Dees_In_October

Seriously, how are we even meant to sleep after that?

Well, just thought I'd round out a great day by checking on the VFLW scores and lo and behold, the girls got the job done too! So it was a three-win day, with each win coming against Richmond (since Port Melbourne in VFLW are essentially Richmond's affiliate this year because unlike every other AFLW affiliated VFLW club, the Tiges didn't feel like paying to field a VFLW team but that's a whole other thing). Port Melbourne were undefeated going into this round, while Casey were 4-3, so this was something of an upset and quite a margin too. FINAL SCORE: Port 4.4.28 Casey 10.9.69 AFLW players for the Dees: Birch, Lampard, Tarrant, Gay, Sherriff, Parry and Bannan Goalkickers: Bannan 3, Parry 2, Johnson 1, Milford 1, Humphries 1, Fairchild 1, Thompson 1 Next week, Round 9: North Melbourne (2-5 going into Round 8) at Arden St 2PM Saturday 1st of May

Well, a disappointing way for the season to end! But all credit has to go to Adelaide who were simply too good in every facet of the game and completely outplayed us. They never looked in doubt. In many ways, it was a reversal of our effort against them a month back. They responded to that as you would expect of a two-time premiership team. Too many of our players failed to get into the game and we just couldn't take a trick. The luck we'd had the last four rounds (much of which we admittedly created through sheer grit and determination) abandoned us and Adelaide showed no mercy. It took so much to get there that you could kind of sense a flat performance would eventually trip us up. Felt for McNamara and Randall - not a nice way to end your season. And we all lose by not getting to see Randall in the Grand Final. All that said: what a season! Like others have commented, as disappointing as it was to lose in such a fashion, I'm still so proud of how far this team came this season and the spirit they played in couldn't be faulted. No one would have had us in the Prelims at season's beginning. Few would have had us in the finals. Some of the predictions were very dire! I'll admit I was iffy! While it's still too soon to say if our draft strategy has paid off, it feels like the right move. Of those that left, the hardest to replace probably turned out to be Cordner, somewhat expectantly but mostly due to Downie's injury. This is a credit to the players who stepped up and the continued development of our youngsters. We equalled last year's effort - and actually surpassed it given the season being three games longer. Three or four players who would have been in our bottom six or on the fringes last year stepped up to cement places in the team. The debutants made their mark, with Bannan and MacNamara playing every game, and Magee improving well beyond what her first game might have suggested. The much-anticipated (well, by me!) break-out season of Zanker was great to witness - the sky's the limit from here if the work is done. Same goes for Hanks who achieved some deserved recognition. Shout-out also to Lampard, whose return from an ACL during this season was perhaps not spoken of much but she really built into the season. Next year...is an eternity away. It seems even longer than usual, despite the fact that it is actually closer due to the lengthened season. There are many questions: The season structure is (if I recall correctly) meant to expand to 10 H&A rounds - will that happen and will it impact when the season is started/how much overlap there is with the men? I've heard talk of starting in November. Will Daisy play on? The vibe I get is yes at this stage but things can change quickly. Other retirees/trades etc.? You'd wonder about Cunningham's role going forward. Downie? Does McEvoy make the trip again? Things must become difficult for Sloane now, after that third ACL and now 28. Will we be as proactive in the trade and draft period this year? Personally I feel we'd be better off targeting some proven performers rather than going the draft route again although further expansion is a ticking time bomb as well. We still need that big marking forward we so sorely lack and more depth down back. Who might we move along? Emonson? How much will we need to improve on this season's output to be finals contenders again? Sides like North, Freo and Carlton who were very strong in 2020 came into 2021 as favourites but didn't improve enough and were exposed. Can Port Adelaide enter the comp soon? ? Looking forward to the Grand Final and celebrating what was undoubtedly the best season of AFLW so far. Funny to think how lots of us raved about that Melbourne v North game at a locked-down Casey mid-season as the best game in the comp history so far - since then I reckon there's been about 5 games of equal quality or excitement-factor. Onwards and upwards. It might be a while before I muster the will to trek to Casey Fields again but hopefully I'll get along to a VFLW game or too at some stage to check out what's happening at that level - at this stage the Casey girls sit 5th of 12 teams, with 3 wins and 3 losses.

