AFLW: Rd 08 vs North Melbourne

[McQueen 17,864]

Overall it’s great to see the women’s game grow and be more pleasing to the eye in a relatively short time. 
 

Some of the handball from both teams today was bloody good and made the game so much faster. 

I’m particularly enamoured by the work Shelley Heath and Eliza McNamara do in games. Their size belies their grit and strength in the contest. 
 

One thing that really took my attention today was the gulf between the two inaugural teams in the AFLW. 
Ourselves have built and amazing team and program.

The Dogs however have gone to [censored]. 

[Brownie 5,969]

7 hours ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

I’ll tell ya where that is… that’s where we won our flag last season! It’s in Springfield, central QLD. @Brownie was there and he’ll tell you why that ground will always be special to us. ❤️💙

The funny thing is, Brisbane were higher on the ladder therefore they got to choose the venue. There was controversy over their choice of their brand new ground, the turf of which had only be laid a few weeks earlier. There hadn’t even been a game played on it before the grand final. It simply wasn’t ready for use. They dug their heels in and wouldn’t budge. This just made beating them even sweeter. 

Haha yes. Witnessing my first dees premiership in the flesh.

An unforgettable moment ❤️

[Dee Viney Intervention 1,915]

It is a genuine pleasure to watch these girls play live. Went with my daughter and a few of her friends that I coach and you learn a lot from watching this team. They are selfless and disciplined and play their roles really well. Gillard is a rock in defence her ability to spoil but hit it to the advantage of a team mate that is in position ready for the spoil is second to none. Our ability to win the ball on the inside and get it outside by handball and use chains of handball to move it is outstanding. Sometimes they can use one too many handballs but you wear that. We are usually good by foot but I thought we were a bit off there last night. There was a bit of a breeze but didn’t think it was a big factor. North hardly fired a shot after the first quarter largely due to our defensive pressure.Agree with the crowd a bit disappointing and North did not show up at all. After the game the girls went down to the fence and after the team sang the song they go around the boundary and engage with the fans. The girls asked Kate Hore and Banno for selfies and they obliged. But what struck me was that after the selfies they said to the girls “thanks for coming and supporting us” Others that high fives the girls also thanked them for coming.Honestly people get around this team, they play a bloody good brand of football and they are humble and fantastic role models. They make you proud to be a Melbourne supporter which is great as over the last few weeks especially my pride as a supporter has been dented. Go Dees!!!!!!!!!

[Zoiikgarden 134]

13 hours ago, Palace Dees said:

I have never seen a more disciplined, professional, better coached team of any gender in my life. 

This group blows me away.

AWESOME!!!!

What I see is, the players attack the contest with purpose. It's not a reaction. but a plan. They seem to know exactly what to do and why. Superb coaching and superior footy IQ from players and Coach. 

I agree.  What a great watch! Such a team focussed effort, supporting each other with grit, determination and courage.

A champion team!  Defensively effective over the whole ground!  And those fourth quarters - outstanding!

[Zoiikgarden 134]

4 hours ago, Brownie said:

Haha yes. Witnessing my first dees premiership in the flesh.

An unforgettable moment ❤️

I was there to see it too - travelled from Tasmania and attended with my daughter - we had a ball!  And beating them on their own turf was special!

[binman 42,629]

Watched the game 'as live' when I got home from being out.

Tough performance. Defensive work was incredible.

Good lord, how good is hanks?

I bang on about kicking skills, but her game reminded me or the importance of decision making in terms of nor turning the ball over.

Hanksy consistently makes such good decisions, including knowing when not to release the ball or delaying a kick to avoid coughing it up - a skill more of the men need to develop.

And how about that goal? Class.

I am a frequent critic of how men's games are called. On the whole I much prefer the coverage of the AFLW.

And credit where it is due.

The commentary in last night's match was just about the best I think I've ever heard for any match, men's or women's.

Alistair Nicholson combined a great calling voice (remarkable how many callers sound terrible) and first class calling skills.

And Kate McCarthy who did special comments was brilliant. Added exactly what that role should - genuine insight, smart use of ststs to help make her points and a deep understanding of the game  including game plans and strategies. Fantastic. 

And best of all she was fantastic at communicating complex ideas without dumbing it down or using footy jargon. Fantastic, and a rare skill  (Chloe malloy is simarly good at this)

And a bonus was how well they worked together. Really good synergy. It was a reminder that they should only use two callers  - caller and special comments.

And one boundary rider, who last night was Sarah Ollie who was also excellent.

