AFLW Round 8 v North Melbourne @ IKON Park, Saturday 21 October (7:15 pm EST)

[Scythe94]

INS – Paxman, Gay, Pearce, Colvin
OUTS – Lampard (inj.), Watt, Wilson, Fitzsimon (omitted)

Dees, Roos set for 'tight tussle' as No.1 attack meets No.1 defence

Melbourne and North Melbourne meet in a heavyweight battle on Saturday night

www.melbournefc.com.au

The Dees, bolstered by some key returns, take on the second-placed Roos in the match of the round.

Narrm sits on top of the scoring table, amassing 527 points in their seven games this year (75.29 per game), whereas North tends to suffocate their opposition, conceding a measly 126 points for the entire season (18 per game!).

It'll be a classic offense v defense battle at IKON Park, with stars across the field for both teams.

 

[Dory_77]

Feel nervy about this game. We've never had a comfortable game against North, who are in great nick this year, but really need the win to get top-2.
Should be good to watch though, two really good teams in decent form

 

[jhong]

Pretty even so far . Nth by 6 pts q time .

 

[Dory_77]

Pretty even so far . Nth by 6 pts q time .

Need something at ground level in the forward line. North rebounding pretty easily from there

 

[jhong]

Need something at ground level in the forward line. North rebounding pretty easily from there

Be good if we stop turning it over as well .

 

[Dory_77]

That was an atrocious call in our favour. Nowhere near a hold, lol

 

[jhong]

That was an atrocious call in our favour. Nowhere near a hold, lol

Makes up for the throw that led to Nths first goal .

 

[jhong]

Dees by 9 pts at half time .

 

[Dory_77]

Wilson was awesome that last few minutes. Outstanding in defence. Birch bloody worries me with the ball in hand. Too much air in all her kicks

 

[jhong]

Up by 16 pts at 3/4 time .

 

[jhong]

Wilson was awesome that last few minutes. Outstanding in defence. Birch bloody worries me with the ball in hand. Too much air in all her kicks

Paxman hasn’t hit a pass to our advantage either .

 

[Dory_77]

Paxman hasn’t hit a pass to our advantage either .

Yeah burning the ball a bit. Probably comes with playing another very good team. Can't piss about with it, North are setting up well in defence

 

[jhong]

Gillard been good last q .

 

[Dory_77]

Very good win. Defence looked a bit shaky early but dominant in the end. Gillard and Wilson great. Heath really good in the middle too. Held Garner to 0 impact

 

[jhong]

Top of the ladder, looking in good shape for another finals tilt . Hopefully Harris not too far away .

 

[stEdy]

Very enjoyable team to watch. Go gals

 

[Dory_77]

Make it in the end PerfectFooty?

 

[PerfectFooty]

Make it in the end PerfectFooty?

Yes i did, got a photo post game too with the GOAT

 

[PerfectFooty]

Observations going to the AFLW for the first time

- Bannan is just as cool live

- Serious notes now, Princess park is a fun adventure. As someone who never experienced suburban AFL/VFL it's a goodish spot to head out too. The stands and the seating are way run down, but in that pain lies some of the charm of heading to these older grounds

- Crowd was decent on our side of the ground, North Melbourne cheersquad was tiny on the opposite end of the ground

- Fitzsimon's i felt this game was good, but maybe i'm seeing more from her than i'd normally see go underappreciated on the TV

- Zanker is interesting to watch, she battled the night away. She's such a good focal point though in our forward line, even out of posisition she works hard to get a touch on it and bring it to ground. Watching her forward craft in person is amazing. Also post match she ran round giving high fives a good bit away from the fence. Never noticed on TV but she's got a good wingspan. Very long and strong arms

- Running and positioning is good, we often sit out players or run into gaps for intercepts. Very well drilled. The handball chains when they work through the middle or off half back are impressive in person

- Paxy, her ability to get her hands free is also three times as impressive live than in person

- Hanks i could tell was very on top of her game last night, very good at working out of a contest and buying herself space and time with the ball. Elite skills too when she gives herself that time and space

- Hore is a great leader, we already knew this. But the encouragement and the rev ups you see live off the ball is just what you want from your leader (can reel in marks well, crowd would have lost it if that dribbler went through). On another note McNamara is like a little ball of energy running out in the warm ups, can see why the group love her.

- On the game itself, it felt like we where in control quarter time onwards. North i did feel like dropped a lot of sitters in terms of marks

 

[PerfectFooty]

Finally the big shoutout i want to give is just to the players in general. They're amazing. On and off the field. On, they get around each other and stick by each other. Off the field, well they're just plain lovely. They interact with fans well and really give back to the supporters. I brought a friend originally from america who i introduced to AFL prior to her moving and she was really getting into the game, she was certainly soaking in the high fives post match. I've been to a lot of mens games where they sign a footy, toss it into the crowd and then take off. The girls really take their time around the fence, stop and talk with fans, are happy with most requests (photo's or signing). Yeah the high fives and clapping up the crowd as well as just simply thanking us for coming out are all small things but genuinely feel that they value your support and the oppotunity to play in front of crowds that appreicate them just as much. It's a different vibe to AFL somewhat, but it's a really good vibe. I enjoyed going to this game much more than any AFL game in the last two years

 

[Dory_77]

Finally the big shoutout i want to give is just to the players in general. They're amazing. On and off the field. On, they get around each other and stick by each other. Off the field, well they're just plain lovely. They interact with fans well and really give back to the supporters. I brought a friend originally from america who i introduced to AFL prior to her moving and she was really getting into the game, she was certainly soaking in the high fives post match. I've been to a lot of mens games where they sign a footy, toss it into the crowd and then take off. The girls really take their time around the fence, stop and talk with fans, are happy with most requests (photo's or signing). Yeah the high fives and clapping up the crowd as well as just simply thanking us for coming out are all small things but genuinely feel that they value your support and the oppotunity to play in front of crowds that appreicate them just as much. It's a different vibe to AFL somewhat, but it's a really good vibe. I enjoyed going to this game much more than any AFL game in the last two years

Agree about the vibes among the team, they seem like a really good group. And definitely more engaged with the fans after games than you usually see with the blokes. I like the use of the suburban grounds too. Yes some are a bit s**t and old, but it's cool being so much closer to the game, and can make a small crowd feel bigger in a tighter space.

 

[jhong]

No change for match v Freo . Congratulations Shelley Heath 50 games .