AFLW Autopsy AFLW Rd 2: Hawks v Western Bulldogs, Mars Stadium Ballarat, Sun 10/09 1.05pm

[Newmo89]

A great win by Hawthorn on the road
Stratta was a tackling machine
Bates is a gun
Pendles match saver
Body's goal sense
Kashy so measured
Laura Elliott was tremendous in her return to the senior team
Tilly led by the front
Flemo and Baskaran were tremendous in their 12 and 11th game respectively
Team performance

 

[muldercs]

Seriously good win by the Hawks.. Not an easy task against last years finalists and on a slippery foreign ground.

Jasmine Fleming is going to be a superstar. She looks super fit.
Kaitlyn Ashmore was brave and effective, especially having taken that huge hit.
Thought all girls where tough when it counted..

Win or lose I'm looking forward to watching our lady Hawks.

 

[grumbleguts]

Hawthorn are in the eight right now.

 

[The hands of stone]

Geez a win is a win is a win .

Great result for a second year side against a well established womans team/program .

My 8 yo is so excited ......might even get her across from dancing

Gee the Lions girls are great pickups

 

[The Post Man]

Not sure if there’s a few here late to the party, but the Dogs are not that good and they have some injuries meaning they can’t get close to their best team.

Two teams playing ordinary footy. It was a win, not a great win. There is more talent in our team this season and we are playing worse than last season.

As good as Bates is, she is a dump kicker in congestion. I’d like to see her releasing the ball to players like Fleming and Ashmore outside the contest so we can actually hit some targets going forward. Unfortunately this goes against the one dimensional game plan the Mini Bus devised way back when the comp started and the game was more about fitness and athletes than it was strategy and footballers.

Wales looked off today. Hopefully she will be better for the run, because the team needs to stop attacking the forward half from the back third.

 

[muldercs]

Not sure if there’s a few here late to the party..

I think you may be a party pooper..
Give the girls some credit, they tried their butts off.. and.. came up with a win..

 

[bigmaxi]

Ripper win, such a great contrast to the previous week. Lost for favourite player too many to pick from. Really enjoyed the coming together of the team and so much more to come. Hawks looked the fitter side and touches of the run and gun very evident. If we are this good round two just you wait for round three. Go Hawks

 

[FB19]

It’s all down to expectations if they win 3 again this year with a tougher draw and we see progress in the young players that’s good enough for me. Good win although expect the dogs aren’t finalists but as a new side any win is a good win. My love affair with Mattea lasted a week - 2 acts both awful! Loving brown down back and old school defender with a good thump and a cannon kick.

 

[Mitchell Madness]

It’s all down to expectations if they win 3 again this year with a tougher draw and we see progress in the young players that’s good enough for me. Good win although expect the dogs aren’t finalists but as a new side any win is a good win. My love affair with Mattea lasted a week - 2 acts both awful! Loving brown down back and old school defender with a good thump and a cannon kick.

One of matteas howlers you can blame on akec.
I was there (right in front of me!) And clearly heard akec call for the ball when she should've been streaming toward goal

 

[Aristarchus]

Not sure if there’s a few here late to the party, but the Dogs are not that good and they have some injuries meaning they can’t get close to their best team.

Two teams playing ordinary footy. It was a win, not a great win. There is more talent in our team this season and we are playing worse than last season.

As good as Bates is, she is a dump kicker in congestion. I’d like to see her releasing the ball to players like Fleming and Ashmore outside the contest so we can actually hit some targets going forward. Unfortunately this goes against the one dimensional game plan the Mini Bus devised way back when the comp started and the game was more about fitness and athletes than it was strategy and footballers.

Wales looked off today. Hopefully she will be better for the run, because the team needs to stop attacking the forward half from the back third.

I don't think the game is a marker for us making finals, but geez, give credit for an unexpected away win where it's due. They were there for the taking and the team took their chances.

Going to disagree on assessment of Bates. She took control in some contests that we didn't even see Tilly do last year.

Sure, would like to see 18/side eventually but it's not really a big issue at the moment, or specific to this one game.

Wales did look like she wasn't 100% fit, but given she was out with a foot injury last week still getting 13 hit outs, 11 disposals, 6 tackles...all better than Luke (who was good too) whilst managed and still clearly up for key efforts, I'm not worried at all. Pleased for the long-term they didnt try to rush her in last week tbh, she's absolutely key.

I think next week Smith comes in for Everist, we didn't really use the bench a lot (TOG% for Everist, Locke and Breed was 34, 32 and 29 respectively) so it will be key to get better rotations in especially if we don't want to fade in 4th quarters when not kicking to advantage.

But it will also depend on rotations with away trip on 6 days break to Fremantle. Will be hard for the likes of Kemp down back, Deed and Baird in mids to get a crack at the moment but all could come into consideration if they think some players need a rest.

