Dees_In_October

For those jumping in for finals action, here's where the list sits after a tumultuous season. These are just "long-term" (3+ week) and season-ending injuries/absences so far, from the original list of 30. In the end, we did have 16 players who played all 6 home and away games. Before R1: Smith (knee, season), Sloane (knee, season), Jakobsson (work absence, season), L.Pearce (R1-3, 5-?), Mithen (R1-4) R2-R6: Kemp (knee, season), Guerin (knee, season), Heath (appendicitis, ?), Downie (illness, ?), Lampard (knee, season), Goldrick (home to Ireland, season), McEvoy (home to Ireland, season) So from last week's team we have 18 players. Then, possibly available for this weekend: Downie, L.Pearce, Heath, Colvin, Petrevski and apparently former Docker and Blue Kirby Bentley, another train-on. So we'll get to 21 in one way or another. But we go into this game quite depleted. Of those now missing, I'd say 6 at absolute minimum are in our best 21.

Former Demon vice captain and current Geelong captain Mel Hickey is the first go. A great ambassador for women's footy over many years and a friend to many current Dees. AFLW Geelong captain: 2019– AFL Women's All-Australian team: 2017 VWFL/VFLW 7× VWFL/VFLW premiership player: 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 VFL Women's team of the year: 2016

And just to add, there are many players across the league who will now have played their last game without knowing it, due to age, injuries, the competition passing them by or the need to return to careers. An all too brief footy career for some but I'm sure greatly cherished. Nothing major in the scheme of the world but I think worth noting.

Love the way these two have attacked the game - no fear. They've obviously been told to just give it crack, not to worry about mistakes. I think they've had a great impact and have been a positive in a season where we've had to rely more on depth players than ever before.

8- team final series. https://womens.afl/news/49363/aflw-finals-structure-revealed-after-season-cut-short Thanks to the AFL for its stellar communication during this time /end sarcasm In all seriousness, I doubt there'll be a Grand Final. Things could look different quickly. Let's all enjoy the possibly brief moment where the Dees are still in the hunt. (Also, can we even field a team? With Lampard down and Goldrick maybe out, we're still around 1 fit player.)

As much as I don't enjoy the injuries and mystery illnesses, it's great the Perko gets another go. As soon as we hit that 23 fit player threshold, she can't play, so this might be her last go unless they continue to drop like flies. And the game? I can't pick it. Carlton are a good team, solid across every line and fast. It'll be a big test, especially for our defense, which has the lowest against score in the league (aided somewhat by the low-scoring poor weather games). Carlton are the 3rd best attack though, so who knows. A win sets us up, a loss sets us back. All failing, barrack against Collingwood.

Yep, I'm pretty much as dedicated as they come for our AFLW team, but I still go to Casey with dragging feet. It always feels like there are only Melbourne supporters there from that side of Clayton onwards. The team probably hasn't gained as much traction among our traditional supporters as it has for the inner city clubs. The plus is that it felt like the majority who were there were young families. Lots of little Demons running around and I remember when that was a rare sight. As to the game, well there's not much more to say about a good win against a clearly inferior opponent. I was glad they were able to put down the pedal in the second half and get the percentage boost, as this has been our downfall too many times. As an aside, the girls looked like they were having so much fun out there, which of course is easy when you're smashing a team, but I thought it was a good energy boost in what's been a tumultuous year so far for the list. The way they got around Perko was great and Mithen's selflessness in forgoing another attempt at her own first goal for a teammate's is hopefully a reflection of the team ethos.

Kat Smith presented her jumper so maybe her? Glad Sarah gets another go around this week, but as soon as someone else becomes fit, unfortunately that's it for her per the rules.