Thanks so much for your detailed reply! It's great to have more detail about the season structure there. Unfortunately it seems like it may become more difficult for players to cross-over in the future but certainly happy to enjoy it while it lasts and players are happy to do so (and inter-county and club level willing). Like I said, it really brings a different dimension to the competition and the success rate has been quite good in terms of players cementing places even in strong sides and having an impact. Especially considering that as cross-code rookies these are essentially 'free' players for clubs, in the sense that they don't have to spend draft picks to acquire them and have to fill up rookie spots anyway. You can't help but wonder what some of these players would be like with more consistent game time across a year because they learn so quickly already and are such naturals to many elements of the game. Of course, it's all a balancing act. Anyway, Dublin's definitely my team now (if it wasn't already due to Jimmy!). I think a lot of Melbourne AFLW supporters would feel the same. Hopefully all three girls are able to build strongly from the season here, Goldie especially, and continue their great careers back home. 2022 feels a long way in the future but I'm sure they'd be welcomed back with any other talented mates!

How good is it to wake up Monday after a double victory weekend! Another excellent team effort by the girls, with Maddi Gay the standout. As someone said upthread, couldn't really name any passengers in this game, with every player bobbing up at some point to play their part. Cunningham's best game in a while, had some good quick hands and important touches and the role she's playing structurally is valuable for Zanker and L.Pearce. Glad they went with Tarrant up forward and what a time for her first AFLW goal! Good to have adaptable players like this who can play forward or back. Also well done to Emonson who slotted in well. Special shout out to Magee who played her best game yet in her short career. Her improvement week on week has been immense all things considered. She's learning at a rate of knots. It's heart in mouth stuff at times but her dash out of defense was a sight to behold. Shelley Scott goes completely under the radar outside the club, which is weird considering she was our B&F last year! But she just keeps on keeping on. Only injury concern is Downie who I saw limp off in the dying stage. The race is on for Daisy but even if she doesn't get up, her influence will be all over the field. Adelaide in Adelaide is a tough ask but our team should go in with every belief and a good understanding of what kind of effort will be required.

Thanks for your perspective. It's been a pleasure to have the Dublin players join us and they've brought so much to the team. Are there any other Dublin players in particular who you think might be interested in giving AFLW a go? What's the general opinion over there of players being recruited and travelling over? I can imagine some clubs over there feeling like they don't get anything out of it. It seems like there isn't an issue for Dublin and the girls have felt supported by Melbourne in some pretty tricky circumstances the last year or so. I really hope that's the case because it should be a two-way street with this kind of partnership. Go Dublin and the Dees!

No relation. The only other ruck who's any competition is Moody for Carlton. But I'd think L.Pearce has her covered. The rules are a little different for AFLW Rising Star - no games limit, under 21 not 20 on Jan 1 of the season. So it's a bit of a quirk that Tyla wasn't nominated in previous years and just turned 21 this past February. There's precedence though for an 'older' player with Huntington winning age 21 in 2020. So if they're going by impact and consistency, Tyla can't be ignored. Having said that, wouldn't be surprised if they give it to McKenzie for PR reasons.

So, much like our team, I went missing mid-season… But also much like them, I’m back with a vengeance! Rest assured, while I’ve had no time to comment here, I’ve been following our Dees closely. Managed to get to all Vic games this season, including the hellscapes of Whitten Oval and Vic Park. Well, hellscapes in terms of the results and our team’s insipid performances. Clearly both venues are one thousand times nicer to watch footy at than Casey…although I’ve witnessed some magic there this season. What a rollercoaster! Some real ups and downs, and when I saw the fixture for the last three rounds, I admit I thought we were goners. Luckily, the girls had no such attitude and in fact seemed spurred on by the challenge. Super happy to return here to see I’ve missed SO MUCH discussion...not the tumbleweeds it once was, great to see so many getting behind the girls with such passion. RE: the need to bring in a player for Daisy, I wonder if we might bring back Emonson and then push Tarrant forward, which is her natural position. Kicked 5 in the VFLW a few weeks back. The other options are McEvoy and Fitzsimon, and after that we’re into debut territory. At least we have options this year, unlike in 2020 when we were down to an assistant coach as our sole emergency at this stage! My feelings on our players across the H&A season: Awesome: Paxman, L.Pearce, Hanks, Zanker, Gay, Goldrick, Lampard, Colvin, Hore, Scott (R9 was a boost!), D.Pearce (never count her out) Impressed now and for the future: McNamara, Tarrant, Bannan, Sherriff, Heath, Magee, Fitzsimon More to give/had limited opportunity: Cunningham, Parry, Mithen, Birch, Downie, Petrevski, McEvoy, Emonson Yet to debut: Caris, Kendall, Simmons Just not fair: Sloane Shout out to the coach and his wife for handling the impending birth across R8 & 9 to perfection and welcome to the little one. Also belated congrats to Jane Lange for coaching the girls to victory against Freo. Everything crossed for Saturday! P.S. Any chance of getting one of our girls up on the banner for this weekend?

