Dees_In_October

Anyone else wake up this morning with a sudden urge to rock the casbah x6?

The closest thing to an update yet, via Steven Smith's letter: "Looking at our AFLW program, the players have started to return from their break and integrate back into the club, ticking off their gym, condition and skills sessions as preparations begin for the 2026 AFLW season. There is terrific energy around the group, and we are excited about what our AFLW team can achieve this year. We are currently in the final stages of a thorough process to appoint our new AFLW Senior Coach. This is an important decision for the future of the program, and we look forward to sharing that news with you very soon."

We'll remember him for his one-liners, but the real skill came in the way he worked them in, without it sounding forced or insincere. For sure there were some he had planned or kept in his back pocket, but he knew when to hold them and when to go all in, and when to let the game speak for itself. The just spoke the language of the game so well.

Absolutely. And the more the merrier. I like to credit myself with the better shaded seating at Casey after years of going on about it in AFL and member surveys. Probably overselling myself there! Meanwhile, (and correct me if I'm simply missing it) there's been no mention on the club website of Sloane being appointed interim head of women's football... Yes, there's a lot of other stuff to report about, leading into Round 1 for the men. And I'm kind of forgiving of this in the pre-preseason, because I recognise its about resources and so on. But still. It adds to the "is anyone actually across this" vibe or at least the perception of it, which I do believe directly impacts the way that members and fans engage with the team, in turn.

Sorry to hear that, but I get it. I'm in the same boat to be honest and I'd say we're fairly rusted on as W fans! For me it's more about convincing others to come along with me. Fewer are willing to make the trek. I have more luck in that regard for away games in more convenient places. Vic Park is a highlight as a venue, and to be saying that is just wrong! I guess it boils down to, are we converting enough super-engaged fans from the Casey region compared to the number of fans we'd attract somewhere more central. It would be interesting to have an insider view at the club on this. But without that info, I figure, if someone's a potential fan who wants to check it out, the likelihood of that person living around Casey or being willing to travel there on a consistent basis seems...low. I'll still promote to existing Dees fans that they should try to get along to a W game just once a year to support the club and appreciate the pride our players have for the jumper. But it can be hard to do that in good faith when things feel a bit rudderless at the top.

This is good parenting.

More positively, it's good to see the players are working hard in the pre-preseason, including the new faces. I guess you can tell it's not "official" because no MFC branded clothing. Clockwise: Austin, Baker-West, Allen www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=895922839855613&set=pcb.895923019855595 https://www.instagram.com/p/DVIOqlZkizS/?img_index=1 Good to see Liv back in action as well

Much like the saga of our home base for decades upon decades, I can see this just being kicked down the road. There definitely was a big push for attendance at Casey homes games last season, the helicopter and all that, as you know. Personally I felt aspects of that were poorly executed (not enough lead-time), but there was at least some effort. But I don't think that (and the step-up in facilities for spectators) has been reflected in terms of numbers. Standing in line at one game last year, someone in front of me was like, "Look, they've got seats! And a scoreboard!" Then they realised they hadn't actually attended since the summer seasons. I know I'm repeating myself and preaching to the converted here... Still, the one big chance MFC fans had to show they'll come to Princes but not Casey, for the Prelim, it was pretty much the same hardcore of fans against absolute sea of Roos. Yes, there was the expectation of a trouncing playing into that, but still. Like you say, it's hard to know if there's any interest from the club in alternatives or is it just Casey or bust? It's never a factor in any discussion of a home base, that's for sure.

A little bit of movement at the station: afl.com.au/aflwDees appoint interim head of women's footy as changes con...Shae Sloane has been appointed as the Demons' interim head of women's football"MELBOURNE has appointed Shae Sloane as an interim head of women's football, as the AFLW program continues to undergo a series of changes. After the departure of Marcus Wagner in June last year, Clare Pettyfor was appointed the Demons' general manager of AFLW. Pettyfor held the role in conjunction with her pre-existing duties as chief communications officer, and will now return to a full time focus on her media duties. Sloane, a former player with Melbourne and ex-Australian volleyballer, has had a variety of roles with the Demons after her injury-enforced retirement at the end of 2021, primarily coaching and recruiting. Most recently, she served as senior assistant coach to Mick Stinear, looking after the forward line, as well as head of development. Melbourne is continuing its hunt for a new senior coach after the departure of Stinear, after chief of football and innovation Ned Guy started his role at the club earlier this month. It's believed Sloane is unlikely to be in the running, despite having long been touted as a coach-in-waiting. Fellow prospective senior coach Rhys Harwood also recently opted to move into program management as North Melbourne's head of women's football. The Dees are also after a new list manager, with Cody Baker re-joining former mentor Todd Patterson at the Tasmania Devils. AFLW pre-season will begin on May 11, with the season starting the week of August 10." Not reported on the MFC website, but the above came through late in the day, so we'll see.

