First time I’ve seen us beat the dogs at the kennel. Very good win but plenty to work on

Great to see the girls back and hear the song played after the siren. 

Hanks and Birch were our best 4 quarter players, however it was Zanker that steadied the ship in that 3rd quarter when dogs had the momentum,  her ability to break not only tackles but lines was crucial,  she's just so good at evading in traffic. 

Thought Maddie Gay was the other pick of the mids, Paxman and to a lesser extent Mithen and Hore were down on their usual output. 

Carris was excellent on debut as a 2nd ruck, means we don't have to rely on Zanker for that any more,  and Loz was her usual excellent self as the #1 ruck. 

After a slow, patient, fluent possession game early on,  it devolved into a bit of a scrappy turnover affair late,  but a win and blowing off the cobwebs is banked. 

I wish we would stop reverting to Handball  as the first option. The physical strength is not there across the board. 
we gave up on it half way through last season, successfully. Kicking for distance is critical in AFLW, especially when we now have tall marking targets in multiple locations. And if it’s not marked, then contests result, where we are superior.

Reasonable first half but pretty poor second half. Our skills seeemed to drop off but it is only round 1.  I thaught Zanker, both Pearces, Birch and hanks were our best players. A win at the western oval is a win so gladly take it.

That wasn’t pretty. But take the points.

Paxy rested a bit and down back. Hanks forward a lot. So we didn’t overdo our prime movers and gave Zanker, West and some others a good run. Fitzsimon was busy. Bannan on the wing is good for her development.

Backline definitely missed Goldy and Colvin too. The back up talls aren’t much chop. And my opinion on Birch probably doesn’t line up with most of the forums.

Forward line was far too Harris conscious in the 2nd quarter. Should’ve gone to other options and iced the game.

Kicking was mostly good. Handball game was sloppy. Missed a lot of chances to put team mates in to space.

Defensive work rate and tackling were both strong. Thought the attack on ground balls was probably just a bit off. A few players just trying to spin out with the ball compared to bodying it. But that’s not unusual early on. 

  On 08/01/2022 at 10:05, george_on_the_outer said:

I wish we would stop reverting to Handball  as the first option. The physical strength is not there across the board. 
we gave up on it half way through last season, successfully. Kicking for distance is critical in AFLW, especially when we now have tall marking targets in multiple locations. And if it’s not marked, then contests result, where we are superior.

Agree on handball.

Kicking for distance not so much - see my earlier post re possession game, which bemused commentators. I think Dees actually leading the women's comp into the next upskilled iteration.

Tried to start a votes topic, but not sure if it worked. Can someone set it up please?

 

  On 08/01/2022 at 10:05, george_on_the_outer said:

I wish we would stop reverting to Handball  as the first option. The physical strength is not there across the board. 
we gave up on it half way through last season, successfully. Kicking for distance is critical in AFLW, especially when we now have tall marking targets in multiple locations. And if it’s not marked, then contests result, where we are superior.

I don’t fully agree. A lot of teams have bigger bodies in the midfield than us, and we’ve got quick forwards as well as talls. I like that we try to move the ball quickly. Which means handballs as well as kicks.

But it’s one handball until you’re out and then run and kick. Certainly too much handballing tonight, mostly because many of them were ineffective. Better handballs should mean less of them. 

  On 08/01/2022 at 10:10, Ungarieboy said:

Tried to start a votes topic, but not sure if it worked. Can someone set it up please?

 

It's there, Boy. Well done. I've contributed.

Edited January 8, 20223 yr by Timothy Reddan-A'Blew

The standard still drops right off after halftime 

It was the first game of the year and the skills  tend to be a bit scratchy. But it’s great to win when you’re one of the flag favourites.  Nevertheless we looked a class above in the first half but the Dogs went physical after halftime which tested us.

Zanker (BOG) continues to impress and her goal was a gem. Of the 4 debutants, I thought Harris’ effort was excellent, West looked comfortable at this level, Caris tapped and competed well, looks good to Meggs and Ali Brown tried hard but whether she holds her place next week?  Megan F 24 - easily her best game in the red n blue and hopefully a platform for the season.  

Meggs also enjoyed the performances of Hanks, Sheriff, Heath, Hore, Mithen (doesn’t she loves passing to her flat mate Kate) and Birch.  Tarrant looks better in defence too.  A few girls were quiet this evening but it’s only Round 1.  Bring on the Tiges!

Very quiet around footscray. I expected more life. Where have all the characters gone?

  On 08/01/2022 at 09:22, Timothy Reddan-A'Blew said:

Your fave, ZEDphyr?😉

My Fave ..... And Hanks 😎

Great to see footy back. I've missed it. Good win great first quarter but still plenty of work to do. Zanker will be the best midfielder in the comp by the end of the year she is just so damaging, when Zanker plays well so do Melbourne.

I thought the forward line functioned well even though they only kicked 6 goals Harris, Daisy and Hore all very dangerous.

Caris is still well and truly in development mode ATM not up to it at this stage but the game will do her the world of good must be replaced by McNamara next week.

Who goes out for Goldrick is a good problem to have. Fitzsimmon or West will be the unlucky ones.

Hanks 10 tackles….very impressive 

Paxman flattened early and was probably targeted, she spent a lot of time on the bench. Mithen likewise flattened just as she was starting to really get into her role. Both on the bench struggling and a 6ft midfielder took it on herself to say "not on my watch!" Well done Zanks.

Also, some familiar themes, language and setups that are indicative of the Melbourne way.

I love it!!

  On 08/01/2022 at 13:06, dworship said:

Also, some familiar themes, language and setups that are indicative of the Melbourne way.

Yeah, I feel this way as well. Not sure if it's confirmation bias! There's no real reason why the teams should play a similar way given the vast difference in personnel, resources, game styles in the respective leagues, etc., etc. But there should be some things that are "Melbourne" things that are valued at our club and can be encouraged in all teams in red and blue.