Each week of the 2026 AFLW season, ESPN's Sarah Burt takes a look at what's making news, raising questions, and catching the eye across the competition.
This week's W Files features North Melbourne's bounceback, the return to form of Jesse Wardlaw, and Charlie Rowbottom's staggering stat line.
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North Melbourne redeem themselves
North Melbourne bounced back from their first defeat in more than 1,000 days in emphatic fashion, beating Melbourne by 31 points at Ikon Park. The Kangaroos had dealt with a flu outbreak during the week, which forced some players into isolation and resulted in changes to their preparations, but they showed no signs of being disrupted on game day.
Jenna Bruton produced a career-best 32 disposals, while Jasmine Garner, Ash Riddell, and Eilish Sheerin were also influential as North Melbourne wrestled control of the contest. Coach Darren Crocker described the response from his team as "an unbelievable response" after his side went down to Hawthorn in Round 6.
Cats keep their claws sharp
Geelong continued its impressive start to the season, making it six wins in a row with a 36-point demolition of Hawthorn. The result came against the same Hawks side that had ended North Melbourne's extraordinary unbeaten run just a week earlier. Georgie Prespakis, Nina Morrison, and Mikayla Bowen were all influential through the midfield as the Cats maintained control and continued their run.
The Cats are now 6-1, and with games against lower-ranked teams such as Richmond, GWS, West Coast, Western Bulldogs, and Fremantle still to come, the Cats have a real opportunity to finish in the top two. A massive improvement from their 2025 13th-placed finish with a 5-7 record.
Jesse returns to form in a big way
Jesse Tawhiao-Wardlaw produced one of Round 7's standout individual performances, booting a career-high five goals against Gold Coast. After managing just two majors across the opening six rounds, the St Kilda forward made an immediate impact, kicking four goals before half-time as the Saints took a 15-point lead into the main break. Her opportunities became more limited as Gold Coast took control after half-time, but she still added a fifth goal to finish with the highest individual tally of the round.
It came just a week after Saints coach Nick Dal Santo acknowledged that Tawhiao-Wardlaw had not been at her best, while stressing that improvement needed to come from the entire St Kilda program rather than one individual.
My favourite stat of the week
Charlie Rowbottom finished with 38 disposals, 21 contested possessions and nine clearances in the Suns' victory over the Saints. It was the eighth time she has recorded at least 20 contested possessions in an AFLW game -- the most of any player -- with Jasmine Garner next on six such games.