Here are Sarah Black's hypothetical teams, with Chaplin, Hanks and Hore the Dees named: WESTERN AUSTRALIAB: Charlie Thomas (West Coast), Emma O'Driscoll (Fremantle) HB: Ruby Schleicher (Collingwood), Georgie Cleaver (West Coast), Zippy Fish (Sydney) C: Steph Cain (Essendon), Kiara Bowers (Fremantle), Maggie MacLachlan (Essendon) HF: Courtney Hodder (Brisbane), Ella Roberts (West Coast), Chelsea Randall (Adelaide) F: Gemma Houghton (Port Adelaide), Emma King (North Melbourne) Foll: Mim Strom (Fremantle), Bella Lewis (West Coast), Abbey Dowrick (Port Adelaide) I/C: Zoe Wakfer (West Coast), Sabrina Frederick (Collingwood), Hayley Miller (Fremantle), Gabby O'Sullivan (Fremantle), Mikayla Bowen (Geelong) VICTORIAB: Harriet Cordner (Carlton), Libby Birch (North Melbourne) HB: Emma Kearney (North Melbourne), Maeve Chaplin (Melbourne), Tilly Lucas-Rodd (GWS) C: Mon Conti (Richmond), Jasmine Garner (North Melbourne), Gab Newton (Fremantle) HF: Kate Hore (Melbourne), Ellie Blackburn (Western Bulldogs), Bella Eddey (North Melbourne) F: Eden Zanker (Fremantle), Chloe Molloy (Sydney) Foll: Lucy Wales (Hawthorn), Ash Riddell (North Melbourne), Tyla Hanks (Melbourne) I/C: Sophie McKay (Carlton), Emily Bates (Hawthorn), Charlie Rowbottom (Gold Coast), Georgie Prespakis (Geelong), Nicola Stevens (Geelong) I think the Vics would have it, though perhaps not the trouncing they gave the Allies in 2017 when they won by about 100 points from memory.

We'll see when the club gets around to announcing this, a little indicator of how "shut down" / "asleep at the wheel" the club is or isn't re: the W program. And when we might expect to hear on that other big outstanding matter of a coach! Of course, stuff might be happening without a priority on/resources for communicating it. Based on the below, we're about 2.5 months from "actual" pre-season (assuming early May). In terms of replacing B., I skimmed this a while back with the pessimistic expectation that, odds on, we'd end up needing another player some way or another, and here we are: https://www.afl.com.au/aflw/news/1462789/the-new-way-aflw-teams-can-add-players-to-their-lists Regarding potential pre-season draft options: "Exposed form may be an issue depending on the player's home league – the shifted VFLW season won't kick off till May 16, after the beginning of AFLW pre-season. The SANFLW and QAFLW seasons begin mid-April, while the WAFLW starts at the end of March. South Australian forward Eloise Mackereth, Vic Country key back Ella Stoddart and GWS academy midfielder Isla Wiencke were arguably the highest credentialed potential draftees to be overlooked, with all three having been in the national academy. Gold Coast academy midfielder Annabelle Foat missed out on the draft, as was West Australian ball-winner Juliet Kelly. When it comes to recently delisted AFLW players, it's more likely to be a needs-based selection, given the exposed form at the national level or in scrimmages, and injury history is likely to be an issue for some players. Denby Taylor (ex-Melbourne) can plug multiple holes across the field, as can Gabby Biedenweg-Webster (Fremantle) and Gabbi Featherston (Geelong), while Indi Williams couldn't crack a tough Brisbane team." Perhaps we've kept Denby on speed dial?

When I saw this thread I thought it might have been an injury, so while I'm glad it's not that...not great news! I've loved what Blaithin's brought over the years. I reckon she had another couple of levels in her, and I do think in the end she's been hampered a bit in recent seasons (7 games each in 2024 and 2025) by not being able to do full pre-seasons and not quite getting a clear run at it to really build some form. I'll remain hopeful it's a pause rather than a goodbye, but given the difficulties raised in the article posted by @Meggs it's fully understandable if it's time for her to return home fully. Always a premiership player!

