Don’t forget to come watch the girls train tonight at Gosch’s!

And while you’re there be sure to come and buy a sausage in bread from the Demon Army  BBQ. Only $2.50 (with or without onions), that’s a whole dollar cheaper than Bunnings! Chuck in a can of soft drink or bottle of water and the meal deal will only set you back $4! 

 

51 minutes ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

Don’t forget to come watch the girls train tonight at Gosch’s!

And while you’re there be sure to come and buy a sausage in bread from the Demon Army  BBQ. Only $2.50 (with or without onions), that’s a whole dollar cheaper than Bunnings! Chuck in a can of soft drink or bottle of water and the meal deal will only set you back $4! 

 

Any chance of a shiraz or at least cold stubby WCW?

16 minutes ago, Bitter but optimistic said:

Any chance of a shiraz or at least cold stubby WCW?

Neither. Soz unc. Surely that can wait until Sunday, after the girls win. ❤️💙

I’m standing out front of AAMI Park and the girls are coming back having just had a session on the park. If anyone is worried about Tayla’s shoulder… no need. She was carrying a backpack almost as big as her, laughing and chatting with the others. She looks fine.👍🏽

 

Good to know that the girls will get a run on the Springfield turf on Saturday. They fly out early on Saturday and have the opportunity to have a Captain’s Run in the afternoon. 👍🏽

They're out and happy.

 

After the warm up, British bulldog with a sash , then into their stations.

Moving the ball around, working stoppages, and  bringing the ball down for the a snap or tackle. Then they rotate.

Some sprints as a group, and into their positional lines.

Looks like Gay is on light duties, and Sherrif is doing a little less training.

Mithin and Mackin with mids.

Harris and Sherrif with forwards.

Heath with backs.

 

Edited November 24, 20222 yr by kev martin

Better than expected turnout here at Gosch’s. The vibe is awesome. I haven’t been able to watch training much since I’m too busy burning sausages to a crisp but the little I’ve seen has been a joy to watch. The girls are really happy and confident, and it’s a proper training session, not just for entertainment, although it is indeed entertaining.

Any Demonlanders who are here… come on over and say hello. And buy a sausage in bread while at it. 👍🏽
 

GO DEES!

Into simulations, clean with plenty of outside run. Bibs got hammered. 

After simulations they took a knee, and several share.

They break with hugs and slaps all round.

Go Dees.

6 hours ago, kev martin said:

We are building, over the past games our opponents have been getting better and so we are starting to peak (would have preferred a longer season). We would have got plenty of learnings from the game against North, who strangled our fast ball movement. Get that style back and play confidently, without fumbling or failing at the simple stuff, then we are, IMO stronger than the Lions.

We have some very strong willed players, Purcell, Paxman, Daisy, Birch, they should be able to read the moment.

Our hunt and tackling has been great. Keep the work ethic, be in sync with each other and take the goal scoring opportunities. 

Hoping it is our day. They are the most entertaining of teams.

Go Dees.

100% Kev.  I reckon that since we last played the Lions, we’ve improved by 20%.  I have no ‘feel’ for any improvement by the Lions in that period, but I do know that we’ve really hit our straps.  They are a very good team,  but so are we!  I’m quietly confident that our ‘Demon Spirit’, led by the strong willed players who you mention, will get us over the line.  Gee, I hope so!

1 hour ago, kev martin said:

Into simulations, clean with plenty of outside run. Bibs got hammered. 

After simulations they took a knee, and several share.

They break with hugs and slaps all round.

Go Dees.

Was I imagining things Kev, or did the girls go a massive stacks-on after the hugs and slaps all round? That’s what it looked like from where I was. And it looked like so much fun. 🤗

1 hour ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

Was I imagining things Kev, or did the girls go a massive stacks-on after the hugs and slaps all round? That’s what it looked like from where I was. And it looked like so much fun. 🤗

Common practice at The Manor

According to the MFC AFLW instagram stories, it was indeed a stacks on!  With the disclaimer that no demons were harmed in the making.

Looks like it was an excellent evening!  I was stuck at a work event (the reason I'm in Melb) so thanks everyone for the fomo!

Edited November 24, 20222 yr by DeelightfulPlay
Clarity of phrasing

20 hours ago, Katrina Dee Fan said:

Just had a quick scour through the AFLW's social media.  On the last 2 days on their Facebook, they posted 12 articles about Brisbane, 2 about Melbourne.  In fact if you look at the most recent backwards, you have to scroll through 10 articles about Brisbane before you see any mention of Melbourne whatsoever. Of the two articles about Mebourne, one was whether Daisy Pearce will retire after the grand final, the other is about Tayla Harris' shoulder.  Yet it's article after article about how Brisbane will be unbeatable.

