The AFLW Memo

[Testekill]

http://www.news.com.au/sport/sports-...flw/news-story

https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/jes...ion/news-story

THE AFL has sent an extraordinary memo, calling for AFLW coaches to adjust their tactics this weekend in order to reduce congestion.

Foxfooty.com.au has obtained the memo, which was sent by AFL football operations boss Steve Hocking to the eight clubs with AFLW teams, that asks for coaches to instruct less players to surround stoppages in Round 2.

The note was sent after coaches held discussions with AFL executives, including Hocking and AFLW boss Nicole Livingstone, on Wednesday.

...
“Vegas has plenty of showgirls if they want a ‘performance’ ... but if you want better footy, let the coaches teach it! We are 9 rounds into a competition for goodness sake,” an AFLW club official told foxfooty.com.au.

https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/bri...ls/news-story/

Carlton captain Davey on Wednesday said the Blues understood the AFL’s take, but declared that the players are “here to win games” and will do “whatever we need to do to get over the line for that particular game”.

“As players and as teams, we probably don’t really care what it looks like as long as we’re getting that win,” Davey said at the launch of the AFLW Round 4 Pride Game.

http://girlsplayfooty.com/2018/02/th...mpetition.html
...

But this has become an attack on the players, an attack on the coaching staff, and an attack on the AFLW as a competitive league, and the fact that the head honchos do not realise that, is not acceptable.

The AFLW was launched in 2017, three years before the expected start. It was understood that the competition would begin in 2020, but the AFL showed ambition in bringing the league forward by three years.

That ambition has turned to quick-fixes as a result of anxiety over issues that aren’t really issues, and worst of all, the introduction of solutions that aren’t really solutions.

Women’s football was fine in 2016. Most leagues played 20 or 25-minute quarters, the play was open, and it was enjoyable to watch. The one knock was that the quality of players in the bottom 75 per cent were well below those in the top 25 per cent, but that comes with the nature of a sport that, while it has 100 years of history, is still budding at an elite level.

Women’s football didn’t need tweaking, it just needed time.

If teams don't abide by these suggested tactics to free up congestion then the AFL is threatening to introduce zone rules in the 3rd round.
Just more blatant corruption from the AFL

[bornadog]

Unbelievable meddling. So blatant, undermining the women and undermining football in general.

[chef]

Not surprising. The AEFL is so dodgy nowadays.

[Happy Days]

After their "stance" on transgender players this is sadly unsurprising and not unexpected.

[Daughter of the West]

Just wow.

Because, of course, the AFLW should be pretty much the same standard as AFL by now. You know, after one (shorter than AFL) season and one round. Despite the fact the female pre season is shorter. And the pathways are far less developed. And they are semi professional at best. And hold down jobs. And have barely played together as teams. And half the cohort have been pinched from other sports.

BUT WHY OH WHY OH WHY DON'T THEY PLAY TO THE "ENTERTAINMENT" STANDARD THE AFL EXPECTS?!?

/rant

[Twodogs]

Just wow.

Because, of course, the AFLW should be pretty much the same standard as AFL by now. You know, after one (shorter than AFL) season and one round. Despite the fact the female pre season is shorter. And the pathways are far less developed. And they are semi professional at best. And hold down jobs. And have barely played together as teams. And half the cohort have been pinched from other sports.

BUT WHY OH WHY OH WHY DON'T THEY PLAY TO THE "ENTERTAINMENT" STANDARD THE AFL EXPECTS?!?

/rant

Oh come on. You chicks are just looking for excuses now. You must understand that footy is a men's business and you guys just aren't doing it right. You seem to think that the game is something that is played to be won or lost buts that's what men play it for. Youse babes are just there to break up the year and provide a bit of eye candy for us hard working guys to look at.*




*thats me at full sarcasm. Twodogs can in no way be held responsible for anything Twodogs says.

