Dees_In_October

No worries, was a little surprised by the quick progression! Hopefully she gets some games in later on in the season if ready.

I love this after we all prematurely retired her for about the third time! Fingers crossed. Would have to be our second most important player... Good signs for Beasley to be playing only about 10 months post ACL. Probably a bit off the pace. Watching a VFLW game a few weeks back I was constantly confusing them! Glad it's not just me. Also good to hear. We really had to test our depth last season and hopefully that exposure has fast tracked some development. Silver lining. I wonder how we'll approach the praccy matches in terms of selection; try some things out or go full strength or what.

Also of interest to AFLW fans may be this article by Jason Lassey at SportsIndustryAU, which provides a deeper look into how the AFLW is faring in the lead-up to the 10th season. It covers attendance numbers, as well as TV audiences, impact on participation and the finances of the league. https://footyindustry.com/index.php/2025/07/08/the-aflw-endures-despite-the-same-old-critics-and-criticisms/

In the lead-up to Season 10, I've been looking back over the 10 seasons and how our list has evolved since those early seasons and how our 2025 list shapes up. As we know, in 2025, three players (Lampard, Paxman and Pearce) remain at the Dees from the inaugural 2017 S1 Melbourne list of 28 (list size expanded to 30 for S2 onwards). After a lot of turnover initially, the number of original Dees players has remained fairly stable: S2 (20 inaugural players), S3 (14), S4 (11), S5 (6), S6 (5), S7 (5), S8 (4), S9 (4), S10 (3). Who will be the last one standing? Outside of the Demons, there are about 20 additional inaugural players still playing for their original AFLW team in 2025. There are also 11 inaugural Demons still on other AFLW lists. The average retention of active listed players between seasons has been 23 players. The retention of players between S9 and S10 (26 players) is our second-most behind the 27 players retained between S7 and S8. On our 2025 list, all but four players were originally drafted or signed to the Dees, the exceptions being Harris (Brisbane), Purcell (Geelong), Johnson (Port) and D.Taylor (Geelong). Including inactive players, on our list we have 24 Victorians, 3 Irishwomen, 2 Queenslanders, 1 South Australian, 1 Tasmanian and 1 Western Australian.

Yes, was just coming to post these. I like how, rather than getting them to speak about themselves, which usually is difficult for people and can end up in kind of boring responses because no one wants to talk themself up, they've got others to explain why these players have been voted in, which gives us all a much better insight into what the group feels (the emotions!) and values.

Thanks for your thoughts on Dethridge. I feel like we've had a pretty high success rate with cross-coders making quick progress, so nothing would surprise me! I'm looking forward to some more debuts this season (hopefully not forced by injury). It'd be special to see Jemma get a go, after some bad luck with timing last season - and for sentimental reasons for Dees fans, of course.

There's one or two relegation games left in the LGFA for Blaithin and Aimee (who has just returned to play). So Blaithin will presumably be back in a month or so. Not sure what happens after the All-Ireland season for Aimee but hopefully her recovery continues well.

After Saturday's men's game, I soothed my soul by watching Casey's first VFLW win of the season! Essendon 2.6.18 Casey 10.13.73 (Ah yes, a classic Demons goals-to-points ratio) This was aided, it must be said, by an influx of AFLW-listed talent replacing... mostly the previous influx of AFLW talent. IN: A. Bannan, Z. Burn, G. Campbell, M. Fitzsimon, G. Gall, T. Harris, S. Heath, D. Madigan, M. Mahony, E. McNamara, A. Pisano, K. Phillips, G. Proy, E. Zanker OUT: M. Chaplin, G. Colvin, T. Gillard, S. Lampard, M. O'Hehir, L. Pearce, J. Rigoni, S. Taylor (managed), B. Lyne (shoulder), L. Jatczak (unavailable), A. Kirkwood, Z. Mitchell, A. Robinson, A. Vrsecky (omitted) In the commentary, it was mentioned that Casey's ladder position (bottom of the ladder for the first time since the league's alignment) probably doesn't quite reflect the team's season, as there have been some close losses. It was also apparent that clubs have varying approaches to when/if/how much they play their AFLW players, so it's a bit all over the place. Certainly there have been fewer of the developing AFLW players for Casey throughout the season compared to previously and a higher level of player getting a run now. The commentators were a little in awe of some of our stars out there, which was nice. Onto the game. I'll focus on the AFLW-listed players, though I did like the game of Phillips in the backline. The standout across the board though was McNamara who absolutely tore it up with 40 disposals - yes, that's right 40 disposals in 20 minute flat quarters (so that would be what? A casual 60 in a men's AFL length game? Amazing). Zanker played on the ball in the first half or so and was energised and proactive, then went forward and kicked a couple. Gall took some great marks, but I was more impressed by some really good decisions with the ball into forward 50. Harris looked fit and ready up forward, and there were a few almost pack-crashing moments that she would hopefully follow through with in season proper. Three goals to Bannan, while Fitzsimon worked hard as usual with 21 disposals and 9 tackles. New draftee Mahony (14 disposals, 5 clearances) won some hard footy and was good in traffic, plus kicked a really nice goal on the run. I won't make any big claims, but at the very least she's exactly the type of player we lacked depth in last season. I'll admit I struggled to lock on to which one Dethridge actually was - absolutely on me for failing to look up numbers and relying on the commentary. I suspect the commentators didn't know either, though, as I never heard her name called despite the stats showing she had the footy plenty (15 disposals). So I can't comment there! No obvious injuries, except perhaps a bit of the old leather poisoning for Eliza!

