Play Nice AFL Womens - General Discussion

[Teen Wolf]

The one thumped in EF has finished 2nd in ladder for the first time this season after the mega auction. Gujarat has now entered the top 2 bracket for the first time and making it a genuine 4 team comp. Only lagger at this stage is UP.

Still, 4 out of 5 teams genuinely able to compete for cup is way better than AFLW's current status. It brought the change they desired and pulled one more club out of the bottom. 3 good teams out of 5 before was still pretty competitive earlier.

Nothing justifies a comp as successful with one club running 2 years undefeated anyway, regardless of how you spin it.

Hmm so it's great when Gujarat repeatedly bomb out in WPL finals, but a crime against humanity when it happens to Brisbane's AFLW team.

 

[mpal6]

Hmm so it's great when Gujarat repeatedly bomb out in WPL finals, but a crime against humanity when it happens to Brisbane's AFLW team.

For a club which finished 5th, 5th, 3rd -Gujarat stepping up to second place finish is a move in the right direction for sure.

I have no idea why you think Brisbane Lions correlation matters here. The problem isn't us losing Grand finals repeatedly. We did so right from the start in 2017 and 2018 Grand finals before winning one in 2021. That's not the issue.

The problem is your club running 2 seasons undefeated and in spite of that, not losing anyone critical from the list even in this off-season. Not to mention players like Weston-Turner making a beeline to pickup a medal while on offer. That's the main issue. Keep that up and naturally the interest will wane. May be you should try and win a grand final where opponent scores 5 or less points. North fans still won't see the irony lol.

 

[Teen Wolf]

True that the more correct parallels to be drawn would be between Brisbane and perennial runners-up Delhi, or Hawthorn and finals frauds Gujarat.

But it's great to have Brisbane bandwagoners on here suddenly so concerned about what's best for AFLW. Didn't hear a peep out of them in 2020 when HQ blatantly gave up on running the competition. Wonder why.

 

[mpal6]

True that the more correct parallels to be drawn would be between Brisbane and perennial runners-up Delhi, or Hawthorn and finals frauds Gujarat.

But it's great to have Brisbane bandwagoners on here suddenly so concerned about what's best for AFLW. Didn't hear a peep out of them in 2020 when HQ blatantly gave up on running the competition. Wonder why.

Bandwagoners? We've been calling out North fan's hypocrisy way before 2025 grand final and how the season was panning out. You won a Qualifying final where your opponent scored 3 points mate - let that sink in. That's a game between 1st and 4th which should be like a benchmark clash. It was anything but benchmark lol.

But you do you in terms of retaining all players, at the same time feeling unfair about people complaining the uneven nature of competition. Rather than trying to justify how the comp is great, wear your smugness like a badge of honor as you'll walk it in for 2026 as well.

2020 was Fremantle's AFLW premiership anyway. If anything their fans should be the ones making noise - they had such a dominant season cut short by covid. I have no idea why you keep throwing random darts on the board as if it means anything to Lions fans.

 

[Teen Wolf]

2020 was Fremantle's AFLW premiership anyway. If anything their fans should be the ones making noise

Precisely demonstrating the "as long as it's not my club getting screwed, I dgaf" attitude there.

What happened to wanting what's best for the competition?

 

[weevil]

Precisely demonstrating some posters “I’ve got zero substance to defend my position, so I’ll resort to my same old strawman arguments and ad hominem attacks” attitude there.



What happened to discussing issues like grownups and not 12-year-olds?

 

[Teen Wolf]

ad hominem attacks

12-year-olds

Brilliant.

 

[mpal6]

Precisely demonstrating the "as long as it's not my club getting screwed, I dgaf" attitude there.

What happened to wanting what's best for the competition?