[Daughter of the West]

Oh come on. You chicks are just looking for excuses now. You must understand that footy is a men's business and you guys just aren't doing it right. You seem to think that the game is something that is played to be won or lost buts that's what men play it for. Youse babes are just there to break up the year and provide a bit of eye candy for us hard working guys to look at.*





*thats me at full sarcasm. Twodogs can in no way be held responsible for anything Twodogs says.

And here I was, going to admit I'd been put back in my place by a man (who are clearly always right) and just head meekly back to the kitchen and you've gone and put on a sarcasm disclaimer!

[Twodogs]

And here I was, going to admit I'd been put back in my place by a man (who are clearly always right) and just head meekly back to the kitchen and you've gone and put on a sarcasm disclaimer!

About football maybe but there's heaps of things you babes know all about that are a mystery to us so don't worry. You know, laundry, looking after the ankle biters, pillow fights in your underwear. It's all good.


And there's always netball!

[bornadog]

The only people complaining about AFLW are men - says it all.

[Smads57]

Does the scoring from the initial VFL men's season resonate with anyone else (see here)...

[Twodogs]

Does the scoring from the initial VFL men's season resonate with anyone else (see here)...

Heh! 9 out of 14 weeks St Kilda had the top score kicked against them. That St Kilda team from 1897-1899 is close to the worst team ever in the comp. Didn't win a game for the first 3 seasons of the VFL.

[SonofScray]

This is a game wide issue, amplified by the fact that the league doesn't really believe in AFLW, rather it believes in the perception it creates for them as an organisation.

The AFL don't value the game of Australian Rules Football. It isn't good enough in its own right according to them. Rather than facilitate a contest, they want to create a product. Rules changes, coercion & funding are the tools they deploy. It's been happening for about 20 years out in the open, unchallenged.

The men rolled over, because the gravy train is too alluring for anyone to dissent. Hopefully our sisters have more courage and sense of unity to push back.

[westdog54]

The thing that strikes me the most about this memo us that AFL House were arrogant enough to think that it would stay in house.

Did Steve Hocking stop and think, even for a second "how will this read on the back page of both Melbourne papers?"

[Topdog]

I kind of understand both sides of the argument. Obviously the quality won't be there as it is brand new and women haven't been able to play football past the age of 15 for a long long time but the consequence of that is that the standard is "poor"

I think the AFL hyped it a little too much initially and as such people are now criticising it too much.

It needs time and perhaps some tweaks to ball size and ground size but coaches should be allowed to coach to win and players to do the same.

It's still very much SEMI professional and in need of time.

[soupman]

What a bunch of arseholes.

Why don't they send a memo out addressing the fact that they scheduled the worst matchup of the round as the feature piece. Melbourne vs GWS was a ripper, our game was one of the most skilfull I've seen in AFLW thus far and from reports Adelaide vs Brisbane was an excellent standard. But no the tone had to be set by thw worst matchup because of the notion that those "big two clubs" had "earnt it".

Or what about a memo about how they are going to greatly reduce the standard as soon as possible by introducing a shitload more clubs, stretching a thin talent pool already propped up by stealing athletes from other sports who've never played footy before.

Also so far the AFLW has attracted excellent crowds and viewing figures from a mostly supportive audience. It would seem that despite the issues the memo tries to address the league has already got a great crowd. So who are the changes trying to attract? You only have to read the comments online to see that nobody is hanging out for just a little more space around contests before they start to find the womens version entertaining. Those who haven't liked it so far are not at all afraid of saying why not (usually something along the lines of "I tried to watch it but had to turn it off after 5 minutes because the skill level was so atrocious I bet my sons under 12s team could beat them they're certainly better kicks and the girls want to be paid the same as the men what a joke they're shit"). There is literally no one who is currently attending games or watching on tv that is saying "It has potential but until they introduce a 5-6-5 formation i don't think I'll be back".

They can't talk it up as a true womens competition for the elite with marketing slogans like "for the love of the game" while threatening clubs with rule changes and zones if they don't comply with head office instructions.

It's just disappointing because they are truly lucky to have received such support and goodwill for what they have done and this kind of memo immediately and greatly diminishes their integrity and the respect they show to the game they are in charge of.