BACK-TO-BACK by Meggs

[Demonland 70,464]

The Demons enter Season 8 as the reigning premiers and are considered the favourite to go ‘back-to-back’ by 14 of the other 17 AFLW Captains (82.4%).  

So, what could go wrong?  

Well for starters there is the dreaded premiership hangover, the difficult fixture, the most interstate travel of any team, potential injuries to key players, emergence of rising teams, the Daisy Factor …

AFLW SEASON 8 LAUNCH

The MFC Season launch held in early August was slap bang amidst the palpable excitement of the Matilda’s Quarter Final heroics over France and the upcoming Semi Final against England.  

Cub Chairman Kate Roffey highlighted the importance of team confidence and what it can achieve. With a roomful of players, their families, coaches, MFC staff and execs, coterie, supporters and @deearmy, you could feel how proud she was that our group had shunned expansion signings to stay on target with @demonspirit for Season 8.  Seemingly AFL Head Office was less pleased with our list management success than our Chair and her football department was 😉.

There was no sign of a premiership hangover when new skipper Kate Hore (10) confidently spoke to the Demon faithful on behalf of her team. She spoke well, as she does with everything.  

Recognition about her is coming from rivals and observers too.  AFLW captains were asked ‘if you could recruit another player from any AFLW club who would it be?’ 3 answered Captain Kate (and 1 chose Tyla Hanks). AFLW Footy journalist, Sarah Black has Kate at number 7 in her AFLW 2023 Top 30.  

Yes Daisy, she’s ready.  

The FIXTURE

Just to recap, Season 8 is a 10-round season (like last year), and the top 8 teams make it to the finals. There are 18 AFLW teams playing, as there are for the AFL men. However, the shorter season means teams don’t play 7 of the other 17 teams during the home and away season.  

In order to create a fixture which produces more even matches, the league has handicapped the better teams.  

Expansion was too fast and until the time that all teams are competitive, the league deems that a 10-week season works best.

Notable for the Dees, they play the big 3 Season 7 preliminary finalists (Adelaide, Brisbane and North) and miss games against Carlton, Essendon, Gold Coast, Port Adelaide, Richmond, St Kilda and Sydney.  

Fixture highlights include the season opener against the Pies at Ikon Park and then a trip to Kardinia Park for its first game against Geelong (28 September 2023). The Dees also have more travelling than other Melbourne-based teams, with trips to Canberra, Perth and Brisbane.

Fun fact: the only sides to beat Melbourne since March 2021 are Brisbane and Adelaide.

THE PLAYER MOVEMENTS

League-wise there were some big, noteworthy moves.  

Grand Finalist Brisbane lost their leading goal kicker Jessie Wardlaw to the Saints, their decorated midfield general Emily Bates and All-Australian forward Greta Bodey to Hawthorn. Brisbane’s coach Craig Starcevich still has a talented list, but these player losses present a challenge for him.

Collingwood lost their co-captain Steph Chiocci to St Kilda (along with tough mid Jaimee Lambert) plus gun utility Chloe Molloy moved to Sydney as their co-captain. The Pies do see the return from long term injury of stars Bri Davey and Brit Bonnici. We’ll see on Friday’s opener whether these net changes have made any impact on the Pies premiership credentials.

If results in practice games are indicative of what she can do during the season, then Kate Shierlaw’s move to North will seriously strengthen their forward line.

The G-Train has moved to Richmond (from St Kilda) and presumably takes the retired Courtney Wakefield’s full forward position.

NEW (AND RETURNING) DEMONS

Melbourne have quietly added Saraid Taylor (28), a young tall from Richmond and Georgina ‘Chook’ Fowler (12), a forward with a Rugby7s background, from GWS.  

Generating some excitement for the Dees is the recruitment of premiership player Blaithin Mackin’s (31) sister, Aimee (21). Everyone seems impressed by Aimee’s Gaelic Football videos where she demonstrates her speed with the ball, kicks lots of goals on her preferred left foot and ‘sells candy’ like her li’l sis.  Aimee is recovering from a hamstring injury, but we hope to see her in action soon.

