AFLW AFLW Season 4, 2020 - Mega Thread

[cats_09]

With bits of news starting to come out, thought it was time to get this up & running as the focus point for all things AFLW related ahead of the new season.

Might as well start with draft information:

The AFL wishes to advise details regarding the 2019 NAB AFL Women’s Draft have been confirmed.

Victoria Pavilion at Melbourne Showgrounds will host the 2019 NAB AFLW Draft on Tuesday, October 22 with arrivals commencing at 10:30am AEST.

AFLW expansion clubs, the Gold Coast Suns, Richmond, St Kilda and the West Coast Eagles, had until Friday, August 30 to sign up to seven players from their Academy who were undrafted in 2019. Clubs have the opportunity to bid for additional Academy players before the 2019 NAB AFLW Draft.

Key dates

Expansion Academy & Rookie signing period
Monday, April 8 – Friday, August 30

Draft Nominations Open
Monday, September 2 – Friday, September 20

NAB AFLW Draft Combine
Tuesday, October 1 – Friday, October 4

NAB AFLW Draft
Tuesday, October 22

AFLW: Draft date locked in

The 2019 NAB AFL Women’s Draft will be held on Tuesday 22 October.

www.geelongcats.com.au

 

[winty]

Do we have an academy as well?

 

[cats_09]

This is the best information so far regarding what the season will potentially look like - just have to wait on confirmation:

AFLW players will receive an initial pay rise of 21 per cent and the season will be extended to 12 matches by 2022 if the AFL's proposed collective bargaining agreement is signed off by players.

After months of negotiation, the AFL and the AFLPA have agreed on a proposed CBA, which needs to be voted on and agreed to by the AFLW playing group.

The proposed CBA would see the 2020 season comprised of eight rounds of home-and-away matches and three weeks of finals (up from seven and two in 2019), with the 2021 and 2022 seasons having nine rounds and three weeks of finals.

Fans were hoping for a 13-round season to match the 14-team competition (with Gold Coast, Richmond, St Kilda and West Coast joining next year), but that will not occur until at least 2023.

The length of the pre-season will also gradually increase under the proposed agreement.

AFLW Latest News - AFL.com.au/aflw

Latest breaking AFLW news from the official website of the Australian Football League.

womens.afl

 

[cats_09]

Do we have an academy as well?

Not sure about AFLW level but I think we did at VFLW. I'm pretty sure I remember reading about 2 young academy players who came down to Geelong & I think they were even being assisted with educational options/schooling in the region to accompany football aspirations

Looking at the Next Generation link on the club website there's photos including young female players, and the registration form does ask for your gender, which are good indications that the academy pathways are open to all

Next Gen Academy - geelongcats.com.au

www.geelongcats.com.au

 

[cats_09]

And now for a sad story because she would have looked good in hoops - though I'm sure we do wish McEvoy good luck in her football career:

UNDER-18 All Australian captain Lucy McEvoy has nominated the Melbourne metro portion of the NAB AFLW Draft, despite playing for Geelong Falcons in the under-18 NAB League.

The choice of draft zone – made in part to accommodate her study next year – has sent waves through AFLW clubs, with list managers suddenly rearranging their draft order to accommodate for the highly talented 18-year-old.

At this stage, McEvoy is now expected to fall within the top three Melbourne metro picks (held by Western Bulldogs, Carlton and St Kilda), along with key forward Gabby Newton (Northern Knights) and electric winger Georgia Patrikios (Calder Cannons).

From same article but good news:

The Cats are also expected to draft highly touted full-back Millie Brown as a father-daughter selection this year, with her father Paul having played 84 games for the club during the 1990s.

AFLW Latest News - AFL.com.au/aflw

Latest breaking AFLW news from the official website of the Australian Football League.

womens.afl

 

[winty]

And now for a sad story because she would have looked good in hoops - though I'm sure we do wish McEvoy good luck in her football career:



From same article but good news:

AFLW Latest News - AFL.com.au/aflw

Latest breaking AFLW news from the official website of the Australian Football League.

womens.afl

While disappointing, can definitely understand the reasoning if she's going to be continuing her studies in Melbourne. Good luck to her.

