AFLW - Carlton v Collingwood Season Opener Gameday Discussion/Autopsy

[slashin_velvet]

 

[Neese]

Neese, neese, neese.

MEB put forward a quality post that I haven't forgotten, some months back.
She described her desire to play football but wasn't allowed to because you know.......men and roughness of the game and so on.

If I had to describe the game tonight, it was schoolyard fare. Why should I not be able to say what I saw without it affecting the wider agenda?

Thanks for totally patronising me

 

[Neese]

I didn't expect much and I'm todays demon which is fine.

Good on....and power to the ladies for putting their best foot forward.
Good on the AFL to take the reins and bring the 'project' forward by three years. Very smart as it would have been easy just to let things roll.
Good on the people to turn up and stun the public with their support.

.........but last nights event was an awful spectacle, regardless of the current hype around it.
It will find it's way I know but I have to call a spade a spade.

Can you go away now please?

 

[Crankyhawk]

Much more organised in defence. Collingwood didn't get alot of deep entries into F50.

The quick handballs went to the targets just players fumbled to grab a bit - if the Carlton players hadn't had those would've been a 12 goal thrashing. Speed of ball movement so much better than pies.

 

[skadoosh]

I didn't expect much and I'm todays demon which is fine.

Good on....and power to the ladies for putting their best foot forward.
Good on the AFL to take the reins and bring the 'project' forward by three years. Very smart as it would have been easy just to let things roll.
Good on the people to turn up and stun the public with their support.

.........but last nights event was an awful spectacle, regardless of the current hype around it.
It will find it's way I know but I have to call a spade a spade.

So...correct me if I'm wrong, but your only negative of the night was that the skill level was not up to your liking?
Did you expect AFL-like skills? VFL-like skills? It seems like the fact that the skill level wasn't great was the most important factor of the whole thing for you.
Everyone saw the same game, everyone saw the same mistakes, everyone saw the same enthusiasm by the players and supporters.
What makes it so important to call out the girls on their poor skills? Strange thought process you have there.

 

[Funk]

Thy. I can only play one way and that's to relate what I see.
Now, it may not be the popular or PC view and I said what I said for a reason. Doesn't matter. Mods can clean me up as they often do.

The AFL will want the standard to lift irrespective of the efforts. One team scored one goal tonight in a 16 a side comp.
It will take time but in this day and age, we all want everything now, that time doesn't count for much. The AFL will be thrilled for the initial hit but they would know there is so coming down to go through.

We need this comp but expectations will need to be tempered and good management to followed through with.
What do you see? That's what I see.

Appreciate your perspective Harks.

Love your posts and the fact you are prepared to "swim against the tide" if that is your belief.

FWIW the game tonight exceeded my expectations.

The first 5 minutes was horrible with so many basic errors.

However the noise and excitement seemed to get the better of most of the players initially.

Once the game settled down there were still many skill errors - but I think for part time footballers who had never played a match together that was not at all surprising.

I was super impressed with:

The intensity and tackling - much, much harder than I expected.

The organisation of the Blues girls - they completely outplayed the Pies tactically. This surprised me given it was their first game together.

The skill and clean ball handling of Vescio and Jakobsen - guns.

The crowd - amazing!!

Plenty to work with here.

PS - Collingwood should have taken more notice of those "whiteboard photos" that were posted

 

[ESKIE]

What a great thing for the CFC brand last night, such a wonderful spectacle

So proud of our Blues women !

 

[ESKIE]

So...correct me if I'm wrong, but your only negative of the night was that the skill level was not up to your liking?
Did you expect AFL-like skills? VFL-like skills? It seems like the fact that the skill level wasn't great was the most important factor of the whole thing for you.
What makes it so important to call out the girls on their poor skills? Strange thought process you have there.

Almost child like TBH

 

[Jimmae]

Obviously none of us were around back in the 1800's when the VFL started. I cant see the standard being any different than what it was last night.

Woman's AFL is here to stay and watch the standard improve over the next 15-20 years as more and more girls take the game up for an early age.

Mate this was easily 1990s standard VFL, forget 1890s. Few cramping calves in a game played at the start of Feb...

I dont think that'll be possible if its tied to existing clubs. Someone will be appointed to watch womens footy ops, but so much is integrated into clubs and existing AFL operations, the Commission will never let it go.

I think it's fine for them to be under one governing body as that exposes them to greater opportunities in terms of expertise, but there must be more people with an interest in giving opportunities to the women's game at the top.

The response of the AFL to last night suggests they don't really have much of a formula for growing the game, and that needs to be addressed. I think this will likely come from outside the current structure, but I remain hopeful there's an underrepresented school of thought already within the AFLW and the state bodies that will start singing louder now that they have more of a platform.

 

[Neese]

Thebarton Oval capacity is only 5000. Don't think that is going to be big enough.
Will watch Crows vs GWS when I get home from work. Will be interested to see how it compares to last night's match.
I hope they move Carlton vs Crows from Thebby

 

[Jimmae]

Thebarton Oval capacity is only 5000. Don't think that is going to be big enough.
Will watch Crows vs GWS when I get home from work. Will be interested to see how it compares to last night's match.
I hope they move Carlton vs Crows from Thebby

It's going to be interesting to see the turn out interstate. I think the GWS home games will get boots on the ground from progressives, but if the TV figures from that tweet are correct, it's going to be a bit lacklustre in the other three states, which would be deeply disappointing.

The TV audience last night was 80% Victorian.