Agree that more flexibility in this regard will be helpful to us. Even just being able to go halfway or whatever towards what was previously a tier jump offered by another club. And the other lever of a longer contract, even at a lower tier. I tried to figure out who might fit into which tier. Tier 1 Hore and Paxman (?). Tier 2 maybe Pearce, Harris, Hanks, Heath, Purcell, Lampard. Tier 3 Goldrick, Chaplin, Fitzsimon, McNamara, B.Mackin, Bannan... maybe switch one for Gillard or Campbell. Tier 4 everyone else, which is all the under 22s and less experienced older players. Who knows if that's how it actually is, probably not. But even on speculation, you can see the squeeze points and players who'd be vulnerable to 'luring'. That'll never go completely (nor should it), but the more levers clubs have to pull, the better the outcomes on all sides, I would think. Given that we've got 18 players who are OOC post-2026, the timing of any new rules could be crucial.

With Port's coach stepping down, that's now three head coach vacancies (Richmond being the other). I doubt we'll hear much for a while, as this part of the industry is effectively shutdown at this time of year. Hopefully some unofficial workings in the background though... From the article on Arnell stepping down: "The next wave of coaches are likely to be drawn from the current pool of senior assistants, including Rhys Harwood (North Melbourne), Shae Sloane (Melbourne) and Glenn Strachan (Carlton), with current Power senior assistant Sam Virgo also a chance to take the next step if she opts."

Agree completely. At the very least, with either Sloane or Brewer, they both have "experience" in dealing with the specifics of the W context, rather than someone "parachuted in" for their coaching "experience" but lacking that other element of understanding what a W program is realistically working with. Not that someone from outside the W system can't work, just that it needs to be a consideration. All of which makes the comment at the AGM that we're looking for an "experienced" coach not that straightforward to interpret!

Fairy tales like that rarely seem to work out in sport, but if there's anyone who I can imagine it happening for, it's her (not naming the name is contagious!). Maybe you're biased there "Browny" haha. But yeah, definitely saw BBB barracking for the Dees at a few finals games along with his family. It was a shame to lose him from our coaching ranks. Perhaps more a matter of tweaking for a new coach? I guess it depends how they view our ability to actually beat Brisbane and North with the current style - have we gone as far as we can with that, or is there a need for either big changes or tweaks to go that step further. Like you said, certainly the players we recruited don't deviate from what's been valued in the past.

No, this is not an announcement. But we may as well speculate. Saw this on afl.com in the article about Mick Stinear luring North assistant (mids) Ryan Pendlebury to Geelong: "A series of clubs have been expected to target North Melbourne's successful AFLW program for roles across this coming off-season, with fellow Kangas assistant Rhys Harwood another seen as a senior coach in waiting. Harwood is expected to figure prominently in Melbourne and Richmond's coaching search in the coming weeks, as the clubs look to replace Stinear and Ryan Ferguson respectively." Shae Sloane was present for the draft last night, which would be expected, but she's obviously another name out there. Hopefully she's going to provide continuity for us, either way.

I'm sure their playing styles will distinguish them soon enough, but at the moment I'm getting a bit of this vibe from Jordyn and Chloe. Amusingly on my wishlist for the draft was an inside mid MINIMUM 165cm. So of course we go and draft two 165cm players 😆

A little bit on the club's approach to the draft: Also it seems this draft was weaker at the very top end compared to last year's. Apparently next year's is looking much stronger. With Tassie meant to come into the league in 2028, the 2027 draft will be impacted by that, so the 2026 draft will be an important one (well, aren't they all!).

Will be interesting to see if either break into the team for some games in their first year (and Aoife as well). A few gaps still, but you kind of have to roll the dice with a list of 30. We'll want our tall defenders to stay healthy, for instance.

Definitely slid!

I guess Aimee's delisted and they just haven't announced it? Assuming Goldy is playing on.

More highlights

"Not to be confused with her namesake"...too late for our media team! Hopefully not the actual recruiters at the club. Pictured in the thumbnail for the announcement is the Collingwood player NOT our new draftee, pictured below, a completely different person. [Edited to add: Has now been updated, so my link now shows the correct player. But for those catching up later, believe me, it was the wrong player for a good hour!]

The 30 list spots makes it pretty cutthroat for players like Rigoni on the fringe, especially in a year where we're consolidating rather than trying to turn the list over and have a lot of young players already. I do wonder if she'll get more games at the Pies than she might have with us in 2026 - watch me rue this comment in the next injury crisis...