No joy for Magpies in return to Victoria Park as Demons dominate

Great fun attending Vic Park yesterday.

I admit to struggling to engage with AFLW on TV and didn't really enjoy my only previous game, which was Round 1 last season on a baking hot day at Casey.  (Casey doesn't seem to work for me, either).

Yesterday's game was very entertaining and Melbourne could have / should have won by more.

What impressed me:

• Melbourne's ruck and midfield was so much better than Collingwood's.  Melbourne's 2 rucks, in particular, seemed to win every hit out.  Statistically, the rucks only won 27 to 24 but none of their hit outs could have been to advantage.
• Melbourne's structure around the contested ball was superb.  Time and time again, Melbourne players on the inside found good handball options.  Also, Melbourne player's skills in keeping their arms free in the tackle to lay off was superb.
• Melbourne's tackling was ferocious, as were our spoiling skills.

Areas to improve:

• Kicking and handball efficiency was rather frustrating.  I'm always a bit cautious as I find it hard to judge how much pressure players are under, but the blokes just kick it much better.
• General awareness was poor at times when players took just a little too long to hand off.

Overall, I was very satisfied by both Melbourne's professionalism and the entertainment level.  Regarding the disposal efficiency, it may just show how much we take the men's team's accuracy and distance for granted.

Go Dees!

Edited February 10, 20196 yr by Traja Dee
Added another dot point to the "Impressed me" list.

What impressed me (or rather who), Tyla Hanks. She is obviously going to be very good for us. Is there an AFLW market for rising star? If so, could be worth a dollar or two.

COLLINGWOOD     0.2     0.2     0.2     1.3 (9)

MELBOURNE     0.2     2.4     2.5     3.8 (26)

GOALS

Collingwood: Dargan

Melbourne: O'Dea, Pearce, Hanks

BEST

Collingwood: Brazill, McIntosh, Rowe

Melbourne: L Pearce, O'Dea, Mithen, Paxman, Emonson, Cunningham

INJURIES

Collingwood: Emma Grant (shoulder)

Melbourne: TBC

Reports: Nil

 

Might be early days, although I’m unsure how long we can wait in a 7 week season before we make judgments, but it seems there’s quite an imbalance of strength with the conference system thus far. Top 5 teams in the league are from Conference A.

18 minutes ago, Dee Zephyr said:

Might be early days, although I’m unsure how long we can wait in a 7 week season before we make judgments, but it seems there’s quite an imbalance of strength with the conference system thus far. Top 5 teams in the league are from Conference A.

Freo’s improvement is a surprise but otherwise this was predictable. North recruited very well. Collingwood were decimated (by north) and Brisbane not far behind. Carlton were weak last year and haven’t substantially improved. I suspect conference A will win both semi finals fairly comfortably when we get to that stage

On 2/9/2019 at 5:24 PM, Demonland said:

Lauren Pierce kicks the Dees second major. 

Dees by 14. 

I thought it was funny that no-one in the commentary seemed to noitice that the ball got into our forward fifty courtesy of a superb kick out of the centre by a Magpies player (can't recall who).  It was not mentioned once or even replayed.

Great atmosphere at Vic Park - by which I mean thousands of very quiet Pies supporters and a bunch of happy Dees! Just the way it should be.

Again the wind wreaked havoc but we played it much better than they did. I liked our players' persistence and willingness to go again and again even when we weren't quite linking up. We looked much tighter and steadier down back. Although the Pies forward structure was nothing to write home about, we'll gain some confidence from being able to shut them down. Solid returns from Guest and Kemp. We looked better with Jakkobson down back and Cordner, Lampard and Downie took it up a notch. Emonson is very composed. Woodland also seemed more comfortable in game 2.

Mithen is having the kind of season I was hoping for in the absence of Daisy. Her positioning's spot on and she's finding some space. L.Pearce's workrate and follow-up are great. Would love to know how many times she was able to take possession straight out. O'Dea and Paxman brought their usual level although Paxman really should have converted some of those chances.

Not great conditions for getting the ball to Cunningham on the lead and Zanker didn't have many opportunities either but both found ways to be involved. Probably needed more out of Scott, Hore and Newman. On the other hand, Hanks showed some real spark.

Must-win game next week. They all are, plus we'll be counting on some upsets down the track...

Thanks for the report DIO.  Yes agree Jakkobsen looks better in defence and I thought O’Dea played above her ‘usual level’.

Where do you see midfielder Maddie Gay?  Never noticed her at Carlton but read she sought tackling advice from Daisy coming from a netball background.  

I am hoping the win builds confidence for a successful trip to Brisbane this week. Go Dees.

I live a stone's throw from Victoria Park. Sadly I had another commitment that afternoon. Would love to have seen the Dees beat the filth.

 

21 hours ago, Meggs said:

Thanks for the report DIO.  Yes agree Jakkobsen looks better in defence and I thought O’Dea played above her ‘usual level’.

Where do you see midfielder Maddie Gay?  Never noticed her at Carlton but read she sought tackling advice from Daisy coming from a netball background.  

I am hoping the win builds confidence for a successful trip to Brisbane this week. Go Dees.

Yeah, by 'usual level' I meant 'amazing' but maybe she was better than that - named in the team of the week!

Can't say I noticed Gay's input much on the weekend, definitely more impact last week.

 

Early days yet, but here's where the Dees stand for some key stats across the first 2 rounds:

1st: handballs, contested possessions, hit outs, cont. marks, clearances

2nd: behinds

3rd: goals

7th: marks

8th: disp. eff. and kicks

9th: tackles

AFLW Round 2 – Collingwood v Melbourne: Mum v Daughter and other rivalries