Review AFLW Round 3 - Adelaide v Essendon @ Unley Oval

[Caputo]

Interesting commentary line in that 'Ponter filling the Phillips role' in taking Centre Bounce and drifts to a forward role.

 

[Firewalker]

Looking back at this match it’s strange to think it after a 47 point win and maybe just being a touch cynical but I thought it almost felt like a slight step backwards after the previous 2 weeks. Thought the more even contributions and influence of others not named Ebony, Anne or Danielle in the midfield dropped off and with the slow start the lack of contributors really stuck out & then after quarter time the turn around was left to the usual suspects to a lot of the heavy lifting.

Jones still a worry, other then that play in the last nothing from her game is really having that much of an influence.

Thought an Inanimate Carbon Rod or even a Amber Ward could’ve done a better job then what Lisa Whiteley did out there yesterday, I know you can’t predict losing your All-Aus key defender in Sarah Allan but having had chances to find key position players to recruit but instead select flankers over the past couple of seasons means you have a totally unbalanced depth list to choose from and that’s starting to bite. Their refusal to even try McKinnon down back will forever annoy me, perhaps if the defender curse continues they might eventually be forced to.

Speaking of which Thompson should be dropped even if she does recover from injury, was having another stinker before she went down. Seems like Deni Varnhagen has got voodoo dolls of all the players in front of her in the backline and she’s taking them out one by one to get a place back in the side… If Thompson is out why not select Brooke Smith instead, you know one of the 800 flankers on the list.

 

[Coopers]

Thoughts from me:

• Start of Q2 was nice to see - Jones, Martin & Charlton all really prominent, locked it into our forward line.
• Ponter! Dominant first half really. This kind of form is what we want! Loving the center bounce attendances.
• Waterhouse's best game for us? In it quite a lot and many good touches.
• Even the commentators regularly confuse Tonon and Charlton
  
• Cue in the rack in Q4 though. Let them kick 3 goals. Probably not mch of a worry.
• Seems to be 4 really good teams this year, of which we are one. We play the other 3 though, so let's see!

 

[brucetiki]

Thoughts from me:

• Start of Q2 was nice to see - Jones, Martin & Charlton all really prominent, locked it into our forward line.
• Ponter! Dominant first half really. This kind of form is what we want! Loving the center bounce attendances.
• Waterhouse's best game for us? In it quite a lot and many good touches.
• Even the commentators regularly confuse Tonon and Charlton
  
• Cue in the rack in Q4 though. Let them kick 3 goals. Probably not mch of a worry.
• Seems to be 4 really good teams this year, of which we are one. We play the other 3 though, so let's see!

I would say 3 - us, Melbourne and North Melbourne.

Brisbane have only beaten Port and Sydney and lost (at home to Richmond). I'll reserve judgement on them until they come up against some better quality opposition.

 

[cmndstab]

Coaches votes out for this week.

9 Danielle Ponter
9 Anne Hatchard
6 Ebony Marinoff
3 Chelsea Biddell
2 Madison Prespakis
1 Teah Charlton

Unique breakdown, except for which coach prioritised Ponter over Hatchard.

5 Ponter/Hatchard
4 Hatchard/Ponter
3 Marinoff
2 Biddell
1 Charlton

5 Hatchard/Ponter
4 Ponter/Hatchard
3 Marinoff
2 Prespakis
1 Biddell

At first I was surprised to see Hatchard ahead of Marinoff, but I guess two goals caps off a pretty good game! Great to see Biddell and Charlton in the votes. I thought Toogood might get a single vote somewhere.

 

[Firewalker]

Coaches votes out for this week.

9 Danielle Ponter
9 Anne Hatchard
6 Ebony Marinoff
3 Chelsea Biddell
2 Madison Prespakis
1 Teah Charlton

Unique breakdown, except for which coach prioritised Ponter over Hatchard.

5 Ponter/Hatchard
4 Hatchard/Ponter
3 Marinoff
2 Biddell
1 Charlton

5 Hatchard/Ponter
4 Ponter/Hatchard
3 Marinoff
2 Prespakis
1 Biddell

At first I was surprised to see Hatchard ahead of Marinoff, but I guess two goals caps off a pretty good game! Great to see Biddell and Charlton in the votes. I thought Toogood might get a single vote somewhere.

Suggest it might’ve been the Essendon coach seduced by stats, I know the others kicked multiple goals but Marinoff should’ve been ahead of the rest, literally took on Essendon’s entire midfield by herself in the first half and broke them when the game was on the line.

Victorian based womens.afl journos/league influencers will make the season all about Jas Garner especially come B&F night and yes she’s been very good but Marinoff is not far behind her, somehow has managed to take her game to another level and is escaping any attention from those same womens.afl journos/league influencers. Garner, Marinoff & Melbourne duo Kate Hore & Tyla Hanks the top standouts for mine so far this season.

Funny on the weekend watching how far Marinoff’s kicking has come along since she first started and I never would’ve pegged her around circa 2019 premiership days to end up the better kick out of her and Hatchard.

 

[jenny61_99]

I still haven't watched the second half of this game... but was pleased to see the win. Will post my thoughts after I watch the second half tonight.