Well, you were a quarter and a couple of goals off, but you nailed it! As did the Dees! Super impressive win. Never seen them come out firing like that against such quality opposition and sustain it for so much of the game. North looked shell-shocked and quite flat to be honest, but their comeback was pretty much a guarantee and I thought our players weathered it well when they'd lost momentum. There were some shaky moments though! I wish we could have been there to cheer them on, but I hope the girls and staff felt the support anyway (and from the couple of people peering through the fence at Casey while 'exercising'!). Goldrick rapidly becoming a favourite. Doesn't care who she's up against, doesn't care about making mistakes, just goes for it and brings so much to the team. Weirdly I probably saw more blatant mistakes from both Daisy and Paxman than I've seen in their AFLW careers to date. But they were there in the critical moments with some big last gasp efforts. Mithen was ever-present. Gay gave us some of the extra oomph we'd been missing in the middle. Aside from quiet games from a couple (Zanker, Birch, McNamara - fair enough in just a third game!), everyone had their moments and it was a pretty even spread. Didn't give North the chance to ever truly get going; we only saw a glimpse of how damaging they can be. Next week? Who cares, this is one to savour!

Karen Paxman will (all going to plan) play her 30th game on the weekend. For context, this puts her among only 22 players prior to this round who have reached that figure, and the first to play all 30 at Melbourne. Libby Birch reached the milestone last week with her games combined between the Dogs and Dees. At the moment, given the shorter seasons, it's effectively what a 50 or even 100 game milestone would be in the men's, so something to celebrate. Especially given it's not guaranteed (although I wouldn't count her out) that she'll reach 50, as that will take another 2 or so seasons. So congrats to Paxy! For reference, other milestones of this nature that could be reached if the season reaches completion: Scott (currently on 28 games) Mithen (25) L.Pearce (23) D.Pearce (22) Cunningham (22) Hore (22)

Well, that was about as good a hit out as you could hope for in Round 1. Classic case of everyone being better for the run and to come away with the win is the icing. There was certainly a couple of layers of rust for our players, but they worked their way into it well before fading at the end. To be honest, I’d expected them to be even more out of touch given the nearly 10 months with only one practice game and the unsettled lead-up. Not sure if we’d have had second look-in if we’d had that kind of start against Adelaide. But that’s irrelevant now! Kudos to the club and everyone involved though for keeping everything chugging along over lockdown. It’s no mean feat! Positives: L.Pearce, great game, we look so much better with her in the side. And consequently, with Zanker getting more time in her true position. Which in turn, takes the pressure of Cunningham, who has now equalled her poor 2020 goal tally in one game. Paxman, must be some reverse-Samson energy or something, but she keeps upping the ante. Accurate goal kicking in general. Goldie, just to be out there so soon after quarantine was impressive. Hanks, feels like she’s been around forever but is just shy of 21 and among the best kicks in the team. First-ever goals for Heath and Petrevski (plus a second!). Playing at a non-wind-affected venue. The debutants: McNamara obviously had the most apparent impact, super impressive. Fitzsimon looked steady out there, not out of place at all. Bannan is a natural and will work her way in. Fun Fact—Bannan is the 500th players to debut in the AFLW and the 51st player to represent the Dees in the league. The negatives: Birch had nowhere near her usual impact due to our defence being out of whack structurally. It’s probably our greatest area of concern at the moment with Downie out for a bit and just lacking experience back there in general. I wouldn’t mind seeing Scott go back. Unfortunately being the stop-gap always seems to fall to her, although it worked out well enough last season. May not be the best idea, since she looked a bit all over the shop in this game (a great contested grab though). Someone upthread was asking about Gay and Lampard. Not sure on Gay because she’s a walk-up start and wasn’t listed as having an injury. Maybe a work conflict or the like. Lampard is still recovering from an ACL and is hopefully set to return mid-season. I want Magee in ASAP but also am trying to temper the instinct as rushing her is probably not wise in the long-term. Overall, just so happy to have footy back, a truly fortunate position to be in and one to savour. Don’t forget, tickets on sale on Monday for Round 2 v. Richmond at Casey. 9AM members, 10AM general public, I believe.

