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Tough first quarter, and in the second we said we are not going to take it anymore! We didn't handle the early pressure, were well beaten at stoppages, and lacked any system going into the forward 50. Concerned about our need to break tackles, but eventually we were able to do it. Our tackling was great, though we were not rewarded by umpires for it. Zanker took a while to get into it. Loved the way Hanks reads the play, thought our best was her and Purcell. How about Bannan, take it on, wow. Others who played well were Mithin for her role of closing down others and the number of hard hits she took, also Lampard, Macklin, Gillard, Chaplin, Sheriff, Daisy, Paxy, Lauren, West, and Goldy. Taylor gets a hard run from the umps. First Quarter, blocked when in mark contest, pushed in the back when rucking and a hit to her head. Doesn’t complain, just keeps going harder. Great coaching again, Hore, to on the ball and used as an outside carrier really messed with the Crows set up. He got the match ups right after the first, and closed down their ball getters/movers. Loved that he talked to Mithin at half-time, maybe about how to avoid the tackler and to prioritise tagging. Hore needs to goal when out front, know the moment, a 12 point turn around and gave them a sniff. Well fought after that, by the team. The Crows didn't like it, LOL, (somebody did belt Randall) we gave them no room, our pack running and tackling hurt them. Birch loves her footy. Chaplin looks to be the talker at the start of the second, all buying in. Good win Dees.

Just got home from the game. Wonderful fight back by the girls after a horror start; by halftime we had the game looking like a ‘Melbourne game’ and went on from there. Went total fan boi post game and got a bunch of players autographs for my kids. 😍🤩 And somehow ended up having a chat with Kate Roffey - very nice lady. Asked me questions about my support for the Dees, etc and was genuinely engaged, no bull[censored]. When I congratulated her on helping bring success to the club, she said ‘we’re nowhere near done with yet, these girls need a flag next’. Then she stood in that race and embraced every single player coming off the field; they ran to her. Now that’s true leadership right there. Onto the prelim. CARNADEEGRRRRLS!!! 😍❤️💙

Above everything else, that was an incredibly physical match, up there with any men's game I've ever seen. Womens' footy between two good sides is now at the point that it is legitimately exciting in its own right as a spectacle and a great representation of what Australian football is all about.

Bannan is such an x factor. Athletic traits with skills to match. Very few, male or female, can execute a 6-bounce run at speed. Or have the presence of mind to run around on the mark to get within range and kick the vital goal. She's next level footy smarts and a phenomenal weapon to have in the team

So impressed by the way the coach and players stayed calm and stuck to the plan, enabling us to get the game back on our terms after a fumbly and flat-footed start. That’s the kind of belief in the system - and each other - which helped the boys triumph last year. Mackin sells candy and steps around opponents like she’s been playing footy all her life. What a jet and a joy to watch. Likewise Bannan. Liv Purcell best on ground for mine. Gets lots of it and always uses it well.

Kudos to Sinead Goldrick who held Adelaide’s inspirational leader, Chelsea Randall, to just 7 fairly ineffectual disposals. Keeping Chelsea quiet goes a long way to beating the Crows.

2,555. Very passionate support came through on screen and sound right into my Brisbane living room. Very proud of the support last night and our AFLW Membership record. Lets see if we can beat the membership record in crowd numbers for the Prelim even if we play an interstate team. BTW just as proud of the team and their footy and team spirit and support of each other. They clearly play as a team and for Mick Stinear who is clearly coaching at the top of his game. Absolutely remind me of our 2021 Men's heroes this season the way they have improved since the Lions beat us earlier in the season. Go Dees.

Great article about a team always just missing out and how we've built a great core and game style https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-21/melbourne-demons-aflw-premiership-window-wide-open/101555732

Us all right now: Gutsy win after a glacial start. They were running wild by the end. Crowd was pumped! Main thoughts: - How was Mithen still standing at the end of that game and, in fact, chatting without a care in the world with fans on the boundary, Thought she was a goner early! - Bannan. Some of the most breathtaking (and heart-in-mouth!) footy you'll see. At the point now where the crowd eggs her on, although that step around the mark was just next level. When she controls that last disposal on the run more often, look out. - Tackling pressure after quarter time. Could name many examples here, but Kate Hore on the wing, epic. Midfield worked super hard to turn the game, all the usual suspects. Heath rapidly becoming one of those. - Chaplin, Birch, Gillard all with some great moments as we wrestled back control. Lampard cool in a crisis. Mackin has absolutely no right to be as good as she is, months into her football career. Goldie tough as nails but with that speed, a rare combo. - Daisy had an almost game with the footy but still so many of those little things and the leadership that's not quantifiable. - By the last quarter, we simply outworked them, even in contests where we were severely outnumbered - never say die stuff! - Have no idea what went on late in the last (on the other side of the field) but it seemed spicy! GO DEES!

