Yeah, and then rings her up afterwards and kind of passive aggressively tells her to wear a mouthguard at training next time, haha.
Eb's a star but I'll bet she's a pain in the ass as well!
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Women's Footy Crows AFLW Season 2022 The 2nd - Defending Our Flag for Back to Back Glory
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Yeah, and then rings her up afterwards and kind of passive aggressively tells her to wear a mouthguard at training next time, haha.
Eb's a star but I'll bet she's a pain in the ass as well!
The Round 3 fixture has been confirmed. Crows playing North at 12:10pm on Saturday at Unley Oval.
Only our second ever match at Unley, after our 2019 match against GWS - Nikki Gore's debut from memory! We're also scheduled to play there twice more this season, against GWS (again!) and Freo.
Only our second ever match at Unley, after our 2019 match against GWS - Nikki Gore's debut from memory! We're also scheduled to play there twice more this season, against GWS (again!) and Freo.
Considering the terrible kicking of our midfield, I'd say she's doing alright.
I must have missed that line of commentary. It's a pretty ridiculous statement. She's proved to be very accurate, and difficult to match up on. I think it was Schleicher who described her as a tall who plays like a small. That's a useful player in anyone's language.
Sure, she probably would kick less goals in a weaker side. So would Tayla Harris. So would anyone.
That was with her mark and set shot goal in first quarter by Kelly Underwood with the Schliecher comment afterwards.
- Moderator
- #132
Little surprised we’ve picked Unley this year given the Oatey Stand is still a construction site, but even with that taking place it’s a massive improvement on Norwood from a spectator point of view.
Four games in now and despite not having any comfortable wins we've managed to end up 3-1. Pretty good position to be in considering we have struggled to score goals all season long. Melbourne, Richmond, North and Collingwood is a pretty heavy opening month.
The next phase of our season is the next three weeks, when we face GWS, Port and Fremantle. We're a reasonable chance to win all three of those, although frankly all three of those teams are unpredictable. After that we finish with Brisbane, Geelong and St Kilda. As long as we don't fall off the wagon, we should be able to secure at least 7 wins which should hopefully be enough to get us a home final.
The next phase of our season is the next three weeks, when we face GWS, Port and Fremantle. We're a reasonable chance to win all three of those, although frankly all three of those teams are unpredictable. After that we finish with Brisbane, Geelong and St Kilda. As long as we don't fall off the wagon, we should be able to secure at least 7 wins which should hopefully be enough to get us a home final.
- Moderator
- #134
We should smash GWS next week (they just lost to West Coast).
Port will be up and about in a fortnight but I think this will be our typical style of win. Gritty, ugly but we do enough.
Fremantle, well it depends if they can get out of their hole. They stay in their hole, it’ll be a big win. They get some form back, it’ll be a tight match.
Port will be up and about in a fortnight but I think this will be our typical style of win. Gritty, ugly but we do enough.
Fremantle, well it depends if they can get out of their hole. They stay in their hole, it’ll be a big win. They get some form back, it’ll be a tight match.
Ewings goes alright for a newcomer. Damn, I wish we could have gotten her before Port came in!
The only real concern with Port is that our forward line isn't functioning very well against anyone, so we don't tend to put games away. You're always a little ten minute blitz away from losing a match.
- Sep 30, 2014
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Is there a reason why Port’s captain didn’t attend this?
Dirty Bird
Pokémon Master
Probably to change the narrative.
Make it more to do Adelaide vs Port rather than Erin vs her old team.
And yes, I know Foley is an ex player for us too, but would the average fan who doesn't follow the women closely know that.
She was up in Sydney doing some on air TV stuff for the Opals game… make of that what you will.
jenny61_99
Premium Platinum
Pretty shitty priorities knowing the rivalry between the two clubs?
Post 2019 her priorities have really been her media work, even this whole playing for Port is nothing more than an extra PR/media job, it’s got nothing to do with actually playing the game. Can’t exactly blame her for weighing up the exposure and possibility for further opportunities by getting her face on National pay tv on ESPN instead of choosing a local media conference.
jenny61_99
Premium Platinum
Well, I can. She's the bloody captain. This is a BIG game. The first ever. I'd be disappointed if it were my captain.