 

[cmndstab]

Thought an Inanimate Carbon Rod or even a Amber Ward could’ve done a better job then what Lisa Whiteley did out there yesterday, I know you can’t predict losing your All-Aus key defender in Sarah Allan but having had chances to find key position players to recruit but instead select flankers over the past couple of seasons means you have a totally unbalanced depth list to choose from and that’s starting to bite. Their refusal to even try McKinnon down back will forever annoy me, perhaps if the defender curse continues they might eventually be forced to.

I watched the replay of the match yesterday (all except Q4) and honestly, Whiteley wasn't that bad. I thought she had a pretty good game, rarely beaten other than a contested mark by Toogood (who was doing that to everybody) and kicked fairly well too.

Her main issue is she doesn't seem to get involved in disposal chains when exiting D50, but that didn't end up being important.

I agree though, no excuse for not trying McKinnon in the same role.

 

[Firewalker]

I watched the replay of the match yesterday (all except Q4) and honestly, Whiteley wasn't that bad. I thought she had a pretty good game, rarely beaten other than a contested mark by Toogood (who was doing that to everybody) and kicked fairly well too.

Her main issue is she doesn't seem to get involved in disposal chains when exiting D50, but that didn't end up being important.

I agree though, no excuse for not trying McKinnon in the same role.

Just provided nothing at all to the team playing there, if Essendon got the ball into their 50 more she would’ve been exposed a lot more then she ended up being, that Toogood moment showed she shouldn’t be anywhere near the backlines, her only attribute is her marking so she tried to mark that ball even though she should’ve spoiled it and it cost the team an avoidable goal.

You point out it was just one act but that alone showed me she didn’t know what she was doing & hadn’t played that position in years, I have no idea why Clarke selected her to play as the 3rd tall defender and he then obviously didn’t trust her to fulfill the position because he chose to play Tonon and Mueller on Essendon’s resting ruck instead of Whiteley even though she was 20 odd centimetres over their heads.

I still see her as a cross-coder, a netballer that came to the game late and she has never got over that late comer to the game issue of getting lost far too often on a football field, that’s why a lot of the time she doesn’t get involved in any chains of play, 3 touches basically playing as a loose 3rd up defender proved that on the weekend.

 

[cmndstab]

Just provided nothing at all to the team playing there, if Essendon got the ball into their 50 more she would’ve been exposed a lot more then she ended up being, that Toogood moment showed she shouldn’t be anywhere near the backlines, her only attribute is her marking so she tried to mark that ball even though she should’ve spoiled it and it cost the team an avoidable goal.

You point out it was just one act but that alone showed me she didn’t know what she was doing & hadn’t played that position in years, I have no idea why Clarke selected her to play as the 3rd tall defender and he then obviously didn’t trust her to fulfill the position because he chose to play Tonon and Mueller on Essendon’s resting ruck instead of Whiteley even though she was 20 odd centimetres over their heads.

I still see her as a cross-coder, a netballer that came to the game late and she has never got over that late comer to the game issue of getting lost far too often on a football field, that’s why a lot of the time she doesn’t get involved in any chains of play, 3 touches basically playing as a loose 3rd up defender proved that on the weekend.

I thought she positioned herself fairly well (which was my main issue with her in defence previously), had several good defensive moments, took a nice contested mark. Even in that contested mark that Toogood took on her, she was in good position for it. If it was anyone else but Toogood she would have been fine.

Still, three touches is hard to argue against. That just isn't good enough for someone in her role, considering she's warming Sarah Allan's spot who would probably have had a dozen or more possessions.


On a separate note, I know it doesn't actually mean anything, but lol at Ponter not making womens.afl's team of the week. Three goals and 16 touches aren't enough apparently.

 

[Dirty Bird]

Did anyone else have issues last week attending?

I couldn't make it, so tried to transfer the ticket to my mum, but I got the message "Transfer is not available for this event. Please try again later or select another event."

I tried to screenshot the ticketmaster app, but wouldn't let me due to security measures
I transfer it to my google wallet, tried to screenshot that, but wouldn't let me due to security measures.
So I get my parents to meet me in the short window from 11am-1pm I actually could see them last week (I finished my 2nd job at 11am, and had to be at Richmond Oval to umpire at 115pm) get them to take a photo of the ticket from their phone.

They go to Unley Oval. And security turned them away as it wasn't the official ticket.

What the actual f***.

2nd issue I've had with this mobile ticketing sh*t (1st was ticketek not even sending my my ticket in 2020). And it's another reason I'm adamant staying with a physical ticket. I just contacted members services in 2 separate emails. One covering this issue asking for some form of compensation as I did all I could to get my mum into the game. But they wouldn't let her in.

And another asking where I can select a physical ticket for 2024 as I don't like mobile ticketing. And considering I'm trying to do what's right/expected, only for the technology to fail combined with security on a power trip. Lets take it out of their control and just give me a f*cking physical ticket.

 

[brucetiki]

I had no issue getting in last week, but the gate staff were pretty inept at scanning the tickets, and it was very slow getting in.

I think the days of taking screenshots for tickets are numbered. Women’s World Cup tickets could not be screenshot, and it looks like we’re going down this path with our AFLW tickets (I noted that if when I saved my ticket in my wallet it became a NFC ticket you tapped on the reader to get in). I hope Adelaide Oval update their turnstiles to allow NFC tickets and our digital are like this next season as it will speed up entry at the turnstiles.

I get why they do it, as it stops people scalping the same ticket over and over again, but you actually need to be able to share the tickets if you’re going to put in anti-screenshot technology.