Autopsy AFLW Round 1, 2022: St.Kilda v Richmond

[PoppedCorn]

OK, I'm not usually one to overreact, but fu** it.

Replacing a well-credentialled and respected coach with a part-timer who - to my knowledge - has never coached an actual team is a total joke. Sure, our two best players are injured, but that was embarrassing, and the decision to appoint Dalla shows that we are not taking this whole competition seriously, IMO.

Harsh

 

[Saintbloke]

The list is not good enough, so good luck to NDS and the gals

 

[BrutThough]

That was the problem of the AFL expanding the AFLW too quick and too soon.

There is only so many "A Graders" (the best of the best) to go around, and they eithier stuck with one of the original 8 clubs because they felt they'd be playing finals footy or made their move in the first phase of expansion. Richmond being the outlier.

As an Essendon supporter, we'll have some okay talent, but will lack "A Graders" - unless we convince Maddy Prespakis to leave the Blues.

I feel for Gold Coast who are struggling for elite talent, and GWS are going to be stuffed when the lose some quality players to the Swans, and their older players retire.

Got a feeling (sorry to say it Saints fans) there's going to be a big gap in quality between the top half of teams and the bottom half for a good few years.

The AFL have really created a 2 tier system with their rush to expand, and your right, the gap is going to be big for a long time. Saints are in for a long road ahead.

Originally in comparison to Richmond, it looked like us not being able to get any big name recruits had worked in our favour since the u18s coming through were so strong and were quickly overtaking the older, established player. But you take our drafted stars out while Richmond get even more top recruits through the door and it shows how the bottom of the talent pool is very very low right now. And it's not going to get better adding in even more teams.

I get why the AFL wanted to expand but it is going to leave such an uneven competition for years. I think the AFL will either need to stack the drafts to give more picks to the bottom/expansion sides as a way to even the talent distribution or provide some sort of incentive for that sort of 2nd tier types to move from the original batch of clubs (but no idea how that would work).

But as you said, the NSW teams and GC are also in for a very long road. With the State based drafting, its going to be so difficult to spread that already small pool of talent over another club. You'd struggle to find enough talent in the AFL for one majority NSW team, let alone a 2nd one so it's not going to be an easy road ahead for the NSW AFLW teams when their already small pool of talent for an average rated side suddenly gets split in half. Port are laughing though - they probably have the best launching off spot of any new side to being competitive in their first year.

 

[lewdogs]

When you lose your best two players from an already average side you are going to struggle.

 

[PoppedCorn]

Agreed

Sadly i dobt think they wouldve made a diff

The turnovers are frustrating as hell

 

[Pakenhamsaint]

OK, I'm not usually one to overreact, but fu** it.

Replacing a well-credentialled and respected coach with a part-timer who - to my knowledge - has never coached an actual team is a total joke. Sure, our two best players are injured, but that was embarrassing, and the decision to appoint Dalla shows that we are not taking this whole competition seriously, IMO.

Didn't Searle leave on her own?

 

[MordySaint]

Wow, that was really bad... I was so excited about the game and watched the entire game.

Positives...

How good does Frankston look from the air.

 

[gringo2011]

Wow, that was really bad... I was so excited about the game and watched the entire game.

Positives...

How good does Frankston look from the air.

Looks good from the ground too. It's a great spot to watch footy. If we'd gone there instead of Seaford the peninsula experiment might not have been a disaster, should have merged with the Dolphins as our VFL team who even play in our colours.

 

[The Jack]

Hasn’t taken us long at all to find our historical, expected and most comfortable place in the competition.

The Basket Case.

It’s going to be a very long year.

 

[Saint_Dos]

Plenty of areas for concern but reality iss we are missing players and have a new coach so will take some time.

Biggest issue for me is we looked a little tall and slow over the field, particularly in defence imo.
Having L.Burke, Ott, Jakobson, Van Dyk all on the field in the backline meant they were too quick for us.
Need one less taller def and get Alice Burke or Tilly back there to cover and help rebound out.

Not sure we will have Shierlaw back based on her tweets either so need to adjust the setup a bit and get some more run and carry.
Think Xenos and McDonald were just close contacts

OUT: Ott, Vogt, Saulitis
IN: Xenos, McDonald, Friend

 

[Fehring]

Didn't Searle leave on her own?

Not so much about whether Searle should have stayed (I would have liked that), more about the choice of replacement.

 

[Vacuous Space]

I get why the AFL wanted to expand but it is going to leave such an uneven competition for years. I think the AFL will either need to stack the drafts to give more picks to the bottom/expansion sides as a way to even the talent distribution or provide some sort of incentive for that sort of 2nd tier types to move from the original batch of clubs (but no idea how that would work).

