AFLW Hawthorn vs Port Adelaide - Round 7 @ Frankston

[Marmozet]

Hopefully for next season, Gemma Houghton and Liz McGrath can play more games and stay un-injured, hopefully we can get another Hannah Ewings in the draft and that youngsters like Ewings, Tahau, Ballard etc. improve and continue to develop well.

 

[TeeKray]

Since when has Port Adelaide measured itself against the bottom of the competition? We should measure ourselves against the levels to which we aim to aspire. There are problems with the way we have set the team up and we will not rectify the on field issues until we get the off field stuff right.

Nobody is saying we're thrilled to be a bottom team but at the same you have to accept that we are not competing on a level playing field, it's just a fact. Of course that doesn't mean you can't have your doubts over the direction we've taken. I am reserving judgment for at least a few years before analysing where we went right or wrong in setting up the team.

 

[Marmozet]

Richmond and Geelong both struggled when they first joined the comp.

Now both teams look likely to make finals this year.

 

[raptalia]

Richmond and Geelong both struggled when they first joined the comp.

Now both teams look likely to make finals this year.

Geelong made the 2019 Prelim Final in their first season, admittedly that wasn't that hard to do due to the conference system but it is not true to say they struggled.
Richmond on the other hand did struggle as they didn't win a game in their first season so they changed things- they dumped their Coach Tom Hunter. They replaced Hunter with former Melbourne and West Adelaide player Ryan Ferguson. Maybe that change helped turn things around?

Of all the AFLW coaching appointments I reckon Melbourne may have the smartest approach. Their Coach, Mick Stinear, is not a big name but he is an experienced player having spent time on Carlton's Rookie List and won a QFL Medal but most significantly he had 5 Years coaching and administrative experience with Oakleigh Chargers U16 team and coached them to back to back Premierships in 2015-16. I think that background in teaching and developing young players is what these AFLW girls need to improve their basic skills. We might do well to get someone with Stinear's background to either Coach or act as an assistant.

 

[1954]

I'm not aware if the lady's version of the game uses the same size Sherrin as the AFL ( I assume they do ), but another possible issue with the kicking and ball handling problems in AFLW may have something to do with the footy itself being in the hands of what are mostly inexperienced players, so maybe a slightly smaller and lighter footy could help alleviate that, and yes I am aware that any change could get a percentage of the community offside.

Those old enough to have played school footy back in the 60's may remember the two brands used in SA then were Faulkner or Lyrebird.
Lyrebird is now part of the Sherrin group and is marketed as a training ball, but it may have been a stand alone company back then, and whilst I don't know if the actual dimensions were different to any other brand the Lyrebird definitely felt lighter, appeared slightly narrower and was in my opinion easier to mark and kick than the Faulkner.

I can also remember the fuss between SA and WA in the 70's and 80's when state footy was a big deal and the complaints from the likes of Jack Cahill and Neil Kerley when a WA brand of footy (Burley?) was used in games.

Apparently the Burley could lose its shape fairly quickly and I have recollections of knuckles saying how difficult it was to kick accurately even over short distances, and on one of the local Sunday footy shows comparing it to a basketball.

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

Well that was 3/4 of rubbish footy after a decent start, but somewhat underwhelming scoreboard result given how much we dominated the first quarter. Classic Ports post showdown loss, 1st quarter rock up and play hard attacking footy, but dont take full advantage.

I wrote above, about no Gemma Houghton, almost no potent Port Adelaide forward scoring potential.

I was pretty confident that with Erin, Ange Foley, Justine Mules, and Gemma we could push hard to be in that 9th to 14th type slot for most of the year. After tonight's result we are going to finish 16th or 17th unless Gemma makes a miracle recovery and plays at her best the last 3 games.

We decry the bomb it to Charlie strategy because it doesn't usually work, but the bomb it to Gemma does in a W game because of the lack of high end defensive skills in the W game.

We have missed Liz McGrath the last few weeks. Leveki is good in the ruck but has no real physical presence around the ground like McGrath. Teakle not playing, not sure if she has an injury, means a third tall with a bit of size is missing. De Mello would have been handy in the forward line last night.

Erin played her best game for Port, but her kicks were falling short when she had several shots on goal. Her agility was the best so far this year.

Justine Mules couldn't kick more than 20-25m for goal on her 3 set shots. yet we kept passing it to her 35m out. We took 7 marks I50 to 4 and I reckon we only achieved 2 or 3 behinds out of that.

Too many of our girls are see ball get ball types and don't hang back for a handball out of a contest to provide outside attacking play.

Ballard played well, but like in another game, did something stupid late in the game. Ok with 30 seconds to go and 7 pts down we couldn't get a win but for her to spit the dummy after a dodgy holding the ball free, 20m from goal and then throw the ball away in disgust at the umpire and give away 50m was just dumb. The Hawks player could have missed her set shot on goal from 20m out.

