The North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos have reached their third preliminary final in as many seasons after withstanding a ferocious assault by Adelaide in Friday night's AFLW finals opener at Ikon Park. 

Forward Bella Eddey kicked two momentum-shifting goals as the Kangaroos came from behind to edge the qualifying final by seven points, 5.8 (38) to 5.1 (31).

KANGAROOS v CROWS Full match coverage and stats

The Crows made the minor premiers earn the win, dominating possession in the first two quarters and hitting back in the last after the Roos had taken control, to ensure a tense finish.

Despite Tahlia Randall kicking their first goal straight from the opening bounce, the Kangaroos found themselves under siege in a high-intensity first half.

The Crows won the territory battle in the first quarter, and it took a free kick paid for a deliberate rushed behind to keep North Melbourne's nose in front by a point at the first change. 

Adelaide's pressure only ramped up as they dominated the second term, keeping the Roos scoreless while racking up a wildly lopsided 10-1 inside 50s for the quarter. 

Desperate defending kept the Roos in touch as they were starved of opportunities in their attacking half of the ground.

Adelaide veteran Chelsea Randall, who played one of the best games of her career, finally converted the Crows' pressure into points when she executed a sensational chasedown tackle in the middle of the ground.

She played on quickly and delivered to Gould who marked and scored her second goal, giving the Crows a five-point lead at the main break.

North needed a spark to lift them in the second half and it came through crafty small forward Eddey.

She kicked two goals to start the third term, showing her versatility with a goal on the run and her second through a snap shot on goal to give her team the lead again.

Jasmine Garner (29 disposals, 10 clearances) and her partner in crime Ash Riddell (34 disposals, 10 clearances) started to have more influence, combining for 15 disposals and nine inside 50s for the quarter.

The Roos added another to their tally through unlikely goalkicker Amy Smith and went into the three-quarter time break with a 10-point lead.

Both teams had their opportunities to start the final term, with the Crows' Niamh Kelly hitting the post and North's Vikki Wall missing twice from set shots.

When the Crows needed a player to step up once again it was Randall who scored, converting a set shot with two minutes remaining and reducing the margin to seven points.

Next Up

It's a week's rest for the Kangaroos, who march straight through to a preliminary final in a fortnight. They will face the winner of a semi-final contested between the winner of Port Adelaide v Richmond, and the loser of this weekend's other qualifying final between Hawthorn and Brisbane.

NORTH MELBOURNE    2.1    2.1    5.4    5.8 (38)
ADELAIDE                      2.0    3.0    4.0    5.1 (31)

GOALS
North Melbourne: Eddey 2, Randall, Smith, Shierlaw
Adelaide: Gould 2, Randall 2, Ponter

BEST
North Melbourne: Garner, Riddell, Eddey, Shierlaw, M.King
Adelaide: Randall, Marinoff, Gould, J.Allan, Ponter

INJURIES
North Melbourne: Nil
Adelaide: Nil

Reports: Nil

Crowd: 3,689 at Ikon Park