North's introduction to the AFLW - how it was handled, and what we can learn

[Dan]

I think Kearney will be grateful she won a Premiership at the Bulldogs, despite your soft draw, and building a team with experienced players other clubs developed, you didn’t make finals.

I hope your club wasn’t counting on the prize money to pay all those wages for those players who got jobs at your club.

I think Kearney was only ever a bulldogs player to begin with purely because North wasn’t given a licence in the first year of the women’s league.

Her and some of the other star players are home.

 

[Dogs_r_barking]

I think Kearney was only ever a bulldogs player to begin with purely because North wasn’t given a licence in the first year of the women’s league.

Her and some of the other star players are home.

I think Kearney dropped off the pace a lot this year, and will be another year older next year. Glad we got the best of her before she went “home”.

 

[boncer34]

We've learned not to follow the North way if you want a first season flag.

 

[Rob]

We've learned not to follow the North way if you want a first season flag.

Not sure they could have done any better given they couldn't really poach much from interstate.

Adelaide and Freo are single teams from a football state. Victoria is split 6 ways now.
It'll probably change a bit again next year.

 

[RobZombie]

I think Kearney dropped off the pace a lot this year, and will be another year older next year. Glad we got the best of her before she went “home”.

Dropped off "a lot"? Top 5 for disposals, top 10 for metres gained and contested possessions, #1 for clearances. Didn't flat-out dominate with being tagged every week and Bruton and Stanton getting plenty of it themselves, but still easily one of the best mids in the league.

 

[radiojake]

Should the new knee-jerk reaction be the danger of allowing a team like Adelaide to go through expansion without losing good quality players or sharing players in SA because Port are so far off the radar with their own team?

Adelaide wouldn't have got a team to start with if they didn't make the NT partnership - The talent in SA was considered inadequate - None of the Crows first year marquee players were from SA

They have just been great at developing them

 

[Tas]

Adelaide wouldn't have got a team to start with if they didn't make the NT partnership - The talent in SA was considered inadequate - None of the Crows first year marquee players were from SA

They have just been great at developing them

I was just joking, because people flew off the deep end after we beat a couple of easy beats.

 

[Reynolds Number]

Great debut season where they were robbed by a stupid conference system. Should be a replay of the game with Freo this weekend.

Start running it like a normal comp.

 

[Mkcaptain]

Great debut season where they were robbed by a stupid conference system. Should be a replay of the game with Freo this weekend.

Start running it like a normal comp.

Maybe you can organise a friendly with them next week

 

[The Victorian]

It seems as if Richmond are trying to do a North Melbourne this year....

 

[Dan]

We've lost 2 good players!!!!

I'm gonna blame any losses we have next year on the expansion teams poaching players from our club.

 

[Teen Wolf]

The three key lessons:

• For an expansion team to be reasonably competitive, they must recruit at least as much established talent as North did.
• DO NOT listen to what existing teams have to say about list management and recruiting rules for expansion.
• Teams that have had years to develop their list can rebound from losing quality players quite quickly.

The notion that North's recruiting spree made for a super team—one which would be outright dominant to the point of ruining the competition—was wrong. Dead wrong. Clearly it was the other five new teams hoodwinked into following the imaginary "spirit of expansion" that has upset the balance of the league.

The bottom three teams on the ladder right now (by a long way) are West Coast, Gold Coast and Geelong:

 

[NoobPie]

The three key lessons:

• For an expansion team to be reasonably competitive, they must recruit at least as much established talent as North did.
• DO NOT listen to what existing teams have to say about list management and recruiting rules for expansion.
• Teams that have had years to develop their list can rebound from losing quality players quite quickly.

The notion that North's recruiting spree made for a super team—one which would be outright dominant to the point of ruining the competition—was wrong. Dead wrong. Clearly it was the other five new teams hoodwinked into following the imaginary "spirit of expansion" that has upset the balance of the league.

