Aflw 2022/2023

[Hotdog60]

I only saw from the last 5 mins of the 2nd quarter but the girls played well today.
Lamb seems to have taken her game to another level and she getting better with her disposal despite having a weird looking kicking action.
Also Grant appears to be improving week on week I wonder if Dad is giving her extra tuition.
We have the making of a good side its just the finesse that seems to let us down the intention is there but not the skill level.

[Bulldog Joe]

I only saw from the last 5 mins of the 2nd quarter but the girls played well today.
Lamb seems to have taken her game to another level and she getting better with her disposal despite having a weird looking kicking action.
Also Grant appears to be improving week on week I wonder if Dad is giving her extra tuition.
We have the making of a good side its just the finesse that seems to let us down the intention is there but not the skill level.

I thought Grant was a good contributor and Moody looks to have improved markedly.

Still reliant on Blackburn, Lamb and Toogood, but showing some improving signs.

[Grantysghost]

One way to try and fix things is have an extended season ie, say 20 weeks, so they can get more experience at the higher level. I would also run it during Winter, and only televise say 3 or 4 games per week, giving all the teams exposure on alternate weeks. People will say it is clashing with the men's, but that is not necessarily a problem. A few big games can be played before a men's game to also get the crowds in.
I am sure fixturing can be sorted between both comps, if some thought went into it (unlike what the AFL currently do when they stuff it up)

In Summer that's just not possible you'd kill them.

Needs to run alongside the men's game and have it as the warm up to games at home.

It's always going to come down to eyes on the game. If I'm honest, I love going to the ground on a balmy summers afternoon or evening.. But on the TV; I'm not engaged.

Edit : You said Winter. Read it idiot! (me)

[bornadog]

In Summer that's just not possible you'd kill them.

Needs to run alongside the men's game and have it as the warm up to games at home.

It's always going to come down to eyes on the game. If I'm honest, I love going to the ground on a balmy summers afternoon or evening.. But on the TV; I'm not engaged.

Edit : You said Winter. Read it idiot! (me)

What I have read on social media, the women don't like it as a warm up to the main Men's game, that is why I would only have a a block buster here and there as a prelim to the AFL games. They prefer their own competition separate.

[soupman]

About to become 8 teams too many, it's madness. The competition needed to time to establish and gradually expand as more junior girls came through. With 18 teams there are sadly going to be a large number of girls running around not up to the standard.

Also this just delays the league going pro, which realistically is gonna be the biggest step forward.

The quality will go up markedly if you make the current 14 teams as professional as possible and focus on developing that small group of players, then expanding down the track. Adding in 4 more teams of players that won't be professional only hurts the overall quality, both by further diluting the pool and then not improving the players in the pool enough. Listen to the Danny Boyd podcast with Nathan Burke to get an idea of how limited they are from a coaching perspective with the girls, and again consider the challenge these players have of having to work a real job at the same time.

[mjp]

Also this just delays the league going pro, which realistically is gonna be the biggest step forward.

The quality will go up markedly if you make the current 14 teams as professional as possible and focus on developing that small group of players, then expanding down the track. Adding in 4 more teams of players that won't be professional only hurts the overall quality, both by further diluting the pool and then not improving the players in the pool enough. Listen to the Danny Boyd podcast with Nathan Burke to get an idea of how limited they are from a coaching perspective with the girls, and again consider the challenge these players have of having to work a real job at the same time.

You are right - there are FAR too many teams. There are actually not enough players for 8 teams, let alone 18.

You are not right about increasing the level of commitment = improved standard of play. Saying that the girls simply need more time on the track is overly simplistic...you know from your own experience that when players arrive at AFL level they pretty much are who they are. You might improve your kicking (and you should) but if you start life as a crap kick, you will end as a slightly less crap kick. Further to that - and I'm not saying that they aren't capable - but the AFLW coaching setups look to me to be a 'senior' coach with support from people who seem to still have their 'L' plates on. And there aren't too many 'senior' coaches who are going to have time to get into the minutiae of skill acquisition because they are trying to run a footy team.

I had my booster Saturday so spent yesterday on the couch running a nice temp...which meant an AFLW festival! The skill level in our game and the Dockers game was simply terrible. The girls endeavour is fantastic...but there are no more than 6-8 players on each team who can kick with any level of surety. Even Lamb - forced onto her right late in the game (when she was incorrectly awarded a dtg free kick) - that's a simply kick on her right but she either couldn't or wouldn't do it, used her left and was crashed into as a result.

I love footy and watch the AFLW every week...I'm enjoying it less and less at the moment though (you can read my earlier post about the coaches compressing the game...if Nathan Burke has time to teach defensive structures like that he 100% has time to do some skill fundamentals but he knows the benefits of that work are years away not days away and they have a game THIS WEEK so "Here's how to defend, defend, defend"). The skill level is bad. It's REALLY BAD. It's not going to be improved by making the girls full-time (and given the crowds and the ratings who can even afford to consider doing that??) - it is only going to be improved by generational change as players enter the senior ranks with 'sound' skill fundamentals. I have serious concerns about the way it is being coached at junior levels (the push for participation and emphasis on 'FUN-FUN-FUN' is not helping) and it genuinely needs to be addressed from the Commission down. Pride in skills is simply not something that is happening. Double grabs and missed handball targets - holy hell, the sequence late in our game where the kick-in missed Grant who inexplicably went to her knees then fumbled it and then missed a handball to her team-mate who fumbled then picked it up and missed a handball and OMG...

