AFLW 2020 Pre-Season (practice match discussion, injury news, training reports etc.)

Remove this Banner Ad

Injury news updated in OP including delays/setbacks for Ashleigh Guest (Bulldogs) and Emma Pittman (Suns).

A few more captaincy announcements have rolled in this week too.
GWS Giants: Alicia Eva (captain); Jess Dal Pos, Cora Staunton, Britt Tully and Pepa Randall (leadership group)
Richmond: Katie Brennan (captain); Christina Bernardi (vice-captain); Lauren Tesoriero and Phoebe Monahan (deputy vice-captains)
Think that just leaves Gold Coast, Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs to name their leaders unless I missed them.

The Dogs have announced Ellie Blackburn as skipper with Brooke Lochland as vice captain. Lauren Spark, Izzy Huntington, Kirsty Lamb and Hannah Scott round out the leadership group.
 

Log in to remove this ad.

The Victorian

Norm Smith Medallist
Oct 23, 2018
7,088
6,402
Victoria
AFL Club
Gold Coast
Other Teams
Storm, Western Utd
Alllllrighty party people, some results and early reports from this morning:







Melb 6.2.38 d Coll 3.6.24
Melb goals: Kemp, Sherriff, Heath, Hanks, Cordner, Scott
Coll goals: Sheridan, Membrey, Lambert
Injuries: Alexander (Coll) - eye; Mithen (Melb) - ankle; Kemp (Melb) - ankle

WB 8.11.59 d Geel 7.5.47
WB goals: Toogood 3, McLeod 2, Moody, Morris-Dalton, Marshall
Geel goals: Garing 3, McWilliams 2, Cranston, Ivey
Injuries: Blackburn (WB) - hand, went to hospital at HT for scans

NM 8.3.51 d Carl 6.7.43
NM goals: Emma King 2, Garner 2, Abbatangelo, Ashmore, Bannister, Bateman
Carl goals: Harris 2, Walker 2, McEvoy, Sarah Hosking
Injuries: Brazzale (Carl) - head, stretchered off
 
Last edited:

Lsta062

Brownlow Medallist
Jul 15, 2014
21,589
41,458
AFL Club
Richmond
Other Teams
Chelsea, LA Lakers, Western United
Oof this is a demolition from Adelaide against Fremantle right now. Fremantle started well but the second quarter has been a destruction to say the least.
 
Oof this is a demolition from Adelaide against Fremantle right now. Fremantle started well but the second quarter has been a destruction to say the least.
And the 3rd qtr Freo have thrown everything at them yet Adelaide have repelled everything.
 








StK 6.10.46 d GC 3.6.24
StK goals: tbc
GC goals: Perry 2, Kaslar

Adel 8.4.52 d Frem 5.5.35
Adel goals: Forth 2, Gum 2, Mules, Jones, Allen, Newman
Frem goals: Houghton 3, Ebony Antonio, O'Sullivan
Injuries: Varnhagen (Adel) - knee; Li (Adel) - concussion; Tighe (Frem) - knee
 
Last edited:

StK 6.10.46 d GC 3.6.24
StK goals: Shierlaw 2, Sedunary 2, McCarthy, Vesely
GC goals: Perry 2, Kaslar

GWS 5.7.37 d Bris 0.3.3
GWS goals: Nielsen 2, Beeson, Bonner, Schmidt
Bris goals: none

And some thoughts from the games I got to watch this weekend:

Brisbane
Same old crap that cost them a premiership, halfback swarming with loose players getting in the way of each other. When a rare Lions I50 occurred, here comes Jesse Wardlaw with another clanger--she could eat rabbit organs from a Wuhan wholesale market right now and still not catch the coronavirus. Brianna McFarlane showed some good examples of clean marking high and low though. And probably the best news out of the day for them was Sophie Conway recovering after a heavy tackle, initially looked like she'd re-done her knee.

GWS Giants
Coach McConnell last week said their 2020 pre-season focus had been more on cleaning up fundamental skills which is a good albeit obvious read on their situation. Hesitant to make any more predictions about my failed 2019 flag fancies, but they really should be finishing 3rd at worst in ConA this year and thus making finals.