I'd love Nicholson, McCarthy and Ollie to do every AFLW and AFL game the dees played.

[rjay 24,853]

12 minutes ago, binman said:

Watched the game 'as live' when I got home from being out.

How were Chaka and Nile?

[BDA 22,733]

To concede just 1 point after quarter is a phenomenal effort. North were quite blunt but still, huge effort.

 

[Diamond_Jim 12,529]

1 hour ago, binman said:

The commentary in last night's match was just about the best I think I've ever heard for any match, men's or women's.

Alistair Nicholson combined a great calling voice (remarkable how many callers sound terrible) and first class calling skills.

And Kate McCarthy who did special comments was brilliant. Added exactly what that role should - genuine insight, smart use of ststs to help make her points and a deep understanding of the game  including game plans and strategies. Fantastic. 

Agree... no over the top hype .. just simple knowledgeable commentary.

The TV broadcast could have done with better crowd noise but perhaps it's difficult to position the effects microphone given the stadium to crowd ratio.

I think it's time the AFL spent a little money on advertising the essentials of these games. Location, price of entry, family experience etc. Also needs marketing to neutrals. Enjoyment.

As an aside not happy to see minor punch ups and push and shove coming into the game. Not a good look.

Just because the blokes like it isn't a good reason to follow. (That style should be dying)

Edited October 22, 2023 by Diamond_Jim

[binman 42,629]

1 hour ago, rjay said:

How were Chaka and Nile?

Nile was great, but i have to say Chaka Kahn was a little underwhelming. 

The sound is not great at the bowl i have to say - the rig they have is not big enough and when it is windy the bass drop away randomly

How was Sir Paul McCartney?

[binman 42,629]

On 18/10/2023 at 16:28, Dees_In_October said:

For those unaware, apparently (according to The W Podcast with Sam Lane) the average attendance for this season could reach the metric the AFL has required to unlock an extra game next year, so 12 H&A instead of 11. Some very good attendances in the last few rounds are needed though. The AFL has kept this quiet, but it's all detailed in the new CBA. Currently I think the average is about on par with last season, which is impressive given there were definitely some double headers that bolstered those figures and none this season.

Anyway, we all like to whinge about the short season, so here's a chance to do something about it by getting along to games and get whoever to tag along. I'd also imagine that strong crowds at Ikon will beget more Dees home games there...

On the coverage they did their best to make it look like a good crowd, but there were only 2,704 people there which won't help the cause.

That said last night's game was a great example of why they should play as many matches at Princess park as possible.

It looked great on TV under lights and the surface is brilliant (as is casey's too i guess). I thought the skills were brilliant considering the squally, swirling wind but if that game was played at Casey it would have devolved into a messy, even more low scoring game. 

By the by i thought the pre match welcome to country ceremony was fantastic. The fella who did it spoke brilliantly.

[dees189227 12,369]

After the game it was a bit of a shamozzle. We went around to where the girls came off and they came over which was great but for some reason a couple of the girls had to run back to the other side to do the broadcast interview. Not sure why it couldn't be done closer.

Then the siren went for everyone to go on for a kick, security were running everywhere because some of the girls were still on the ground, not sure they'd be in danger, Kate had to then sprint off up the race.

So instead of the girls all walking off together like the guys do, they were all going up the race separately. 

[rjay 24,853]

1 hour ago, binman said:

Nile was great, but i have to say Chaka Kahn was a little underwhelming. 

The sound is not great at the bowl i have to say - the rig they have is not big enough and when it is windy the bass drop away randomly

How was Sir Paul McCartney?

Pity about Chaka, I don't feel so bad missing her.

Probably always going to be hit or miss.

Nile is always great, a great catalog to draw from.

...and speaking of catalogs to draw from, I guess McCartney has the ultimate.

A 3 hour show and still missed some classics that others would have as their show stopper at the end of a show.

At 81 or 2...whatever age he is now, his voice is not so strong but to his credit he does it live and really knows how to put a show together. The band are great, have been with him for a long time now and have it totally nailed.

A great experience.

Like you I got home late & watched the game (I wonder if the big shows in town drew some of the crowd away), I thought the team played well.

Heath is a legend the way she just gets in the way, must be a total pain to play against and she does hurt going the other way.

Your summation of Hanks is spot on, I wish we could find a male version for the mens team.

She doesn't have the size of some of the big names in the competition but I think she's the classiest mid going around. Her Skipper is up there in the class ranks, such a wonderful player and leader.

