GAMEDAY: AFLW Rd 05 vs Gold Coast

[poita 3,902]

Pretty disappointing performance on Saturday, albeit with two key players missing from the midfield. We look a long way behind the best sides at the moment. Still, we may have found a way to lose that game in previous years, so it was pleasing that we at least banked the four points. 

I still think we need to throw the magnets around and try some players in different positions, particularly in a game such as this when we're not able to play the game on our terms. The forward line other than Harris is a concern, and we're lacking at least one more quality defender.

Interesting comments above regarding the standard of the game. The players are increasingly faster, stronger and have better endurance, but we're not really seeing commensurate improvements in skill level. If this was an 8 or even 10 team competition, the distribution of the top players would be much better and it would be a much higher standard. At the moment there are too many teams such as Gold Coast and St Kilda who don't have the talent, but who are prepared to make games a real grind. That makes it hard for the superior skills of the better sides to shine.

[Pates 9,660]

1 hour ago, poita said:

Interesting comments above regarding the standard of the game. The players are increasingly faster, stronger and have better endurance, but we're not really seeing commensurate improvements in skill level. If this was an 8 or even 10 team competition, the distribution of the top players would be much better and it would be a much higher standard. At the moment there are too many teams such as Gold Coast and St Kilda who don't have the talent, but who are prepared to make games a real grind. That makes it hard for the superior skills of the better sides to shine.

I work on the broadcast for the AFLW and I can tell you that there are things that are improving but also things that have got worse and I do think the general standard of skills isn’t great. I have even quietly wondered if it might be worth them using a softer version of the footy and whether that would improve things a little. Handballs and kicks often seem to fall short, and even though they haven’t written it in their rules of the game they are certainly allowing 10m kicks to be paid as marks (I don’t have an issue with that). 

I haven’t been a fan of the expansion of teams, better to have a small group of teams to build the standard and give an elite look about the game than to have it overflowing with teams and having to top it up with players who are athletic but have been kicking the ball for 6 months. I reckon in 5 years time we will see a big lift in standard when girls that are currently playing in the junior divisions and learning (and mastering) the skills enter into the competition. 

The frustrations that come from the skills often reach the highest point when they string together a great piece of play but then butcher the final part. 

Toughness, pressure, and athleticism wise the standard has got better, which may in turn be having an impact of skills. 

[Dees_In_October 3,384]

In a way, I think the AFL decided to sacrifice improvement of skill level to give the competition a 'hook' into as many markets as possible at a time when the women's sport market is at a critical juncture in terms of hearts and minds (and wallets). I've come to accept that they won't consider increasing players' training hours/introducing longer or year-round contracts until all teams are in the competition, and that's the main thing that will improve skills and players' ability to execute game plans/styles consistently rather than trying to build that after a six-month gap.

The competition still largely seems to operate off the goodwill of many involved, which is great and worthy and all but can only last so long. Several players are already sitting out this season essentially because they couldn't afford to play.

Same thing with coaches. Not sustainable for many without a full-time role in a club for the AFLW offseason - assistants earn $6000 per AFLW season, apparently, and so at some clubs there's a constant merry-go-round of coaches, which means inconsistency and almost starting from scratch between seasons - Melbourne has actually been quite good in this regard, although some would argue we've failed to upgrade on those we have. Adelaide and Brisbane have been among the most stable in this regard. Surprise, surprise.

Covid hasn't helped, of course, considering most teams are in Victoria and second-tier and junior competitions have been severely impacted here. What has an 18-year-old or 19-year-old Victorian draftees' last few years looked like? While previously we might have expected a fair chunk of those players to be having a major impact at AFLW level as many top draftees did in 2019 and 2020, that's been a much less prominent feature of 2021/2022 with some notable exceptions.

In reality, most of this is to be expected in a five-year-old competition in a global pandemic and coming off a very low base in terms of resources.

So I'm happy to ignore people who bizarrely expect elite standards from part-timers because they simply have no idea what conditions these players are (willingly, gratefully) dealing with to play in 2022. BUT I will be critical when skills are missing that I've witnessed before, and I think I've got a fairly good gauge of what most players are capable of - and they've got nowhere near it yet this season. To be honest, some of them (I won't name names) look how a lot of us probably feel: worn down by a pretty crappy few years...I'm potentially projecting a bit there 😉

On 2/7/2022 at 10:27 AM, Pates said:

Toughness, pressure, and athleticism wise the standard has got better, which may in turn be having an impact of skills. 

This is an interesting point I hadn't considered.

[Pates 9,660]

Not meaning to turn this thread into a state of the game thread but another point I’d make is that crowds are certainly dwindling. There was naturally a huge peak of interest when it first came in and they made tickets free, not to mention there were only a handful of teams so there was this vision of it being an elite version of the game. Now that the standard of play is really scrappy and almost every club has a female team getting fans to the grounds is getting more and more challenging. 

The A-league had a similar peak of interest and has gone quiet now both in interest in the media and crowds at games. 

There has to be an acceptance that the AFLW is going to have to go through some times of genuine struggle, and the question has to be asked of where it it’s going to be in 5/10/15/20 years time. 

I haven’t got kids but when I do, if I have a girl I’ll be trying my hardest to encourage her into footy!

[DeeSpencer 25,719]

2 minutes ago, Pates said:

Not meaning to turn this thread into a state of the game thread but another point I’d make is that crowds are certainly dwindling. There was naturally a huge peak of interest when it first came in and they made tickets free, not to mention there were only a handful of teams so there was this vision of it being an elite version of the game. Now that the standard of play is really scrappy and almost every club has a female team getting fans to the grounds is getting more and more challenging. 

The A-league had a similar peak of interest and has gone quiet now both in interest in the media and crowds at games. 

There has to be an acceptance that the AFLW is going to have to go through some times of genuine struggle, and the question has to be asked of where it it’s going to be in 5/10/15/20 years time. 

I haven’t got kids but when I do, if I have a girl I’ll be trying my hardest to encourage her into footy!

I’m willing to admit I’m not a fan of the heat but even those who love sunshine would have to have doubts about sitting or standing in 30+ degrees at grounds that often lack shade. Spring just makes so much more sense to me.

With so many teams it’s also harder to keep track of the quality players, which makes watching neutral games unappealing.

And I’m not a fan of tying it to existing clubs and trying to skim off 10-20% of crowds. I’d have bit the bullet with all new teams and let them grow organically. The AFL could’ve owned the comp and driven investment but largely the players and fans could control how they want the comp to run. 

[DeeSpencer 25,719]

Back on topic. Our defensive work rate and contested ball was good against the Suns. And there was signs we started to handball more effectively. Clean crisp handballs to runners on the move is the only way our running game will come back, which in turn is our biggest weapon.