On 14/04/2025 at 23:31, Jumping Jack Clennett said:

What about Libby Birch’s comments on Real Footy podcast( quoted in today’s Age). She blames the men’s’ 2022 team for derailing their quest for successive premierships.

They should have been inspired by the 2022 performance of the mens’ team.Finished top 4 , and very unlucky not to win both their finals. Same in 2023. They didn’t fail to make the finals after their premiership( unlike Geelong and Collingwood).

I suspect she might be a “disgruntled ex-employee”. Her form certainly tailed off before she left the Dees.

  On 15/04/2025 at 00:01, beelzebub said:

A very real reality (lol) is AFLW for all its good points etc just hasn't got the following, hence clout of mainstream footy.

It's obviously fantastic for those playing and the opportunities it provides to aspiring participants.

It will always be overshadowed by AFL..

Great that the lasses dis so well. Maybe Libby ought to focus on that and not the "we were hard done by" .. smacks of sour grapes tbh.

Bigger fish to fry imo

This is what she actually is quoted as saying.

  Quote

AFL broadcaster Libby Birch told Monday’s episode of the Real Footy podcast she felt for the players amidst the cultural woes in Melbourne’s men’s football program. Birch felt these had built up over the past few years, at least back to 2022 – the year she played in an AFLW premiership at the club.

“I spent five seasons there, I feel really sad about how Melbourne’s let their [men’s] players down, and in essence, sort of let the club culture down over the last couple of years,” she said.

“I believe that, within any club, off-field incidents accumulate, and then … you start to see that on the field.

“I think something has to change there.

“We’ve seen the instability that the club has at that [board] level. But it’s everyone, and it’s potentially, you know, it falls to the top: [outgoing CEO] Gary Pert for me.”

Birch, now playing for North Melbourne - where she won a premiership last season - said Melbourne’s AFLW players were disappointed in 2022 when their charge to a premiership under revered skipper Daisy Pearce was sometimes overshadowed by off-field issues that derailed the men’s team’s quest for back-to-back flags.

“It was upsetting for us to know that we were leading the club’s values and being extremely professional. And then we had these incidents happen that I think takes over what the whole club looked like,” she said.

Don't really read it as her blaming the men's team at all. Feels bad for the Men's team and blames the admin for allowing the issues fester that overshadowed both teams.

  On 14/04/2025 at 21:33, Roost it far said:

This is becoming a pile on from these lesser journalists, if you'd even call them that. Can they pull up Richmond's attendances this year? We are not in limbo. We have a well organised transition in place from Brad Green to Steve Smith and our finalising our search for a CEO. We are as close to a home base as we have been for 50 years. Yes our football is terrible atm but our list is in pretty good shape, Trac has just committed to the club and we may even keep Kozz. Our biggest weakness for mine is our coaching department and I'll guess we see substantial change on that front this year. The Dee's remain a strong BUY for mine.

I think it's a fair criticism of the administation since the flag. It's nice to have ambitions but they need to have some basis in reality. 50,000 average home attendance is big 4 club territory. Even Hawthorn didn't get that during their golden era. For us to achieve that it needs to be a generational project. Goes hand in glove with Roffey's chest beating about us being a big club a couple of years back, it's just not true and is so easy to be made to look foolish when you say stuff like that.

  On 14/04/2025 at 21:12, At the break of Gawn said:

Maybe he should focus on his own club and the blowback from Sayers so called hacked account. Anyone follow up on the fact that he just divorced his wife? Surely a coincidence

  On 14/04/2025 at 23:31, Jumping Jack Clennett said:

What about Libby Birch’s comments on Real Footy podcast( quoted in today’s Age). She blames the men’s’ 2022 team for derailing their quest for successive premierships.

They should have been inspired by the 2022 performance of the mens’ team.Finished top 4 , and very unlucky not to win both their finals. Same in 2023. They didn’t fail to make the finals after their premiership( unlike Geelong and Collingwood).

I suspect she might be a “disgruntled ex-employee”. Her form certainly tailed off before she left the Dees.

She’s a disgruntled employee. Her parting left a sour taste for many of the list apparently.

I should probably stay off this thread, because I find it mostly pretty irritating.

We’re at the bottom of the ladder with the organisation in shambles, yet some folks here persist in playing the victim when it comes to media treatment.