An AFLW training report! Rare and appreciated. I used to try to go once a preseason but that kind of fell by the wayside during Covid and once they shifted to more daytime training. Is it usually Gosch's on a Wednesday morning and Monday at Casey, @Ghostwriter ? I can see the lineup evolving after last year. Every active player on our list (plus a few top-ups) got a game last season, apart from Rigoni whose injuries coincided with the wider plague. So we know exactly what we've got, plus some newbies who could make an impact. And based on training photos, good to see that Paxy is apparently unhampered by that injury we all basically retired her over!

Posting this as well in case anyone missed it. Great article on inaugural Demon Sarah Lampard. Love that they chose to focus on her, as the most unsung player of the few remaining at the Dees from season 1. It's been a bit of a winding road for sure, with two ACLs and interesting to read what she's doing off-field now for her PhD: https://www.afl.com.au/aflw/news/1342197/the-inaugurals-this-reliable-melbourne-demon-sarah-lampard-went-from-tagging-daisy-pearce-to-becoming-flag-teammates

Some other news from around the grounds, this time a bit further afield. Both Mackins featured at the weekend in the Ladies' Gaelic All-Ireland Senior Championship finals series. Unfortunately, Armagh was knocked out. But promising signs for Aimee, who was a substitute in her first game returning from her ACL just over a year ago.

In the lead-up to the 10th season of the AFLW, here are some cherry-picked fun facts from Gemma Bastiani's AFLW Revolution series: • In 2024, 14.6 per cent of all AFLW players were 180cm or taller, compared to just 6.6 per cent in the inaugural 2017 season. • Melbourne’s average of 58.9 points in 2023 is the second highest average score, behind Adelaide’s 59.1 in 2019. • Average tackles inside 50 across the league increased from 8.8 in 2017 to 14.1 in 2024. • The Demons' premiership-winning defence in 2022 was the tightest defensive performance in AFLW history (avg. 18.6 points conceded). • It wasn’t until 2021 that a player recorded 20 or more hitouts and two or more goals in a game. • L.Pearce is highlighted as the first player in AFLW to record 20 or more hitouts and 20 or more disposals in a game and did it twice before any other player achieved the feat (and it’s only happened 10 times since). • In the last two seasons more than 39 per cent of disposal across the league has been by hand, the highest ratio since the competition began. Melbourne is an exception, as “handballing has always been a key building block of its game, with between 38.7 per cent and 43.4 per cent of its disposal count handballs over the nine seasons. The gap of 4.7 per cent is the lowest of any inaugural team…” There’s more analysis in the articles themselves, for example about the changing role of wingers and the reasons behind a weakening of midfield depth, as well as how increased training time and access to facilities has allowed for the development of the game away from a focus on personnel and one-on-one contests to systems, structures and better team coherence. Worth a read: https://www.afl.com.au/aflw/news/1321475/aflw-revolution-how-the-forward-line-has-evolved-in-nine-seasons https://www.afl.com.au/aflw/news/1325750/aflw-revolution-defence https://www.afl.com.au/aflw/news/1335446/aflw-revolution-why-the-ruck-role-has-evolved-more-than-any-other https://www.afl.com.au/aflw/news/1336001/aflw-revolution-the-clear-shift-in-strategy-thats-helped-midfields-boom There's also this re: the soft cap, which provides useful context for some of the off-field stuff going on, particularly the difficulty facing assistant coaches: https://www.afl.com.au/aflw/news/1342210/aflw-clubs-wrestle-with-soft-cap-limits-after-afl-increase

Came here hoping for an update on how the youngsters did so thanks! Promising stuff. Good to see that some of the other players have had a run as well.