- Sep 30, 2014
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I agree Jen. Surely Chris Davies gave her the lesson on why they hate us so much. It’s days 3 through 86 of the Port Power player induction program.
Since we're halfway through the season I thought I'd review each of our players. I won't bother to mention Kustermann and Mueller who haven't played yet, or any of the inactive players, but the rest are fair game! I'll give them a score out of 10, and will indicate whether it is an increase, decrease, or equivalent ranking to the one I gave them last season.
#1 Caitlin Gould (7+) - Seems to have clearly established herself as the #1 ruck in our side, as opposed to McKinnon and Prowse who have rotated. Gould has significantly increased her ruck performance (averaging 18.8 hitouts compared to 10.6 last season) while still maintaining her performance around the ground. She is good for a goal every other game, to boot.
#2 Eloise Jones (6.5-) - Remains one of our more important players, but isn't having as good a season as last time. Has dipped from 14.5 touches down to 11.8, and has already given away as many free kicks as she did for the entire last season. Perhaps she is a casualty of our improved clearance work? She hasn't had as much to do out on the wings.
#3 Amber Ward (3.5) - Played rounds 2-4 before being dropped and didn't set the world on fire. She is averaging only 4 touches a game down back (compared to 9.6 touches during her time at West Coast) and has been the weakest of our tall defenders this season. She reminds me of Whiteley's stint in defence from 2020, tending to get a bit lost or overcommitted.
#4 Zoe Prowse (3.5+) - Now midway into her second season on the list, it seems the Crows still have no idea what Prowse's best position is at AFLW level. She replaced McKinnon in the side for rounds 2 and 3, but only actually played one of those as a ruck. It's frustrating because she clearly has talent, skills, and likes the hard stuff, but whenever she gets a chance to play she doesn't seem to have an impact. Her two games so far this season amounted to 7 touches, 10 hitouts, 1 mark, and one accidental goal.
#5 Rachelle Martin (5-) - Is well down on her performance from last season. Averaging 6.6 touches (down from 9.8), and only 2.4 tackles (down from 5.2). It appears she has lost her starting engine room midfield spot, and has instead been saddled with the pressure forward role that Mules was given last season, with a similarly detrimental outcome. I'd like to see her in the guts a bit more.
#6 Hannah Button (3.5-) - Started the season awfully, but she had a decent match in round 5. Her disposal average has gone backwards every season she has played, from 8.4 in 2019 all the way down to 4.6 this year (3.3 if you take out last week). It's just not enough for a midfield player. That being said, she has been played in a tagging role at times and has at least done that job adequately.
#8 Najwa Allen (5.5=) - Mixed bag. Had arguably the best game of her career in round 5, but only a month earlier she was dropped for a poor performance in the round 1 loss. Still, her last fortnight has been very good and I don't think we have any better options in her position.
#9 McKenzie Dowrick (4+) - Very difficult to know how to rank Dowrick. After having no impact last season as a forward, she trained as a defender. She was less than impressive in that role in the preseason match, only found a spot in the side in after Rajcic was dropped for round 3, and was straight back out again for round 4. But then she came back as a forward in round 5 and kicked four goals. How do you rank that performance? In any event, she seems to offer at least as much as Whiteley up forward, and will presumably hold her spot for at least a couple more weeks.
#10 Ebony Marinoff (9.5=) - Marinoff has just continued on from last season, still averaging over 24 touches a game, along with 10.2 tackles per game (which is back to her 2017-18 tackle average). She is playing well enough to give the league B&F a fair shake. She is #1 in the AFLW for metres gained (averaging 430.6 a game), kicks (16.6) and inside 50s (5.8), #2 in the AFLW for contested posessions (13.4) and tackles (10.2), #3 in the AFLW for disposals (24.8), and #7 in the AFLW for clearances (5.2). Having a fantastic season.
#11 Jasmine Simmons (1.5=) - Has been given two games for reasons still unclear to me. Her output is actually down on last season in all areas other than tackling. Down back she gets hopelessly lost and allows her opponent to run off her, or else just sags off while her opponent gets the ball. Has height and athleticism but doesn't appear to use either of them to her advantage. I don't see what value she offers at all.
#12 Chelsea Biddell (8.5+) - Has been clearly our best defender this season (the first time since before 2018 that hasn't been Sarah Allan!) Her defensive work is just as good as ever, while her disposal count has jumped to 13.8 (from 9.6 last season). Just like last season, her long kicking is a real feature, regularly hitting targets from 40+ metres. She has only given away one free kick in total this season so far.