 

[Turbocat]

And now for a sad story because she would have looked good in hoops - though I'm sure we do wish McEvoy good luck in her football career:



From same article but good news:

AFLW Latest News - AFL.com.au/aflw

Latest breaking AFLW news from the official website of the Australian Football League.

womens.afl

Perhaps a bit of an over the top reaction but ..well that just about kills this season ... the distorted draft is supposed to be what we hang our hat on .. if not then the clubs needs to change its methods of recruitment..

 

[Cursed Cat]

NNNNNNnnnnnnOOOOOOOooooooo!!!

how disappointing.

we'll still presumably pick up Millie Brown under the F/D rule .......... ?

 

[Turbocat]

Is anyone up with the current eba contract thing ?

 

[Gunf]

Has the AFLW fixture come out yet if it has my bad

 

[Turbocat]

Has the AFLW fixture come out yet if it has my bad

nope

 

[cats_09]

Is anyone up with the current eba contract thing ?

I believe it's at the stage of players voting on it and doesn't sound promising. From an article in today's Herald Sun:

Disgruntled AFLW players have engaged a top workers’ rights law firm as the pay and conditions dispute escalates.

Maurice Blackburn has confirmed it is representing a block of female footballers deeply dissatisfied by the AFL Players’ Association’s handling of collective bargaining negotiations with the AFL.

The dissident group, which includes some of the biggest names in the women’s game, informed the player union in writing on Wednesday it was ”not in a position to recommend the current CBA”.

If the feud is not resolved fairly, a complaint could be lodged with the Australian Human Rights Commission.

“The players are being pressured to accept an unfair deal, without knowing the full details,” Maurice Blackburn senior associate Jacinta Lewin told the Herald Sun.

“They have been told that unless they commit to a deal this week, and the AFL is unwilling to recommence negotiations, that they may be forced to sign a commitment not to play (in 2020).

“This is inaccurate and misleading. There are a range of options available to players to negotiate a better deal. All efforts should be exhausted before they are locked into a three-year deal which impacts their rights and the future of AFLW.”

No Cookies | Herald Sun

No Cookies

www.heraldsun.com.au

 

[winty]

Was listening to an interview with new Bulldogs AFLW coach Nathan Burke a few weeks ago and he was expressing his frustration with the lack of knowledge about when the fixture will be announced, and saying that although some players were doing training already, it was impossible to work out a program for pre-season training as they don't even know when the season will be starting, or how long it'll be.

 

[goyoucatters]

Was listening to an interview with new Bulldogs AFLW coach Nathan Burke a few weeks ago and he was expressing his frustration with the lack of knowledge about when the fixture will be announced, and saying that although some players were doing training already, it was impossible to work out a program for pre-season training as they don't even know when the season will be starting, or how long it'll be.

Total farce. And all down to the grasping overlords at the AFL who can again see nothing more than their relentless pursuit of money and power at any cost.

What a surprise...

 

[cats_09]

Update on the AFLW CBA:

The AFLW pay and conditions dispute will continue after the AFLPA did not receive a majority vote to approve the latest Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

For the CBA to be approved, the AFLPA required 75 per cent of players to vote ‘YES’ by Friday’s 5pm deadline, but it only received just over 70 per cent of approval votes.

Just under 30 per cent had rejected the deal, with the vast majority of players voting by the deadline.

On Friday, the Herald Sun reported that some AFLW players did not receive links to vote.

The AFLPA said some of the emails ended up in junk folders while others were overseas and didn’t receive text messages, for those who elected to be contracted that way.

As a result, the organisation is still happy to receive votes, but the few late votes received so far have not changed the ratio.

Out of the 14 AFLW clubs, 10 clubs had majority support (four of them unanimous and a further four in excess of 80 per cent) and four clubs majority opposed, with one club having less than 10 per cent of players approving of the deal.

Now, the AFLPA will move onto its next steps, which include informing the AFL of the outcome reached.

After this, the organisation will propose arranging meetings this week with clubs who opposed the deal to understand why they voted ‘NO’.