Yep, we sure did look better. The flow on effect of having L.Pearce was crucial, freeing up Zanker, Scott and Cordner to play more of their natural roles and in turn taking pressure off each line. Agree with others that, while they didn't exactly set the world on fire, Cunningham and Newman were improved. Seven individual goalkickers reflected a team effort - especially that chain of handballs to set up Scott, started by Newman on the boundary. We had the 2nd highest number of marks i50 and 2nd best disposal efficiency for Round 4. Was great to see Parry do so well on debut, joining the "goal with first kick" club. Time will tell if her massive goalkicking numbers in the Canberra league will translate at the top level. Clearly recruited to help our goalkicking, wish she could've been out there sooner. This was the 25th game for both Paxman and O'Dea, meaning they've played every possible game for us so far. No mean feat across 4 seasons. Scott will likely notch up her 25th in R5. For reference, the players with the most games in the league are 2 Adelaide players with 28. Some stats for the mid-way point of the season: league-wide Paxman is 7th for disposals (avg. 20.3 at 70% eff.), 7th for metres gained, 10th for contested possessions and eq. 5th in i50s. Daisy is averaging 14 at 71% and is eq. 5th in intercept possessions (Birch is eq. 6th). Scott is equal 4th in score involvements, Hore is eq. 6th, Zanker is eq. 12th. Hanks is 8th in tackles. Looking ahead to next week, we might actually face some selection dilemmas! Mithen is apparently ready to go. The obvious switch would have been Heath, but she already went out last week. With appendicitis because, of course. Our injury stress lessens slightly, with now 3 fit players outside the 21, although we're clearly not going to be as fresh as other teams. Every game's a danger game from here on out! We have two games left at Casey, so get along if you can.

My thoughts are mainly: WHAT A SHOCKER! Yep, that classic danger game. When I said last week "watch out for Greiser", who knew it would come to such devastating fruition. What a kick though. Wish she was ours. Patrikios too. 18 years old! Scott's kick was pretty good too. It seems like the conditions in the first few weeks really did disguise our flaws, the same ones since year 1: goalkicking and fwd 50 efficiency. And it felt like our ruck situation really started to have its toll. Cordner is 9th in the league hitouts, which is a good effort and all for a non-ruck but can't come close to the quality of L.Pearce. And there isn't a single Demon in the top 10 clearance players (Paxman and Gay are 13th). Cunningham was MIA and needed to capitalise when she did get it, which she failed to do. Wasn't alone there, of course. What bothered me was the number of times a Saints player was able to touch set shots on the line, uncontested. Where were our talls? I actually thought Newman was quite lively, but she needs to hit the scoreboard soon. Still, we haven't got much choice in selections. Unless L.Pearce, Parry and Mithen are recovered, with Guerin out, we're at 22 players and need to select 21. This was the kind of performance I'd actually expected in the first few rounds. To be honest, both North and the Bulldogs really failed advantage in the way they should have. The Saints played our weaknesses well. The way they'd pushed Adelaide the week before marked them as the expansion side with the most potential. Their defensive pressure was great and played a part in preventing us from getting the scrappy goals we've relied on in the first two rounds. We needed to put them away early or they were always going to put everything into getting that first win. Two players down didn't help, but we still should have been able to grind it out. We won basically every stat except the one that matters, so none of this was through lack of effort. We had the top 5 fantasy point players (not always the most reliable of measures, but does say something). It was just the finishing. Daisy is 3rd in the comp in intercept possessions - but do we need her to be the one making more of those i50s? I appreciated the efforts of Paxman (26 disposals), Hore, Zanker (8 tackles) and Hanks (who led with 9 tackles) in particular. After our great marking performance in the wet, Hore seemed to the only one who brought her hands to this game! As an aside, well done to the Saints who really pulled out all stops to make for a great atmosphere at Moorabbin. Even in the frustration of a defeat and a woeful attacking performance, I was pleased for their fans. Next week? Who knows. The potential return of L.Pearce and Mithen could give us a much-needed shake-up. Do we persist with the likes of Cunningham and Newman? At Docklands...I lean towards yes but am by no means confident. Still, at the start of the season, all things considered, I would have seen 2-1 as a win.