 

[slashin_velvet]

Almost child like TBH

Everyone's jumping all over Harks, and while I don't agree with the comments about insincerity, the pessimist in me asks the following questions:
- What a fantastic crowd - how much of this was related to it being the first AFL womens game ever, the rivalry between the clubs, the return to our homeground? We will only know this for sure in the coming weeks (and even this weekend) as we see other crowds around the country.
- From a skills perspective - it would be foolish to expect even the same as VFL where half the players are full time footballers. However it follows that the VFL has mediocre crowds at best. Unless the skill level lifts (and of course we need to be generous with our expectations) then can the game hold its current enthusiasm for the amount of time it might need to get the skills to a comparable level to the mens?

Its fair to say the first game we've witnessed exceeded expectations - which is a great start for the league. But those of you who want your daughters to be playing in a professional womens league in 15 years time need the current setup to last the test of time. All we can do for now is rock up/tune in and give it the support we can and appreciate the sport for what it currently is - A professional sporting code with many newcomers to the sport.

 

[The_Wookie]

It's going to be interesting to see the turn out interstate. I think the GWS home games will get boots on the ground from progressives, but if the TV figures from that tweet are correct, it's going to be a bit lacklustre in the other three states, which would be deeply disappointing.

The TV audience last night was 80% Victorian.

thats pretty much typical of any Friday night audience for the AFL too.

 

[ShanDog]

Thebarton Oval capacity is only 5000. Don't think that is going to be big enough.
Will watch Crows vs GWS when I get home from work. Will be interested to see how it compares to last night's match.
I hope they move Carlton vs Crows from Thebby

Was thinking about taking the family but after last night's turn out, I'll give it a miss. Give the actual crows fans a chance at a seat.

 

[slashin_velvet]

thats pretty much typical of any Friday night audience for the AFL too.

Timezone and lack of local team no doubt plays a large part in viewership

 

[Jimmae]

thats pretty much typical of any Friday night audience for the AFL too.

How does it compare to the AFL season opener? I was expecting more traction nationally given it was *the* first game, but throwing it on 7mate (according to that tweet) in the other states didn't help.

 

[Foucault1989]

That was a bloody awesome game of footy. I was getting chills before the first bounce. All the girls did the navy blue proud. This morning at the dog park I saw 4 young girls wearing footy jumpers kicking the footy with their parents. It must give them so much hope and drive to see women playing on the big stage. Absolutely loved it. Up the baggers.

 

[Tony Lynn 15]

Everyone's jumping all over Harks, and while I don't agree with the comments about insincerity, the pessimist in me asks the following questions:
- What a fantastic crowd - how much of this was related to it being the first AFL womens game ever, the rivalry between the clubs, the return to our homeground? We will only know this for sure in the coming weeks (and even this weekend) as we see other crowds around the country.
- From a skills perspective - it would be foolish to expect even the same as VFL where half the players are full time footballers. However it follows that the VFL has mediocre crowds at best. Unless the skill level lifts (and of course we need to be generous with our expectations) then can the game hold its current enthusiasm for the amount of time it might need to get the skills to a comparable level to the mens?

Its fair to say the first game we've witnessed exceeded expectations - which is a great start for the league. But those of you who want your daughters to be playing in a professional womens league in 15 years time need the current setup to last the test of time. All we can do for now is rock up/tune in and give it the support we can and appreciate the sport for what it currently is - A professional sporting code with many newcomers to the sport.

I didn't watch it last night so can't comment on the actual match.

Won't a lot of it get down to scheduling? I think if it can be short but sweet and fill the gap at the beginning of the pre season the appetite will be there. If they try to extend it or put it in time slots that are more competitive it may struggle.

Will be interesting to see how crowd numbers go throughout the season. The Big Bash do it well for scheduling and I believe it is a key reason for its success.

 

[The_Wookie]

How does it compare to the AFL season opener? I was expecting more traction nationally given it was *the* first game, but throwing it on 7mate (according to that tweet) in the other states didn't help.

last year rich v carlton did 604k metro, and 213k regional - which is pretty close. Its the 287,000 on fox that leave this for dead.

 

[slashin_velvet]

I didn't watch it last night so can't comment on the actual match.

Won't a lot of it get down to scheduling? I think if it can be short but sweet and fill the gap at the beginning of the pre season the appetite will be there. If they try to extend it or put it in time slots that are more competitive it may struggle.

Will be interesting to see how crowd numbers go throughout the season. The Big Bash do it well for scheduling and I believe it is a key reason for its success.

And the scheduling looks average it terms of time slots for games unfortunately. Some unconventional start times like 5.05 make you scratch your head.

It's likely to be combination of a bunch of factors

 

[Tony Lynn 15]

last year rich v carlton did 604k metro, and 213k regional - which is pretty close. Its the 287,000 on fox that leave this for dead.

I was watching the golf from Dubai last night Wookie on Foxtel....wonder how those numbers stacked up??

 

[Stig O'Hara]

Really enjoyed it last night.

24.5k is beyond anyone's imagination and near on a million couch potatoes viewing.

Best innovation, board shorts!!!

 

[Tony Lynn 15]

And the scheduling looks average it terms of time slots for games unfortunately. Some unconventional start times like 5.05 make you scratch your head.

It's likely to be combination of a bunch of factors

Sounds like a train timetable!!

 

[Tony Lynn 15]

Really enjoyed it last night.

24.5k is beyond anyone's imagination and near on a million couch potatoes viewing.

Best innovation, board shorts!!!

I thought they are more like the running shorts Rob De Castella used to wear??

 

[Stig O'Hara]

Watching it again, Jason Bennett without a shadow of a doubt, is the best caller by the length of Flemington.