The bottom three teams on the ladder right now (by a long way) are West Coast, Gold Coast and Geelong:

View attachment 1072137

OK, so I think you are potentially underestimating how the layers of factors that supported North being able to recruit how they did.....and the potential impact if the other 5 expansion clubs were able to replicate what North did.

Collingwood are challenging for the first time in 2021 (season 5), after getting raided at the end of season 2 by North.

By my count we have 8 elite (ish) players (which form the basis of our contending)

-3 were draftees in the first draft (Livingstone, Bonnicci, Schliecher)
-1 was a high draftee in the subsequent season (Molloy)
-1 is cross coder taken through an early draft (Brazzil)
-2 were traded with high draft picks (Lambert and Davey)
-1 is an Irish cross coder (Sherriden)

You also have the original captain (Chiocci) and cross coders (Rowe and Norder) who at the edge of "elitish"

That's been sown together and developed over the 5 years of the competition to where it is now. All of them apart from Sherriden are in at least their third season at the club. We have decent depth underneath that that helps but it is these players which are the reason we are challenging

If you bring in 4 new clubs what happens?

The reality is that I am not even convinced many of the above would take offers from the expansion clubs. More likely it will be the clubs in the bottom half of the ladder that will get raided like we were at the end of the second season.

 

[Teen Wolf]

OK, so I think you are potentially underestimating how the layers of factors that supported North being able to recruit how they did

The biggest factor was that the original 8 clubs rejected the AFL's "expansion draft" (for lack of a better term) proposal, which would have ensured a reasonably equal amount of talent was lost by the existing teams and gained by the new teams.

Collingwood are challenging for the first time in 2021 (season 5)

Even if that was true, one does not simply overlook Erin Phillips without repercussions (and you may have noticed the brains trust responsible for that decision are no longer at the club).

Nevertheless, imo, they had a team capable of beating anybody in 2018, and they were very good last year.

By my count we have 8 elite (ish) players (which form the basis of our contending)

Putting aside the nitpicks I have with that grouping, isn't it rather revealing that Jordyn Allen and Lauren Butler aren't among Collingwood's best 11 players? They would easily be among the top 6 at Geelong, GC etc. The number of great/good/solid players a team has is meaningless without the context of what other teams have.

If you bring in 4 new clubs what happens?

The reality is that I am not even convinced many of the above would take offers from the expansion clubs. More likely it will be the clubs in the bottom half of the ladder that will get raided like we were at the end of the second season.

Well, again, I'd just refer to my thoughts expressed in this thread about expansion (<< link in case others are curious). The system you're describing, wherein the talent isn't spread evenly, is the one that was implemented for the first two phases of expansion. That should not be repeated when the next 4 clubs join (though I get the feeling it will).

 

[NoobPie]

The biggest factor was that the original 8 clubs rejected the AFL's "expansion draft" (for lack of a better term) proposal, which would have ensured a reasonably equal amount of talent was lost by the existing teams and gained by the new teams.



Even if that was true, one does not simply overlook Erin Phillips without repercussions (and you may have noticed the brains trust responsible for that decision are no longer at the club).

Nevertheless, imo, they had a team capable of beating anybody in 2018, and they were very good last year.



Putting aside the nitpicks I have with that grouping, isn't it rather revealing that Jordyn Allen and Lauren Butler aren't among Collingwood's best 11 players? They would easily be among the top 6 at Geelong, GC etc. The number of great/good/solid players a team has is meaningless without the context of what other teams have.



Well, again, I'd just refer to my thoughts expressed in this thread about expansion (<< link in case others are curious). The system you're describing, wherein the talent isn't spread evenly, is the one that was implemented for the first two phases of expansion. That should not be repeated when the next 4 clubs join (though I get the feeling it will).

I'll have a proper read of the expansion thread when I get I chance. I assumed this was it

Note that I agree in the long run the AFLW should pursue the same equalisation measures as the men's competition. We are talking about transition here