...and hasn't Zanker really come on. Always had it but now realising her ability.

Of course, I have a soft spot for the Irish girls.

...and mustn't forget McNamara, her game has come on in leaps and bounds. When she started her kicking was very average but now is a strength, she's always been a great runner.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Diamond_Jim said:

I think it's time the AFL spent a little money on advertising the essentials of these games. Location, price of entry, family experience etc. Also needs marketing to neutrals. Enjoyment.

Couldn’t agree more. There’s so much to love about games at Ikon.

I met some neutrals who attended but only because they were nearby before the match and were curious. I imagine many others would’ve attended had they known about it.

Edited October 22, 2023 by WalkingCivilWar

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Diamond_Jim said:

I think it's time the AFL spent a little money on advertising the essentials of these games. Location, price of entry, family experience etc. Also needs marketing to neutrals. Enjoyment.

Couldn’t agree more. There’s so much to love about games at Ikon.

I met some neutrals who attended but only because they were nearby before the match and were curious. I imagine many others would attend had they known about it.

Edited October 22, 2023 by WalkingCivilWar
Sorry, double post.

[Brownie 5,969]

15 hours ago, FarNorthernD said:

Random thoughts

Campbell is a natural tap ruck. She is really good at putting the ball to the advantage of the mids. Only got 44% of game time. Perfect development for a young ruck behind Pearce and with Watt as a mentor.

Birch still worries me when the pressure is on but thought she was good tonight. She seems to have seasons where she is really good but also seasons where it’s more of your heart in your mouth stuff. The ball doesn’t really get down there enough to know which season she is having this year.

Shelley Heath is the ultimate competitor. Love her. After all her perfect 10 coaches votes Jas Garner would be lucky to get any tonight. 
 

We knew this before, but for her size Kate Hore is a great mark. 
We got Purcell from the Cats for Chantel Emonson and picks 15 and 47. Enough said, she is a gun

Tyler Hanks is just the best to watch. She does the time slows down thing, glides around a bit and then pinpoints a teammate in a better position. She is also going to go through her footy career criminally underrated by the outside world.

No doubt a lot will hinge on the last round V Brisbane, but like pretty much every one where I have enormous confidence in this team 
 

 

I can't help but reflect on the blokes and the differences between the two teams.

Campbell and Pearce have found their groove tag teaming in the ruck.

I wondered last night why we expected Grundy to be a goal kicker. These two women aren't really expected to score that much, they just do their job really well and rely on a high functioning game plan and forward entries to creat the scoring opportunities.

I wonder if we just expected too much of Gawn and Grundy to somehow band aid our forward line woes.

 

[Guest]

FOCUSSED, FUN

TWO FEET & A HEARTBEAT

The artist who designed our indigenous jumper is a beach sand artist. Kate asked him if he uses any tools and he simply replied, “Two feet and a heartbeat.”

Mick told us this at a function on Thursday afternoon so we included it on the banner that night. He also told us that he and the girls observe “the three Fs” - Focussed, Fun and [censored] everything else (referring to all the media pressure of going back-to-back, breaking records, etc.) but we couldn’t exactly quote that on the banner. 😂

[Deemented Are Go! 3,677]

I took my 8 year old girls last night and echo the sentiments already posted.

The way the players engage with fans is just brilliant, we sat right next to the players race and the kids got high fives, smiles and thank yous from nearly every player running off. The kids were beside themselves! I stayed calm cool and collected this time. 

Agree crowd was disappointing given such high stakes; we attended the R1 game v Pies by way of comparison. Although we were sitting on front of Alyssa Bannon’s mum who has a fair set of pipes on her, she compensated for the missing decibels. 

It was a hard, contested game and we were fierce with our pressure and tackling across the ground. Hats off to the defence, particularly Gillard, who were just a brick wall. Hanks is gun, clearly a cut above when watching live. Paxy was the usual workhorse. Zanker imposed herself on the contest and took some great marks. Excellent team game against quality oppo.

Top of the ladder, baby! 

Let’s hope we get some home finals at Ikon, it’s a great venue. Except for the hideous ScumBaggers logo, surely they can cover it up for other games?! 
 

CARNAMIGHTYFCKNDEES!! ❤️💙

[george_on_the_outer 7,565]

What a fantastic result in this match.  Playing the then 4th side in a match where the winner would go to top of the ladder, with only a couple of games remaining.