Right now it is NOT a stretch to say that a NAB league u18 side is more skilled than an AFLW side. They are also only part-time. More teams are 100% not the answer...but at the same time neither is going full-time. Throw some money - REAL money - into pathway programs and skill development. Stop worrying about trying to fill gaps with athletes from other invasion game sports because they know how and where to run and stop compressing the field with defenders. Put some focus on skill - wind back the over-hyped S&C stuff (and no, Erin Phillips doing pull-ups in a TV Commercial doesn't help) and things will slowly improve.

The girls want it all 'NOW'. They deserve it...but the game has skipped some pretty crucial developmental steps and the product on the field is suffering.

[Grantysghost]

Be interesting to see the amount of time the ball spends on the ground compared to in the air as opposed to the Men's game. The games I've watched have really been a ground ball scrap.

I thought last year the skills were better to be honest and the games were more open, not sure what's happened.

[mjp]

Be interesting to see the amount of time the ball spends on the ground compared to in the air as opposed to the Men's game. The games I've watched have really been a ground ball scrap.

I thought last year the skills were better to be honest and the games were more open, not sure what's happened.

100% agree.

[bornadog]

Be interesting to see the amount of time the ball spends on the ground compared to in the air as opposed to the Men's game. The games I've watched have really been a ground ball scrap.

I thought last year the skills were better to be honest and the games were more open, not sure what's happened.

This year I have found it hard to watch due to the skill errors. No one seems to be able to pickup the ball off the ground (as you say), and when they do, there is hesitation in making a decision and they are tackled. Therefore lots of holding the ball decisions - very frustrating viewing.

When the game first started 5 years ago, a lot of older players were put into teams, and I mean 30 to 40 year olds. I still don't know how Mike Sheehan's daughter got a game. The teams should have had more 18 year olds who could have developed over the past 5 years and made it a stronger competition.

I mentioned this awhile ago, but my wife's niece was in a AFL development squad and did very well in the combo's, excelling in some tests, however, after the combo everyone went back to their home teams and they were forgotten. There was one practise match she played in versus the Army Team.

She was from the country and the competition there was even worse with only a couple of teams. When draft day came around, she wasn't even looked at, and never heard from the Development squad again. I am not just pumping her up because she is a niece, but she has talent, and ended up playing for Melbourne Rebels Rugby team and is now lost to AFL.

The whole competition was not planned properly and just cobbled together.

[josie]

I agree with numerous posts noting prevalence of skill errors. I did think during the game yesterday we were a bit better at being able to handball out of congestion than we were in prior 3 matches. I can see an upward curve for our young team so let’s hope we can keep most of them together. Our backline is definitely better than it was and our rucks are really competitive not just in ruck but around the ground too. We appear to be building something good. And we have some great people to set high standards like Elle, Debbie etc. too.

[jazzadogs]

It would be very hard for anyone to make a case that expansion has been good for the game.

I agree it has been harder to watch, and the prevalence on defence is the reason - it is basically the Bulldogs entire game plan to pressure pressure pressure, then when we get it cross our fingers and hope that we can hit a couple of passes to get a score.

I have a friend who has coached elite level women's football, specifically with teams with less talent, and as much as he wanted to improve their skills he also knew that for morale he needed results/close games and the only way to achieve that was good defensive structure. He found that the team was happier losing a scrap than playing an 'attractive' game and getting beat up.

[Hotdog60]

One would think Brendan McCartney would do well coaching AFLW he was all about defence.

I agree with all of the above and wait for us to be diluted again next year when we give a few more of our better players.

[The Underdog]

One would think Brendan McCartney would do well coaching AFLW he was all about defence.

I agree with all of the above and wait for us to be diluted again next year when we give a few more of our better players.

Watching one of the last couple of games, it crossed my mind that the Burke game plan was very McCartney-esque.
One thing I have noticed is a lot of teams playing a goal keeper at times. Basically sitting a player by themselves in the opposition goal square assuming that most shots at goal won't make the distance.

The other thing comparison I made the other day that I mentioned to Raw Toast, was Kirsty Lamb as a stylistic doppelganger of Clay Smith and now I can't unsee it. I'm pretty sure they have the same kicking style.
Oh and if you didn't enjoy Elsa Brown dropping Kat E. Brennon on her backside, you're just not living man.

[mjp]

One would think Brendan McCartney would do well coaching AFLW he was all about defence.

To be fair to B-Mac, I thought he was happy enough for the other team to kick loads of goals...as long as they didn't win the stoppages and contested ball numbers because those are the stats that showed we are the team truly building with a group of 'Fine Young Men'.

I know that sounds ridiculously harsh and I think Brendan is a good bloke - I remember a pretty inspirational presentation he gave the Jets boys back whilst he was a Geelong assistant. But I did not enjoy watching us play when he was coach and there was simply no plan to move the ball into the forward half.

[Mofra]

Watching one of the last couple of games, it crossed my mind that the Burke game plan was very McCartney-esque.
One thing I have noticed is a lot of teams playing a goal keeper at times. Basically sitting a player by themselves in the opposition goal square assuming that most shots at goal won't make the distance.

Ever seen Pub footy? The game plan isn't dissimilar, nor the scores.

We are talking girls who were basically lost to the game during their 'best' development years (many had to stop playing as soon as they turned 14).
I'm guessing the AFL are playing the long game here because until we get kids who played the game consistently throughout all of their teen years I don't see much changing.

The abundance of ACL injuries means that poaching players from rival sports is not along term strategy anyway. Sacrifice your US college basketball scholarship for a 3 month semi-pro session with an 8-10% chance of a 12 month injury? No thanks.