AFLW 2023 List management - Draft/Trade thread

[Dory_77]

The frustration of bottling this season has (mostly) subsided, and there'll soon be a new premier so time to start thinking of the coming draft and trade period.

Trade rumours are already getting around:

Birch among three Dees weighing up Hawks interest

The Hawks are interested in three premiership Demons ahead of next week's AFLW trade period

www.afl.com.au

Birch and West potentially heading to Hawthorn. Sheriff is a done deal to leave there according to the above.
Birch is an interesting one - she's had a couple of meh seasons, but our depth in key backs is very thin. Colvin has struggled to get into the side again and Wilson is apparently being chased by GC. Could be a good opportunity to inject some more young talent with some good draft picks, like what we did with trading O'Dea a few years back. Our core is generally very young so could set us up well for more sustained success.

West and Sheriff are both solid players. Feel we'll miss West's inside work if she leaves (we seemed v passive on that front to end the season), but neither is irreplaceable and both came through from Casey as mature players so shows there is talent around at the state level to pick from.

In terms of needs our list is pretty balanced although depth is basically non-existent, especially if the above all leave. Another KPD will be needed if Birch leaves. I'd like to see us get a big mid too. We've got some very talented players who can run through there - Hanks, Mithen, Purcell etc. but feel we're too easily bullied by opponents. Partly a mindset thing too; we were rattled very easily in both finals and badly outworked.

On the draft front, PerfectFooty has helpfully pointed out Jemma Rigoni is a father-daughter pick for us this year. Looks athletic and a good size, bit awkward with the ball but the aggressive style would suit our gameplan.


I don't know jack about the rest of the draftees, but here is a BF guide: Draft - 2023 AFLW Draft Analysis - Slice of Pie

Georgie Fowler has retired from AFLW - Fowler steps away No word on others yet. I don't have a heap of details on contracts - think they've generally been single season/year, but with the new EBA longer term deals are starting to be done. Hopefully we lock the likes of Gillard, Zanker and Hanks away longer term.

Key dates:
Thursday 7 December - Trade period opens
Thursday 14 December - Trade period ends
Monday 18 December - Draft night

Movements out:
Georgie Fowler - delisted/retired from AFLW
Sheriff - traded to Hawthorn
West - traded to Hawthorn
Birch - traded to North Melbourne
Maddi Gay - traded to Essendon
Charlotte Wilson - traded to Gold Coast
Jordan Ivey - delisted
Samantha Johnson - delisted

Movements in:
Lily Johnson - traded from Port Adelaide

Contract status:
Signed to 2027:
Kate Hore
Tyla Hanks
Alyssa Bannan
Shelley Heath

Signed to 2026:
Blaithin Mackin
Lily Mithen

Signed to 2025:
Georgia Campbell
Eden Zanker
Eliza McNamara
Olivia Purcell
Sinead Goldrick

Signed to 2024:
Tahlia Gillard
Maeve Chaplin
Georgia Gall
Megan Fitzsimon
Aimee Mackin
Paxy Paxman
Lauren Pearce
Sarah Lampard
Saraid Taylor
Tayla Harris
Rhi Watt
Gabby Colvin

 

[Scythe94]

Rival club set to swoop as another Demon requests trade

Maddison Gay has requested a trade as a busy Trade Period looms for Melbourne

www.afl.com.au

 

[Dory_77]

Ivey and Johnson delisted:

Demon duo to depart

Melbourne has made two changes to its AFLW list

www.melbournefc.com.au

 

[Dory_77]

Rival club set to swoop as another Demon requests trade

Maddison Gay has requested a trade as a busy Trade Period looms for Melbourne

www.afl.com.au

I quite like Gay, she's proved pretty versatile for us over her time - playing mid, back, forward as needed, and did it well.

Will be a very interesting trade/draft period. Individually we're not losing any stars (at least on recent form - Birch still seems to be very well regarded despite dropping off, if she does get traded) but a lot of useful role players.

 

[Theseventhhamster]

I quite like Gay, she's proved pretty versatile for us over her time - playing mid, back, forward as needed, and did it well.