Great win last weekend. Daisy - 100% kicking efficiency before half time in the wet. Tyla Hanks - getting a young footballer's education as a negative mid; great to see, since her offensive side is so strong as well. The Irish duo - all class, please run the clip from the 1987 prelim during the week, just to be sure. Kemp - super sad, deserved some luck. Hoping we can bring our hunger and discipline to some dry and still (surely!) conditions tomorrow night. Cunningham and Newy, it's your time to shine. I wonder if we've been able to upgrade a train-on, as with Kemp out that takes the list down to 23, assuming that Parry isn't yet fit. Likely to be Guerin or maybe a debut for Brenna 'snakes in the library' Tarrant. The Saints were strong against an injury-stricken Crows last week and have a solid mix of experience and top-class youth. Watch for Patrikios and the new 'G-train' in Greiser.

Late to the game here, but I welcome any and all research on this topic. It absolutely falls under reasoned and justified discussion of the league, purely because, for top-level footy, it's a completely new area that all (or most) players, teams and clubs have to learn to address. This goes down to changeroom design, training of coaches in this regard, and so on. People who say that if there is a link to injury, then women shouldn't be playing, blatantly ignore the massive health and social benefits that the many players who'll never do an ACL enjoy. More research can only help, given that men's bodies have historically often been the default in medical science. There'll be more and more data as women's sports (particularly contact ones) move into better-resourced, semi-professional territory. Probably if menstruation is a factor in ACL injuries, it's likely to be a risk factor that coincides with several others to create a 'perfect storm' scenario. Anecdotally, it feels like there are fewer ACL injuries at VFLW level, for example, but that's just an impression not actual numbers. On a slightly different angle, openness about menstruation, while uncomfortable to some, is of vital importance for girls and young women's continued engagement with sport. It's not so much about someone's cycle impeding their ability to play (there's wide variation in the impact for individuals), it's the stigma and silence around it that causes worries - without going into too much detail - about uniform design, facilities and access to knowledge about how to manage it or even who to turn to for that support. I hope AFLW can be part of addressing that - I've gone into it here just because, how often does this topic come up on Demonland! ?

Usually I'd have something to add when I stroll in here mid week but everyone's already covered the main points. (Plus the traditional derail that must occur in every AFLW convo, yawn. Got to say that most Dees supporters commenting here seem to understand the context of the league better than the average AFL men's fan...no surprise there, of course ?). Love seeing the enthusiasm for an unexpected win here after the loooong offseason! My favourite thing about watching footy is seeing players develop and improve, picking out the ones with potential and then (hopefully!) seeing that realised at the highest possible level. Obviously, AFLW has that in spades, so for that and many other reasons, I find it very enjoyable. So there are are two players I do want to highlight who I didn't see mentioned up thread. Shelley Heath and Harriet Cordner. Heath is one that I could see great potential in when she debuted in 2019. Her game on the weekend, especially when it was there to be won in the last quarter, showed all of that starting to come together. She just went and went and went, super tenacious and looked really fresh as other players tired. Harriet is a sentimental favourite for obvious reasons but she's improved so much over the first 3 seasons and had a big VFLW campaign, winning Casey's B&F (Birch, Zanker and Jakobsson were joint Runners-up, for those playing at home). It was a massive task for her to shoulder most of the ruck duties against North's ruck duo, particularly King, who is some 10 cm taller and much more experienced in the role. Harriet did a great job and was well supported by her teammates. Here's some photographic evidence of her efforts (credit to Cassidy Captured photography). Ok, so I guess I had a bit to say after all. Go Dees!

With no true ruck available, Cordner/Zanker/Scott it is for now. In retrospect we were lucky to get away with 1 ruck in the last few seasons. We'll no doubt be looking to develop L.Pearce's eventual replacement sooner rather than later. As for this game...if it's open and free-flowing, we're probably doomed. A scrap is the only way I can see us getting over the line, we're really up against it. Maybe Casey conditions can help us instead of hindering for once! Looking forward to seeing some new players and the continued development of the rest. Go Dees!

