AFLW Practice Match v Hawthorn 12pm at IKON Park Sunday August 3

[TigermanM2]

Richmond has named the team that will face off against the Hawks this Sunday at IKON Park, as part of their official AFLW Practice Match.

The 24 selected will take to the field in their final chance to ready for the official 2025 season, which kicks off on Friday 15 August against the Swans.

The first bounce is scheduled for 12pm at IKON Park, with attendance free for fans. It will also be live streamed on richmondfc.com.au.

Excitingly, skipper Katie Brennan leads the side out in the match, with a plethora of eager Tigers ready for another pre-season opportunity.

A strong Richmond outfit has been named for the clash, with the likes of Monique Conti, Katie Brennan and Ellie McKenzie all returning for another crack before the season proper, along with new recruits Paige Scott, Montana Beruldsen, Lauren Brazzale, Lulu Beatty and Sierra Grieves.

International recruit Aoibhin Cleary will again miss, as she remains in Ireland ready to captain Meath in their All-Ireland Grand Final game against Dublin tonight.

The Tigers will be without midfielder Grace Egan.

Richmond v Hawthorn at Ikon Park, 12pm AEST

RICHMOND

B: L.McClelland 16 R.Miller 15
HB: J.Hicks 6 G.Seymour 28 K.Cox 17
C: K.Dempsey 19 I.Bacon 11 M.Shevlin 35
HF: E.Yassir 2 P.Scott 5 M.Beruldsen 8
F: C.Greiser 9 K.Brennan - C 3
Foll: P.Kelly 14 M.Conti 4 E.McKenzie 22
I/C: E.Graham 18 L.Brazzale 12 S.Grieves 25 S.Knoll 23 A.Dallaway 30 M.Ford 33 C.Wicksteed 24 L.Beatty 38

Emerg: T.Lavey 37 S.Hosking 7


HAWTHORN

B: A.Kemp 16 E.Everist 25
HB: T.Smith 24 T.Lucas-Rodd 18 N.Allen 4
C: K.Ashmore 10 E.West 2 M.Williamson 27
HF: G.Baba 15 H.McLaughlin 6 Á.McDonagh 13
F: M.Eardley 17 G.Bodey 3
Foll: L.Wales 31 J.Fleming 5 E.Bates - C 1
I/C: L.Elliott 20 L.Stone 22 J.Vukic 23 B.Hipwell 19 C.Sherriff 12 L.Cox 8 K.Coyne 9 E.Symonds 21

Emerg: D.Flockart 14 S.Butterworth 28

Hawthorn will be without important defensive duo Jenna Richardson and Aileen Gilroy

Given the extended squads for practice matches (benches of eight), a number of teams – including the Dees and Tigers – have named injured players as emergencies, in order to hit 26 players.

 

[TigermanM2]

14 mins into the game and I think Ferg will have to send a tag to the umpires. Dominating for Hawks.

Hawks well on top so don’t need any assistance.

 

[smasha]

Even the women's team cop the umpiring?

 

[Phar Ace]

14 mins into the game and I think Ferg will have to send a tag to the umpires. Dominating for Hawks.

Hawks well on top so don’t need any assistance.

Just tuned in and was hoping the Hawks were kicking with the wind..........

 

[Phar Ace]

Surely that Squawk's player that got touch on KB's kick was in the protected zone

 

[Phar Ace]

Scrapping a few goals out now, not pretty, but trying.

 

[TigermanM2]

Umpire 15 should not be umpiring at this level.

 

[Phar Ace]

Umpire 15 should not be umpiring at this level.

How many umpires do AFLW get on the field - looks like 3?

 

[banzai]

Gonna be a long season, we were lucky to play finals last year with a soft draw and good run with injuries. The younger teams are going past us now, surely we finish bottom 6.

 

[Phar Ace]

Early days, we looked rusty with the ball. We were going to blown off the park, but then got back into some contested footy. The minute we tried speed, we got caught and were back scrapping again.

As bizarre as it might sound, I reckon we need to put G into the Ruck every so often just to get her moving around. When she got up the ground, her next few minutes were better fwd.

 

[Bojangles17]

Sheerin gonna be so hard to replace , still spitting chips she gone

 

[wegetpumped]

Another long season, ohh wait, short season coming up this team is cooked and not recognizable. Bring back the team of 23; at least they were great to watch. Why do they also persist with the flog Ferguson? And Katie Sheehan, WTF. Sheerin is gone to put us back ten years.

 

[TigermanM2]

Early days, we looked rusty with the ball. We were going to blown off the park, but then got back into some contested footy. The minute we tried speed, we got caught and were back scrapping again.

As bizarre as it might sound, I reckon we need to put G into the Ruck every so often just to get her moving around. When she got up the ground, her next few minutes were better fwd.

The amount of times we turned the ball over was diabolical. I'd be surprised if we didn't set some sort of record. They didn't have to move an inch in most cases.

I posted a while ago that other teams were looking super fit and we were just run off the park yesterday.

Sure we fought it out in the middle part of the game but we should be past settling for this stuff. Can't afford to start slow.

It's a practice match so we take it for what it is but not an ideal way to go into round 1.

 

[TigermanM2]

 

[Phar Ace]

The amount of times we turned the ball over was diabolical. I'd be surprised if we didn't set some sort of record. They didn't have to move an inch in most cases.

I posted a while ago that other teams were looking super fit and we were just run off the park yesterday.

Sure we fought it out in the middle part of the game but we should be past settling for this stuff. Can't afford to start slow.

It's a practice match so we take it for what it is but not an ideal way to go into round 1.