The talent gap is just so much worse in the women's than it is in the men's. Bottom teams can't beat middle teams and middle teams can't beat top teams. I believe the finals teams managed to lose a total of one game to non-finals teams last year. I think the Saints win over the Dogs was the only time a bottom team beat one of the middle teams. In a literal sense, it's not much of a competition.

In theory, with more than half the players on bottom-tier payments, you'd that it would be easier to entice players outperforming their contracts on better teams onto better contracts on lower teams. Moving up a tier is only ~$4K. Moving up two tiers is only ~$8K. Is that worth changing clubs? Probably only if you already wanted out. Recruiting comes down to who can find off-field money to pay for stars. Richmond got their stars with Puma money. St Kilda has Pura money. I'm expecting one expansion club in particular to end up with at least a few stars with a sudden interest in property management. They'll talk about fresh starts and new chapters at their press conferences, but we'll know the truth. It's hard to blame them either, given how little they're paid.

Unfortunately, the league has prioritised the wrong things and, in the end, the supporters and the players are going to be worse off for it. But at least the clubs who didn't apply for a licence in the first place can 'feel whole' and Gil won't have Kennett yelling at him in the papers anymore.

 

[Tommy Wigs]

Plenty of areas for concern but reality iss we are missing players and have a new coach so will take some time.

Biggest issue for me is we looked a little tall and slow over the field, particularly in defence imo.
Having L.Burke, Ott, Jakobson, Van Dyk all on the field in the backline meant they were too quick for us.
Need one less taller def and get Alice Burke or Tilly back there to cover and help rebound out.

Not sure we will have Shierlaw back based on her tweets either so need to adjust the setup a bit and get some more run and carry.
Think Xenos and McDonald were just close contacts

OUT: Ott, Vogt, Saulitis
IN: Xenos, McDonald, Friend

Feels disappointing that neither of our top picks last year were able to find a spot in that team. Hopefully some conservatism and not sure if Richards was even right to go, but I’ve been hoping that one would jump out of the blocks.

 

[Saint_Dos]

Feels disappointing that neither of our top picks last year were able to find a spot in that team. Hopefully some conservatism and not sure if Richards was even right to go, but I’ve been hoping that one would jump out of the blocks.

Friend seems more likely and could fit quite nicely on a wing/hbf
Either of them and their disposals would be nice to have in the team

 

[Fehring]

Not to disparage the AFLW, but it’d be equivalent to coaching under 15’s. If an accountant can turn up on the weekend and do it, Nicky Dal - an extremely smart footballer - can certainly do it.

Nick Dal Santo has not Coached. The Richmond Coach's name is Ryan Ferguson. Here's his bio. Six years coaching at Richmond:

Ferguson, 39, is a qualified schoolteacher and level 3 accredited coach. He most recently held the role of development and backline coach within Richmond’s AFL and VFL programs.

Ferguson joined Richmond as a coach in 2015 and played an instrumental role in developing young players. He was involved in the 2017 and 2019 AFL premierships and the 2019 VFL triumph.

I have seen sides get outcoached at AFL level, VFL level, in the amateurs and - last season - in under 14 YJFL girls. And last night I saw it in the AFLW.

 

[Munga]

Plenty of areas for concern but reality iss we are missing players and have a new coach so will take some time.

Biggest issue for me is we looked a little tall and slow over the field, particularly in defence imo.
Having L.Burke, Ott, Jakobson, Van Dyk all on the field in the backline meant they were too quick for us.
Need one less taller def and get Alice Burke or Tilly back there to cover and help rebound out.

Not sure we will have Shierlaw back based on her tweets either so need to adjust the setup a bit and get some more run and carry.
Think Xenos and McDonald were just close contacts

OUT: Ott, Vogt, Saulitis
IN: Xenos, McDonald, Friend

Yeah, you almost don't need that many talls in the womens game. A ruck, tall back, and maybe a utility tall. Don't really need a tall forward, all the chaos entries would benefit the smalls. If we had the agility in midfield to find space and make an effective forward entry, then yeah the talls would be in the game. Shierlaw, Cutting, Jakobsson, Shannon and Burke would be who I choose from (Burke seemed ok in her first match I think?).

I'd like to see more of Saulitis forward, there might be potential there. Guttridge is tough as nails. Matin sweet by foot. A forward line with a few weapons, just need to find effective entries. McCarthy and G too often MIA. Priest, Phillips clean up down back. McDonald to come back, she's very solid.

