Dees_In_October

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 😉

Speaking of which... "Tayla Harris and Jordan Ivey have been offered one-week suspensions following Narrm’s Round 3 match against St Kilda at RSEA Park. The club will provide an update on its position regarding both incidents in due course." https://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/1220542/harris-ivey-charged-by-mro

Bizarre game but that first quarter was just the salve I needed in dealing with...that other event (no, not the Queen). We arrived switched on; they thought they were having a Sunday stroll. To the Saints' credit, they re-applied themselves admirably after quarter time, while our ability to miss was baffling. Maybe over summer we should have a club-wide goal kicking camp. I got my wish of more physicality and instinctive play from Zanker. Didn't lay a tackle but impacted in other ways. Saw a pick-up and handpass from her bootlaces that would put many smaller players in the league to shame. Last season she had 1 behind and many shots that missed completely. This season she's 3 straight after Round 3. Daisy was just not quite right. Hoping she'll build back some form as she edges towards 50 games (on 45 after R3). Of course, she did have that great one-hander. I'd never count her out. Liked the game of Fitzsimon and 4 tackles from Bannan was nice to see. Saints fans near me were shocked by Harris's brutal attack on ball and player. I worry about our defense against more capable attacking teams... BIG test next week.

Apparently she's fine injury wise but not match fit yet. Building for Round 5-6 (this is according to a twitter comment I saw so no idea if verified). I know you're waiting for that crumb!

Glad it's just the week for Gay after her struggles last season. For those wondering about Duffy, according to twitter comments, she's fine but not match ready yet. Building for Round 5-6.

Some vision of Spargo's test:

I think that our Melbourne fans (as in, Dees fans in Melbourne) are coming off an experience unlike any other fanbase, in terms of watching a drought-breaking premiership from afar. Some of the "boost" that fans get from success was naturally somewhat dispersed. I think a lot of people don't know quite how to be in these uncharted waters. I'd also say that our fans are hesitant to be vocal when things are going badly - it's a learned response that hasn't quite been unlearned yet (although I'm not sure that it's any worse than at other clubs with similar histories). Also I'd wager that our fans are, on average, smarter about the actual rules of the game and less interested in yelling ball every five seconds, which comes off as less passionate...but I might be biased in that opinion. One thing we do and have done consistently even in the dark years is show up at a great rate. I'd say the core of our members are among the MOST rusted on in the league, because how on earth else have they stuck around? Not sure where this page sourced their info and if it's verified, but it certainly goes counter to the narrative around Dees fans attendance this season:

Freo lost two of their most experienced leaders on the eve of the season to injury (the Antonios). Losing Houghton to Port has greatly diminished their scoring power. Tbh, despite their result last season, I think they might have been about to plateau anyway. Check out their games experience for R2 compared to the other 'original 8'. Even Carlton who've leaked players for years had more experience.

Victory from the jaws of defeat! They looked pretty flat and disjointed after the big build up to last week. Even Hanks was uncharacteristically fumbly and indecisive. Some diabolical kicking all round. Will be interesting to see where the Roos stand come season's end. Some big individual efforts to get us over the line though, and a handy four points from a poor game. Next week: would love Zanker to fire up and just play on instinct with some more physicality. So much to offer but just off the boil at the moment, drifting in and out of the game.