It's strange to think Daisy was 29 when AFLW started. We certainly didn't see her best on the field and yet her influence on and off it for the MFC and league was unmatched. And it was her commitment to the VWFL that got the ball rolling for the league in a lot of ways - she simply dominated and the team and rivals that went with her essentially became the AFLW. Daisy PearceMelbourne (2017-22): 55 games, 25 goals AFLW premiership: 2022 Melbourne best and fairest: 2017, 2018, 2022 All-Australian: 2017 (captain), 2018, 2022 Melbourne captain: 2017-18, 2020-22 VWFL premierships: Darebin 2006, 2007, 2008 (c), 2009 (c), 2010 (c), 2013 (c), 2014 (c), 2015 (c) VFLW premierships: Darebin 2016 (c), 2017 Helen Lambert Medal (VWFL B&F): 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015 Lisa Hardeman Medal (Grand Final BOG): 2005, 2014 Darebin best and fairest: 2005, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 It's also really fitting that Daisy and Erin go in together as they represent two different paths for women of their generation in terms of Aussie Rules. Erin is an elite athlete who was probably always going to find her way to the top tier of a professional sport. She was lost to the game, like so many others, because she had other choices. When footy was back on the table in a (semi) professional way, she was there to show what someone who'd had a decade plus of pro conditioning could do. Daisy, with respect, was probably never going to make it in another sport. She had tunnel vision for footy and was lucky enough to find supportive environments, against the odds, but also due to her dedication. So much of her success on the field was due to footy smarts that were hard-won before the public spotlight arrived. Also just an incredible leader, whose fingerprints are still all over our AFLW program.

Some good analysis of fixture strength in 2024 and 2025 here courtesy of Sean Lawson at This Week In Football: https://thisweekinfootball.com/twif/round-13-2025/#aflw-fixture-strength-of-schedule-how-unfair-is-the-draw Nothing we didn't already know. But good to see it backed up. (click through for explanation of the table below) From a broader perspective, the analysis shows the greater degree of variation in AFLW fixture strength compared with the men's and the best measure to remedy that (more games).

Some good preseason news: melbournefc.com.auLatest Video | Melbourne Football ClubWatch the latest interviews and highlights from the Melbourne Football ClubBeasley's first post-ACL run (257 days post-injury).

melbournefc.com.auLatest Video | Melbourne Football ClubWatch the latest interviews and highlights from the Melbourne Football ClubPurcell signed to 2027.

Good draw, appropriate for our ladder position for last season. Gets tougher at the end but if we're there abouts we'll hopefully have built by then. I just wish they could announce the fixture a little earlier, or failing that, at least give notice of when it will be announced. It's always a guessing game, and as a result, there's games I could have planned around but too late now. Somehow it was announced a week later than last year despite the season starting two weeks earlier. I will say, I like how away games in Vic are included in a standard W membership, it's good value especially considering the hike to Casey is often further than the home grounds of other teams. Anyone going to attempt the double on the 16th of August? Men's Round 23 v Hawthorn MCG at 4.15pm and women's Round 1 v Western Bulldogs at Whitten Oval at 7.35pm. @Ghostwriter I know its different people for M and W, but does the cheersquad have enough floggers etc. to split between two games? For some reason I'm picturing a single sad person as our cheersquad at Whitten. I'm sure that won't be the case. Hopefully the right big heads end up at the right games haha.

Super bad luck for Jacinta. I like that we've signed a contact extension in the aftermath - we look after our players. Look forward to seeing her out there in 2026. An Ebert is only an Ebert from the Ebert region of France. Jokes aside, looks like Laela will provide some good coverage for a few positions. Always good when a player is described as "coachable" especially if they've missed out in their draft year. Something to prove!

And let's be clear about what are and are not football acts. I.e. If you never or very rarely see anyone else doing that act on a football field you can safely assume that most players have deemed that act to be dangerous, reckless, likely to result in injury - and so, not a football act. Just as a random example, if a player is running towards you, looking down in the action of kicking the footy, there's an expectation that an opposing player isn't going to leap into the air at velocity in a fashion that is likely to result in them landing on you above the shoulders. Just as an example...

Yes, it should first and foremost be about the action that they're trying to remove from the game, due to its potential for injury. The outcome should be a secondary consideration because the same action on different people will have different results.

On the topic of non-mainstream analysis, Credit to Du Bois (Emyln Breese) creates great charts on various aspects of the game, like this one today on how clubs have retained and used draft picks in the last 10 years: https://credittodubois.com/blog/draft-pick-and-mix Here’s the Melbourne one specifically: https://public.flourish.studio/uploads/1229741/1a5fe616-6eec-4922-af8c-012b4d7ac709.png

Lil's perspective on the trade - loses no respect from me. Made over 80 phone calls to people at the club to tell them of her decision personally. https://www.afl.com.au/aflw/news/1286681/three-weeks-of-tears-80-phone-calls-inside-lily-mithens-move-to-gold-coast-suns

It would make sense to have a flag somewhere in our emblem. A high flying one. Since that's what our song says.