She mentions Demon Spirit 4 times during the course of a two minute interview. It is obviously something the girls have totally embraced. I must admit when I first saw the advert with Max I thought it was just a marketing catchphrase

Colin Hay was great...got home and just finished the replay. How good was that! Will read everybody's posts tomorrow but a couple of quick thoughts. Mackin is improving with every game and super important tonight. How good will she be when she learns the game. Gillard is surprising me, another improving with each game. Bannan! that 6 bounce run was insane. Then add the rest of her game. X-factor plus. That was a free to Hore at the end...Randall dived and took her legs out.

I thought that was a real breakout game by Mackin tonight. Goldy is one of my favourite players for pace and taking the game on but Mackin was just at another level for breaking the lines. The game isn't as skillful as the blokes but I've really loved watching our progress over the last few years. We're as tough as nails and just going in hard and running for each other. Some fantastic passages of play tonight. Really fun to watch us strangle a good team and break the lines once we settled down after the first. It's great we've got the week off now to rest and reset. There's a few niggling injuries in the team by the looks and that week off will really help. We should have a fitter faster team to have a crack at the flag this year.

The difference with young players at MFC is there is no need to rush.these days Earn your spot and try and keep it, Bowey being the perfect example of trying to keep it JVR will have all the incumbent medium and tall forwards looking over their shoulder, a good thing for the team Nice Instagram post of a fit Tommy Mc running around his local track at Edenhope On other young players my tip is keep an eye on both Taj W, who improved week to week and Blake Howes, was close before injury. If everyone stays fit, we finally have cover all across the ground

Dangerfield #3??? Who TF put this list together? He’d be in my top 3 most unpopular!

about this much, swoop

Eden’s partner is in the centre holding the giant Eden head. And her sister who possesses neither her height nor her footy prowess (her words, not mine 🙂) is second from the left.

Tells the tale:

Yes, loved Bannon’s balk around the mark to run in to goal. The crows were dumbstruck…….she’s a talent there is no doubt about that….

So happy for Edo!!! Her sister and her partner were with us out on the field pre-game. The DA gave her partner Eden’s giant head to keep and she was stoked. The support the girls get from family and friends is phenomenal. And that’s here as well as interstate. Pity all Clubs aren’t so invested. So proud of our girls 💕

Is it just me or is Alyssa Bannan kind of the 'supreme footballer body' for women in the way that they talked about Anthony Koutoufides as being the prototype of the modern footballer body in the men's game twenty years ago? Touch wood she doesn't start coming apart at the seams the way he did, though!

Great win. We played Adelaide really well at their physical game. There wee a few moments I really enjoyed tonite. Bannons run in the 2nd was delirious. How many times will you see a mens player get on a run like that. Practically never. Purcell I thaught was our best player and I love West going in for the footy like a bull in a chook shed. Apart from their pumped up start I thaught our backline players were excellent. Gay, Birch and Gillard were great all night.

Doesn't appear to be a thread for Bris v Richmond. Loved the girls performance yesterday. I'm watching today's match and it's frustrating/ doing my head in that so many instances of incorrect disposal or caught in possession just get waived away.

Great contest, great game. These girls can go all the way, but they need to start well. I hope Eliza West pulls up ok. She's so important to our structure. Go you good things!

Watching the replay , it was a bloody physical game, lots of biffo. They tried it on and we gave it back twice as hard.

Excellent win by the team. Watched it on the TV up here in Qld in between some of the T20. Only issue I have is if we get to the GF and play the Lions and give them 3 goals start the game is over. Must play 4 quarters in the Prelim then the GF and if this happens we have another flag.

… and ended up where we were sitting! That was nuts!!! Banno’s a machine. What an awesome match that was! (Let’s just pretend the first quarter never happened 🙃) Absolutely scintillating. They’ve got some solid, big-bodied players but were no match for our slick skills. Some of those pinpoint passes were (chef’s kiss). PS Chelsea who? Apparently she’s sporting quite the shiner. Diddums. Hashtag think twice before you bully our girls. And now a nice break for our players and… look out every one else. We’re bringing it! ❤️💙 GO THE MIGHTY DEES!!!

