Dees_In_October

Hore received 10 coaches' votes for this game. The leaderboard at the mid-way point: 43 Jasmine Garner (NMFC) 38 Monique Conti (RICH) 36 Kate Hore (MELB) 33 Laura Gardiner (SYD) 32 Tyla Hanks (MELB)

This is a great point about the quality of our drafting and recruiting, often without access to high picks. It's partly the nature of expansion spreading the talent pool, but there really aren't too many ex-Demons who haven't locked down a regular spot elsewhere. The squad is 30 players (plus any inactive players). Outside last night's team we have: Harris (65 games), Fitzsimon (27), Chaplin (15) Ivey (36), Wilson (27), Watt (24) Johnson (4) Yet to debut - Fowler, Gall, Taylor

6. Hore 5. Hanks 4. Purcell 3. Paxman 2. Pearce 1. Zanker Apologies to...yeah pretty much the rest

From the article Timothy Reddan-Al’Blew posted earlier:

What a game! Felt like those first quarter goals were particularly telling somewhat against the flow and from there we just worked and worked our way in. And like others have mentioned, did it right til the end, no mercy. How good was Paxy? 372m gained and that classy goal. Loved Zanker’s hard work up the ground and then all the way to goal line. Purcell with 8 clearances and West with 10 tackles. Solid return from Colvin and stingy stuff from the backs overall. A.Mackin, just imagine when she gets some games under her belt!? In the post-match interview, Hore was focused on 4 goals – not the 4 she kicked but the 4 the Cats scored – and mentioned an emphasis in the last few weeks on team defence…before this game, Geelong was averaging 55 points for. Shout out to Maddi Gay for 50 reliable and versatile games, both traits on show in this one. Looked like a lively bunch of Dees fans along, including one particularly recognisable tall, bearded fellow enjoying this team as much as we do!

Shame about Tayla. We all know what happened last time she missed! Still, we've never been in a better position to try to cover her.

Love the DeeBrief AFLW, best in-depth look at AFLW Dees out there! They mentioned that the Dees Army are looking for kids for the Guard of Honour on Thursday night, as an FYI for anyone heading down with kids who'd like to take part. Thank for the inside word. Glad for Colvin - she was our best on in the S6 GF and I really hope she can recapture that form. It can be a tough injury to come back from. As for the outs, I've got a feeling that the 3-4 next cabs off the rank outside the starting line-up are going to prove crucial.

She really stands out in this league with her ability to pick the ball of the ground cleanly. Sounds simple, but it puts her ahead of many. She's so balanced with that low centre of gravity. Love how she steps back to find the space then kicks with vision, often into space at a leading player's advantage. A few years ago people often mistook her for a "Tayla". Not so many getting the "Tyla" wrong these days!

I reckon: The Dees boys did 17 in a row so go beat those wins in a row? Which Tayla has almost done on an individual level, pretty good!

I always look (and listen) for the Army when watching at home! Could definitely hear the chants at times. Agree it's really annoying when the crowd is on the non-broadcast side and they don't show it. Even at Casey where usually the crowd is in-camera, at the Dogs game everyone was bunched at the ends on the other side to get out of the sun, which probably didn't show up on camera. Watching a few other games this season, I have noticed that commentators are drawing attention to this more often and the cameras are showing the crowd on the non-broadcast side more at grounds like Ikon, GMHBA and Windy Hill.

Just saw in an email from the club there's an Open Training at Gosch's Paddock tomorrow (Tuesday) 3pm-4pm. Hope you get along and can bring us back some training news!

This doesn't get any easier... 6. Hanks 5. Zanker 4. Purcell 3. Pearce 2. Heath 1. McNamara

Highlights: - - Sister to sister goal for the Mackins and A.Mackin’s debut in general. So confident and clearly been given license to have a go, got more of the footy than her sister! - - Hanks with the don’t argue, pure - - Purcell doing the tough stuff - - Zanker’s 5-minute hat trick (career best goal return) - - McNamara’s comeback goal and celebration - - Pearce’s smother in the pocket - - That end-to-end goal in I forget which qtr - - The commentators calling for Sherriff to be shut down in the first qtr. She was doing well, but somehow I doubt that was really a priority for the Hawks! Lowlights: - - The sun Will be interesting to see how we fare against a stronger contender next week. We get away with overusing the footy a bit against teams like the Hawks. I wonder if our backline will rise to more of a challenge… On Birch, statistically she’s had a slow start but is building (intercepts for first 4 rounds: 0, 5, 8, 8; 2022B avg was 7.2). She’s getting less of the ball... she’s not really the player we want launching our rebound 50s though. Has less time on ground % this season by 10%, though across the board we’re sharing the load more. The queue of proven/known quantities outside the starting line-up is building (Gay, Fitzsimon, Colvin) which can only be a good thing.

