Dees_In_October

I reckon North have also improved and built a lot of form since we played them as well... Have my tickets, and hope lots of Dees fans go along. Not our home ground, but let's make it one!

Wow I don't think I've recovered from that game yet. Up there with the most bizarre footy matches I've ever seen. From the percentage chase to the half time sideways deluge, to that incredibly frustrating ending, has there ever been a more enthralling 78-point victory? Other have already vented the frustration, so I won't add to it except to say that I admired the team's reaction in the moment in what would have been very disappointing circumstances (regardless of what they said). Also thought that their attitude in the game itself was great. Ruthless but humble is how I'd describe it, with respect for a clearly outclassed opponent without ever showing mercy. ANYWAY, so glad for Mackin to get her goal. Loved it. Heath too. Zanker - confidence plus and equal third in the season goalkicking is nothing to sneeze at (13 is one better than in her previous five seasons combined, albeit shorter and some midfield seasons in there). Harris in the ruck has been pivotal. Shout out also to Chaplin, who has taken her chance and cemented her spot in her first year - her penetrating kick could become a weapon. Hore's pressure up forward set a great standard. Birch and Gillard are growing into a formidable combo. You can only play who's in front of you, and it seems the coaches have not allowed for bad habits to creep in structurally against some weaker opponents where a less stringent adherence would probably still reap rewards. Hopefully this pays dividends against stronger attacks and when the real pressure comes. By all means, we're capable of better, but this gives some context to our accuracy woes. Like Brisbane, we generate more shots, kick more goals...but also more behinds. Of course, against poor teams where we can lock the ball forward, a point often becomes a seven-point play and then likely possession again from the middle. That won't be the case against teams better at exiting and clearances.

Congrats to Gillard, well deserved Another milestone: That brings Kate into the top 5 alongside and ahead of some players who get lots more kudos. Check out 17th - Duffy! Very respectable average. And 18th, our old friend Scott - she's revived form to kick 7 for Geelong this season, good for her. .

1 point off! Not yet! Never forget that she kicked a goal with her first kick in a game of footy during the praccy match against Carlton. I've got high hopes for her to snag one before season's end - and she seems keen to get one. Just got the job done in this one. Frustrating that our one chance against an expansion side came in such conditions though. But flipping that on its head, our percentage is impressive considering that - plus the fact that Essendon is easily the best of the new teams. Way too many kids eating ice creams in the wind turbine of Casey Fields that itself turned into a bit of an ice block after half time. Good choice on the long sleeve jumpers by L.Pearce, Bannan and Sherriff. The preemptive tape on Paxy and Mithen was also a good look. Our intensity at the contest at the start was top notch to start and almost difficult to maintain though they stuck at it. There was some champagne ball movement, as well as some overly ambitious stuff that won't fly against better opposition. Seemed like a few undisciplined acts (or words?) occurred, but I was too far away to see them. My money's on Birch though for at least one of them. Related to that, off-season, after a respectful post-Daisy time, it would be interesting to discuss the options for our next captain. Hanks was everywhere, Paxman breaking lines with abandon, Gillard had some good stops, Heath is a big improver this season (again) and Bannan had the crowd around me super pumped especially early. Great spoil late by Mackin who finds more involvement every week. A few had quiet days (Fitzsimon, Zanker, Goldrick to some extent) but hopefully that keeps us hungry. Looking forward to Lampard's 50th game next week. Well deserved, and hopefully in front of a more Demons-dominated crowd than this week. Get there, Dees fans!

Some pre-game light reading - covers our progression and remarkable consistency since Season 1, with some interesting stats and good signs for the future: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-21/melbourne-demons-aflw-premiership-window-wide-open/101555732 And a nice stat showing our pressure game's impact on other teams' ball use (lesser/no effect on North, Brisbane and Freo but around 8% otherwise):

Agree. There's no one waiting in the wings with a similar output and better fitness. Has done really well off a long time out of the game. Her and Daisy down there is a bit of a worry speed-wise though, so who knows.

Colvin joins the 'first post-injury run' club! Plenty of time before next season to tick all the boxes. Of course it wouldn't be a training video without there being something alarming to notice like... Duffy in a moonboot!