We don't have enough good long kicks. Good kicking is an even bigger weapon in the W game. A team with 5 individuals with great, rather than good kicking skills, allows a team to be a real flag threat. The exception for Port is Hannah Ewings. She is a great kick. We need her to get the ball more often, 35-40m out from goal, set shot or on the run. She has the kicking power to kick goals, that even Erin is struggling to make the distance.

Arnell and co has to set up the team, but forwards in particular that most of the girls will only kick it 30m not 45 or 50 like the men. It really stands out how bad the positioning is, but not just Ports in the W game.

How many goals have we let the oppo score when we press up too high for the kicking skills we have, and the oppo get out in the open on the counter attack and kick into an open forward line and they score as a result?

North next week will be a big test like Adelaide and Bulldogs were. If we had Houghton and McGrath we would be a decent chance against St Kilda and Essendon, but without them it will be more of the same.

 

[Andre]

The key for me with the AFLW, is not the win or lose early. It's do they take the attitude when losing of 'We need to improve' and 'we need to play smarter'? If they start spouting s**t along the lines of 'It's a hard competition and someone has to lose' or 'we need to work harder for longer' then they might as well shut up shop now.

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

I'm not aware if the lady's version of the game uses the same size Sherrin as the AFL ( I assume they do ), but another possible issue with the kicking and ball handling problems in AFLW may have something to do with the footy itself being in the hands of what are mostly inexperienced players, so maybe a slightly smaller and lighter footy could help alleviate that, and yes I am aware that any change could get a percentage of the community offside.

Its slightly smaller. If you go to Sherrin's home page they will have the different dimensions.

 

[Janey]

I know some of our week to week changes to the 22 have been brought about through injury, but we also seem to be bringing in debutantes most weeks. It's a short season and I wonder if they are also trying to give as many as possible a chance to play before having to make list decisions at the end of the season. If they are, it's probably a bit of a balancing act between that and getting the team used to each other's strengths etc.

 

[Marmozet]

Geelong made the 2019 Prelim Final in their first season, admittedly that wasn't that hard to do due to the conference system but it is not true to say they struggled.
Richmond on the other hand did struggle as they didn't win a game in their first season so they changed things- they dumped their Coach Tom Hunter. They replaced Hunter with former Melbourne and West Adelaide player Ryan Ferguson. Maybe that change helped turn things around?

Of all the AFLW coaching appointments I reckon Melbourne may have the smartest approach. Their Coach, Mick Stinear, is not a big name but he is an experienced player having spent time on Carlton's Rookie List and won a QFL Medal but most significantly he had 5 Years coaching and administrative experience with Oakleigh Chargers U16 team and coached them to back to back Premierships in 2015-16. I think that background in teaching and developing young players is what these AFLW girls need to improve their basic skills. We might do well to get someone with Stinear's background to either Coach or act as an assistant.

I knew Geelong made “finals” in their first season but only under that weird conference system.

2021 and 2022 were the seasons they really struggled in.

St Kilda, Gold Coast and West Coast all struggled to begin with to. Hopefully soon we can get to the level that Richmond or Geelong are currently at.

 

[TeeKray]

Also, pretty sure Hawthorn and Essendon both had the luxury of setting up VFLW teams prior to their entry which would've been helpful. We're starting from 17th on the grid (Sydney have it even harder than us because they're in a non footy state) and that's exactly where we're going to finish.

 

[1954]

I think we got too cute with the off field appointments. I do not think it is coincidence that three of the top four AFLW teams have male Coaches each with over 150 AFL games experience. To implement any game plan you need the means to do it and many of our girls simply do not have the basic skills. The endeavour is there and they know what they want to do but unfortunately they do not have the skills to execute. The feminists may not like this but the girls have to be coached to play like men, they have to learn not to take their eye off the ball, they have to be able to pick the ball up, they have to be able to kick it , they have to learn to run through a contest not run to it and stop etc. etc. Anyone who has ever coached school kids will know what I mean as what I am seeing with these girls is what I used to see back when I was coaching kids at school.

Things will get better as these girls get experience but there are some hard decisions to be made in the off season. This may not be popular but we need to say thanks to Lauren Arnell and appoint a Coach with more extensive playing experience. Maybe Hamish Hartlett is a chance? We also need to thank Erin Phillips for her support and suggest she call it a day. Maybe Erin moves to an off field role alongside the new Coach. It is obvious that we need to recruit a power forward to go with Gemma Houghton and we need more experience on just about every line.

