WalkingCivilWar

Just gotta hope Adelaide win tonight. If they do, and we win tomorrow, the GF will be on Sunday at Marvel. If Brisbane win tonight it’ll be at Springfield (wherever the hell that is). This sucks so much.

Now it’s official…

Pumped for tomorrow’s match! Our girls are in the best headspace ever. That’s according to (for one) Paxy, and she’d know! The team cohesion is abundantly obvious and the confidence is palpable. It’s astounding what that level of confidence can, and will, do. Not cockiness, but confidence in themselves individually as well as in each other. Last Saturday I was pretty much the last person to leave Princes Park after the open training session (true story) coz… talking.😁 As I cut across the immense parkland I saw the entire team and coaches sitting cross-legged in a circle under a huge tree, laughing and mucking around and having so much fun. This sight more than any other made me think, Oh we’ve SO got this! For tomorrow’s banner the Club let us decide what goes on both sides. So ideas were being bandied about but one phrase was common in all of them… DEMON SPIRIT. GO DEES!!! ❤️💙❤️💙

*Jules is super agile for a 190cm girl. And only 18yo so there’s plenty of time for her to fill out and then use her body like Edo and Tayla eg. As you say her marking is bound to improve with strength and experience but she’s played every match this season and has been very reliable in defence. A great get! *She actually embraces Jules as a nickname, rather than Julia (Gillard) 🙂

That’s so sensible and logical that it’s no wonder the AFL didn’t think that way. 🙄 They’re clearly comfortable with making [censored] up as they go along. This entire season has been taxing and so the thought of not being able to attend really bites. And not just for us fans, but for the players. Attendance isn’t great at H&A games as it is, so I imagine they’d be sadly lacking support in QLD.

Not having concrete plans in terms of a venue is bad enough, but we don’t even know on what day it will be held. I heard tonight at banner making that if it’s in Melb it’s definitely on the Sunday but if in QLD it’ll be either the Saturday or the Sunday. The fact that nothing’s official 10 days out is beyond ridiculous.

Random ponderance: at the men’s B&F the players were dressed by our newest sponsor, Country Road, and all wore the exact same suit. Don’t get me wrong they all looked dapper and apparently all got to keep their $750 suit. But… In a couple of weeks it’ll be our W B&F. Should we expect to see every player in the exact same dress? Of course not. That’d be silly, right? Why then couldn’t Country Road have put the guys in different suits? PS please humour me. I’m supposed to be packing up my goddamn house for shifting on the goddamn weekend and right now I’m at the crossroads: either get on DL, or kill someone. Anyone.

I’m laughing at this, but it’s one of those ‘if I don’t laugh I’ll cry’ kinda laughs, since if the AFL insist on Springfield, then Springfield it is, whether ready or not.

For starters there won’t be any players on the bench… for there are no benches!

I wish I had your confidence, rjay. I can’t see Adelaide beating Bris. 😞

Avoiding the media and socials is one thing, but unless players stayed locked up at home 24/7 they’re gonna be subjected to all sorts. The incident to which I referred earlier is only one such. It’s just that that particular one really stood out since Fritta’s grandparents were there and who’d wanna hear their grandson being yelled at as “a selfish [censored]ing c**t”? PS The loudmouthed undesirable got more than he bargained for when Fritta’s dad and uncle jumped to his defence. 😁

Speaking of Fritta (and not for the first time today, OF 😉) he had knee surgery immediately at season’s end for an injury sustained during training when he was tackled by (iirc) Greg Stafford, of all the hulking big bodies you don’t want landing on you. 😁 He’s fully recovered and returns home from O/S tomorrow night. He’ll be starting pre-season with everyone else in the first week of December or whenever it is.

Yeah, I did get your point and I do agree. It was almost like he was overcompensating and oftentimes it was to his own and the team’s detriment. But at the same time I was also lamenting the fact that it certainly got to him outside of footy. Some members of the public clearly think footy players are fair game and can be verbally abused, even when celebrating a family member’s birthday at a restaurant and even with both sets of elderly grandparents there. It definitely got to him in both respects.