#14 Stevie-Lee Thompson (7+) - After teams worked out how to nullify her up forward in 2020, I honestly thought her career was going to peter out. Instead she has gone from strength to strength, and is having her best season since 2019. She is averaging 14.4 touches, which puts her in 5th place for the Crows. Unlike previous seasons, she seems to have worked out when her pace will be an advantage, and when she needs to just get the ball away. Makes smart decisions.
#15 Danielle Ponter (5.5-) - The ultimate big-game player, was there anything more predictable than her having her best game of the season so far in indigenous round? Unfortunately she has been injured for the past two weeks. As usual we will want to persist with her because she almost always turns up for the games that really matter.
#16 Ailish Considine (1-) - Was unimpressive in the preseason hitout, left out of the round 1 side, then injured at training and missed the next few weeks. Have we seen the end of her golden pass, at last? Somehow, I doubt it. I suspect we'll see her play again sometime this season. But to this stage of the season she has had exactly zero impact and appears to be on the outer.
#17 Maddi Newman (6.5+) - Seems to have finally cemented her place in the team, after being in and out like a yoyo in past seasons. It appears that being omitted from the grand final last season (I would argue unfairly) stung her into action, and she has improved across the board. She is now averaging 15 disposals, 2.8 marks and 2.6 tackles (compared to 9.6, 2.1 and 2.0 respectively last season). That makes her the 4th highest disposal winner at the Crows, and the only one among the top 4 not to have spent significant time in the engine room. Still makes the odd inexplicable error at times, but there has been much more good than bad this season.
#19 Jess Waterhouse (4) - Has only played one game, so it's difficult to rank her, but 9 touches and a goal (as well as a very clever goal assist) is a fine return for a debutant. In the preseason hitout there were concerns over the defensive side of her game, and that wasn't really tested against GWS, so it remains to be seen whether she can cement her place in the side. Still, we are crying out for a genuine small forward and she will almost certainly hold her spot for round 6, so she will have a chance to prove she belongs at this level.
#20 Hannah Munyard (5.5+) - Is slowly building into her career, with steady improvement each season. Along with Martin, she has often been given the pressure forward role this year and actually seems pretty suited to it. Unlike previous seasons, she has stopped giving away so many frees, and had probably the best match of her career in round 5.
#21 Montana McKinnon (5.5-) - I don't know what to make of McKinnon's season. Statistically, she's actually well up on last season, which was already quite good. Averaging 16.3 hitouts (up from 11.8), 8 touches (up from 7.2) and 3.3 marks (up from 2.8). To my eyes she is playing well, and the increase in hitouts is particularly impressive given Gould has been usually favoured as the primary ruck. However, for whatever reason, she found herself omitted from the side in rounds 2 and 3. You could say it was to give Prowse a game, but Prowse didn't even play ruck in round 2. And having her out while Simmons was in is inexplicable to me. Perhaps she was being managed? Assuming she holds her place in the side her ranking will definitely increase.
#22 Lisa Whiteley (2-) - Hasn't fired a shot so far this season. No impact at all on the scoreboard, was dropped after round 2, and then brought back in to replace Ponter in round 4 only to get dropped again after a 2 disposal, zero score game. At this stage it seems Dowrick is ahead of her up forward, and Ward is ahead of her down back, so it's hard to see where she fits in the side. Depth coverage, I guess.
#23 Niamh Kelly (4) - I was far from sold on Kelly in the preseason match, where she seemed a bit lost in our system. She played round 1 but had almost no impact, with only two touches. She managed to find her way back into the side in round 4 where she was actually looking quite good, before injuring herself while laying a goal-saving (and in hindsight, probably game-saving) tackle. That act alone has earned her kudos in the eyes of Crows fans and probably an extra point in her ranking. She will be back from injury in the next week or two, so hopefully she will get another chance to replicate the form she showed in round 4.