I'm playing Friend and Richards too, it's a development year and they may well overtake a few pretty quickly. A lot of pressure on Dillon, Exon and Xenos to step up. Vesely ran herself into the ground. We need more many White's, agile, tough, skillful. So pissed we missed out on Prespakis. Good to see Gillon there, he must be wondering why TF we didn't receive an early pick but the Cats did! What a joke.

 

[Munga]

Nick Dal Santo has not Coached. The Richmond Coach's name is Ryan Ferguson. Here's his bio. Six years coaching at Richmond:

Ferguson, 39, is a qualified schoolteacher and level 3 accredited coach. He most recently held the role of development and backline coach within Richmond’s AFL and VFL programs.

Ferguson joined Richmond as a coach in 2015 and played an instrumental role in developing young players. He was involved in the 2017 and 2019 AFL premierships and the 2019 VFL triumph.

I have seen sides get outcoached at AFL level, VFL level, in the amateurs and - last season - in under 14 YJFL girls. And last night I saw it in the AFLW.

You would've seen it far too often last year as well. Pretty harsh on Dal with what he's inherited. If a monkey were coaching us I still wouldn't be judging it harshly right now.

 

[BrutThough]

The talent gap is just so much worse in the women's than it is in the men's. Bottom teams can't beat middle teams and middle teams can't beat top teams. I believe the finals teams managed to lose a total of one game to non-finals teams last year. I think the Saints win over the Dogs was the only time a bottom team beat one of the middle teams. In a literal sense, it's not much of a competition.

In theory, with more than half the players on bottom-tier payments, you'd that it would be easier to entice players outperforming their contracts on better teams onto better contracts on lower teams. Moving up a tier is only ~$4K. Moving up two tiers is only ~$8K. Is that worth changing clubs? Probably only if you already wanted out. Recruiting comes down to who can find off-field money to pay for stars. Richmond got their stars with Puma money. St Kilda has Pura money. I'm expecting one expansion club in particular to end up with at least a few stars with a sudden interest in property management. They'll talk about fresh starts and new chapters at their press conferences, but we'll know the truth. It's hard to blame them either, given how little they're paid.

Unfortunately, the league has prioritised the wrong things and, in the end, the supporters and the players are going to be worse off for it. But at least the clubs who didn't apply for a licence in the first place can 'feel whole' and Gil won't have Kennett yelling at him in the papers anymore.

Just another area where being a small club puts us behind. Means we really need to nail our draft picks and work even harder keep them. Or find a Hanners equivalent in someone willing to be the first big name to come to the basket case.

It's a shame but not surprising the AFL cared more about appeasing certain egos than making the decisions to create the best quality women's competition.

 

[George]

Nick Dal Santo has not Coached. The Richmond Coach's name is Ryan Ferguson. Here's his bio. Six years coaching at Richmond:

Ferguson, 39, is a qualified schoolteacher and level 3 accredited coach. He most recently held the role of development and backline coach within Richmond’s AFL and VFL programs.

Ferguson joined Richmond as a coach in 2015 and played an instrumental role in developing young players. He was involved in the 2017 and 2019 AFL premierships and the 2019 VFL triumph.

I have seen sides get outcoached at AFL level, VFL level, in the amateurs and - last season - in under 14 YJFL girls. And last night I saw it in the AFLW.

You can't really believe that the reason we lost is because we got out coached

 

[Fehring]

You can't really believe that the reason we lost is because we got out coached

Nope, but I don't think you can claim it wasn't a factor. They were well drilled. Moved the ball nicely.

 

[George]

Nope, but I don't think you can claim it wasn't a factor. They were well drilled. Moved the ball nicely.

I don't know how you can say either way really. It's mostly a scrum on both ends, hard to identify what is working because of coaching and what isn't.

I would say our outs played a huge part too. The talent pool is so dry and the gap between good players and average ones is enormous, so when you're without a few of those good players it really shows. We beat this side last year.

 

[George]

Photos from last night;

Photos

Official AFL Website of the St Kilda Football Club

www.saints.com.au

 

[Drop Kick]

if she turns around, gets jabbed and then plays for another club. wowee that will be all new levels of being a sh*t human.

She'll end up at the Bombers as one of their poached recruits, that's my uninformed prediction.

 

[Drop Kick]

G-Train needs to kick straight

She needs to improve, big time, if she wants to stay in the AFLW. Bordering on shite.

 

[Drop Kick]

Finnis is out the front of our changeroom at the moment

Does it have a Unisex sign out front