Will be a very interesting trade/draft period. Individually we're not losing any stars (at least on recent form - Birch still seems to be very well regarded despite dropping off, if she does get traded) but a lot of useful role players.

 

[jhong]

We appear to give up players to improve our draft position . Interesting

 

[SugarHealey]

Birch is an interesting one - she's had a couple of meh seasons, but our depth in key backs is very thin.

Birch for mine has been very iffy last couple of seasons, when under the pump. She usually drops marks she should swallow. Then is next to poor, when she fumbles the footy around her ankles.

Gay is the biggest loss, from our defence.

Sherriff's pace and tenacity will be sorely missed up forward.

Feel we'll miss West's inside work if she leaves (we seemed v passive on that front to end the season),

We will miss West, if she goes there.

Interestingly the players who are leaving, had poor backends to their seasons. Effecting the sides momentum.
Gay, Sherriff, West, etc

 

[SugarHealey]

We've got some very talented players who can run through there - Hanks, Mithen, Purcell etc. but feel we're too easily bullied by opponents. Partly a mindset thing too; we were rattled very easily in both finals and badly outworked.

Mith is tenacious, but not a shadow of West and Purcell, inside.

I think the bullying angle again comes down to poor ability to get the handball away, while under the pump. weak handball skills to send the footy outside the contest... and also we tend to handball too often from a stnding position rather than from a moving position.
We also tend to like to just hand the ball to nearest teamamte, who is also within the range of pressure.
Failing to get the ball cleanly to out-riders. who can then move the ball on...

Bboth Womes and Mens teams suffer the same way too often, around the contested footy.
Oli is a master of this, giving from a static start, and just giving the pressure to the next in chain.

When he uses his legs with the footy in hand, he can be dynamic.

 

[SugarHealey]

I quite like Gay, she's proved pretty versatile for us over her time - playing mid, back, forward as needed, and did it well.

Will be a very interesting trade/draft period. Individually we're not losing any stars (at least on recent form - Birch still seems to be very well regarded despite dropping off, if she does get traded) but a lot of useful role players.

When the coaches woke up a few years back, and moved Paxy outside the contest, Gay back to CHB, and recruited Purcell and West for the insiders roles. And from memory Daisy went into defence for a while. (prior to her venturing forward).
It changed our whole fluent movement of the footy for the positive.
It won us a premiership.

Prior to these moves, and recruiting, changes to the structures of the side; we were ordinary (p-poor) with our movement of the footy from the half-backline. Butchering exit after exit.
And around that time, Mith was horrible with the footy coming out of D50. Thankgod she worked on it, and her role seemed to change, where she was less called for to be in that exit role from D50... I put that down to Gay's nice composed footy and clearing of the ball from D50.

Now imo... we still have to get much-much better, handballing to teamamtes. We looked amateurish the backend of the seasosn, when under massive pressure in games, coming towards finals, and in the finals.
It showed up our flawed handball methods at the contest/stoppages.

Teams like Adelaide and North, also Lions were much better at the 'hanball to team-mates' skill, and ability wise. This allowed them to look polished with the footy on the move and their skills really stoodout, kicking to the forwards; or from D50 to outlets.

 

[Scythe94]

 

[Scythe94]

Roos swoop late to secure Dees star in major trade coup

Having met with Hawthorn this week, Melbourne defender Libby Birch has instead requested a trade to North Melbourne

www.afl.com.au

 

[Dory_77]

Have also traded Sheriff, West and pick 16 to Hawthorn for pick 5 and pick 26.

 

[Dory_77]

The Dogs getting Zimmi Farquahson for pick 41 seems a bargain if she can get back on the park. Was a pretty sharp forward for Brisbane last year.

 

[jhong]

Birch and pick 35 to North , we get pick 19 from North .

Birch departs Melbourne

Libby Birch will depart Melbourne after the club agreed to a trade with North Melbourne on Monday

www.melbournefc.com.au

 

[jhong]

Best of luck (except against us ) Daisy .