Carlton
The creepy little witches Prespakis and McEvoy will carry them a fair way, but any team whose two best players are teenagers will struggle for four-quarter and season-long consistency. I paid extra attention to Harrington yesterday and still doubt the validity of her AA selection. A much more indecisive director of traffic than given discredit for. The temptation to throw Stevo forward is understandable but without her in defence they'll leak a lot more goals than necessary. The always mesmerising Moody looked a lot fitter to me, and her kicking at least showed increased purpose yesterday (gone from "bomb it long" to "bomb it long to Tayla"), the umpires will love her this year if I'm right.

North Melbourne
Same strengths as last year on show from the go: hard-working mids able to get it into the forward-line quickly and a lot of different scoring options to take advantage of the service. And as expected our somewhat undermanned backline (Duffin, Gibson, Grierson and Bresnehan were missing from 2019's Round 1 team) struggled a bit, felt like Carlton were getting a decent chance to score on almost every F50 entry in the second half.

Fremantle
I've always said Ebony Antonio should be mainstay CHF, but I believe it's even more crucial now. Roux will be roux-ined by double- and triple-teams week-in week-out otherwise. Houghton is fantastic as a faux HFF (meaning wing), so if Coach Cooper needs to move someone with height and experience into defence then I think it should be Hayley Miller.

Adelaide
It's hard to evaluate how useful Courtney Gum will be without knowing what role Stevie-Lee Thompson's going to play. Whoever gets to lockdown the Crows' FF position already has one hand on this year's league goal-kicking medal. Danielle Ponter played solid midfield minutes which I'm less opposed to now that it's not at the expense of my personal forward-turned-onballer preference of Ruth Wallace.

Richmond leading West Coast 24-17 at half time of the weekend's final match.
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

Here’s 10 things we learned from those seven games:


1. Daisy Pearce hasn’t missed a beat




After a year off to have twins, Pearce made her official return for the Demons on Saturday against Collingwood at the Holden Centre, showing no signs of rust.


She was involved early through the middle and showed her class and smarts up against a tough Pies midfield.


Expect to see Pearce spend some time across half back in 2020 as well as she reintegrates herself back into AFLW level and her ability to read the play and mark above her head will likely make her a weapon in that role.


2. The Pies will be the most improved team in 2020




Collingwood only had the one win last year so saying they’ll improve isn’t saying much, but expect them to be among the teams fighting for a finals spot in Conference B.


In their practice match against the Dees, they unveiled former Carlton skipper Brianna Davey and welcomed back superstar Rising Star winner Chloe Molloy, unleashing both in the midfield alongside Jaimee Lambert, Steph Chiocci and Brittany Bonnici.


They have a strong midfield and a reliable backline. The question mark will be on their forwards and where the goals come from.


They had opportunities to break away from Melbourne in the first half, but wayward goal kicking held them back.


3. Sharni Layton will be the most improved player in 2020




It’s only fitting that the most improved player comes from the most improved team.


Layton was new to the game last year and looked a fish out of water playing in the ruck - fair enough given she was still learning and developing in a brand new sport.


The Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist made great strides with her ruck craft across the VFLW season, where the Pies won the flag, and showed just how far she has come on Saturday morning, bullying Melbourne’s ruck division and not only winning hit-outs but either clearing the congestion by thumping the ball away or hitting the ball nicely to advantage.


Already boasting a gun midfield, Layton’s size, strength and ruck craft will give the Pies a serious edge if she does breakout this season.







4. The young Bulldogs will play fast




Boasting four of the top seven Victorian draft selections from 2019 and plenty of pace the Bulldogs will look to hurt teams who press too high up the ground this season.


Facing the Cats on Saturday, the Dogs were able to get out the back and put scoreboard pressure on thanks to the likes of Nell Morris-Dalton, Bonnie Toogood and Kirsten McLeon.


Gabby Newton and Isabel Huntington are versatile future stars who can play key forward or through the midfield as well and how they mix and match them will be worth keeping a close eye on.


Captain Ellie Blackburn suffered a hand injury in the game requiring scans and losing her would make things incredibly hard for the Dogs in 2020 however.


5. North Melbourne remains a powerhouse




The Roos got off to a blistering start at Ikon Park against Carlton, booting five quick goals and showcasing what they can look like when everything clicks together.


They have elite players all over the ground and saw good signs from youngsters like Ellie Gavalas and Ash Riddell, who give this team even more depth through the midfield.


