GAMEDAY: AFLW GRAND FINAL

[Rab D Nesbitt 7,041]

Just now, BDA said:

It's a touchy subject Rab

Hi BDA. I know, I'm just being mischievous. Nobody that plays GAA when she's at home would be a unionist. 

[BDA 19,978]

13 minutes ago, Rab D Nesbitt said:

Hi BDA. I know, I'm just being mischievous. Nobody that plays GAA when she's at home would be a unionist. 

haha. I figured you were Rab. All good

[Whispering_Jack 27,918]

6 hours ago, Jumping Jack Clennett said:

I thought Lauren Pearce did a great job in the ruck, and should be included in the best players.

Fixed!

[Brownie 5,127]

Oh and unless you're out on a mad Monday with the actual person like WCW, here's the link to Daisy's wonderful interview with the age.

https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cub21ueWNvbnRlbnQuY29tL2QvcGxheWxpc3QvODhiNTY0ZWEtYTlhNi00NzUxLTkxMGEtYTVkODAwMDE5Mzk2LzkzOGU1Y2E1LTc3NzEtNGJjMi04NTJhLWFiODMwMDI3MmVhNC81MjQ5YjFiMi02MjI0LTRkNWEtYjFkMS1hYjgzMDAyNzJmMGEvcG9kY2FzdC5yc3M/episode/NjY0NmViN2QtZGM2My00NTA3LWJlODEtYWY1MDAxODJkOTFl?ep=14

[layzie 28,504]

11 hours ago, FarNorthernD said:

As Daisy said, Hanks is the League's most underrated player. 

Courage like no-one else. 

[layzie 28,504]

It's even better today, premiership glory is the sweetest nector you'll ever have. 

I couldn't be happier that it was Tayla who kicked the winning goal as well!

[daisycutter 28,455]

2 hours ago, BDA said:

I looked at the replay up to the point the camera cut away. I doubt the kick had the legs to make it but would like to know as well

see above. brownie at the game and behind the goals said the ball didn't make it and veered off towards the boundary.

[Brownie 5,127]

13 minutes ago, daisycutter said:

see above. brownie at the game and behind the goals said the ball didn't make it and veered off towards the boundary.

If it's any consolation Banno was well and truly loose and going to eat that ball up. Would have been a certain goal if there was another 10 seconds in the game I reckon.

[58er 5,591]

9 hours ago, darkhorse72 said:

Just watch the game as I was out all day.

Great win.

 

I was thinking the same thing, they should produce something and a ream photo like the boys should be sent to members.  Then it may only go to AFLW members (Which I'm not one) 

 

 

See the email last night from the Club to all members I would have thought.

[Deeoldfart 7,711]

7 hours ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

Apologies if I’ve already posted these pics. I’m all over the place with today’s win and the champagne’s not helping …

anyways, the two Irish flags I added to our flag kit a few weeks ago went missing after the match. But then they were found…

 

And the girls are welcome to keep them. They earned them today. And I’ve got a couple more for our flag kit anyways. 🙂

#JimmyWouldBeProud ❤️💙☘️❤️💙

That post is worth a double love WCW!  💕

[dees189227 10,701]

How good is it to see the papers this morning and read about a demons premiership again 

[WalkingCivilWar 31,129]

8 hours ago, Rab D Nesbitt said:

Last time I looked County Armagh was in Northern Ireland 🤔

You tell Blaithin that! And you try taking that flag from her! 😂😂😂

We’re all Irish. That’s what matters. ☘️

[dees189227 10,701]

As I've said I'm rapt for the girls that have been there since the very first game. But also rapt for Tayla who has copped so much but actually contributed yesterday. 

[whatwhat say what 18,790]

all the moaning and groaning about low scores, do people realise the aflw is in its 7th year, game time goes for around about half that of vfl / afl, and for some bizarre reason for most players that can't kick more than 40m they reduced on-field to 16?

1903 vfl grand final score: the filth 4.7.31 beat fitzroy 3.11.29

i'm sick to death of those talking down the competition!

[WalkingCivilWar 31,129]

2 hours ago, layzie said:

It's even better today, premiership glory is the sweetest nector you'll ever have. 

I couldn't be happier that it was Tayla who kicked the winning goal as well!

When I woke this morning I legit thought it was a dream. (Same as in 2021 with our men’s.) But it’s real!!! And today I have the privilege and honour to get completely smashed with our girls!!! 😃

Yep. It’s a dream alright.  But it’s a dream come true. ❤️💙

edit: just remembered in five days it’s our W B&F! Another opportunity to get *smashed with our girls!!!! 
*Drink responsibly 

Edited November 27, 2022 by WalkingCivilWar

[Diamond_Jim 11,678]

5 minutes ago, whatwhat say what said:

all the moaning and groaning about low scores, do people realise the aflw is in its 7th year, game time goes for around about half that of vfl / afl, and for some bizarre reason for most players that can't kick more than 40m they reduced on-field to 16?