 

[The Post Man]

I don't think the game is a marker for us making finals, but geez, give credit for an unexpected away win where it's due. They were there for the taking and the team took their chances.

Going to disagree on assessment of Bates. She took control in some contests that we didn't even see Tilly do last year.

Sure, would like to see 18/side eventually but it's not really a big issue at the moment, or specific to this one game.

Wales did look like she wasn't 100% fit, but given she was out with a foot injury last week still getting 13 hit outs, 11 disposals, 6 tackles...all better than Luke (who was good too) whilst managed and still clearly up for key efforts, I'm not worried at all. Pleased for the long-term they didnt try to rush her in last week tbh, she's absolutely key.

I think next week Smith comes in for Everist, we didn't really use the bench a lot (TOG% for Everist, Locke and Breed was 34, 32 and 29 respectively) so it will be key to get better rotations in especially if we don't want to fade in 4th quarters when not kicking to advantage.

But it will also depend on rotations with away trip on 6 days break to Fremantle. Will be hard for the likes of Kemp down back, Deed and Baird in mids to get a crack at the moment but all could come into consideration if they think some players need a rest.

Not sure the win was as unexpected as you think. The Dogs are very ordinary. It was not a great spectacle or quality game from either team. You only have to look at what the better teams are doing to see we are years and a good coach away from finals.

There's no doubt Bates did a lot of the heavy lifting inside the contest. She is our best inside mid. Can't compare her to TLR, Bates is a much much better player than she is. Bates would prefer to dump kick, u-turn or kick across her body at the moment, but there were many times that she missed a HB option outside the contest to an open team mate. I suspect she will build better connection, cohesion and trust with her new team mates over time.

Hopefully Wales will be better for the run. She did look seriously underdone. Our mids will benefit significantly if she can get going again. Then all of a sudden we are attacking from centre forward, not from our backline.

 

[Cyril says]

Not sure the win was as unexpected as you think. The Dogs are very ordinary. It was not a great spectacle or quality game from either team. You only have to look at what the better teams are doing to see we are years and a good coach away from finals.

There's no doubt Bates did a lot of the heavy lifting inside the contest. She is our best inside mid. Can't compare her to TLR, Bates is a much much better player than she is. Bates would prefer to dump kick, u-turn or kick across her body at the moment, but there were many times that she missed a HB option outside the contest to an open team mate. I suspect she will build better connection, cohesion and trust with her new team mates over time.

Hopefully Wales will be better for the run. She did look seriously underdone. Our mids will benefit significantly if she can get going again. Then all of a sudden we are attacking from centre forward, not from our backline.

What other games do you expect us to win this year?

Went to a lot of games last year (Punt Rd and Marvel) and keen to get to a few this year.

Hopefully Frankston is a good ground to attend.

 

[The Post Man]

What other games do you expect us to win this year?

Went to a lot of games last year (Punt Rd and Marvel) and keen to get to a few this year.

Hopefully Frankston is a good ground to attend.

Go to rounds 4 & 5. This may well give us a clear indication of what the gap is.

 

[Mitchell Madness]

Go to rounds 4 & 5. This may well give us a clear indication of what the gap is.

Of course we are behind melbourne, and by some margin.
That doesn't change the fact that this was a fantastic win.

This side has had 3 come from behind wins last year, but never a win in which the game was a real armwrestle.

Next step in the development is for the side to start putting other sides away and cruising to a win

 

[The Post Man]

Of course we are behind melbourne, and by some margin.
That doesn't change the fact that this was a fantastic win.

This side has had 3 come from behind wins last year, but never a win in which the game was a real armwrestle.

Next step in the development is for the side to start putting other sides away and cruising to a win

I don’t believe it was a fantastic win, so therefore it’s not a fact. It was a win and the closeness on the scoreboard made it more exciting than the game actually was.

I want this team to do really well, but I am not going to allow that to blind my judgement.

Spot on though, we are a long way behind the better teams in the comp. That’s natural and normal, but even more so when the Mini Bus told the world she was going duck hunting during our initial list build, only for us all to be left starving. However, it will be a great opportunity for our players to see where we need to be in rounds 4 & 5 if we want to contend.

 

[bigmaxi]

Hawks had more points than the Bulldogs that's a fact, how fantastic is the win? Now that is a matter of opinion which is welcome here as its an opinion based chat board.
For my 20cents worth, was a fantastic win because every time a Hawks team wins it is ....Fantastic.

 

[The Post Man]

Hawks had more points than the Bulldogs that's a fact, how fantastic is the win? Now that is a matter of opinion which is welcome here as its an opinion based chat board.
For my 20cents worth, was a fantastic win because every time a Hawks team wins it is ....Fantastic.

Spot on. We are all entitled to share our opinions. I am alright being challeneged on mine, but it is a two way street.