Other clubs can also attend these meetings.

Following these meetings, the AFLPA will then determine its next course of action.

The AFLW players will not be paid until negotiations are sorted. They are still unaware of when pre-season or the home and away season will begin.

Pay dispute to continue as AFLW players vote no to latest CBA

Pay dispute to continue as AFLW players vote no to latest CBA

www.foxsports.com.au

 

[winty]

Starting to get the feeling there won't be an AFLW season this year.

 

[thecatattack]

Starting to get the feeling there won't be an AFLW season this year.

The league has been handled in a pretty shambolic way. I support any player strike that may result in a lockout season tbh.

All for the better of the league and it's players.

 

[Podsnap]

At this point I probably don’t mind if they strike at anything and everything... the AFL has little interest in creating a sustainable and elite competition. As much as I love having a team, the fact that we were added at all let alone another five teams is shambolic. We are in an era where the first generation of female footballers to ever grow up playing the game are only now running around in the juniors. The numbers just aren’t there yet.... and don’t get me started on the gimmicky tournament.

 

[Gunf]

It almost feels like they AFL got a new toy played with it for a bit and got bored.

The amount of information regarding fixture etc is appalling

 

[Max Milburn]

Go you players!
It's about time someone got under the AFL's saddle.
More than anything, they hate embarrassment.
Let's see which way they buck.

 

[Micksy]

the AFL has little interest in creating a sustainable and elite competition

Yeah, I'm sure the AFL board would hate having 2 multi-billion dollar leagues.

 

[Micksy]

The amount of information regarding fixture etc is appalling

They can't produce a fixture if they don't know how long the season is.

They don't know how long the season's going to bo cos the player's association can't agree to the collective bargaining proposal.

They won't agree to the collective bargaining proposal cos....we'll probably never know. But they've got a meeting sometime soon to air their concerns.

My guess is full 23 round seasons, with pay not based on minimum men's salaries.

 

[cats_09]

Woohoo - good news for our team:

Millie Brown has made history by becoming Geelong’s first ever father-daughter selection.

Millie is the daughter of ex-Cat Paul Brown who played 84 games for Geelong between 1990 and 1999. A half-forward, Paul played in both the 1994 and 1995 Grand Finals and kicked 66 goals for the club.

Geelong matched bids from other clubs for 18-year-old Millie, which will see her selected by the club in the upcoming AFLW draft on October 23.

Millie has enjoyed a successful year on-field in 2019, captain of the Murray Bushrangers and co-captain of the Victoria Country side, she played three games with the club’s VFLW team including an elimination final.

A key defender, Millie was named full back in the 2019 All Australian team as well as the 2019 NAB League Team of the Year after averaging 21 disposals across her seven matches.

A powerful kick, Millie’s composure under pressure and her decision-making abilities are amongst her strengths. A natural leader, Millie is also school captain at Shepparton’s Notre Dame College.

Geelong AFLW List Manager Ben Waller said the club was thrilled to have secured the talented defender.

“It has been terrific to follow Millie’s development over the past couple of years and the club is thrilled that Millie has the honour of being the first father-daughter selection in our history,” Waller said.

“After playing a number of different roles in recent seasons, Millie took her game to a new level this year as a key defender with the Murray Bushrangers, AFLW Academy and Victoria Country. It was great to then see Millie take this confidence into her three VFLW games with us late in the season, where she looked at home in the hoops.”

Millie, who is currently amid her year 12 studies in Shepparton, said she felt privileged to be part of history.

“I feel very privileged to be a father-daughter selection, as not everyone gets that opportunity, so I’m excited to see what will come of it,” she said.

“I’m extremely excited to get stuck into training as it has been such a hectic year with school. I can’t wait to get started.”

Geelong's historic father-daugher first

Millie Brown will become the Cats first father-daughter selection.

www.geelongcats.com.au

 

[winty]

Will be interesting to see how she meshes with Meg McDonald and Maddy McMahon down back.

 

[OzeSparky]

The Aflw draft is on tomorrow.
Interesting to see what the club brings in.
We need a speedy onballer.