Yep. And ACL rate is definitely higher. Around 5 times the rate of the men per 1000 playing hours (has declined each season though). I think there are lots of reasons behind this. Obviously, women's bodies are built differently but Aussie Rules-based sports science has focused on men's bodies, so research is needed into best preparation for women for the top level, which is happening. Plus not having access to the same level of coaching/preparation/resources in their junior careers (if they had one at all). Then, to get their bodies right for a whole new level of competition for 8 or so weeks of the year, and trying to squeeze it all into 10 hours a week of training...prehab/prevention might be first to go out the window. All speculation on my part. Interestingly, there are some injuries where the men suffer much worse than the women. From memory, hamstring, hip, groin type injuries haven't occurred with anywhere near the same frequency for women. Again probably comes down to the differences in bodies and the different loads due to the season structures. It's interesting but difficult to compare at this early stage.

The hits keep coming (Mithen now out til Round 4; Cunningham, Hore and Kemp facing tests) and I don't feel any the wiser about our best 21. So, instead of trying to put together a best 21, I've attempted to group the list by automatic selections, the rest in contention and those who are ruled out completely. It's too close for me to call between the 9 potentially fit players outside the automatic selections. It's a mix of unproven/young players like Parry, Goldrick, McEvoy, Petrevski and Tarrant, plus slightly more seasoned/known quantities like Sherriff, Kemp, Guerin and Colvin. Very exciting for many of these players who now have a good look at a debut - who knows what we might uncover! With Mithen out, do we run Daisy more in the midfield than expected? Or give more time to Heath/Hanks/Guerin. If Cunningham's out, do we put Cordner forward or put pressure on potential debutant Parry to hit the scoreboard? Worst case scenario, no Cunningham, Hore and Kemp available for R1 would leave us with just 1 fit player outside the 21...easy for selection, very rough for our chances against the Roos (who are a strong premiership contender by my reckoning). I'm not sure if the ability to upgrade train-on players kicks in at 23 fit players including all injuries/absences or just season-long injuries/absences. Some teams seem to have been able to do this without getting down to 23, so not sure what the exact rule is. Either way, any more injuries short or long-term will sink us completely. Automatic selections (16): Downie, Cordner, Birch, Lampard, D.Pearce, O'Dea, Scott, Hanks, Newman, Zanker, Paxman, Gay, Emonson, Heath, Cunningham (test, quad), Hore (test, shoulder) In contention (9): Guerin, Colvin, Goldrick, Parry, Kemp (test, ankle), Sherriff, Tarrant, Petrevski, McEvoy Ruled out until around R4 (2): L.Pearce (knee), Mithen (ankle) Ruled out for season (3): Sloane (knee), Smith (knee), Jakobbson (work)