 

Clearly Brisbane is the AFLW's preferred premiers.  

The AFL.com.AU reporter for Brisbane is a fan-boy. It’s bordering on unprofessional.

Struggling to concentrate on work. Can't wait for this game

There is a great article on the AFL website detailing how we can take down Brisbane . A good read ! Also another article regarding AFLW membership & it was so disappointing to see our membership no’s considering we are a Foundation team & have progressed to be one of the most exciting teams to watch. The membership is not expensive so let’s hope a lot more supporters jump on board regardless of the GF result!! If everything aligns on Sunday …I have no doubt we’ll be holding up the cup. It would be ironic that if the girls do win …then our men’s & women’s Premiership’s would have been won interstate with very little Melb support ..

12 minutes ago, Deestar9 said:

There is a great article on the AFL website detailing how we can take down Brisbane . A good read ! Also another article regarding AFLW membership & it was so disappointing to see our membership no’s considering we are a Foundation team & have progressed to be one of the most exciting teams to watch. The membership is not expensive so let’s hope a lot more supporters jump on board regardless of the GF result!! If everything aligns on Sunday …I have no doubt we’ll be holding up the cup. It would be ironic that if the girls do win …then our men’s & women’s Premiership’s would have been won interstate with very little Melb support ..

This is the article

Dee-liverance!

A nice balance to the rest of the stuff we have been reading about the Lions.

Interesting that Lion defenders like to play high up the ground.  Normally, I would think this would help us 'out the back' or down the flank with our ball movement and running speed.  But because the oval is so short (5om line touches the centre square) their defenders won't have as far to run back to position to cut off our attacks. 

All the politics around the selection of Springfield aside from a straight football point of view they should play the GF on a 'standard' sized oval in its key dimensions. 

So I’ll admit from the start I haven’t been following the AFLW as closely as I would’ve liked this season, but I was curious from those in the know that with the shorter season and not playing every team, which of the two clubs had the easier draw? The fact that we missed out on hosting the final by such a narrow margin makes it very interesting in that regard, though I do know there were some games that we should’ve been way more accurate in front of goal. 

To be honest, i don't have a great sense of how strong the lions are, having only watched them the once - when we played them.

I get the lions will have a home state, if not a home ground, advantage. And probably have an advantage of having more training etc in the heat. So, they deserve to be favorites.

But after the regular season, we were only split by half a percent, or some such. And teams have barely scored in the second half of our games all season, indicating both a strong defensive system, but also probably superior fitness levels.

And whilst we may struggle a little with the heat, assuming the predicted potential thunderstorm doesn't come during the game, the conditions will really suit our running, give and go handball, high skill method.

The lions are currently 1.39 favorites and their line is 9.5 points. Both seem well out of wack to me, and so the 2.92 you can get for a dees win is great value.

But even better value is the 9 point start we are getting, a line that will surely shorten before game time.

Yes, the lions are a high scoring side, but we have the best defence in the AFLW, as evidenced by the fact we gave up the least amount of points this season, a crazy low 184 (the lions were next with 193 and then a pretty big gap back to the crows on 217).

And we are no slouch on the scoring front either, having scored only 19 points less than the lions in the regular season. We are also in much better form than we the lions rolled us by 15 points in round four.

12 minutes ago, binman said:

To be honest, i don't have a great sense of how strong the lions are, having only watched them the once - when we played them.

I get the lions will have a home state, if not a home ground, advantage. And probably have an advantage of having more training etc in the heat. So, they deserve to be favorites.

But after the regular season, we were only split by half a percent, or some such. And teams have barely scored in the second half of our games all season, indicating both a strong defensive system, but also probably superior fitness levels.

And whilst we may struggle a little with the heat, assuming the predicted potential thunderstorm doesn't come during the game, the conditions will really suit our running, give and go handball, high skill method.

The lions are currently 1.39 favorites and their line is 9.5 points. Both seem well out of wack to me, and so the 2.92 you can get for a dees win is great value.

But even better value is the 9 point start we are getting, a line that will surely shorten before game time.

Yes, the lions are a high scoring side, but we have the best defence in the AFLW, as evidenced by the fact we gave up the least amount of points this season, a crazy low 184 (the lions were next with 193 and then a pretty big gap back to the crows on 217).

