WAFL round-up: Delight for Wall and North Melbourne, O'Dwyer's Brisbane progress

North Melbourne 16-14 Geelong

Vikki Wall contributed to North Melbourne's scoring tally as the Kangaroos qualified for the WAFL semi-final after a low-scoring 16-14 arm wrestle with Geelong.

Erika O’Shea missed out due to an eye injury picked up in the final ladder match last weekend, but she will get another shot at a knock-out tie having played in all 10 regulation games in her debut season.

She would have been delighted with the performance of fellow Irish player Wall and her team-mates who came up against a Geelong side that dominated for long stretches but failed to make it count on the scoreboard.

That meant the end of the road for Mayo’s Rachel Kearns, who also kicked a behind but it wasn’t enough for the Cats.

North Melbourne were able to welcome back captain Emma Kearney after she missed last week following a collision with team-mate Wall, and she brought a real calmness to proceedings.

Scores were at a premium throughout with all three goals coming in the first quarter – Sophie Abbatangelo and Alice O'Loughlin for North Melbourne and Darcy Moloney for Geelong – as the Kangaroos led 13-9.

The scoring rate plummeted from there, the victors leading 14-10 at the half and 15-11 by the third quarter. Geelong pushed for the win, but Shelley Scott missed a later chance.

Brisbane 39-22 Richmond

Orla O’Dwyer’s Brisbane booked a home preliminary after an impressive 17-point win over a Richmond side who will now face North Melbourne in the semi-final.

The Lions kicked five goals in all - from five different players - at the Metricon Stadium, with O’Dwyer’s carries proving to be a real prominent weapon for the side.

The Tigers were too dependent on Katie Brennan who kicked all three of her side’s goals.

Jesse Wardlaw and Brennan