The stars aligned for me to attend the practice game at Olympic Park in lovely conditions today. Plenty of fans from both teams in attendance, plus lots of tennis fans in the vicinity, with one American overheard to ask, “Is this rugby?” No doubt the Dees were happy with the lack of travel to the venue and to head back to base at half time and post-game. The game started off with some class shown by the club: The injured: Saw L.Pearce, walking fairly well (no crutches) but she looks a ways off yet. Kat Smith and Shae Sloane were also both in attendance. Jakobsson (sitting out the season to join the police) was also around, which was great after a tough but wise decision. Players who sat out the game: Kate Hore and Tegan Cunningham (slight strapping on a quad but moving fine). By my reckoning, all of the other 24 fit players took to the field at various stages. I was struck immediately in the warm-up by how sharp, focused and well-organised our drills were compared to Collingwood’s whose (in my biased opinion) seemed a little lacklustre and lacking intensity. Some rambling impressions: McEvoy (one of the Irish recruits) is super quick. In fact, her and the other Irish player, Goldrick, were both noticeably pacey. I was impressed by their attack on the footy and involvement with the game, in particular their pressure and movement with ball in hand. There was a classic cross-code moment when Goldrick broke the lines off half back and dashed through the centre square, only to forget to bounce. No running over the mark 50-metre penalties though ;) They’re clearly both excellent athletes who’ve come far already. Goldrick is apparently one of the best ever ladies Gaelic defenders and both are stars at Dublin. Colvin (an ex-Darebin player) is exactly as expected and will hopefully give us some of the physical presence we’ve lacked since Cranston’s departure. I was most impressed with our marking, especially in the backline. Several players (Cordner, Parry or maybe it was Colvin, Birch, Sherriff, Zanker, Downie and Daisy) took strong contested marks or positioned themselves well to intercept. This is the area we’ll most miss Jakobbson, who has some of the best hands in the league, but hopefully others (particularly Birch) will fill that void and others have clearly improved. Collingwood did a fair amount of dump kicking which did help. It seemed like Guerin and Heath were playing negative mid roles against some of Collingwood’s big names. Love it when Emonson’s got the ball in her hands—always got time. Good game by Heath as well. I can see Hanks playing more midfield in the future. Zanker, Scott and Cordner shared the ruck. They went okay up against the taller Collingwood duo. It’s not going to be easy, but all 3 are players that can be relied on to give it a crack and sacrifice their games for the team. Paxman was her usual self. O’Dea looked a little rusty with her disposal. Daisy played about 3 quarters and I might be over-stating it, but it was pretty much like she’d never missed a game. As predicted by many, she played off half back, which suits her ability to read the play and set up others very well. I reckon they all walk a little taller with her out there. *Disclaimer: All of the above opinions are based on possible misidentification of new players and less than focused attention in the second half due to running into friends and several phone call distractions! The goalkickers were Kemp, Sherriff, Heath, Hanks, Cordner and Scott. We controlled the ball better and were able to hit the scoreboard in the second half when play opened up. Collingwood made many more forward entries, especially in quarters 1 and 3, but were inaccurate, their first goal coming in the 3rd. FINAL SCORE Pies 3.6.24 Dees 6.3.39 Considering the absence of Hore and Cunningham, and with Zanker pushed up the ground for ruck duties, it’s not shabby. Most set shots were goals, which should be a major focus this season. Injuries: Mithen – ankle early on, didn’t seem overly concerned. Newman – taken down hard in a tackle as she tried to sprint for goal in typical style. Is wearing a helmet this season so hopefully taken off just as a precaution. Kemp – started off up forward and kicked a nice goal. Later came off (apparently an ankle injury). I believe she’s playing without an ACL after re-doing it early in the 2019 VFLW season…I just hope the injury gods can smile on her for once. Guerin – minor calf complaint. According to Stinear, aside from Kemp, all should be right to go Round 1. All in all, the best 21 is more hotly contested than I'd expected after the player losses, but I’ll have a go at some point before Round 1.

FIXTURE UPDATE Melbourne will now play their Round 4 game on Friday 28th of February against Collingwood at Marvel Stadium. The game was originally fixture at Victoria Park. It will be a double header with the men's State of Origin Bushfire Relief event. Times TBA (hopefully not 4pm or something ridiculous). Really glad this has come together as I wasn't looking forward to choosing between events. And glad that both comps can be involved in a very worthy cause.

True, it's all very unpredictable. I was trying to figure out what we'll need to do for a top 3 conference finish and I kept ending up with different teams in the top 3! I have a sneaking suspicion about the Saints... Possibly we could put Daisy in Smith's place? It'd be a real luxury to ease her in mainly behind the ball. I'll get down to training soon to get a better idea of where we're at and what the ruck plan is. And figure who's who of the new players.

Another update, again not great news. Shae Sloane and Kat Smith will both miss the season due to ACL injuries. Same knee as last year for Sloane. This is apparently Smith's first serious injury in 13 years of footy, so new territory for her. Best of luck to both for a smooth recovery. Not sure if replacements can be added for season-long injuries like this. As always, the silver lining is this does open up some opportunities for new players who, especially in the case of Smith's position, might have struggled to break in otherwise. A month to go!

