News 2021 St.Kilda AFLW Media Thread

The only thing I would caution against this is that we seem to struggle getting much engagement with the threads on the sub-boards. I would hope it doesn't become a posting graveyard if put there.

I agree.
Not only the lack of engagement, the club are pretty poor at pumping out news and updates for the team at the moment so I don't think we'll have a lot of material to work with either. I'd be more inclined to wait until we had an AFLW team to make the sub-forum
 
I agree.
Not only the lack of engagement, the club are pretty poor at pumping out news and updates for the team at the moment so I don't think we'll have a lot of material to work with either. I'd be more inclined to wait until we had an AFLW team to make the sub-forum
If it needs to move into a sub board I'd go with this and wait until they are in the AFLW or at least when there is actual info coming through.
We hear nothing about them right now so nobody would even bother looking. At least with this thread people look at it just in passing.

I don't mind it staying in the main board though as one single thread, at least until there is enough interest in it. I mean we have a Random Discussion thread on our main board so our womens team is more on topic then that.
 
Thanks for the feedback guys! Will give it another look end of next year. I agree with you guys that I'm worried it'll drop right off and there won't be much activity there.

When our first season rolls around in the AFLW there will be plenty of content, player advocate threads, preview, gameday, etc etc. Just wanted to get your views. Cheers :thumbsu:
 
Credit where it's due. What Peta has managed to do with that team, which is pretty much a ragtag bunch of second stringers, is pretty remarkable. It is utterly criminal that this group won't be able to migrate together into the AFLW together, but will instead be chopped up into the draft and distributed to all the clubs. Never mind, though, Peta has shown she can make the team work, no matter what crap the AFL throw at them.
 
Jan 10, 2011
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Credit where it's due. What Peta has managed to do with that team, which is pretty much a ragtag bunch of second stringers, is pretty remarkable. It is utterly criminal that this group won't be able to migrate together into the AFLW together, but will instead be chopped up into the draft and distributed to all the clubs. Never mind, though, Peta has shown she can make the team work, no matter what crap the AFL throw at them.


The later you come into the comp the much more likely of getting better players. The standard is increasing so quickly.
 
The Southern Saints suffered their second defeat in as many weeks, losing to Geelong by 38 points at Deakin University on Saturday afternoon.

Peta Searle’s side travelled west to face top-four side Geelong, who were desperately looking to break a losing streak.

But despite a promising opening term and a strong finish, the Southern Saints were left hurting as the Cats piled on six goals in the second and third quarters.


With Saints captain Georgia Walker out with injury, the team was admirably led by stand-in skipper Rhiannon Watt, but it was the Cats who drew first blood early through the returning Jordan Ivey.

The Saints responded midway through the quarter when Courteney Munn kicked truly before Geelong extended their lead with another goal before the end of the quarter.

READ: Searle adds another string to bow

A horror second term for the Saints saw the Cats pile on three unanswered goals to extend the lead out to 28 points at half-time, with the Saints unable to stop Geelong’s run through the middle.

The Cats added two more early in the third term before the Saints began to lift their pressure across the remainder of the quarter and limited Geelong’s attacking forays.

The Saints faced a 41-point deficit heading into the final quarter and consistent surges forward were proving frustratingly unrewarding.

Respite finally came through Saints forward Tara Bohanna, who coolly slotted a set shot in the 15th minute of the final quarter.



Following the loss, Saints head coach Peta Searle gathered her team on the field, where she spoke candidly to her players about the need to have higher expectations of their own standards.

“We should have been better. The game should have been closer,” Searle elaborated post-match.

“We got absolutely smashed in the fundamentals today; we couldn’t win our one-on-ones; we have our own standards, and the last two weeks we have played below them.

“The players need to re-evaluate, lift their standards and drive their skills development.”

READ: Arnell bolsters Southern Saints

Despite the loss, Searle said there were a number of young Saints whose positive individual efforts stood out.

“Ashleigh Allsopp had another solid game for a young kid,” Searle said.

“Jas Rolland played her first game back in a long time. She played in the backline and was one of our best players, and I thought Courteney Munn was outstanding … she was strong in the air.”

The Saints coach was also full of praise for stand-in captain Rhiannon Watts, calling the ruck an “outstanding leader”.

“She’s got a personality where people can approach her, and she’s very aware of where individuals are at,” she said.

“You can see when she is on the field everyone lifts around her. She is a captain waiting to happen.”

The Southern Saints return to Skybus Stadium on Sunday to host Melbourne Uni.

GEELONG 2.1 5.5 7.6 8.7 (55)
SOUTHERN SAINTS 1.1 1.1 1.1 2.5 (17)

Goals: C. Munn, T. Bohanna
Best: J. Rolland, C. Munn, R. Watt, A. Allsopp, J. Hull, A. Silver

NEXT UP

Southern Saints v Melbourne Uni
3pm Sunday 22 July, Skybus Stadium


Go Saints
 
Southern Saints v Melbourne Uni

http://www.saints.com.au/news/2018-07-20/vflw-preview-southern-saints-v-melbourne-uni

Where: Skybus Stadium, Frankston
When: Sunday 22 July
Time: 3pm

B: I. Quintal, J. Rolland, C. Wilson
HB: L. Olsen, S. Karlson, A. Silver
C: E. Brown, J. Owen, G. Ricardo
HF: L. Arnell, T. Bohanna, K. Ripari
F: G. De Angelis, C. Munn, D. Lawrence
R: R. Watt, A. Drennan, S. Johnson
Int: A. Allsopp, A. Brown, J. Hull, M. Maitland
23P: C. Jones
 
Here's the current VFLW ladder.
Not bad seeing as we have no AFLW listed players

Screen Shot 2018-07-24 at 3.01.31 PM.png
 
A late fightback by the Southern Saints has fallen short, with Melbourne Uni holding on for a three-point win at Skybus Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

The Saints trailed by 18 points heading into the final quarter, but two goals early in the term brought the home side to within five points of the lead.