We have been taking care of what's best for competition for a long time. That includes you picking off Randall from our line up, not to mention the constant outsourcing of talent we provide every off-season. Lulu Pullar (North), Bates, Brodey, Ashmore (Hawks), Tayla Harris (Carlton/Demons), Sabrina Fredrick(Collingwood), Wardlaw, McCarthy (Saints), Taylor Smith (Swans) and so on. I'm not even going to name the also rans as there'll be plenty like Wuetschner (Bombers) etc. The above names were key players like AFLW MVP, leading goal kicker for the season etc that we kept losing every year. Yet we continue to regenerate and try to stay competitive as best as we can.

If you have a valid point to argue regarding how North has overcome obstacles, make it. If you're only going to go broken record on "omg what's best" while clearly knowing you hold an unfair advantage over the entire competition in terms of your list profile - at least be bold enough to admit it. Don't be someone trying weird tangents which make no sense mate - at least be coherent in making your argument.

It's funny watching all North supporters trying to argue how their premierships are legit and hard fought while beating qualifying final opponents scoring a AFL/AFLW/VFL record of 3 points lol. You know you have an unfair advantage, at least wear that smugness with pride instead of expecting your opposition to legitimize your wins.

 

[Teen Wolf]

So I bring up the most damaging case of competition mismanagement ever, wherein Fremantle was the most adversely affected club, and the response is to complain about poor little Brisbane's hardships. Says a bit.

Don't think there's much sympathy left for the Lions' sob story anymore, given the truth has come out about how their player exoduses are entirely self-inflicted.

 

[weevil]

Brilliant.

Yeah, if it wasn’t clear my post was specifically about how immature and repetitive I find a lot of your posting.

You see how I was copying the style and phrasing of your post to mock the patterns of behaviour you repeat endlessly here.

And then at the end I highlighted it by using one of those exact patterns of behaviour I was talking about on you.

Ya see how I was being ironic there? That was kinda the point.

 

[Teen Wolf]

my post was specifically about how immature and repetitive I find a lot of your posting

What happened to discussing issues

Amazing.

 

[Teen Wolf]

I wonder when the Brisbane Lions will be imposing their communist philosophy on the men's team.

Surely it's not a case of one rule for the boys and a different rule for the girls? Gee, their best AFLW players might have a problem with that…

 

[weevil]

I wonder when the Brisbane Lions will be imposing their communist philosophy on the men's team.

Surely it's not a case of one rule for the boys and a different rule for the girls? Gee, their best AFLW players might have a problem with that…

“I’ve got zero substance to defend my position, so I’ll resort to my same old strawman arguments and ad hominem attacks”

"Amazing."

 

[Teen Wolf]

Brisbane's AFLW program, aka the Starcevich sweatshop: built on the core value of bullying women into underestimating their own value and never asking for a pay rise.

 

[weevil]

Brisbane's AFLW program, aka the Starcevich sweatshop: built on the core value of bullying women into underestimating their own value and never asking for a pay rise.

“I’ve got zero substance to defend my position, so I’ll resort to my same old strawman arguments and ad hominem attacks”

"Amazing."

 

[mpal6]

So I bring up the most damaging case of competition mismanagement ever, wherein Fremantle was the most adversely affected club, and the response is to complain about poor little Brisbane's hardships. Says a bit.

Don't think there's much sympathy left for the Lions' sob story anymore, given the truth has come out about how their player exoduses are entirely self-inflicted.

Ah, thanks for confirming you've nothing to defend North's status but go on random idiotic tangents lol.

Keep it up champ, waiting for you to post your next random graph !

 

[Teen Wolf]

Curse you, North Melbourne! This blowout is all because you stole Brisbane's key defender.

Thankfully the days of 2022 are long gone. There is a team leading the way and lifting the standard of the competition, and others (like the Dees) are starting to catch up.

From a historical perspective though, what we know is that when a women's footy league has a clear best player, it's just a matter of time until her team goes on a wild streak of domination.

Daisy and Darebin in the VWFL obviously the prime example. No single standout at the start of AFLW, but then Pearce goes away to have kids and suddenly the Crows, led by an unrivalled Erin Phillips, host the next 3 GFs. Phillips eventually superseded by the far-and-away numero uno Jasmine Garner, thus NMFC's current streak.