#24 Ashleigh Woodland (7-) - Down on last season, but she is being asked to play a very important and difficult role. Woodland has probably been hurt more than any other player by the departure of Phillips, guaranteed to have the best defender (and often more than one) on her at all times. She is getting less of the ball this season as a result (down to 5.8 touches from 8.5 last season) and has developed a worrying habit of spilling marks she should be taking. Despite all that, her goalkicking accuracy has helped her to score 8 goals, good enough to put her at #3 in the AFLW. She is a super reliable kick for goal, both in terms of set shots, and in general play.
#25 Teah Charlton (7+) - Has essentially graduated to a full-time engine room midfielder now in the absense of Phillips, and has upped her disposal average accordingly (13.2, up from 11.7 last season). Very smart player and has become super consistent, winning between 11 and 16 disposals in every match so far this season. Fifth for clearances in our team.
#26 Chelsea Randall (8+) - It's a bit meaningless to compare Randall to her last season, since she only played six games and only finished four of them. She has switched her role up again this year, in essence returning to her 2017-18 role of playing primarily through the midfield in both offensive and defensive roles, with the ability to pinch hit elsewhere if needed. Accordingly, her tackle count (which has been around 2 per game over the last few seasons) has returned to 2017-18 levels at 5.2 per game. She is averaging 17 disposals which again puts her just ahead of the 2017-18 era. I still think her best position is down back, but Randall is a boon anywhere you play her.
#27 Abbie Ballard (5.5+) - Has already played more matches this season than she did last season, having held her spot all season long. She is posting similar numbers to last season, although she has contributed three goals this year, including a matchwinning two goal performance against Richmond. More than anything, she just looks like she belongs at the level. She's as good as anyone in the side at knowing when to put in a little bump, fend-off, or tap-on to advantage, and is very clean below her knees.
#28 Brooke Tonon (2.5-) - Has the unfortunate distinction of having been dropped four times in her six game career, and that may become five times when the teams are announced for round 6. She appears to have a game, but hasn't really managed to fire a shot so far this season. I think the three games she played last season were all ahead of any game she's played this season, and she was dropped after each of those.
#32 Marijana Rajcic (3.5-) - It has been a fall from grace for Rajcic this season, who went from an important cog in the backline last season to dropped after round 2 this season. Her round 1 match was dismal, while her round 2 match was adequate but not enough to save her. She hasn't played since, and at 33 years of age (more than two years older than the next oldest player) you have to wonder if she will get back again. Still, I had written her off after 2020 and she was able to reinvent herself then, so maybe she has another run left in her.
#33 Anne Hatchard (8.5-) - Statistically, Hatchard is having another stellar season. She is #1 in the AFLW for marks (averaging 6 per game) and score involvements (5.2), #2 in the AFLW for disposals (25.4), #4 for inside 50s (4.6) and #6 for contested possessions (12.8). She even managed to get on the board with three goals last week after scoring 4 straight behinds prior to that. However, Hatchard's season has been marked by a tendency to try to do a bit too much, and blind kicks to opponents. It's notable that her disposal efficiency of 54.3% is clearly the lowest amongst the midfield group (for comparison, Charlton has 71.2%, Randall has 63.5%, Marinoff has 59.7%). On the plus side, she is improving week by week, and even then her lowest disposal count so far has been 23, so she still offers heaps of value.
#39 Sarah Allan (7.5-) - Allan has seemed a step off the level we have come to expect from her this season. Her round 1 performance was probably the first bad game I can remember her playing since... I'm not even sure when. 2017, possibly? That blip aside, she has been fairly solid and reliable, just not quite at the lofty standards she has set in the past.
#1 Caitlin Gould (7+) - Seems to have clearly established herself as the #1 ruck in our side, as opposed to McKinnon and Prowse who have rotated. Gould has significantly increased her ruck performance (averaging 18.8 hitouts compared to 10.6 last season) while still maintaining her performance around the ground. She is good for a goal every other game, to boot.
#2 Eloise Jones (6.5-) - Remains one of our more important players, but isn't having as good a season as last time. Has dipped from 14.5 touches down to 11.8, and has already given away as many free kicks as she did for the entire last season. Perhaps she is a casualty of our improved clearance work? She hasn't had as much to do out on the wings.
#3 Amber Ward (3.5) - Played rounds 2-4 before being dropped and didn't set the world on fire. She is averaging only 4 touches a game down back (compared to 9.6 touches during her time at West Coast) and has been the weakest of our tall defenders this season. She reminds me of Whiteley's stint in defence from 2020, tending to get a bit lost or overcommitted.