And we are no slouch on the scoring front either, having scored only 19 points less than the lions in the regular season. We are also in much better form than we the lions rolled us by 15 points in round four.

I threw a bit more on the Dees yesterday. You're right, our defensive game is fantastic.

There's nothing between these sides apart from a home ground and crowd advantage. Hope the umps don't get sucked in as usual.

How did Birch miss a spot in the AA?

I reckon it's going to be a nail biter.

2 minutes ago, binman said:

To be honest, i don't have a great sense of how strong the lions are, having only watched them the once - when we played them.

I get the lions will have a home state, if not a home ground, advantage. And probably have an advantage of having more training etc in the heat. So, they deserve to be favorites.

But after the regular season, we were only split by half a percent, or some such. And teams have barely scored in the second half of our games all season, indicating both a strong defensive system, but also probably superior fitness levels.

And whilst we may struggle a little with the heat, assuming the predicted potential thunderstorm doesn't come during the game, the conditions will really suit our running, give and go handball, high skill method.

The lions are currently 1.39 favorites and their line is 9.5 points. Both seem well out of wack to me, and so the 2.92 you can get for a dees win is great value.

But even better value is the 9 point start we are getting, a line that will surely shorten before game time.

Yes, the lions are a high scoring side, but we have the best defence in the AFLW, as evidenced by the fact we gave up the least amount of points this season, a crazy low 184 (the lions were next with 193 and then a pretty big gap back to the crows on 217).

And we are no slouch on the scoring front either, having scored only 19 points less than the lions in the regular season. We are also in much better form than we the lions rolled us by 15 points in round four.

I think the interesting thing about this venue choice is that they will have home support advantage but they haven’t played on a match on it either, so they will be new to its dimensions and quirks in the same way we will be. 

I can only hope that there will be plenty of research by the coaching staff on it to determine particular points of interest and be wings to exploit at certain times. 

By the way has it been established if our players will get an opportunity to train on it prior to the match?

24 minutes ago, Pates said:

I think the interesting thing about this venue choice is that they will have home support advantage but they haven’t played on a match on it either, so they will be new to its dimensions and quirks in the same way we will be. 

I can only hope that there will be plenty of research by the coaching staff on it to determine particular points of interest and be wings to exploit at certain times. 

By the way has it been established if our players will get an opportunity to train on it prior to the match?

I believe we're now getting a run Saturday arvo.

The fifty metre arcs touch the centre square. Purpose built AFL stadium pffft.

I think @kevmartin mentioned in the training run that the girls were focusing on pushing hard through the centre corridor / square which probably makes sense if the lions try to force us wide.

If we can keep busting them through the centre corridor we're half way there.

If Harris is also fit as reported, she can boot them from 45 out and could wreak some havoc from centre clearances kicking them deep into our forward line.

4 hours ago, Pates said:

So I’ll admit from the start I haven’t been following the AFLW as closely as I would’ve liked this season, but I was curious from those in the know that with the shorter season and not playing every team, which of the two clubs had the easier draw? The fact that we missed out on hosting the final by such a narrow margin makes it very interesting in that regard, though I do know there were some games that we should’ve been way more accurate in front of goal. 

This might answer your question, or just raise more questions because even this is an incomplete calculation because it doesn't factor in in-season improvement of teams:

https://www.womens.afl/news/110449/fixture-difficulty-how-does-your-team-rank-under-our-special-formula-

Overall, I wouldn't say that either team had a significantly easier/harder draw, though the timing of when certain teams were faced might say something.

6 hours ago, Deestar9 said:

There is a great article on the AFL website detailing how we can take down Brisbane . A good read ! Also another article regarding AFLW membership & it was so disappointing to see our membership no’s considering we are a Foundation team & have progressed to be one of the most exciting teams to watch. The membership is not expensive so let’s hope a lot more supporters jump on board regardless of the GF result!! If everything aligns on Sunday …I have no doubt we’ll be holding up the cup. It would be ironic that if the girls do win …then our men’s & women’s Premiership’s would have been won interstate with very little Melb support ..

On the membership numbers, obviously a lot of our attention is elsewhere at the moment, but it's one of several topics about our team & club's future with AFLW that I'd really like to hear others' thoughts on, especially since this site is the main hub of men's members. I suspect that's an area where we're perhaps not getting as much conversion as other clubs. Will try to remember to re-visit this after we've all finished celebrating/commiserating!!

This time in 48 hours...

I've already got butterflies 😬