My horizons don’t need broadening to such an extreme degree. 🙄

No detail provided about the method used to compile but i would have thought Maxy the most popular. He seems to be universally well liked by supporters of all teams. I wouldn't say the same about dangerflog. Strange list

Just a regular Friday night at yours, Uncle?

This is a constant week in, week out. The umps allow way too much leway re incorrect disposal. It penalises teams that are more skillful and want to take the game on, and benefits teams that just want to bash and crash. It's time they start umpiring to the standard of the better players, rather than the new recruits from other sports.

Who did they ask? Grandma’s with a penchant for neck tattoos who haven’t watched the footy since 2017?

I wondered the same thing BBO. And maybe I need to adjust if that's the case.....but jeez 😁 There's no question that the AFLW has come a long way since that first season skill-wise and perhaps the umpiring will evolve as the skill level continues to lift

I watched a fair amount of last night's game RTGand thought the same thing. I'm wondering whether the umps have been instructed to keep the frees down. It certainly adds to the play on free flowing nature of the women's game. As a poster noted above the women's game is evolving in its own unique way . This is a good thing of course as it will always be "different" to the men's game

Suspect they have done that and know that answers Doubt they will air them publicly The question will be whether the coaching staff change the game plan or continue with the same old same old that got them to second on the ladder I hope they add variety because clubs have worked us out and the predictability killed us 8 x 90 pts or more scored against us vs 2021 only one did that happen.

And also how fast she is

2555

That Bannon run started right in front of where we were sitting, she vanished into the night like speedy [censored] Gonzales, it was INSANE

What was good by the team, is our game plan got us on top as the game progressed. Adelaide like many "ageing" experienced and skilful sides came out really strong, but could not sustain the intensity while we adjusted then over powered them. I assume we'll play the prelim at Ikon too? Hopefully we get a few training runs on it over the next 2 weeks to learn about the ground, like the bounce :)

Loz Pearce clearly wasn’t right, full credit to Harris rucking so much. Hopefully the week off sorts Loz out. Our mids who have been bullied by the Crows for years really got on top. Purcell and West super in tight. Hanks and Mitho getting inside and out and Paxy in the high half forward role. I liked the use of Hore on ball if she’s struggling forward and I think they even sent her to Marinoff to clamp her late. Plenty of improvement too, with missed chances in the first and third especially and some uncharacteristic mistakes by some of the defenders.

Fantastic win. The guns did their thing but really impressed by Lampard and Chaplin. Also loved how the girls fired up when teammates were bullied - the men could learn from that :)

Fantastic!!! Amazing football …couldn’t be prouder 💙❤️

Would love BBB and TMac in there but knees and feet seem important parts when playing footy.

Wow. Seemed like way more were there. That’s probs because the crowd tonight was particularly vocal, rowdy even. Mostly Dees of course. And quite a lot of kids, which is great.

Thanks Demonland for the best coverage of the match in the current (wilderness) part of the land where I’m temporarily residing. No TV, no access to AFL site presumably because of demand, no radio coverage because of the Cricket World Cup. Well done Demonland and all Demonlanders who contributed to my evening. And of course, thanks to our wonderful AFLW team, which appears to have made a remarkable comeback! Now it’s time for a Cognac.

One of the better turnaround wins I’ve seen from a Dees side. Love that they stuck to the game plan and ran the crows ragged

Wow the girls have held them to 1 goal since quarter time.!!!

Sensational turnaround by the girls

Fun Fact: Just 113 AFL players took as many bounces in the entire 2022 season as did Alyssa Bannan in that single run down the wing. Don't know how many times in the history of any level of Australian football there has been a player start a run inside the defensive 50 and finish it inside forward 50.

Our forward line has been much more potent this season than season 6. It was Adelaide's defence that beat us twice last season, including the grand final. We had 9 goal kickers last week, so our forward depth is our strength, particularly with Hore playing her best footy at the moment, and Harris continuing to be Harris. Banners is just growing stronger each week, for her youth she's scary to oppositions. If we're able to counter their backline we're okay. I also think the key to their attack is Ash Woodleigh (hurts me to say that, given she used to be a Demon). With Gillard, Birch, Heath playing at their peak, and the inclusion last week of Gay, we need to minimise her impact. Our midfield is incredibly strong - Paxman, Purcell, Mithen, Hanks, L Pearce are dominant forces. Plus I'm loving the impact Mackin has made on the team, she's a beast. Zanker and Lampard for some annoying reason tend to go unnoticed by media commentators, I reckon Zanker was one of the best on ground last week. But hey, if their understatement means the opposition don't consider their impact, that's their loss, because they both have the ability to impact the game. I think we're okay :)