#4 Zoe Prowse (3.5+) - Now midway into her second season on the list, it seems the Crows still have no idea what Prowse's best position is at AFLW level. She replaced McKinnon in the side for rounds 2 and 3, but only actually played one of those as a ruck. It's frustrating because she clearly has talent, skills, and likes the hard stuff, but whenever she gets a chance to play she doesn't seem to have an impact. Her two games so far this season amounted to 7 touches, 10 hitouts, 1 mark, and one accidental goal.
#5 Rachelle Martin (5-) - Is well down on her performance from last season. Averaging 6.6 touches (down from 9.8), and only 2.4 tackles (down from 5.2). It appears she has lost her starting engine room midfield spot, and has instead been saddled with the pressure forward role that Mules was given last season, with a similarly detrimental outcome. I'd like to see her in the guts a bit more.
#6 Hannah Button (3.5-) - Started the season awfully, but she had a decent match in round 5. Her disposal average has gone backwards every season she has played, from 8.4 in 2019 all the way down to 4.6 this year (3.3 if you take out last week). It's just not enough for a midfield player. That being said, she has been played in a tagging role at times and has at least done that job adequately.
#8 Najwa Allen (5.5=) - Mixed bag. Had arguably the best game of her career in round 5, but only a month earlier she was dropped for a poor performance in the round 1 loss. Still, her last fortnight has been very good and I don't think we have any better options in her position.
#9 McKenzie Dowrick (4+) - Very difficult to know how to rank Dowrick. After having no impact last season as a forward, she trained as a defender. She was less than impressive in that role in the preseason match, only found a spot in the side in after Rajcic was dropped for round 3, and was straight back out again for round 4. But then she came back as a forward in round 5 and kicked four goals. How do you rank that performance? In any event, she seems to offer at least as much as Whiteley up forward, and will presumably hold her spot for at least a couple more weeks.
#10 Ebony Marinoff (9.5=) - Marinoff has just continued on from last season, still averaging over 24 touches a game, along with 10.2 tackles per game (which is back to her 2017-18 tackle average). She is playing well enough to give the league B&F a fair shake. She is #1 in the AFLW for metres gained (averaging 430.6 a game), kicks (16.6) and inside 50s (5.8), #2 in the AFLW for contested posessions (13.4) and tackles (10.2), #3 in the AFLW for disposals (24.8), and #7 in the AFLW for clearances (5.2). Having a fantastic season.
#11 Jasmine Simmons (1.5=) - Has been given two games for reasons still unclear to me. Her output is actually down on last season in all areas other than tackling. Down back she gets hopelessly lost and allows her opponent to run off her, or else just sags off while her opponent gets the ball. Has height and athleticism but doesn't appear to use either of them to her advantage. I don't see what value she offers at all.
#12 Chelsea Biddell (8.5+) - Has been clearly our best defender this season (the first time since before 2018 that hasn't been Sarah Allan!) Her defensive work is just as good as ever, while her disposal count has jumped to 13.8 (from 9.6 last season). Just like last season, her long kicking is a real feature, regularly hitting targets from 40+ metres. She has only given away one free kick in total this season so far.
#14 Stevie-Lee Thompson (7+) - After teams worked out how to nullify her up forward in 2020, I honestly thought her career was going to peter out. Instead she has gone from strength to strength, and is having her best season since 2019. She is averaging 14.4 touches, which puts her in 5th place for the Crows. Unlike previous seasons, she seems to have worked out when her pace will be an advantage, and when she needs to just get the ball away. Makes smart decisions.
#15 Danielle Ponter (5.5-) - The ultimate big-game player, was there anything more predictable than her having her best game of the season so far in indigenous round? Unfortunately she has been injured for the past two weeks. As usual we will want to persist with her because she almost always turns up for the games that really matter.
#16 Ailish Considine (1-) - Was unimpressive in the preseason hitout, left out of the round 1 side, then injured at training and missed the next few weeks. Have we seen the end of her golden pass, at last? Somehow, I doubt it. I suspect we'll see her play again sometime this season. But to this stage of the season she has had exactly zero impact and appears to be on the outer.