Really, really telling for me was that this win was after coming back from a 6 day break, after travelling across the country and having played in 30+ degrees.  In one sense it was not surprising that we only managed 2 goals in the second half, but our defenders were magnificent to keep North goalless after the mid point of the 1st quarter. ...a team challenging for top spot!

Most of all I love our mids.  Liv Purcell, who nobody seems to notice racks up 28 touches, and just monsters the opposition.  Tyla, of course everyone notices and she is just sheer talent.  But also a shout out to Eliza West who provides so much grunt in there and doesn't stand back at any point.  Then the tackling and tagging provided by Lily and Heater against a player like Jasmine Garner who only managed 2 clearances for the game, neither from the centre, when she is the one of the league leaders in this area, was exemplorary.

The best part of watching the mids, was if one didn't do damage, the next would step in, then the next, then the next.  They were relentless, which is exactly what Adelaide did to us, and what we need to bring the next inevitable game we will play against them.

I thought we would struggle with rucks this season, with LP having knee issues in the past, but Georgia Campbell has really blossomed, and held out Rhi Watt this week from selection.  The other one who has shone unexpectedly has been Tahlia Gillard, who had a blinder in this match, and is developing into a real problem for oppositions as she has gained confidence, and certainly knows when to punch and when to mark.

Can North do us another favour next week against Adelaide as we finish the season against Brisbane, and those results will once again shape the top 4, but more importantly, where the finals especially the GF will be played.

[Roostwo 53]

Hanks!!! She seems to have explosive speed and that low centre of gravity like Paul Callery which means she is always balanced.  What a performance. 

[FarNorthernD 5,861]

12 hours ago, Roostwo said:

Hanks!!! She seems to have explosive speed and that low centre of gravity like Paul Callery which means she is always balanced.  What a performance. 

Comparing Tyla Hanks to Paul Callery? Love it! Only on Demonland. 

[Katrina Dee Fan 3,287]

On 22/10/2023 at 06:41, Brownie said:

Haha yes. Witnessing my first dees premiership in the flesh.

An unforgettable moment ❤️

I was there, too, an unforgettable day.  Paxy asked me the question the next day if being there made up for not being able to go to the men's grand final.  I think she was please when I said more so, because I'd been part of the journey since the exhibition day, being a foundation member of the women's team, being a player sponsor, all that.  It was a special day.  I'm sure I was captured on Channel 7 doing some fierce ugly crying in the moments after the siren, embarrassingly enough in the presence of Kate Roffey!

[Guest]

11 minutes ago, Katrina Dee Fan said:

I was there, too, an unforgettable day.  Paxy asked me the question the next day if being there made up for not being able to go to the men's grand final.  I think she was please when I said more so, because I'd been part of the journey since the exhibition day, being a foundation member of the women's team, being a player sponsor, all that.  It was a special day.  I'm sure I was captured on Channel 7 doing some fierce ugly crying in the moments after the siren, embarrassingly enough in the presence of Kate Roffey!

All good Kat. Kate said she cringes every time she sees pics like this since she’s not a “pretty crier.” Her words, not mine, for that would be pot/kettle 😂

[Brownie 5,969]

14 minutes ago, Katrina Dee Fan said:

I was there, too, an unforgettable day.  Paxy asked me the question the next day if being there made up for not being able to go to the men's grand final.  I think she was please when I said more so, because I'd been part of the journey since the exhibition day, being a foundation member of the women's team, being a player sponsor, all that.  It was a special day.  I'm sure I was captured on Channel 7 doing some fierce ugly crying in the moments after the siren, embarrassingly enough in the presence of Kate Roffey!

Haha, fierce ugly crying! love it.
Yeah, that's been one of the wonderful things with this team. Being part of watching them just get better and better.

The evolution of their skills and game plan has been so good to watch.
Remember when we couldn't score even though we'd dominate games. That wasn't so long ago and it's now a thing of the past.
The demons of 2023 would smash the demons of 2021 yet we're a pretty similar team personnel wise.

This probably sounds a little condascending but it does remind me a lot of watching my local footy club.
Watching a great team of juniors coming through from U17's and by the time they hit the seniors, you've got a gun team that you've just watched grow in confidence and skill. 

Very excited for the rest of this season. Home ground advantage for the finals would be awesome.

[Craig T 179]

17 hours ago, Roostwo said:

Hanks!!! She seems to have explosive speed and that low centre of gravity like Paul Callery which means she is always balanced.  What a performance. 

Paul Callery!  Now that takes me back!  I wonder who in this team reminds me of Ray Biffen? 🤣