Sadly, you’re spot on. ☹️

So now Springfield is back in the mix. Was ruled out a fortnight ago because it wasn’t expected to be ready in time. The turf wasn’t good, the change-rooms still weren’t complete. Even now, there’s currently no interchange benches. That’s a lot of work to be done in 10 or so days.

My limited knowledge probably would’ve barely sufficed. So I called my go-to on all things W. There’s nothing this guy doesn’t know about the comp. His answers: GC - she's progressing well, played against Carlton in PreSeason and did well. Came in against BL when Tayla was out. Conditions didn't suit her. Hard for her to get a shot in forward line due to players like Tayla, Banno, Daisy, Kate. The #1 isn't really a big deal these days in AFL, doesn't hold any value (except at Port Adelaide) and with Tegan Cunningham retiring, the #1 was an open jumper MC - similar story with Georgia. Would also be stuck behind a few if tried forward. And if thrown back would still be stuck behind Birch, Gillard etc. yes it would be sad to lose her due to lack of opportunities but this shows our depth currently TG - most improved by far in season 7. Looked out of place in first few games but now is one of the best defenders in the game. Amazingly, she was drafted as a forward/Ruck. With the way that AFLW only have 5 in the forward/Defence, there isn't really any set positions like CHF, FP it's more just about getting the match ups right. One week she could be playing deep (with Birch higher up) another week it could be the opposite and the next could have both up or both back

But also the weather in Cairns suits them as much as it doesn’t suit us. 🥵

Got any tickets left to sell?

Nothing happens without AFL approval. If this goes ahead, it’s with their blessing. And the lack of respect for the comp started long before this particular issue.

I suspect the Lions are opting for venues that least suit Us/North. They may care more about an advantage that would help them win a flag than they do about how many fans attend. Someone on here said that Richmond being allowed to host North at the Punt Road Oval last weekend was opening the door to this ‘the higher-finishing team gets to choose the venue’ attitude. And that’s sadly the case. As you said Luci, it’s no longer about a home ground advantage.

Agree with all of this, and well said! Probably what irks me most is the copious self-adulation by the AFL. Go ahead and pat yourselves on the back if you must. But while doing so, how about helping to grow the comp. Or at the very least, stop making it so difficult for the ones who genuinely are.

Are you going to Saturday’s game, OD? You’d like to think that mid-November means it won’t be freezing but here we are! This is currently my suburb… The VFL GF was memorable for the great win, but also for the arctic blasts and sideways rain. Instead of being directly behind the goals as usual, we elected to be in the stand behind the goals but still got just as wet despite being under a roof. Good times. I wouldn’t rule out snow at this point. 😂

It’s really sad that there’s a core group of W devotees (you included, Kat) who, despite being there week in week out and never missing a match, amongst the many other things they do tirelessly, might have to watch the GF on TV. To hear them say with an air of resignation that they just have to accept that they can’t be there is heartbreaking. These people are a huge part of the reason the W comp is growing, albeit slowly. The success of this comp is not because of the AFL, it’s despite the AFL, who sometimes seem to go outta their way to alienate fans. And in case anyone is wondering: no, cheer squad members don’t have any expenses paid. As individuals we pay for everything ourselves (even our DA clothing and membership). edit: Soz I’m cranky af. Been up since 5am packing coz moving house this weekend and nowhere near packed up enough. My house looks like a bomb’s hit it and I can’t find my cigarettes anywhere. 🤬

Definitely. Just waiting on the fixture so as I know which day.

It’d be great to be able to book now but only if you’re planning on going for the entire weekend. Many people fly there and back on GameDay or stay only one night and only if necessary. And the way the AFL have stalled on releasing the fixture (was initially gonna be released in early Oct., then changed to late Oct. then changed to early Nov. and now we’re hearing early Dec.) who knows how soon we’ll be able to book. On top of that, this round falls during school holidays so there’s a further increase right there.