Agree. It was unsettling to watch us really. Too many times we looked "stiff" at the hips, either getting the ball off the deck, or making those important body positions to take the advantage at contact or in the air - we were taken advantage of nearly every time. Also thought we were terrible at playing the angles, a fraction slow I'm guessing.

 

[Tackle Bag]

Another long season, ohh wait, short season coming up this team is cooked and not recognizable. Bring back the team of 23; at least they were great to watch. Why do they also persist with the flog Ferguson? And Katie Sheehan, WTF. Sheerin is gone to put us back ten years.

Katie Sheehan was a bizarre appointment when she first got the gig and has done nothing since to suggest it was the right call. A change is overdue, but this club doesn’t sack anyone anymore.

 

[Stan Judkins]

Agree. It was unsettling to watch us really. Too many times we looked "stiff" at the hips, either getting the ball off the deck, or making those important body positions to take the advantage at contact or in the air - we were taken advantage of nearly every time. Also thought we were terrible at playing the angles, a fraction slow I'm guessing.

could be due to lack of match practice.............

not having a VFLW side or pulling the partnership with Port Melbourne might yet have been a bigger factor than the club thought

we look slow by hand and foot............Blues were not fielding their best side
Hawks looked on from the get go.........way ahead of us unfortunately

 

[Bojangles17]

The amount of times we turned the ball over was diabolical. I'd be surprised if we didn't set some sort of record. They didn't have to move an inch in most cases.

I posted a while ago that other teams were looking super fit and we were just run off the park yesterday.

Sure we fought it out in the middle part of the game but we should be past settling for this stuff. Can't afford to start slow.

It's a practice match so we take it for what it is but not an ideal way to go into round 1.

How did bacon and ford go ?

 

[Bojangles17]

could be due to lack of match practice.............

not having a VFLW side or pulling the partnership with Port Melbourne might yet have been a bigger factor than the club thought

we look slow by hand and foot............Blues were not fielding their best side
Hawks looked on from the get go.........way ahead of us unfortunately

I worry at the class of any younger players pushing up , none near Ellie Mc class , not even close . That's will hold us back as we try and find a way to cover for sheerin
I'm sure we will win a share of games like men's there's a fair gap between top
Sides and the rest , hawks likely top4/5

 

[TigermanM2]

How did bacon and ford go ?

Ford mostly quiet although I felt sorry for any of our forward line players.

Bacon patchy. Spent some time in the middle but looked like she was tagging Fleming on occasions. I think she will have a solid season. Over the course of the two games so far, looks considerably fitter and stronger than last year.

 

[Cdog71]

Ford mostly quiet although I felt sorry for any of our forward line players.

Bacon patchy. Spent some time in the middle but looked like she was tagging Fleming on occasions. I think she will have a solid season. Over the course of the two games so far, looks considerably fitter and stronger than last year.

Yeah, she looks big and strong looks a real athlete. And conscientious.
My concerns are still the same Grieser playing second fiddle and our ability to generate enough score from our forwards.
Again and obviously we are building around KB, I just don’t know we’ve see the best of Grieser. Last season she kicked a couple of bags of three without KB on the ground it’s a few opportunistic moments in the last against Geel and in the final against Port age hit the scoreboard but she doesn’t seem to be hungry for the ball when KB is playing.
Watching Scott play, she looks a fwd prowling the 50.
Grieser doesn’t seem to have that edge but like I said, I think there’s more in her for being a threat but for whatever reason looks ok with playing second fiddle or to try and stay outve KB’s way.

 

[TigermanM2]

I worry at the class of any younger players pushing up , none near Ellie Mc class , not even close . That's will hold us back as we try and find a way to cover for sheerin
I'm sure we will win a share of games like men's there's a fair gap between top
Sides and the rest , hawks likely top4/5

To be fair Ellie McK is a pretty high bar. I reckon very few high draftees after that 2020 draft at any club have been anywhere as good but I see where you are going with it. 2021 and 2022 drafts were very ordinary for us. These are players entering their prime. A lot of players we drafted from those drafts are no longer with us. Not a single mid either.

Sheerin absence will hurt us in the middle. Had her faults but crash/bash, contested possession and 40+ kick giving us territory was invaluable to us. Cover was never going to come from our existing list or the draft so if we didn't recruit one, our midfield was always going to be running on 5 cylinders never mind 8. So here we are a couple of quality mids down in 2025.

I think Sierra Grieves will be a player but we need to let her find her way in AFLW this year, not put too much expectation on her. Her time will come.

Regarding the ladder, you can split it into thirds. Top six, middle six and bottom six. I would rate us somewhere in the middle 6 given our two games and how everyone else is going.

Our backline can be solid and our forward line reasonably potent if they get supply but if we can't sort out our midfield woes I can see us beating up on the bottom 6 but the top six will be a stretch.

 

[Phar Ace]

Katie Sheehan was a bizarre appointment when she first got the gig and has done nothing since to suggest it was the right call. A change is overdue, but this club doesn’t sack anyone anymore.

She must have some photos

 

[Phar Ace]

could be due to lack of match practice.............

not having a VFLW side or pulling the partnership with Port Melbourne might yet have been a bigger factor than the club thought

we look slow by hand and foot............Blues were not fielding their best side
Hawks looked on from the get go.........way ahead of us unfortunately

on both accounts - spot on!

 

[Phar Ace]

Ford mostly quiet although I felt sorry for any of our forward line players.

Bacon patchy. Spent some time in the middle but looked like she was tagging Fleming on occasions. I think she will have a solid season. Over the course of the two games so far, looks considerably fitter and stronger than last year.

Ford's second half was better than her first half - she was better than I expected tbh. And while sound enough, I did hope for a bit more from Isabel Bacon. Still finding her feet in the role, understanding the timing around stoppages of cracking in with other quality players around her. Think she looks good in moments though.