As for the umpiring they are obviously umpiring to AFL instruction. In a game like yesterday's they use the holding the ball rule to break up the congestion. On the other hand they allow throws to go unpenalised because it moves the ball on quickly and it avoids congestion and a stoppage. I saw a game between North and Brisbane yesterday in which I reckon there were at least six one handed handballs in the opening five minutes. As the skill levels are so much lower than the men's game it is entirely probable that AFL has issued instruction to AFLW umpires to pay a free in order to avoid congestion and create a better TV spectacle. As a consequence the lower the standard the more suspect holding the ball decisions we will see.

The girls will get better with experience but the squad is in need of some remedial action to speed the process up a bit.

In the meantime we play things week to week and hope for a win next week.

I'm assuming Phillips must have a leg or groin injury, she has zero depth in her kick, and whilst she may still be of value down the track working in the goal square at the feet of Houghton we need a 100% better functioning forward line for any chance of that working either.

I lost count of the times her opponent led her to the contest in last week's game, she showed no zip at all so something is obviously not right with her.

 

[JakeNeadeFan]

I'm assuming Phillips must have a leg or groin injury, she has zero depth in her kick, and whilst she may still be of value down the track working in the goal square at the feet of Houghton we need a 100% better functioning forward line for any chance of that working either.

I lost count of the times her opponent led her to the contest in last week's game, she showed no zip at all so something is obviously not right with her.

She's 37 years old. She is simply getting on and doesn't have the athletic ability that she had even 3 or 4 years ago.

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

I'm assuming Phillips must have a leg or groin injury, she has zero depth in her kick, and whilst she may still be of value down the track working in the goal square at the feet of Houghton we need a 100% better functioning forward line for any chance of that working either.

I lost count of the times her opponent led her to the contest in last week's game, she showed no zip at all so something is obviously not right with her.

Erin did her ACL in the 2019 GF - late in the 3rd quarter and still won the W's equivalent of the Norm Smith. That was her 2nd knee reco, after doing one in basketball in 2008 or 2009 which was on her right knee

She had an arthroscopy surgery on the left knee after the crows lost the 2021 GF.

She came off in a screaming heap in a game against GWS in February this year and the initial thought was she had torn her ACL in her left knee again. Scans showed it wasn't a tear, just a bad strain, but she had surgery again on the left knee in June this year, meant she was doing a lot of non competitive stuff at preseason training and I saw her doing laps with the pink hat on at Alberton after the season had started.

Its why in the first few games it was very noticeable that she struggled to twist and turn. I know she doesn't have set shots for goal with her left leg but its probably affecting her kicking power a bit.

 

[raptalia]

Regardless of the reasons Erin is not the player she was and at 37 she is not likely to be. That does not make me happy but it is what it is. Then again if Lauren Jackson can play basketball for Australia at 41 maybe there is hope for Erin?

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

Regardless of the reasons Erin is not the player she was and at 37 she is not likely to be. That does not make me happy but it is what it is. Then again if Lauren Jackson can play basketball for Australia at 41 maybe there is hope for Erin?

A basketball court is only 28m long by 15m wide and is supposed to be a non contact sport. Jackson is a champion, but I don't think she would dominate on a footy field with one knee being replaced, given the amount of running needed in footy compared to basketball.

People did write on here that even at 45 Erin would still be the best player in the AFLW. Reality has overtaken that thought.

 

[EskimoPAFC]

Another thing, I reckon we got outcoached today.

Why did we let Ashmore run absolutely rampant for 3 quarters. Should have sent Tahau forward and tagged her out of the game. We've already seen she has more forward craft than most anyway if she does come up with a chance.

 

[Marmozet]

Another thing, we probably didn’t expect the season to start until 2023.

We only had a few months to conjure together a team and prepare for an August start when we should have had up until Jan-Feb 2023 to prepare.

 

[jonasshirtfront]

To me we just look like we don't have the marking power up forward currently to threaten in the air, force defenders to commit and then either take the marks or bring the ball to ground in a way that let's us score crumbing goals rather than the opposition defenders crumbing. This team isn't setup to win now anyhow, so what we were hoping was that Halfpenny and Teakle would be able to watch and learn from Houghton and go from there. Neither of those two seem to really get near the ball as it is but young key position players are kind of like that, so you persevere with them and keep picking new ones in the draft hoping to eventually hit.

I don't think we should be judging Arnell harshly yet, as some have said above the real strength we're looking for is someone to help teach these players footy because there is nowhere near the same level of youth development as there is for the boys, which isn't something we'll be able to work out yet.

 

[EskimoPAFC]

There is a really fine line between keeping expectations realistic and accepting mediocrity. This was our must win game, even with our outs.

We don't want to become Gold Coast (or Port over the last decade).

Hopefully for next season, Gemma Houghton and Liz McGrath can play more games and stay un-injured, hopefully we can get another Hannah Ewings in the draft and that youngsters like Ewings, Tahau, Ballard etc. improve and continue to develop well.

Lauren Young next draft no?