy for the Demons, with the eventual 17-point victory the result - the largest margin between the two sides - coming after a physical, contested match.

Early on Karen Paxman was the only Demon able to find the ball in space, as North Melbourne brought immense pressure around the ball, refusing to let Melbourne win the control by hand that it has become known for this season.

To half time, the Roos had registered 32 tackles and 16 one percenters, indicating just how tight and tough they made life for the Demons right across the field.

DEMONS v KANGAROOS Full match coverage and stats

That pressure made the usually composed Demons panic at times, particularly coming out of defence, opening the door for North Melbourne in attack. Melbourne, however, was repeatedly saved by wayward shots, or the ball falling agonisingly short of the Roos' goal line.

In defence, the Kangaroos played with a spare. Their deepest defender, typically Jasmine Ferguson, would sit between Melbourne's deepest forward and the goal line, while another Roo, often Sarah Wright, would then take space in front. This closed off any leading lanes or space the Demons tried to generate inside 50, severely limiting Melbourne's ability to score.

The Demons were often caught wanting to move the ball quickly, but with the Roos' well-disciplined backline, found themselves kicking to an outnumber or, worse, a sole Kangaroo ready to take an uncontested mark and repel.

Kearney starred for the Roos behind the ball, left to intercept and rebound at will, finishing the game with 10 intercepts from 17 disposals, while star midfielder's Jasmine Garner's 24 disposals and nine tackles couldn't get her side over the line.

Did you see that?

It didn't take long for Tahlia Randall to make an impact in the preliminary final. The potent key forward gathered the ball in the goal square in the game's opening minute, cleverly span and executed a right foot snap from close range to give her side the perfect start. Randall finished with six disposals and four tackles.

Up next

Unfortunately for the Roos, it's all over after an impressive Season 7, while the Demons will play off for the premiership next weekend.

MELBOURNE               2.0     3.1     3.1     5.3     (33)
NORTH MELBOURNE  1.0     2.2     2.4     2.4     (16)

GOALS
Melbourne: Fitzsimon, Mithen, Sherriff, Hore, D.Pearce
North Melbourne: Randall, E.King

BEST
Melbourne: Paxman, Mithen, Hanks, Heath
North Melbourne: Kearney, Garner, Riddell, Wright

INJURIES
Melbourne: Harris (left shoulder)
North Melbourne: Nil

Reports: Nil

Crowd: 5,592 at Ikon Park