Star ruck Emma King looked incredibly dangerous inside 50 and if they continue to throw her down there, she could kick plenty of goals in 2020.


North Melbourne was incredibly unlucky to miss out on finals last season and all signs point to them getting there this time around after an impressive win over the Blues.


6. Carlton will run teams off their feet




As mentioned above, the Blues were five goals down in the blink of an eye against the Roos, but were the stronger team from that moment forward, reigning the Roos in across the rest of the game.


They finished well and looked to have more left in the tank as the match went on. Top draft pick Lucy McEvoy showed signs of the star she will likely become with a huge contested mark in the goal square, while their young midfield held their own against a strong Roos line-up.


Their forward line looked potent, with Tayla Harris marking everything, Chloe Dalton and Brooke Walker getting in good positions and Nicola Stevens providing another excellent lead-up target after a few years in defence.


Carlton may have lost their best player in the trade period, but they remain one of the rightful favourites in Conference B. They’ll be hoping midfielder Lauren Brazzale is okay following an ugly head-knock saw her taken to hospital for scans.


7. Adelaide’s injuries are starting to mount up




Adelaide midfielder Deni Varnhagen went down clutching her knee late in the second quarter against Fremantle and did not return to the game. Sophie Li was also sidelined with a concussion.


If Varnhagen’s injury is serious, she would join Hannah Martin and captain Chelsea Randall as players out for the season with knee injuries, while Ruth Wallace has stepped away for personal reasons.


Erin Phillips, Chloe Scheer and Rhiannon Metcalfe all tore their ACLs last year and will either have delayed starts to 2020 or will be limited early and given they are already missing three - potentially four - players for the season, Adelaide is running out of magnets on the board.


The reigning champs might have the best list in the competition, but injuries might make successive flags difficult.


8. Freo's skipper is back




The Dockers made finals and finished with the second best record in the AFLW last year, but it’s worth mentioning that they did that with their best player injured.


Kara Antonio (nee Donnellan) was not at her best in 2019, dealing with consistent injury niggles, but after sitting out the WAFLW season she is fit and healthy once again.


She looked her explosive best against the Crows on Saturday afternoon and putting her next to Kiara Bowers in that Fremantle midfield gives them an incredible one-two punch.


Antonio was one of the most complete midfielders across the first two seasons, with her size and contested ball-winning ability coupled with her burst from stoppages making her a difficult match-up.


9. The Tigers will use Katie Brennan as a midfielder




With Sabrina Frederick, Christina Bernardi and impressive newcomers Courtney Wakefield and Tayla Stahl all inside 50 and all looking good in their practice match win over West Coast, the Tigers can afford to utilise Brennan in the midfield.


That’s exactly what they did against the Eagles, playing her almost exclusively as an on-baller from start to finish.


Brennan was very effective in the role, dominating the clearances early and winning plenty of the ball around the ground.


Monique Conti did not play on Sunday due to basketball commitments, but putting the two together with first-round pick Sophie Molan and ruck Alice Edmonds should allow the Tigers to compete with the best midfield units.


10. It may be a long year for the Lions




Brisbane was held goalless on Sunday morning by GWS across four quarters of footy.


A team that boasted the strongest forward line in the competition during the inaugural season thanks to Tayla Harris, Sabrina Frederick, Kate McCarthy, Jess Wuetschner and Kaitlyn Ashmore has lost, well everyone.


All have left for other teams with the exception of Wuetschner who was - literally - struck by lightning last weekend. You couldn’t make this stuff up.


The Lions have been stripped bare by the expansion teams and while they still have stars in the midfield and down back, their forward line may struggle to put the score on the board in 2020.


__Practice game results




Melbourne 38 defeated Collingwood 24

North Melbourne 51 defeated Carlton 43

Western Bulldogs 59 defeated Geelong 47

St Kilda 46 defeated Gold Coast 24

Adelaide 52 defeated Fremantle 35
GWS 37 defeated Brisbane 3

Richmond 51 defeated West Coast 23
 
Following up and capping off news from the weekend

Rich 7.9.51 d WC 3.5.23
Rich goals: Stahl 3, Bernardi 2, Wakefield, Brennan
WC goals: Tester, Gilmore, Hill

Injury

Leadership
Adelaide have rounded out its leadership group with Jess Foley, Marijana Rajcic, Sarah Allan, Courtney Cramey and Angela Foley to support co-captains Phillips and Randall.