So the truth is most people counting the days for this current reign of terror to end, thinking it will bring about a much more balanced competition, are likely to be disappointed. Prrrobably the only thing that could alter the inevitability of another all-conquering team is if Ella Roberts has a career-destroying injury in the next 5-10 years.

 

[timokane]

I love the Carlton Blue girls go blues

 

[Liam Boy]

Bandwagoners? We've been calling out North fan's hypocrisy way before 2025 grand final and how the season was panning out. You won a Qualifying final where your opponent scored 3 points mate - let that sink in. That's a game between 1st and 4th which should be like a benchmark clash. It was anything but benchmark lol.

The idea that you'd single out the Qualifying Final as though it's indicative of more than just the circumstances around the game itself is pretty silly. Hawthorn's low scoring in that game was a direct consequence of A) the fact that they'd just played North for the first time and gotten a rude awakening B) the attempts to adjust the gameplan in response to that loss and C) the horrible conditions on the night which exacerbated the low scoring. Of Hawthorn's 3 behinds, 2 were Aine McDonagh missing gettable shots at goal. They failed to generate scoring shots for the rest of the night because they were playing a stupid sideways kick gameplan and didn't appear to be looking to score, just to maintain possession, which was a kneejerk response to how they'd been beaten the week before and robbed them of their natural game which had seen them finish top 4 to begin with. There was also a pretty significant injury toll on Hawthorn that added up over the two games.

You can point to structural issues here. Why did the AFL fixture the first ever game between two likely top four contenders in Week 12? I felt this was really unfair to Hawthorn in hindsight, they'd been in the competition for four seasons and never had a match with the best team that's from the same city as them? They hadn't even had a taste of the top level, they didn't really know what to expect and the shock of their failure to meet that level clearly derailed their season. They got flogged by Carlton the following week. It is a huge problem that the AFL fixturers allow these long matchup droughts between teams, and this to me is the prime example. You compare it to Melbourne who played North in every season prior to 2025, of course they'd be the ones to actually give it a real shake and rise to the level in the prelim.

Anyway, pointing to a single game's scoreline as evidence of the gap between 1st and 4th is really silly. There's always a lot more going on in a game of footy. It's especially ridiculous when the next game North played was not only close but arguably the greatest game of Women's football ever played, the example that everyone points to of how much the spectacle of the game has improved since the early days. You don't have that without strong sides pushing the envelope and doing whatever they can to get better.

It's funny watching all North supporters trying to argue how their premierships are legit and hard fought while beating qualifying final opponents scoring a AFL/AFLW/VFL record of 3 points lol. You know you have an unfair advantage, at least wear that smugness with pride instead of expecting your opposition to legitimize your wins.

The referral to an "unfair advantage" of North's without explanation is also silly, as though the margin in a game in itself is evidence of an unfair advantage and not just one team being a lot better than another, or just playing much better on the day. Our contention is that North's present success is based on taking advantage of rules that are/were available to everyone, and doing more as a club to build a strong women's program, which is obviously also available to everyone.

If you're specifically talking about North's player retention compared to Brisbane's, are you not deeply concerned by this revelation that Brisbane are seemingly doing a weird social experiment with their Women's player payments? Does it not explain a lot that players keep wanting to leave the club that doesn't pay them like professional athletes? I would probably call or write to my club if something like this came out rather than get online and complain about the club that isn't doing that that keeps beating mine. North got to this position in the first place by looking at what Brisbane were doing and trying to rise to it, maybe it's time for Brisbane to do the same.

 

[mpal6]

If you're specifically talking about North's player retention compared to Brisbane's, are you not deeply concerned by this revelation that Brisbane are seemingly doing a weird social experiment with their Women's player payments? Does it not explain a lot that players keep wanting to leave the club that doesn't pay them like professional athletes? I would probably call or write to my club if something like this came out rather than get online and complain about the club that isn't doing that that keeps beating mine. North got to this position in the first place by looking at what Brisbane were doing and trying to rise to it, maybe it's time for Brisbane to do the same.