#17 Maddi Newman (6.5+) - Seems to have finally cemented her place in the team, after being in and out like a yoyo in past seasons. It appears that being omitted from the grand final last season (I would argue unfairly) stung her into action, and she has improved across the board. She is now averaging 15 disposals, 2.8 marks and 2.6 tackles (compared to 9.6, 2.1 and 2.0 respectively last season). That makes her the 4th highest disposal winner at the Crows, and the only one among the top 4 not to have spent significant time in the engine room. Still makes the odd inexplicable error at times, but there has been much more good than bad this season.
#19 Jess Waterhouse (4) - Has only played one game, so it's difficult to rank her, but 9 touches and a goal (as well as a very clever goal assist) is a fine return for a debutant. In the preseason hitout there were concerns over the defensive side of her game, and that wasn't really tested against GWS, so it remains to be seen whether she can cement her place in the side. Still, we are crying out for a genuine small forward and she will almost certainly hold her spot for round 6, so she will have a chance to prove she belongs at this level.
#20 Hannah Munyard (5.5+) - Is slowly building into her career, with steady improvement each season. Along with Martin, she has often been given the pressure forward role this year and actually seems pretty suited to it. Unlike previous seasons, she has stopped giving away so many frees, and had probably the best match of her career in round 5.
#21 Montana McKinnon (5.5-) - I don't know what to make of McKinnon's season. Statistically, she's actually well up on last season, which was already quite good. Averaging 16.3 hitouts (up from 11.8), 8 touches (up from 7.2) and 3.3 marks (up from 2.8). To my eyes she is playing well, and the increase in hitouts is particularly impressive given Gould has been usually favoured as the primary ruck. However, for whatever reason, she found herself omitted from the side in rounds 2 and 3. You could say it was to give Prowse a game, but Prowse didn't even play ruck in round 2. And having her out while Simmons was in is inexplicable to me. Perhaps she was being managed? Assuming she holds her place in the side her ranking will definitely increase.
#22 Lisa Whiteley (2-) - Hasn't fired a shot so far this season. No impact at all on the scoreboard, was dropped after round 2, and then brought back in to replace Ponter in round 4 only to get dropped again after a 2 disposal, zero score game. At this stage it seems Dowrick is ahead of her up forward, and Ward is ahead of her down back, so it's hard to see where she fits in the side. Depth coverage, I guess.
#23 Niamh Kelly (4) - I was far from sold on Kelly in the preseason match, where she seemed a bit lost in our system. She played round 1 but had almost no impact, with only two touches. She managed to find her way back into the side in round 4 where she was actually looking quite good, before injuring herself while laying a goal-saving (and in hindsight, probably game-saving) tackle. That act alone has earned her kudos in the eyes of Crows fans and probably an extra point in her ranking. She will be back from injury in the next week or two, so hopefully she will get another chance to replicate the form she showed in round 4.
#24 Ashleigh Woodland (7-) - Down on last season, but she is being asked to play a very important and difficult role. Woodland has probably been hurt more than any other player by the departure of Phillips, guaranteed to have the best defender (and often more than one) on her at all times. She is getting less of the ball this season as a result (down to 5.8 touches from 8.5 last season) and has developed a worrying habit of spilling marks she should be taking. Despite all that, her goalkicking accuracy has helped her to score 8 goals, good enough to put her at #3 in the AFLW. She is a super reliable kick for goal, both in terms of set shots, and in general play.
#25 Teah Charlton (7+) - Has essentially graduated to a full-time engine room midfielder now in the absense of Phillips, and has upped her disposal average accordingly (13.2, up from 11.7 last season). Very smart player and has become super consistent, winning between 11 and 16 disposals in every match so far this season. Fifth for clearances in our team.
#26 Chelsea Randall (8+) - It's a bit meaningless to compare Randall to her last season, since she only played six games and only finished four of them. She has switched her role up again this year, in essence returning to her 2017-18 role of playing primarily through the midfield in both offensive and defensive roles, with the ability to pinch hit elsewhere if needed. Accordingly, her tackle count (which has been around 2 per game over the last few seasons) has returned to 2017-18 levels at 5.2 per game. She is averaging 17 disposals which again puts her just ahead of the 2017-18 era. I still think her best position is down back, but Randall is a boon anywhere you play her.