Some updates on preseason so far and the plan for the next phase after Christmas. https://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/550619/aflw-program-just-ramping-up-stinear In some bad news, Lauren Pearce will miss the first half of the season due to injury. https://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/550498/ruck-pearce-to-face-delayed-start I was just thinking the other day (after Freo's ruck did her ACL) that she's the only player we'd hate to lose! The upside is that she hadn't returned to full training anyway, so they'd been effectively training with her absent already - clutching at straws perhaps... I guess we put Zanker in the ruck, Cordner to pinch hit and maybe one of the tall newbies gets a chance up forward. Unfortunate that we play North first up, since we struggled with their height last time. This doesn't do our chances any good at all. Still, the return of the 'other' Pearce and the continued improvement of our young players are some things to look forward to! I aim to get along to training in the new year and would be interested in everyone's thoughts on best 21 for round 1 as it gets closer.

The Irish players are rookies so we didn't use any picks to get them. Freebies! The lack of early picks was basically due to expansion and our trade for Birch. The Daisy thing kind of makes sense to me. We lost her, got Sherriff as her replacement. To bring Daisy back, we either had to get rid of Sherriff or use a pick to keep her. Based on her VFLW form, I think worth it for a known quantity. It's hard to know how we'll go next year. St Kilda and Richmond's lists have essentially played together in the state league; less the case for West Coast and Gold Coast. Brisbane and Freo were ravaged by expansion. As were the Bulldogs, but they've got the cream of the crop in the draft, players that might have immediate impact like Prespakis this year. The Pies come in off a VFLW Premiership and looked very strong at that level - will it translate? As for us, we do have one of the most stable lists and have been on the edge of finals each year. Never forget that we had more H&A wins than the Runner-up this year! Still, we'll certainly need some players to step up because the standard continues to rise. I have zero concerns about Birch though. I can see the thinking behind the players we got at the draft, which is reassuring! I love that Colvin's highlight reel is pretty much bumps and tackles. It was good also to see a couple of Casey players get picked up: co-captain Garner and Bentvelzen.

Rounding out the VFLW season, here are the Casey B&F awards for 2019. Unsurprisingly, the AFLW-listed players dominated the B&F count, with that famous Dees name ending up top. It might be in the blood, but you'd be hard pressed to find a more committed and hard-working player than Harriet Cordner. Best & Fairest Winner - Cordner Joint 2nd - Birch, Jakobsson, Zanker Most Improved - Dyson Rising Star - Winbanks Coaches Award - Garner Casey Trademark & Values Award - Hanks

Also of note for Dees fans - Melbourne's AFLW ruck, Lauren Pearce, won the VFLW Best & Fairest (albeit not playing for Casey). I won't duplicate here, but more info on the VFLW awards on the other forum!

The winner of the VFLW Best & Fairest is Melbourne's own Lauren Pearce, who dominated in the ruck for Darebin in 2019. Pearce won with 18 votes from Conti (Richmond, 16 votes) and McIntosh (Essendon, 14 votes). The award itself is now named partly after the 'other' Pearce, Daisy, herself a 6-time winner. A humble and deserving winner, Lauren is a great asset to our AFLW team and a loyal player for Darebin. After being the runner-up in the 2018 count, Lauren led the way in an inexperienced 2019 Darebin side. While this meant there weren't many players to take votes off her, gaining votes so consistently in a team that won few games speaks to her influence across the league. Pearce was named in the VFLW Team of the Year as captain. Casey Demons Libby Birch and Bianca Jakobsson also won Team of the Year honours. Casey's votes in the VFLW B&F: Jakobsson 10 (5th overall) Cordner 8 Birch 5 Winbanks 4 Emonson, Scott 3 Smith, Mithen, Guerin, Garner 2 Johnson, Bailey, Tatterson 1