That betting line makes me nervous! Some more about our debutant: Aimee earnt her a senior football (soccer) debut for Northern Ireland at 16, before she switched to focus on Gaelic and was voted best in the league in 2020. The 26-year-old arrived in Australia last month with a hamstring tear and was unavailable for the practice games but has earned her call-up after three weeks of full training. And the stats on the venue and oppo: It's Melbourne's first game against the Hawks and first game at Frankston. Hawthorn's Frankston win-loss record: 2-2 Hawthorn's 2023 formline: The Hawks have started the year with 2 losses and 1 win, with the latter coming against the Bulldogs in Round 2. Will probably be a bit of wind about. I won't know because, dedicated to this team as I am, Friday at 5pm in Frankston is a bridge too far!

I still don't think Blaithin got enough credit for locking down a position in the premiership team in her first season of the sport. We heard a lot about the cross coders in the early seasons, but considering the development of the league since then, her story is more impressive!

Haha, what an outrage! Extra incubation time for future parent-child selections?

https://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/1435869/longer-seasons-more-pay-future-of-aflw-takes-shape-with-new-cba https://www.afl.com.au/aflw/news/1036864/longer-seasons-better-pay-future-of-aflw-takes-shape In summary: - The AFLW season will increase to 12 games in 2025, with the potential to increase to 14 matches by 2027 (dependent on crowd and TV metrics) - The average AFLW player pay rise to $60,000 for the 2023 season, up from $46,000. It will rise to $82,000 by 2027. (The average AFL player salary will be about $519,000 by 2027) - AFLW players will also now be able to sign multi-year contracts - AFLW players who move states to join a different team will now receive relocation and travel benefits equitable with the AFL competition - A world leading 12-month pregnancy policy will be introduced - The AFL and AFLPA will work together on executing an accelerated marketing plan designed to build greater support for the AFLW competition

Coming in late with this: Not sure who A.Mackin replaces (maybe suggests Banno is out?), but I'm excited. But also, you know, no pressure in your first game of Aussie Rules, pretty much ever?! Having said that, never forget that her sister came off the bench in her first ever game (a praccy match at the 'G) and kicked a goal with (I think?) her first kick. That was a pretty good start.

6. Hanks 5. Pearce 4. Hore 3. Gay 2. Harris 1. Mithen

The silverware:

My ramblings: Had big fears for Banno, so glad that it's seemingly minor. Recommend this article for a bit of insight into the young gun. I love it when a player's personality off-field is so different from how they play. An introvert who plays so extroverted. https://www.afl.com.au/aflw/news/1031694/poetry-perfection-and-those-celebrations-the-many-layers-of-alyssa-bannan Got to see lots of Zanker up close from behind the goals. She's super competitive and expects a really high standard from herself. Felt she was just a bit off with her reading of the footy and a touch slow to react at times out of the square. Loved that when Gay went forward to even up the numbers she managed to snag a couple of goals. Another versatile player that goes under the radar. Forward-midfield cohesion is great, especially when picking off leading targets, running it in, or when it hits the deck. More contested marks and it’s the complete picture. The spread of goalkickers is promising for the inevitable games when the goals don't come so easy. Backline is vulnerable to quick centre clearances and had some real lapses in concentration and intensity. Very hard to drop anyone from winning teams, but I think we've got to see how Colvin works in there. The Dogs thought they were in that game in the third and then... they just weren't. Shout out to the Demon Army! Noise level, chant variety and general vibes were top notch. You put every other AFLW cheer squad to shame!

Can't quite gather my thoughts on this game after arriving home from Casey to hear of the passing of a great. For now I'll pay tribute to Barassi's role in the Irish experiment, the fruits of which are close to our hearts as Dees fans, and that we still see today in our AFLW team, with Goldie and of course Mackin in that famous #31.

Pretty sure that if we win this game, Melbourne gains the record for the longest AFLW winning streak, surpassing Fremantle's 11-game streak during 2020-2021. Melbourne's Casey win-loss record: 21-5 WB's Casey win-loss record: 0-1 Melbourne's win-loss record against WB: 5-2 (9-4 including pre-AFLW) Last time they met in R7 2022B, it was a 64-point win to Melbourne WB's 2023 formline: The Bulldogs have started the season 0-2 and are coming off a 7-point loss to Hawthorn