1903 vfl grand final score: the filth 4.7.31 beat fitzroy 3.11.29

i'm sick to death of those talking down the competition!

Season 7 at a competition level was a fail for so many reasons it's hard to know where to start.

Will Season 8 be any better.. probably not.

 

[Lucifers Hero 36,983]

17 hours ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

Mad Monday celebrations tomorrow just got rowdier and way more raucous. 🤣

Not bragging, except 100% totally bragging I got an invite to Mad Monday, along with @Katrina Dee Fanwho may or may not be back from Brisbane in time. All good if she’s not, I’ll just party hard for both of us. 🍺🥂🍷🤣

OMG!!

iirc you weren't a fan of the 'demon' drink when you started on DL🤔.  Either DL or DA have corrupted you.

Congratulations to you and @Katrina Dee Fan 👏👏for being invited to the girl's MM. 

Have a great time and thanks for all the reports and tid bits of info about the players (boys and girls) and the club. 

[WalkingCivilWar 31,129]

1 minute ago, Lucifers Hero said:

OMG!!

iirc you weren't a fan of the 'demon' drink when you started on DL🤔.  Either DL or DA have corrupted you.

Congratulations to you and @Katrina Dee Fan 👏👏for being invited to the girl's MM. 

Have a great time and thanks for all the reports and tid bits of info about the players (boys and girls) and the club. 

A joint effort, Luci. DL started me on the path and DA helped push me along. Now there’s no turning back. 🤣

 

[dees189227 10,701]

Well I've already ordered my 2022 women's premiership coffee mug. It can sit beside my 2021 premiership one. 

[whatwhat say what 18,790]

39 minutes ago, Diamond_Jim said:

Season 7 at a competition level was a fail for so many reasons it's hard to know where to start.

Will Season 8 be any better.. probably not.

 

disagree

quality of the competition is getting better every year

[58er 5,591]

17 hours ago, kev martin said:

The Brisbane players got closed down. None of their stars stood up. Our players good for 3 quarters. Great coaching, placing players behind the ball in the last, out coached 'em. 

We were desperate for and at every contest. Loved how we kept our feet and put the body between opposition and ball.

Played the game in our forward 50. 

The umpires turned in the last. Amused by the Lion supporters boo's.

Our in and under players controlled it, with some important marks from our spine players to steady the ship.

Great that we ran all day. 

West, Hanks, Gillard, the role players, got it done.

Well done Dees.

 

Good summary Kev. Was unhappy at 1/4 time but 5 mins in the second we neutralised their mids and took over.

Great team effort by the girls and we gutsed it out from then on. Too tough in and under (Westy Hanksy and Liz Purcell) got on top and kept going.

Great last quarter by all. 

Lions underperform vs us as their list needs a couple of hard at it under girls like Westy and Livy. All one style are their girls very skilful but need a couple of grunt players to get down and dirty. 

Ticks 2,boxes seeing 2021 in Pert and now the girls in Brissievon my home patch. 

Need a Melbourne fix in 2023 for both. 

[Dees_In_October 3,346]

50 minutes ago, Lucifers Hero said:

Have a great time and thanks for all the reports and tid bits of info about the players (boys and girls) and the club. 

Second this and also @WalkingCivilWar and @Katrina Dee Fan please keep those tid bits coming from the celebrations 😉 I want to know who's best on! Let's be real, it's going to be Chaplin, right? Enjoy it all!

[WalkingCivilWar 31,129]

8 minutes ago, Dees_In_October said:

Second this and also @WalkingCivilWar and @Katrina Dee Fan please keep those tid bits coming from the celebrations 😉 I want to know who's best on! Let's be real, it's going to be Chaplin, right? Enjoy it all!

You know how the old saying goes DiO:

What happens at Mad Monday…

 

 

Goes straight to Demonland 😁

 

PS Kat can’t get there until a couple of hours into proceedings (she’s flying back from Brisbane today). I told her if she can’t find me upon arrival she should look under all the tables. 🤣

Edited November 28, 2022 by WalkingCivilWar

[Pates 9,536]

14 hours ago, dees189227 said:

Yeah but that means she'll start her coaching at Geelong. 

Learn just enough to return to the MFC to take the reigns from Stinear for the Womens team (once he steps down as multiple premiership coach) and creating the Daisy Dynasty. 

[Dees_In_October 3,346]

Long post incoming...

I’ve finally calmed down from those hectic last few minutes! And now I’ve gone all reflective in my post-premiership thoughts…

As a kid, I dreamed of a Melbourne flag. Normal stuff. After the siren heroics and all that. But at some point, an early one, as I learned a bit more about the world as it was, I stopped being the central figure in those fantasies. It became Jimmy Stynes, Garry Lyon, David Neitz, and later, the Wiz and Yze. I couldn’t conceptualise a team like this AFLW one—that was so far beyond the realms of my world, that its simply didn’t enter my imagination. During the Dees' darkest years, my love of the club grew into a greater appreciation and love of the game, of seeing players grow and learn. A love that nevertheless felt incomplete. I thought it was a flag missing, and it was mostly that. But there was also a little hole in my red and blue heart that I didn’t even know was there until that first exhibition series..