Not going to write an essay about QF - I like that score line though, always hits a nerve. I really don't care what Hawks did that night, 3 points is worse than U12 footy but hey, you won so must be great news for the competition for sure !

Your player retention is the major factor in the unfair advantage call out. We have a system which has worked for us so far, but more importantly we lose players regularly under the pretense of competition growth/fairness and forced to regenerate. Adelaide is the same basket, lost players to Port and to new clubs that came along.

This off-season is a great sample, with you keeping hold of every single critical player and on top of that taking Weston-Turner for whatever pick available. You have an advantage for sure, let's not pretend it's an even competition and you're toiling for your premierships. I can't believe you guys are keeping a straight face and arguing what a great competition this is when one club has not lost a game for 2 years straight. And you wonder why it's running at 50M loss and projected to lose more.

 

[mpal6]

View attachment 2529817

Curse you, North Melbourne! This blowout is all because you stole Brisbane's key defender.

Thankfully the days of 2022 are long gone. There is a team leading the way and lifting the standard of the competition, and others (like the Dees) are starting to catch up.

From a historical perspective though, what we know is that when a women's footy league has a clear best player, it's just a matter of time until her team goes on a wild streak of domination.

Daisy and Darebin in the VWFL obviously the prime example. No single standout at the start of AFLW, but then Pearce goes away to have kids and suddenly the Crows, led by an unrivalled Erin Phillips, host the next 3 GFs. Phillips eventually superseded by the far-and-away numero uno Jasmine Garner, thus NMFC's current streak.

So the truth is most people counting the days for this current reign of terror to end, thinking it will bring about a much more balanced competition, are likely to be disappointed. Prrrobably the only thing that could alter the inevitability of another all-conquering team is if Ella Roberts has a career-destroying injury in the next 5-10 years.

Lol Norf supporter, please post your next graph n stat.
Been quiet all of a sudden.

 

[Liam Boy]

Not going to write an essay about QF - I like that score line though, always hits a nerve. I really don't care what Hawks did that night, 3 points is worse than U12 footy but hey, you won so must be great news for the competition for sure !

So why would you expect anyone to put any weight behind what you have to say if you don't know anything about the example you keep citing and have no interest in learning?

Your player retention is the major factor in the unfair advantage call out. We have a system which has worked for us so far, but more importantly we lose players regularly under the pretense of competition growth/fairness and forced to regenerate. Adelaide is the same basket, lost players to Port and to new clubs that came along.

This off-season is a great sample, with you keeping hold of every single critical player and on top of that taking Weston-Turner for whatever pick available. You have an advantage for sure, let's not pretend it's an even competition and you're toiling for your premierships. I can't believe you guys are keeping a straight face and arguing what a great competition this is when one club has not lost a game for 2 years straight. And you wonder why it's running at 50M loss and projected to lose more.

You don't seem to understand what an unfair advantage is. What mechanism is there that only North have access to that has allowed them to recruit and maintain players better than any given club? We have the same draft, same recruitment mechanisms, same contract rules, same salary rules as every other club, and we're in the same city as 8 other clubs. What is it? Is it that North put more resources into building their women's program than other comparable clubs did, making it currently a more attractive place to play football? Because that's not an unfair advantage, anyone else could've done that.

 

[Teen Wolf]

By the way, it's not just AFLW that is a great competition. VFLW is pretty awesome, too.

 

[timokane]

VFLW is better

 

[mpal6]

So why would you expect anyone to put any weight behind what you have to say if you don't know anything about the example you keep citing and have no interest in learning?

I am not expecting you to put any weight to my argument. But clearly you lot seem to be offended about the score line and feel the need to defend it. I'm not incentivized to sit there and dissect a game where one team scored 3 points mate, a qualifying final of all games. But you clearly seem to do as you were the victors.

I'm happy to bring it up every single time just to see the reaction. Clearly shows how dominant you were overall and makes your win look hollow to any neutral observer.