Daisy Pearce appointed West Coast Eagles AFLW coach

Pearce takes on the challenge of coaching the struggling Eagles in the AFLW, following a decorated playing career highlighted by captaining Melbourne to a premiership.

www.abc.net.au

 

[SugarHealey]

Have also traded Sheriff, West and pick 16 to Hawthorn for pick 5 and pick 26.

I think we will miss Sheriff's speed on the halforwrdline.

West was lesser this season. Maybe she was distracted.

 

[Dory_77]

I think we will miss Sheriff's speed on the halforwrdline.

West was lesser this season. Maybe she was distracted.

We seemed to use B Mackin on ball a bit more this season which maybe pushed West out. She was solid there, has a big frame, strong and some pace.

Sheriff's workrate has always been good and makes a decent running combo with Bannan up forward. From the looks though Rigoni's daughter (if we draft her) would be a capable replacement there. Seems a good quick runner like Sheriff

 

[Ticky009]

Hi all, you're welcome to the AFLW Draft Night thread on the main board

Game Day - AFLW 2023 Dec Draft 18th Dec 2023

A total of 83 players have been invited to the 2023 AFLW Draft combine. Combine Dates are as follows: NEW SOUTH WALES Date: Monday, September 25 Venue: Netball Central - Sydney Olympic Park Number of players: 10 VICTORIA Date: Sunday, October 8 Venue: Margaret Court Arena and AIA Centre...

www.bigfooty.com

 

[Crusty Demon]

Pisano is a beauty. I've watched her closely last couple of years because she's played in the same side as my best mate's daughter who got pre-drafted. Pisano will bring huge energy in the front half. Tough, quick and a goal kicker.

 

[Dory_77]

Pisano is a beauty. I've watched her closely last couple of years because she's played in the same side as my best mate's daughter who got pre-drafted. Pisano will bring huge energy in the front half. Tough, quick and a goal kicker.

Sounds like a good get. Having a good crumber will complement our talls up forward.

Seems like a decent draft for us? A fair chunk of the top end talent had already been picked off by expansion sides, but we've seemed to (potentially) cover a lot of needs with our picks - a good small, a couple of talls, a couple of -tweeners.

 

[Crusty Demon]

Sounds like a good get. Having a good crumber will complement our talls up forward.

Seems like a decent draft for us? A fair chunk of the top end talent had already been picked off by expansion sides, but we've seemed to (potentially) cover a lot of needs with our picks - a good small, a couple of talls, a couple of -tweeners.

Agreed. Always hard to tell until we see them in action at the top level, but it does look like we've done about as well as we could have with the picks.

Rigoni will be fun to watch too. Really quick and breaks the lines. Her kicking can be all over the place, but hopefully that improves over time. Love the Pisano pick though. I picked her out two years ago to my mate who's daughter was playing in the same side. Wanted her at the Dees then. She was a standout with her effort and really looked like a true footballer tbh. Really glad we got her.

 

[jhong]

AFLW Draft | Pick No.55 | Delany Madigan

Melbourne has selected Delany Madigan with pick No.55 at the AFLW National Draft

www.melbournefc.com.au

 

[SugarHealey]

Rigoni will be fun to watch too. Really quick and breaks the lines.

The snippet of her shows some real power running.

Her kicking can be all over the place,

thats ok... as long as she kicks to open green spaces. We should be OK.

but hopefully that improves over time.

... sounds like Mfc ethos... or mcc life commandment.

 

[Crusty Demon]

The snippet of her shows some real power running.


thats ok... as long as she kicks to open green spaces. We should be OK.





... sounds like Mfc ethos... or mcc life commandment.

Poor kicking has to be on the pre-draft profile to be considered by the MFC.

 

[SugarHealey]

Poor kicking has to be on the pre-draft profile to be considered by the MFC.

We have to improve skills... (under pressure).! mens and womens.

... but the 1st prioriotiy has to be courage and contest.

Next from that has to be running ability, along with skills on both sides of the body.
No more one sided players please.

Those who are one sided need to follow Viney's lead, and develop their weaker side for disposals.
Tracc... your one of these, along with Oli.

When being amongst those top 4 teams, dual sided ability can be the differecnce between a W & L.