MRO
  • North Melbourne's Tahlia Randall escapes penalty for a bump on Carlton's Lauren Brazzale--I saw it at a perfect angle but from the far side of the ground, it looked like a case of unavoidable front-on contact, Randall braced for impact and possibly connected with Brazzale's chest first (but I'd have to see the recorded vision of it to be sure)
  • Fremantle's Kiara Bowers offered a reprimand with an early guilty plea for a tackle on Adelaide's Madison Newman
  • Richmond's Lauren Tesoriero, who does something dirty in every match I see her play (usually in the vicinity of an opposition star player), copped the same sanction for rough conduct against West Coast captain Emma Swanson
 
Last edited:
Lions and Suns caught up on their washed-out session last night:


Injury news: Gold Coast's Ellie Hampson will miss the start of the 2020 season through injury. The 18-year-old was sent for scans which revealed some damage to the ligaments in her ankle. Recovery timeline is expected to be approximately four weeks.

Five inclusions to St Kilda's "broader leadership group": Tilly Lucas-Rodd, Jess Sedunary, Nat Exon, Ali Drennan and Kate McCarthy.

And some big news this morning regarding player availability: Monique Conti has parted ways with her WNBL team, choosing to prioritise her AFLW career. All I can say about that is... innnnnnnn yourrrrrr FACE, basketball! Nah but, I gladly said in my 100 MVP thread this was going to happen, although it actually turned out to be too conservative of a prediction.
 
Report from last night, plus the first article from Geelong's website about their game against the Bulldogs:

From Richmond's board.

MonCon swapped Basketball duties for footy duties.

OP needs to be edited.
The OP was updated with that info five hours before your suggestion. And the last post in this thread before yours has a link to the story and other stuff.
 
Confirmation of an ACL rupture in the left knee of Fremantle's Aine Tighe, so the Irishwoman is ruled out for the season. This appears to be a recurring injury, I think her right knee was the good one, but that hasn't been clearly stated from what I've seen.

Geelong's Meg McDonald to miss four weeks of the season with a broken finger.

Gold Coast have named Sam Virgo and Leah Kaslar as co-captains. Tiarna Ernst, Sally Riley and Jamie Stanton making up the leadership group.

Also on the Suns, Coach David Lake talks about their mini-match against Brisbane last Wednesday:
One point he brought up unprompted which caught my attention: "We want to play a free-flowing skillful brand..."! Could be wrong but I don't remember anybody from the Lions (including him) talking that way in the first three seasons. However, of course, talk is cheap. Harder to commit to that style of football if you find yourself five goals down early in the piece.

Finally*, this article is driving at a couple of ideas which I'm not sold on:
  • First is that teams might be able to get special exemptions to replace injured ruckmen because it's a health & safety issue (presumably having undersized/unprepared girls going in there and getting smashed etc). It seems to me that filling your squad of 30 with only two genuine rucks is a calculated attempt to make your team as quick and nimble as possible. Valid strategy that looks good when it works, but clubs shouldn't be so easily absolved for risky list decisions that don't pan out. If Mim Strom got injured now, Fremantle would probably still have 23+ available players and therefore shouldn't be able to bring in a ruck replacement, that's the way it goes and you're just gonna have to deal with conceding the hit-outs.
  • Second, of course North were able to get an exemption to replace mother-to-be Jess Duffin. But I don't know how a case as blatant as Ann McMahon's doesn't allow for identical dispensation. Is there not an interpretation here that suggests the AFL prefers women to stay home and have babies rather than becoming active participants in the workforce? Uh-ohh spaghettios...
*and I do mean finally, because I'm thinking it'll be best to start a Round 1 Discussion thread on Monday and shift any injury talk, or whatever, to that?
 
Teen Wolf.

Correct me if obvious, but the AFL doesn’t know how a lady operates.

It’s the patriarchal understanding they have in spades.

What they do need are more females who understand these issues more.
But even taking the maternity leave issue out of it: If you have a semi-pro comp, men's or women's, where clubs are incentivised to not recruit players who have more dangerous day jobs... well, that's not great.
 

Remove this Banner Ad

Back