We’ve had well known cultural issues for some time now, and people are offended that it’s a topic for discussion outside the club.

You want the media to get off our back?

Fix the above.

Or better yet, don’t engage. Aside from a select few who offer insightful analysis of the game, the AFL media is thoroughly pointless.

Complaining about them is like taking issue with the plot-line of “Married At First Sight”.

I get more useful information from the AFL reddit page. Yes, there is some regurgitation of the press in there, but mostly it’s everyday opinions and analysis from ordinary fans of the game, as opposed to a bunch of flunkies desperately attempting “journalism” in an effort to avoid redundancy.

Edited April 15Apr 15 by Mel Bourne

she's another player scathing about pert tho; plenty of those both at the dees and at the filth

ultimately, birch took the path that petracca wanted - it was all going south and she walked away; when the going got tough, as an experienced player she walked out and went to the best team in the competition

Footy Classified. What's the collective noun for a bunch of twåts?

  On 14/04/2025 at 23:31, Jumping Jack Clennett said:

What about Libby Birch’s comments on Real Footy podcast( quoted in today’s Age). She blames the men’s’ 2022 team for derailing their quest for successive premierships.

They should have been inspired by the 2022 performance of the mens’ team.Finished top 4 , and very unlucky not to win both their finals. Same in 2023. They didn’t fail to make the finals after their premiership( unlike Geelong and Collingwood).

I suspect she might be a “disgruntled ex-employee”. Her form certainly tailed off before she left the Dees.

Libby must forget that the men's program paid her wage.

Libby don't ever bring this up again your pissing off a lot of people and burning bridges.

Your out of your depth love.

Concentrate on your footy and don't think you can jump out from behind a tree and rave on because the club ain't travelling to great.

Zip it.

Thanks MFC/W4TA.

  On 15/04/2025 at 00:46, whatwhat say what said:

she's another player scathing about pert tho; plenty of those both at the dees and at the filth

ultimately, birch took the path that petracca wanted - it was all going south and she walked away; when the going got tough, as an experienced player she walked out and went to the best team in the competition

Yep - real Kevin Durant vibes.

Amazing how Carlton are all good now after beating West Coast.

  On 15/04/2025 at 00:01, beelzebub said:

A very real reality (lol) is AFLW for all its good points etc just hasn't got the following, hence clout of mainstream footy.

It's obviously fantastic for those playing and the opportunities it provides to aspiring participants.

It will always be overshadowed by AFL..

Great that the lasses dis so well. Maybe Libby ought to focus on that and not the "we were hard done by" .. smacks of sour grapes tbh.

Bigger fish to fry imo

I'm sure 20 years ago Australian soccer fans thought the men's national team would never be overshadowed by the women's, but here we are...

  On 15/04/2025 at 01:16, Rab D Nesbitt said:

Footy Classified. What's the collective noun for a bunch of twåts?

A Twitter?

  On 15/04/2025 at 01:56, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

I'm sure 20 years ago Australian soccer fans thought the men's national team would never be overshadowed by the women's, but here we are...

Not apples and apples.

Neither AFLW nor AFL are National teamd .. they are National Competitions.

Whilst AFLW has grown and indeed will still some.. it's thoroughly shaded by the main event. Always will be. Just is.

  On 15/04/2025 at 00:30, GS_1905 said:

Maybe he should focus on his own club and the blowback from Sayers so called hacked account. Anyone follow up on the fact that he just divorced his wife? Surely a coincidence

Better to be the team that was than never has been, at least we have 2021 blues have nothing to look back on if that group fails too. Have a few blues mates and there highlight of the last 20 years in beating Dee’s in that semi final, quite sad really.

Edited April 15Apr 15 by Garbo

Not sure she left on great terms with her teammates. Remember when Dees played her Roos last season and when Libby grabbed the ball, she was absolutely gang tackled and pile driven into the ground. Even the commentators were shocked at the force used and numbers of girls getting into her. No niceties after the game either with her old teammates.

On a side note, had the “pleasure” of going to our Nth Melb game at Marvel a few weeks ago and Libby was on the ground with the microphone. Brought back bad memories. Talk about nails down a blackboard. We are very lucky to have Robbo.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1Bnd8FExjY/

This is quite interesting that Gawn and Petracca not on the same page. I assume this was at half time?