All that to say, I’ll be forever grateful for this team, this club, for making a reality of an impossible dream.

The Dees jumped on board when it wasn’t remotely trendy. We took the hits that come from going early. But during those agonising close calls, wind-battered days at Casey, a global pandemic and some truly ridiculous circumstances caused by the AFL (never forget the conference system!), we’ve been quietly, with little fuss, building a foundation that will last long beyond this premiership. Even though Melbourne came into the competition as hot favourites and have contended every season, the club and this special group of members and fans, has done the hard yards. Now it’s all there to see in the way the players speak about the club, their coaches, the staff and each other.

So, it’s fitting that Melbourne, the writers of the rules, is the first club since the AFLW’s inception in 2017 to win a men’s and women’s premiership, in a unique and unprecedented kind of back-to-back. It's also fitting that this AFLW premiership comes in a year of two seasons, with 18 teams involved, that taken together creates the first proper, full-length season of AFLW (25 games for us). And as we all know, a premiership earnt through struggle that takes some time to come is one that’s truly savoured. This one took seven seasons, but also 150 years and a slow build over a decade of commitment to the women’s game.

Naturally we’re all channelling a lot of our joy about this towards Daisy. It's not just the player, but what she represents. For Daisy, unlike many of her peers, it was footy or nothing, even when the future in that was just passion alone. For her, the AFLW came just in time, but in some ways just too late. Now she’s done what only the best leaders do: raised up those around her to take the next steps themselves—to do it not for her, but for themselves and each other. The scene on the siren told a story: Daisy, at the top of the mountain, and Gillard, an 18-year-old reaping the rewards of the trail her leader’s blazed, with so much ahead of her. Gillard would have been 13 years old when the AFLW started, the age when so many girls of the past have had to give the game away.

Obviously, I could wax lyrical forever, so I’ll finish my ramblings with praise for and reflections on this PREMIERSHIP team. Our team didn’t play its best, but just REFUSED TO LOSE, and that’s what matters in a Grand Final:

• Paxman—a warrior who after an already decorated career, has been able to bring her best in the national league, adapting season on season to stay in the top tier of a fast-developing league. She’s played all 64 (yes, that famous MFC number) of the Dees’ AFLW games and run her heart out in every one of them.

• The originals: Daisy, Paxy, Mithen, L.Pearce and Lampard. Survival of the fittest! The list managers made tough choices to trade away original players to build the list. Those that remain are so very deserving; as a battler at times, Lampard should be especially proud.

• The recruits: Purcell, Gay, Birch, Harris—all players out of favour or want-aways at their former club, lured to the Dees over the years by culture (not cars!) to go on to thrive.

• Irish legends: Goldie, the fan favourite, perhaps didn’t find her best this season but always inspired the right attitude in teammates, not to die wondering. Mackin, just an incredible story that is somehow glossed over outside the club. Four months ago, had never played an Aussie Rules game. Fought her way into the best team in the league, held her position, improved every game and is now a premiership player. There’s something about the Dees, the Irish and amazing sporting stories.

• The backline/team defensive structure: I was worried about this aspect at the start of and during the season, yet it became the stingiest in the league and the basis for our most important victories.

• Heath gets her own category for that desperate one-handed tackle in the GF alone! I’d pick her first every week.

• VFLW: Fitzsimon, Sherriff, Chaplin, West, Gillard—just some of many players who’ve benefited from our strong VFLW program, which has made depth and the evenness of the team a major weapon. This can’t be said of all clubs’ commitment to the women’s game at that level. For us it’s created an environment where Gillard, over the course of a year, can develop to the point that she dominates one of the best forwards in the league in a Grand Final. That doesn’t just happen on talent alone.

• The mids: In the early seasons we had the league’s gold standard midfield, the Darebin crew of D. Pearce, Paxman, Hickey and O’Dea. To see the evolution of that line to what it is today—led by young guns Hanks, Purcell and West—has been a real pleasure and like a microcosm of the growth of the league.

• Grand Final actual BOGs: West or Gay. Seriously robbed, particularly West.

• The future: Hore, Zanker and Bannan. Admittedly, many of our players could fit in here, but I feel like each of these showed a bit of something this season that represents the next stage for our team—leadership, belief and harnessing the X-factor.

A thought for McNamara and Colvin, both a part of this, and Caris, Campbell, Brown, Johnson, Ivey, Wilson and Duffy who all contributed in games this season.

And special congrats to our clearly beloved and now hopefully industry-wide respected premiership coach, Mick, plus the rest of the coaching panel, particularly Jane Lange, ex-player Shae Sloane, and AFL premiership player/AFLW premiership coach Ben Brown, plus everyone else behind the scenes. They’ve set the standard.

One last thought with an eye to 2023. Nine of our 21 premiership players are aged 23 or under.

GO DEES!