Lastly, we have Eliza McNamara (22) returning after fracturing her spine in a weightroom accident and Gaby Colvin (32) back from an ACL. We love hearing that they are back playing and doing well.

BEST TEAM

Melbourne was last season’s statistically best defensive team and the second highest offensive team and of course had a harder draw than most teams given it was a Season 6 Grand Finalist.

With no significant changes in personnel and a year of development we are fabulously placed to excel in Season 8.

WHO ARE THE LIKELY CHALLENGERS TO THE DEMONS?

The danger team for Meggs is North Melbourne. They have 6 or 7 standout players and have steadily recruited better role players over the past few years. Though Brooke Brown, who moved to Essendon, will be missed. The games between these clubs last year were epic battles that could have gone either way.

The other Season 7 preliminary finalists, Adelaide and Brisbane will be highly competitive again.

The other team to watch is Geelong. They have an excellent midfield, a settled defence and just need to get their forward line working against the top teams to win those games. Expect the Cats to be around the Top 4.  

So that’s your Top 5 (Dees, North, Adelaide, Geelong and Brisbane).

For the rest, there will be a logjam in the middle of the ladder as teams jostle for finals positions.

One comment on the expansion teams. Expect Sydney to record their first ever win at some point this season. They knocked off both Gold Coast and Carlton in the practice matches.  

RANDOM SEASON 8 DISCUSSION POINTS

Recent statistics on attendance and TV viewership has sparked debate over the quality and marketability of the AFLW product (mostly in comparison with soccer). 

Yes, it is early stage, a work in progress, but improvement is evident; everyone involved is dedicated and passionate; women’s sport is attracting global attention; kids are looking for different sporting opportunities; more girls than ever are playing junior football so expect a bright future to steadily build. Needless to say, we need to remunerate the women players fairly as we continue the journey.

At the AFL AFLW season launch, the AFL announced it will award equal prizemoney for the men's and women's competitions for the first time in 2023. The total pool of player prizemoney for both the men's and women's competitions of $1.1 million will be split among the top four teams in the AFL, and among the top eight teams in the AFLW.  

 The AFL has reinstated the McClelland Trophy to include AFL and AFLW (now that we have all 18 teams in both comps).  The winner collects $1 million in prizemoney which will be shared between the club and all its players. Four points are awarded for AFL wins, while eight points are granted for AFLW wins (as the AFLW season runs for only 10 rounds).  The Dees are in the frame with 64 points for the men but Collingwood (72) and Brisbane (68) lead at this point. It will now be up to the women.

“The Daisy Factor” — the loss of inaugural captain and premiership star player Daisy Pearce to retirement — is not as serious as would seem. Coach Mick Stinear has said that we are at ‘ground zero’ and we know that #demonspirit is our secret sauce. A succession plan has been executed skilfully.  We will be even better, you’ll see.

Meggs will be back with a preview of the Round 1 Season 8 opening match which starts at 7.20pm on Friday 1 September at Ikon Park.  Melbourne FC will unfurl their Season 7 premiership flag and then take on the mighty Collingwood Magpies.

THE MEDIA: When the Herald Suns’ Lauren Wood recently ran the rule over the players most likely to ignite the AFLW competition, she referenced two Demons. Here’s what she wrote —

KATE HORE, 28, (Melb)

Hore, a premiership forward, has the unenviable task of stepping into the captaincy after one of the game's best players - Daisy Pearce - retired at the end of last season. But ask anyone at

Melbourne - including Pearce - and Hore is more than ready to relish the challenge. Booted 17 goals last season given her aerial danger and brings the pressure, with an average of four tackles per game.

TAYLA HARRIS, 26, (Melb)

 One of the game's most-recognisable faces, Harris finally tasted premiership success in season seven, playing a crucial role in the Demons' victory over Brisbane in her home state of Queensland. Harris, who is tattooed with the moniker "oxymoron", does things a little differently - even competing for a national boxing title just weeks out from the season beginning. Her contested marking ability is second-to-none, with her height and reach also utilised with some ruckwork at times last season. Simply a can't-look-away-from player.