 

[undefined]

Whose a Debbie Downer !!!

Win away from home - against Dogs who made finals last year
A win that will bring confidence to the group.

Yes - was a great win

Was great to see Ashy back in Ballarat. One of our best on as well.

 

[Mitchell Madness]

Spot on. We are all entitled to share our opinions. I am alright being challeneged on mine, but it is a two way street.

You're being hyper-critical though.
This team is barely established and is knocking off a top 8 side. Yes, the dogs were underdone, they were still expected to win in a landslide

 

[The Post Man]

You're being hyper-critical though.
This team is barely established and is knocking off a top 8 side. Yes, the dogs were underdone, they were still expected to win in a landslide

Isn't it my opinion though? Aren't I permitted to have an opinion that is different to yours?

In my opinion, far too many people are just happy to have an AFLW team. AFLW is the highest female footy competition. Like the men, they need to be judged on all things like appointments, recruiting, performance, etc just like the men are. Some poor decisions on start up continue to hurt us badly.

Sorry, I am not happy with just having a team.

 

[FB19]

Isn't it my opinion though? Aren't I permitted to have an opinion that is different to yours?

In my opinion, far too many people are just happy to have an AFLW team. AFLW is the highest female footy competition. Like the men, they need to be judged on all things like appointments, recruiting, performance, etc just like the men are. Some poor decisions on start up continue to hurt us badly.

Sorry, I am not happy with just having a team.

Of course you are entitled to your opinion and a different one at that. I for one appreciate different points of view there’s too much I trust what they are doing at times here.
That said we don’t just have a team, they won 3 games in their first year and have now won 1 of 2. They recruited well and snared 2 very good players so I think we are on the right path. But it will take time and as you say we haven’t got everything right but who does.
I have concerns over the game plan they run around without a clue most of the time. in the third quarter we gave way too much leg rope which they scored from multiple times. I think we have been out coached twice even after winning this week and I am not convinced Bec is a great tactician. Her crows flag probably we could have coached to win. I think she’s got great people Mgt skills but for me the jury is out on the football nous part. That may simply mean we bring in a strong assistant to complement if that’s true.

 

[Aristarchus]

It was a better win than any of our 3 wins last season, just go back and watch the highlights.

It was a win: that's a positive, it was our best one so far: that's a positive. This team is building from scratch, playing catch up against established clubs, that's the scenario they're in no matter how much we'd have liked them to br a foundation club. Acting like only beating the likes of Melbourne as a way to enjoy a win seems pointless way of watching the team.

But then some of us can appreciate our team winning for the moment it is, not focus solely on negatives because we've got the coach's card stamped already. Multiple players had their best games ever, or best so far in Hawks colours. You don't have to look that hard to find them.

I'm not going to be totally negative about this Bulldogs side as right now either as we don't know what the rest of their season will be like. If they start struggling and only have WCE at bottom of table for company bely the end then the win wont look "great" but that's a thing you can only judge in hindsight, not assume beforehand they'll happen and we still had to win the game in front of us.

Looking at rest of season, we have 8 games left. Way I see it there's 3 losses that could go big: Melb, Bris, Gee. View those as just focusing on performances. Then 2 games we won last year so hope to win again: Syd, Port.

The other 3, like Bulldogs, will be a test of how well we've progressed this season.

Fremantle are a scrappy side like Bulldogs, but the away trip is a lot harder. We did ok last year but could be tougher, hopefully the momentum from this week can get us close.

Saints don't look cohesive at all, they have the talent to be way better but if we played them this week I'd have us as favourites, so who knows we must challenge them at least and go in thinking we are a chance.

If Richmond are a finals side, they should easily win but if not then they're in the tier of clubs we aspire to be in at this stage. Has to be considered an important game.

Those three games are our yardsticks. Win 1 of them, add 2 wins against expansion sides then that's a 4-6 season, a better win total and against tougher competition than last season. That's what I'm hoping they can achieve. It's not finals yet but progression.

 

[Mitchell Madness]

Of course you are entitled to your opinion and a different one at that. I for one appreciate different points of view there’s too much I trust what they are doing at times here.
That said we don’t just have a team, they won 3 games in their first year and have now won 1 of 2. They recruited well and snared 2 very good players so I think we are on the right path. But it will take time and as you say we haven’t got everything right but who does.
I have concerns over the game plan they run around without a clue most of the time. in the third quarter we gave way too much leg rope which they scored from multiple times. I think we have been out coached twice even after winning this week and I am not convinced Bec is a great tactician. Her crows flag probably we could have coached to win. I think she’s got great people Mgt skills but for me the jury is out on the football nous part. That may simply mean we bring in a strong assistant to complement if that’s true.

Do you have kids?
I bet you'd have been a delightful parent on par with this...