With the start to the season less than a fortnight away, here’s a preview for the Melbourne Demons AFLW team from the folk at Rookie Me:-

2022 AFLW Season Preview: Melbourne

Yes big wraps on the squad for 2022. Let’s hopefully get the premiership cup for Daisy.  She’s an absolute legend of AFLW and the sport. So talented. Brave.  Inspirational. 

Tayla Harris of course will be a big plus for the team. 

Karen Paxman is a definite A grade star. 

Also keen to see Libby Birch now as our number 1 defender.  She is a great athlete and improved so much in the past two seasons.  
 

Eden Zanker is another to watch out for.  She was really shining before the ‘21 season ended.  

2 hours ago, spirit of norm smith said:

Yes big wraps on the squad for 2022.

The pundits agree with you SONS.  AFL/The Age/HS all have Brisbane, Collingwood and Melbourne as potential flag favourites.

Our midfield is very strong.  L Pearce is the best ruck in the Comp, Zanker is a huge presence in the middle, while Hanks, Paxy, Lily M, Maddi G, rookie West and the recovering Liv P form a super on-ball group.  Our wings have two impressive young guns in E McNamara and C Sheriff.   Not sure who will back up ruck, Zanker/Parry?

Tayla Harris will absolutely bolster our forward group and Hore, Scott, Parry, D Pearce, Bannon et al will all greatly benefit. Fingers crossed we kick straight this season.

Our backline has been wobbly over the years.  Love to see excitement machine, Goldie, play out the season!  Meggs hopes Tarrant plays back (not forward).  Her marking, neat kicking and reading of play continues to improve.  No doubt Birch, Colvin and Lampy will take the key defensive posts and fan favourite S Heath, the lockdown small defensive role.  Opportunities for Irish import Magee and others to help down back too.  

There are a number new young talls and smalls who will all be striving to be named in the team so selection will be very competitive.

The Bulldogs were very physical last time we met but Meggs is confident coach Mick will prepare the girls this time.  It bodes well for an exciting 2022 for our AFLW Dees.  Go girls!

4 hours ago, Meggs said:

The pundits agree with you SONS.  AFL/The Age/HS all have Brisbane, Collingwood and Melbourne as potential flag favourites.

Our midfield is very strong.  L Pearce is the best ruck in the Comp, Zanker is a huge presence in the middle, while Hanks, Paxy, Lily M, Maddi G, rookie West and the recovering Liv P form a super on-ball group.  Our wings have two impressive young guns in E McNamara and C Sheriff.   Not sure who will back up ruck, Zanker/Parry?

Tayla Harris will absolutely bolster our forward group and Hore, Scott, Parry, D Pearce, Bannon et al will all greatly benefit. Fingers crossed we kick straight this season.

Our backline has been wobbly over the years.  Love to see excitement machine, Goldie, play out the season!  Meggs hopes Tarrant plays back (not forward).  Her marking, neat kicking and reading of play continues to improve.  No doubt Birch, Colvin and Lampy will take the key defensive posts and fan favourite S Heath, the lockdown small defensive role.  Opportunities for Irish import Magee and others to help down back too.  

There are a number new young talls and smalls who will all be striving to be named in the team so selection will be very competitive.

The Bulldogs were very physical last time we met but Meggs is confident coach Mick will prepare the girls this time.  It bodes well for an exciting 2022 for our AFLW Dees.  Go girls!

Anything then to be taken from the running over the top of them in the praccy match?

The squad sure seems to have a balance and dynamic reflective of the mens'.

I've reflected on MFCSS coming for the women's team on another thread. This thread is for POSITIVE!

23 hours ago, Meggs said:

The pundits agree with you SONS.  AFL/The Age/HS all have Brisbane, Collingwood and Melbourne as potential flag favourites.

Our midfield is very strong.  L Pearce is the best ruck in the Comp, Zanker is a huge presence in the middle, while Hanks, Paxy, Lily M, Maddi G, rookie West and the recovering Liv P form a super on-ball group.  Our wings have two impressive young guns in E McNamara and C Sheriff.   Not sure who will back up ruck, Zanker/Parry?

Tayla Harris will absolutely bolster our forward group and Hore, Scott, Parry, D Pearce, Bannon et al will all greatly benefit. Fingers crossed we kick straight this season.

Our backline has been wobbly over the years.  Love to see excitement machine, Goldie, play out the season!  Meggs hopes Tarrant plays back (not forward).  Her marking, neat kicking and reading of play continues to improve.  No doubt Birch, Colvin and Lampy will take the key defensive posts and fan favourite S Heath, the lockdown small defensive role.  Opportunities for Irish import Magee and others to help down back too.  

There are a number new young talls and smalls who will all be striving to be named in the team so selection will be very competitive.

The Bulldogs were very physical last time we met but Meggs is confident coach Mick will prepare the girls this time.  It bodes well for an exciting 2022 for our AFLW Dees.  Go girls!

I'm with you on Tarrant. Underrated player who took some big steps last season. Maybe in the future we'll see her up forward, as her VFLW form suggests she can be very damaging there, but for now the greater need is that sometimes shaky backline!

19 hours ago, Timothy Reddan-A'Blew said:

Anything then to be taken from the running over the top of them in the praccy match?

The squad sure seems to have a balance and dynamic reflective of the mens'.

I've reflected on MFCSS coming for the women's team on another thread. This thread is for POSITIVE!

My MFCSS is probably more AFLWSS in the sense that things can go very wrong structurally in the season, as we've been victims of in the past! Let's just say I'm thinking a lot more about our depth players and wondering what random train-ons we have than I was a month ago.

As for the praccy match, hard to say. Our team played the unpredictable Casey conditions better and overall I'd say they looked sharper. But it's all meaningless when the real stuff starts.

I desperately want us to take out the quinella, and I think we have the AFLW squad to do it! 

Edited January 5, 20224 yr by Deeoldfart
Typo, because I’ve had too much red wine.

On 1/4/2022 at 1:42 PM, spirit of norm smith said:

Yes big wraps on the squad for 2022. Let’s hopefully get the premiership cup for Daisy.  She’s an absolute legend of AFLW and the sport. So talented. Brave.  Inspirational. 

Tayla Harris of course will be a big plus for the team. 

Karen Paxman is a definite A grade star. 

Also keen to see Libby Birch now as our number 1 defender.  She is a great athlete and improved so much in the past two seasons.  
 

Eden Zanker is another to watch out for.  She was really shining before the ‘21 season ended.  

Eden Zanker is a star. Fantastic in round 1.  Watch out AFLW. 

8 hours ago, spirit of norm smith said:

Eden Zanker is a star. Fantastic in round 1.  Watch out AFLW. 

Imagine how good Zanker could be if she was able to train in a full time AFL style program. That’s the future.