The Dees kept their grand final hopes alive in the inaugural AFL Women's competition with a gutsy two-point win over the second placed Adelaide Crows in Darwin.

Melbourne had their noses in front most of the day, but late goals to the Crows' Kellie Gibson and Sarah Perkins ensured a nail biting finish.

Former Bendigo Thunder midfielder Strachan finished with two kicks and a mark as the Demons held on to win 5.4 (34) to 5.2 (32).

The Demons host Fremantle this weekend and can snare a grand final berth against undefeated Brisbane with a win and an Adelaide loss to Collingwood.

But Demons coach Michael Stinear said his team's focus would first and foremost on winning their own game.

“We just need to win and if we’re in a position where we can extend the lead then we’ll just get the girls to continue playing four quarters,” he said.

The Magpies recorded their third straight win, defeating Greater Western Sydney 7.13 (55) to 3.1 (19).

Former Thunder captain Emma Grant had five disposals (four kicks, one handball) for the Magpies.

An undoubted feature of her game was her five tackles among a team total of 53 as the Magpies controlled the contest from the opening bounce.

The win leaves Collingwood with a 3-3 win-loss record. The Magpies have the ability to shape the make-up of the grand final when they take on Adelaide this weekend.

Magpies coach Wayne Siekman after a lot of hype and pressure to start the season his side had knuckled down to play some attractive football.

"To get back here and put in an effort like that, it's been coming for a while, and it reflects how we trained in pre-season," he said.

Carlton squandered its chances of playing in the premiership decider, losing to previously winless Frmantle by 16 points on Friday.

Former Thunder midfielder Jess Kennedy finished with seven disposals (three kicks and four handballs) for the Blues.

Blues coach Damien Keeping blamed the loss on his side's poor start, with the Dockers scoring the first three goals of the game.

"We’re disappointed with the result and other results going our way or not, we’ll continue to focus on growing and improving as a group with another game to play next weekend," he said.

Brisbane is assured a grand final berth after scoring its sixth straight win over the Western Bulldogs.