  On 15/04/2025 at 02:57, At the break of Gawn said:

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1Bnd8FExjY/

This is quite interesting that Gawn and Petracca not on the same page. I assume this was at half time?

I don't mind this - could be read as Trac wanting to exercise some leadership, and Gawn lending his experience to guide the address behind closed doors. The Petracca I want at the club is an invested leader.

  On 15/04/2025 at 01:16, Rab D Nesbitt said:

Footy Classified. What's the collective noun for a bunch of twåts?

A box office?

I'm glad we are copping it from media as we should. I don't trust the club has the balls for change so media pressure is good.

  On 15/04/2025 at 03:07, gs77 said:

I don't mind this - could be read as Trac wanting to exercise some leadership, and Gawn lending his experience to guide the address behind closed doors. The Petracca I want at the club is an invested leader.

Exactly this. Love seeing it as rarely happens. May is the only one I've seen showing this marshalling the backline. Wonder if putting May forward and him doing the same may turn the forward line around. Still want Gawn in the forwards too. Need our best makers and readers of flight in there. But I guess 4 years of a disfucntion isn't enough to try something new.

The scum on footy classified… [censored] Barrett, [censored] McClure. Scum !!!

Crowd numbers. As predicted. Low v giants Low v Suns and will be low v dockers. The 3 worse drawing teams at the MCG with low support bases. Lions and Swans draw reasonable crowds at the G but not other clubs. Why play our home game v bombers in Adelaide. That would be 50,000 at the mcg. We should petituon to play Dockers/Suns/Giants in gather round at Barossa next year. Keep our home games at mcg against bigger clubs. It’s the [censored] AFL to blame

Buckley. Nathan Buckley. Hated him as an arrogant coach. Hated him as an arrogant player. He’s okay as a media commentator with insights

BUT WTF … All he can say is that they don’t look happy. He called for the disgruntled players who wanted out to be given their wish and that’s why they look unhappy. Ffs. They are 0-5 and got thrashed again for the 4th week running. No one’s smiling with that run. No club would or should look happy.

He should talk about the footy issues… the players errors and turnovers and forward 50 disaster and the missed tackles and the poor selection decisions and the need to look at some younger players.

Insights needed. Not a dump fest !!!!

  On 15/04/2025 at 03:23, spirit of norm smith said:

Buckley. Nathan Buckley. Hated him as an arrogant coach. Hated him as an arrogant player. He’s okay as a media commentator with insights

BUT WTF … All he can say is that they don’t look happy. He called for the disgruntled players who wanted out to be given their wish and that’s why they look unhappy. Ffs. They are 0-5 and got thrashed again for the 4th week running. No one’s smiling with that run. No club would or should look happy.

He should talk about the footy issues… the players errors and turnovers and forward 50 disaster and the missed tackles and the poor selection decisions and the need to look at some younger players.

Insights needed. Not a dump fest !!!!

this is why he's 'okay' as a media commentator and a mildly successful coach

he took over a team that was premiers and runner-up in the two preceding years, took them backwards year on year before a bounce in year 7, then dipped down again

  On 15/04/2025 at 00:35, BDA said:

She’s a disgruntled employee. Her parting left a sour taste for many of the list apparently.

I'm not a fan, but she has a point.

Like a lot of things that were well set up by PJ the women's program has been neglected by key players.

Obviously Roffey was a supporter but not sure she had a lot of followers.

  On 15/04/2025 at 00:40, Mel Bourne said:

Complaining about them is like taking issue with the plot-line of “Married At First Sight”.

Yeah or complaining about a WWE storyline.

  On 15/04/2025 at 03:07, gs77 said:

I don't mind this - could be read as Trac wanting to exercise some leadership, and Gawn lending his experience to guide the address behind closed doors. The Petracca I want at the club is an invested leader.

It would be worse if no one bothered to gee the team up. Also as long as they don't get too heated arguments even happen among members of a team. Obviously it wasn't heated and such it's probably better this happened than not.

  On 15/04/2025 at 05:33, Go Ds said:

It would be worse if no one bothered to gee the team up. Also as long as they don't get too heated arguments even happen among members of a team. Obviously it wasn't heated and such it's probably better this happened than not.

Not like it is Roger Dorn and Rick Vaughn though is it?