Unfortunately hasn't - out for 4 weeks. A shame since she missed so much last season too. https://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/854336/aflw-injury-update-downie-sidelined-with-ankle-injury Rest of the injury/rehab list: Simmons - should be a test for Round 2 (ankle) Lampard - Round 3 (ACL) Sloane - Round 6 (ACL)

Info on ticketing here: https://womens.afl/tickets/faq Basically, a reduced crowd will be allowed at all games but you must buy tickets in advance, including for free as a member for some clubs (I haven't heard anything as a MFC member so no idea what's going on there). Tickets are on sale round by round each Monday, home members at 9AM and general admission at 10AM. Never thought I'd get to the point where I kind of miss Casey Fields ?

Nice one! Definitely our best player across the 4 years. Would love to see Paxy in the site header to recognise this. If memory serves, Daisy was up there are some point?

Yeah, I've always found that strange. For comparison, this year, 12 of the 14 AFLW teams have a junior membership. Most other clubs also offer a few tiers of adult membership for AFLW, whereas MFC only offer one priced at $99 (among the most expensive). Personally, I'm happy to pay to the support the girls and don't care much about merchandise or whatever in return, but our options are really lacking in this compared to other clubs.

Yeah, I'll admit it was frustrating to watch them pulling up for tackles that would be fine in AFLW. It also felt like it was kind of subjective where the line was, but maybe I was biased!

The Giants have already re-located to Albury, with only one staying back for work commitments temporarily. I imagine the impact for teams might vary quite a lot in that regard though. https://womens.afl/news/54856/sydney-s-covid-outbreak-forces-giants-to-move-south

I guess this falls under 2021 preseason! A few weeks back I caught a replay of the All-Ireland Ladies Championship, featuring of course our Irish players in Goldrick, McEvoy and Magee for Dublin. The Dubs had an impressive comeback win to clinch their fourth straight title. It was interesting to see Goldrick and McEvoy in their natural element. I only really know the basics of the game, but it was clear that Dublin is a very professional outfit. Goldrick in particular was super impressive. She came to the fore when the game was in the balance, and was awarded the player of the match. The commentary was in Gaelic so I had no idea what they were saying mostly but there was one passage of play where I could understand a few words being repeated: "Magee" and "physical". I get the sense she's going to enjoy the full tackle in AFLW. I believe they were meant to travel straight after Christmas so hopefully all goes smoothly with that and quarantine. Obviously they are match fit, but it's going to be a quick and steep adjustment back to footy. The VFLW's alignment with the AFLW season could be very handy in this regard. Now I'll make my annual promise to try to check out some pre-season training. I saw the girls going round at Gosch's while driving by but will try to get a closer look and report back!

This is a first for me in that I remember watching Simmons play, it must have been the U18 champs last year. Though other players were more skillful, she stood out to me for the way she moved despite her height.

I'm really happy we've gone and got some height. Good to finally have a second ruck again, which will free up Zanker with Cordner gone and in case L.Pearce goes down again (hopefully not). Of course, Caris is young and raw but what better way to develop a player than alongside one of the best rucks in the comp.

I'd think unlikely as most girls stop growing mid-teens, but you never know.

Loved seeing us get to play a big part of draft night. Obviously, all selected are future champions and premiership stars ? Seriously though, I'm looking forward to seeing what our new players can do in 2021 under the guidance of some great leaders at the Dees.

Replaced! Got to move on quickly ?

Good point! If memory serves, way back at the start of the pandemic, they had the teams divided with the men at Casey and the women at AAMI Park, so the better facilities will make that work even better for all. As for hubs, I don't think that would be viable for many reasons but glad to hear that they're doing some planning for different scenarios and getting the players' views.

Seems like an eternity since I've been out to Casey Fields but it's definitely for the best considering the case numbers in that area, unfortunately. But on the bright side, here are some pics of the upgraded facilities. Obviously the whole club and community will benefit from this, but it's explained as being for AFLW so I'm putting it here. https://shape.com.au/projects/casey-fields/