Yes, that was awesome! But...I think those comments were referring to the draft for the first AFLW season, when Melbourne had to re-select Daisy as a marquee signing - players didn't automatically carry over from the exhibition series, e.g. Ellie Blackburn who was a Demon in 2013 and signed as a marquee player for the Bulldogs for 2017. Daisy clearly had some sway! But I guess the luck/chance came into it way back when Daisy was drafted to us for the exhibition games, which set in motion that connection and not wanting to play anywhere else. Going back that step further, that draft order was decided (Wikipedia tells me!) by a coin toss. Whoever got the first pick was obviously always going to select Daisy. So whoever called that toss is the one we should be thanking!

Ah the reverse jinx, works every time! Great win, especially considering the outs. Didn't miss a beat really. 15/21 who played in the GF earlier this year. How good is Purcell? I reckon even those who recruited her over wouldn't have expected such an output. Special mention to Mithen and Heath who upped the ante in others' absence. Same for Caris who came in with the right attitude for her opportunity (5 tackles) and will find game time one way or another next season. Staying on the tackles, West (11), Hanks (8) and Lampard (7) were great in that regard and certainly weren't alone. Mackin - she kicked a pretty special goal with her first kick on debut (that's debut in footy, not just the club!) in the practice game at the G against Carlton and she was so close again, her feet just got a bit ahead of her. Exciting stuff. Speaking of exciting, Zanker out of the ruck should have been a GOTY contender, but I guess I'm pretty biased. Overall, our field kicking was perhaps the best I've ever seen by us and potentially in the league - kicking to space, kicking to advantage, kicking to pinpoint, and being able to switch up between options. Excellent vibe around Daisy's 50th, only wish it could have been at home. We should look back at the day she was drafted to Melbourne as a very important one in our club history. She could have been a Bulldog and quite seriously, I think our team would be on a different trajectory - her fingerprints are all over our culture. This video captures the love and respect going both ways between captain and teammates (and gives a glimpse of what's going on under Paxman's bandage, yikes):

Noticed that Eliza's been on the bench doing some kind of role a few games this season. She'll come back with something extra from that. It'd be a tough injury to deal with but looks like she's handled it all well and making strides now, with a grin, of course, no surprise there! Will be a massive in for 2023.

It's a case of the comments being a great example of why it's so important. Love the way AFLW has taken the lead on this and how it's grown from a game to a round and even some pretty cool merch this year in the Demon Shop. Lots of people feel welcome at AFLW that don't at the men's, which is a great shame and hopefully something that can gradually be turned around.

B E W A R E ~~~ Danger game ~~~

Yeah, once you're tarred with the thrower tag it's hard to shake. There's a certain number 13 for the men's whose prowess in creative handballing means some umpires have this perception and he gets extra scrutiny. And I think sometimes for players new/ish to the sport it's not quite knowing when they can legitimately "hold it in" (due to not having prior) to force a stoppage as the better option than the pressured, panic handball, which is often when the technique gets a bit "interesting" and these calls happen. And if your technique's already a bit interesting due to coming from another sport, umpires will get whistle happy when in reality it's just as dodgy as many going round.

Excellent win! Halftime I was fearful that we weren't going to go on with it, not in a losing sense but in a percentage sense, but yeah, they certainly weren't interested in mercy. Another great team effort - I couldn't name a player that didn't contribute something. #1 highlight was Goldie's epic tackle on Blackburn and not just that, but the enthusiastic celebration by her teammates - how good's that? Reckon Jason Bennett is her #1 fan. #2 highlight was Bannan absolutely jetting it (past poor Daisy!) to make that tackle that set up Tayla's toe-poke goal. Super stuff. Said last week that form would come for her, glad it was quick. Paxy - you know we're in control of a game when she just goes completely off the chain like that. What a luxury provided by the rise of West, Purcell, and Hanks. I'd say she turned back the clock but that's probably doing discredit to her recent form. Loving Heath's kicking into forward 50. Tayla rose to the challenge of rucking out the game, and how! Zanker had her kicking boots on and was crucial with body work around the ground. Mithen is so much part of the furniture at this point that we forget to commend her progress. Backline didn't have much to do so hopefully enjoyed a freshen up (ok now that's just sounding arrogant). Also agree with others upthread that those "throw" decisions against Goldrick were bizarre - like, they probably were questionable but not more so than many others. Reckon she was close to giving away 50s for dissent so at least that was avoided. Lastly, loved that goal by Hore and loved even more that she didn't try to "claim" it as intentional. And...this made me laugh more than it should have:

This will be Kate Hore's 50th game! Upcoming potential 50-game milestones for the remainder of this season: Daisy (48), Lampard (46) | Finals pending | Zanker (45)

I don't know, Daisy might be running the AFL by then 😉 As for Mick, well, he got in on the ground floor and has put in the hard yards over many years - which can't be said about everyone in the AFLW coaching space. We've been really lucky to have someone like this build the foundation of our team, which will hopefully be recognised more in time. A lot of sacrifices along the way, I'd imagine. He's developed with the role and would be sought after by pretty much any club in the league now. One thing left to do, nine seasons, and hopefully a smooth transition to our next phase and his.

Best of luck Hunty. Will always remember this fondly:

I think I'm officially becoming a harsh marker of this team! Last two weeks have been solid enough wins, but I always feel we can do so much more. Watching other top 4 contenders demolish expansion sides probably isn't helping. I will give credit to Freo though for what they brought for three quarters of the game - easily the best they've put on the park this season in terms of pressure and two-way running. Then fourth quarter we simply put the foot down and got it done. Seems Stinear is more willing to throw the magnets around this season. It's a good thing in the (slightly) longer season, giving us more options if we need a shake-up in later games. Defense-wise, I worry. Wish Colvin was out there for that extra grit. I'd think that Goldie will re-calibrate just a tad this week and maybe rein that "go-go-go" in...about 5% 😂 Duffy has some of the best goal sense in the league (we've seen glimpses of it). Agree with WCW, she's never had that "typical" footballer physique and in her earlier time at Freo was probably way fitter than she actually looked. Obviously has some work to do there now, but she'll build that back, I just hope she's loving being a Demon and finding a good balance. Bannan's having a super frustrating season and probably feeling it. Had some almost moments today. It will come! Shout out to the fans over there and those that travelled for their great support, could hear you through the TV for sure. The least said about the umpires the better.

Vote for Paxy for GOTY! Also noteworthy (although as has been pointed out, take out a couple of the older players and our core is quite young, though that's a theme across the competition, I'd imagine):

Late to the party, but yeah, a good win that's hard to complain about, though slotting a few more would have been handy as per usual. Loved the four-quarter effort and pressure though against an obviously under-resourced team that played very defensively after half time. Smother work top notch, all those little things. Liked the way everyone got around Duffy on debut. Also good to see the magnets thrown around a little. Goldrick a welcome return and she'll build. And congrats to L.Pearce on a magnificent 50 games. Special shout out to our cheer squad who completely outperformed the home fans on every level!

Great news. I was fearing what the "personal reasons" for her absence could be, but this is surely the very best result. You can feel the love (and surprise!) in that room!

Round 5 team: IN - Duffy (club debut), Harris, Goldrick OUT - Campbell, Chaplin, Wilson (all omitted)

To be honest, I was expecting a heavier defeat. A few Dees definitely went missing... Brisbane also looked to run the game out better fitness wise. Our forward line was so one dimensional. Felt for the debutant in Campbell, a tough ask for a pretty raw player - good experience though. Those soccer goals were super frustrating, but it's why those really deep entries with players out of position are gold. We need more of that. The Lions were certainly 'due' a win against us. We've definitely got away with some against them. Apart from half a quarter in the first, we didn't play near our best though, so that's something to build from. We've had a good look at how they get it done and hopefully by season's end we'll be in stronger form. On a positive note, I like Mackin's involvement in her first ever full game of AFLW. You expect a cross-coder to give away some free kicks or get caught out on game awareness stuff, but so far as I could tell, she was up to speed. Selection will be interesting this week!

I reckon it'll be worth about 15 points, give or take 😉