#27 Abbie Ballard (5.5+) - Has already played more matches this season than she did last season, having held her spot all season long. She is posting similar numbers to last season, although she has contributed three goals this year, including a matchwinning two goal performance against Richmond. More than anything, she just looks like she belongs at the level. She's as good as anyone in the side at knowing when to put in a little bump, fend-off, or tap-on to advantage, and is very clean below her knees.
#28 Brooke Tonon (2.5-) - Has the unfortunate distinction of having been dropped four times in her six game career, and that may become five times when the teams are announced for round 6. She appears to have a game, but hasn't really managed to fire a shot so far this season. I think the three games she played last season were all ahead of any game she's played this season, and she was dropped after each of those.
#32 Marijana Rajcic (3.5-) - It has been a fall from grace for Rajcic this season, who went from an important cog in the backline last season to dropped after round 2 this season. Her round 1 match was dismal, while her round 2 match was adequate but not enough to save her. She hasn't played since, and at 33 years of age (more than two years older than the next oldest player) you have to wonder if she will get back again. Still, I had written her off after 2020 and she was able to reinvent herself then, so maybe she has another run left in her.
#33 Anne Hatchard (8.5-) - Statistically, Hatchard is having another stellar season. She is #1 in the AFLW for marks (averaging 6 per game) and score involvements (5.2), #2 in the AFLW for disposals (25.4), #4 for inside 50s (4.6) and #6 for contested possessions (12.8). She even managed to get on the board with three goals last week after scoring 4 straight behinds prior to that. However, Hatchard's season has been marked by a tendency to try to do a bit too much, and blind kicks to opponents. It's notable that her disposal efficiency of 54.3% is clearly the lowest amongst the midfield group (for comparison, Charlton has 71.2%, Randall has 63.5%, Marinoff has 59.7%). On the plus side, she is improving week by week, and even then her lowest disposal count so far has been 23, so she still offers heaps of value.
#39 Sarah Allan (7.5-) - Allan has seemed a step off the level we have come to expect from her this season. Her round 1 performance was probably the first bad game I can remember her playing since... I'm not even sure when. 2017, possibly? That blip aside, she has been fairly solid and reliable, just not quite at the lofty standards she has set in the past.
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So six rounds in we have four teams with a 5-1 record and another four teams with a 4-2 record. Other than possibly Gold Coast sitting in 9th place with 3 wins, you'd have to say that the top 8 is set now.
The top 4 is Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne, Collingwood. The remaining matches for them:
Brisbane - North, Adelaide, Hawthorn, Collingwood
Adelaide - Fremantle, Brisbane, Geelong, Saints
Melbourne - Bulldogs, Gold Coast, Essendon, West Coast
Collingwood - GWS, Fremantle, North, Brisbane
On that list, you'd have to say that Melbourne are in the box seat for a top 2 finish. They're the only team in the top 4 not to play any of the others for the rest of the season and should go in favourites in all their matches. In round 7 one of us and Brisbane will lose (or both will draw) which gives Melbourne the opportunity to go ahead of them.
Percentage is going to be vital and will likely decide who gets a home final.
The top 4 is Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne, Collingwood. The remaining matches for them:
Brisbane - North, Adelaide, Hawthorn, Collingwood
Adelaide - Fremantle, Brisbane, Geelong, Saints
Melbourne - Bulldogs, Gold Coast, Essendon, West Coast
Collingwood - GWS, Fremantle, North, Brisbane
On that list, you'd have to say that Melbourne are in the box seat for a top 2 finish. They're the only team in the top 4 not to play any of the others for the rest of the season and should go in favourites in all their matches. In round 7 one of us and Brisbane will lose (or both will draw) which gives Melbourne the opportunity to go ahead of them.
Percentage is going to be vital and will likely decide who gets a home final.
jenny61_99
Premium Platinum
Jess Waterhouse banned for a week for striking.
Dirty Bird
Pokémon Master
Challenge it - Argue that the opposition didn't even turn up to the game. So it was impossible to strike them.
I really wish they would give a clearer idea of when the incident happened beyond just the quarter. I just watched the entire third quarter again and couldn't find a single thing that would constitute a striking charge. Anyone know what this is for?
I remember she gave away a 50m penalty for barely touching a player. Probably wasn't anything in it.
jenny61_99
Premium Platinum
I recall she had a little dust up after a tackle (on the sidelines). Didn't think anything of it.
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