Melbourne Uni responded with a goal before the Saints successfully locked the ball within their attacking half for the remainder of the quarter.


Several attempts at goal unfortunately only produced minor scores, but it was Saints forward Tara Bohanna who broke through in the 18th minute to put her side within three points.

WATCH: Koby breaks the news

But as the Saints desperately surged to beat the clock and find a winner, Melbourne Uni stood firm and held out to claim the victory.

Saints head coach Peta Searle said her side “probably should have won in the end”, but that the result came down to effectiveness inside 50.

“We had a lot more scoring shots and a lot more opportunities inside 50,” Searle said post-match.

“Melbourne Uni was way more efficient when they went forward and looked like they were going to score every time. When we went in, our forward line was a bit crowded. Melbourne Uni’s was quite open.”

Kicking against the wind in the opening quarter, the Southern Saints struggled to hit the scoreboard, while Melbourne Uni snatched an early two-goal buffer.
The Saints struggled to find open space to move the ball forward, with Searle admitting it took a quarter for her midfielders to adjust to Melbourne Uni playing their numbers behind the ball.

“[Melbourne Uni] were looking to play surge footy into their forward line. But our mids adjusted, and we started to win a lot more of the ball,” she said.

It took until the 10th minute of the second quarter for the Saints to finally find the big sticks via forward Danielle Lawrence, before Jenna Owen snapped truly in the third.

Rhiannon Watt was again dominant in the ruck but often failed to hit out to advantage, as Melbourne Uni on-baller Madison Prespakis ran rampant through the middle.

And while final-quarter goals to Ashleigh Allsopp and Tara Bohanna (2.0) gave the Saints a sniff, they were ultimately unable to get over the line.

Although the loss means the Saints have now lost three in a row, Searle said she was again impressed by a number of her players’ efforts.

“Little Gabby De Angelis, her pressure was really high. She couldn’t quite find the scoreboard, but she looked dangerous every time the ball went down on the ground,” Searle said.

“Kayla Ripari was competing one on three, or one on four, and winning.

“And you’ve got Tara [Bohanna], who for three quarters of the game was doing all the right things but couldn’t quite finish it, but she gets it all together in the last quarter and basically almost won the game for us.”

READ: Koby calls time

Another player who impressed was 18-year-old Eleanor Brown, who returned to the side after starring in the U18 Championships in Queensland last weekend, where she was named in the U18 All-Australian squad.

“She’s fantastic,” the coach said.

“She’s so strong for her age. You can put her anywhere, you can put her on the ball and she’ll win it, [you can] put her on the wing, she’ll win it and get territory and use her run,” Searle said of Brown.

“We were pretty short in defence, especially after Izzy [Quintal] came off and we used Brown there and she was pretty solid.

“She’s a future superstar and no doubt will be picked up in the draft next year.”

SOUTHERN SAINTS 0.0 1.1 2.3 5.6 (36)
GEELONG 2.1 3.1 3.5 6.3 (39)

Goals: T. Bohanna 2, A. Allsopp, D. Lawrence, J. Owen
Best: R. Watt, K. Ripari, T. Bohanna, G. De Angelis, E. Brown, C. Jones

NEXT UP

Southern Saints v Hawthorn
11.45am Saturday 28 July, Trevor Barker Beach Oval


Go Saints
 
The Southern Saints have put a disappointing month of football behind them with a dominant 31-point victory over the Western Bulldogs at Henry Turner Reserve on Sunday afternoon.

Peta Searle’s young side came into the match on the back of four straight losses, faced with a monumental challenge in breaking the Bulldogs’ own six-match winning streak.

The physicality of the contest was sorely felt, with numerous players forced from the field, but it was the Saints who controlled proceedings over the four quarters, keeping the Dogs goalless after the sixth-minute mark of the opening term.

PHOTOS: The best snaps from the 31-point win


Saints head coach Peta Searle said it was their defensive effort all over the ground that proved the difference between the two sides.

“We’ve shown glimpses in the last couple of games, but we haven’t been able to play out the four quarters,” Searle said.

“[Today] we beat the Bulldogs in the contest and used the ball better.”

The Bulldogs benefited from a strong gale in the opening term as Jessica Francke booted the first of the day.

But it would prove to be the Bulldogs’ last.

The Saints controlled play across the rest of the quarter with repeated inside-50 entries, but struggled to get reward for effort on the scoreboard.



The breakthrough came from debutante Holly Bate as she kicked the Saints first major late in the term, before Tara Bohanna slotted another on the siren to extend the Saints lead to eight points at the first break.

Heading into the second term, the Saints wasted no time, with Amy Silver converting less than a minute after the opening bounce.

The Saints’ forward pressure proved too much for the Bulldogs, with the ball locked inside 50 for the majority of the quarter.

Kelly Thompson came off late in the quarter after a nasty head knock with Bulldogs defender Libby Birch left both with bloodied faces.

While Thompson returned in the third term heavily bandaged, the Saints were one player down after Monique Maitland’s day was cut short.

With only behinds scored by both teams in the third term after the Bulldogs evened the contest around the ball, the Saints headed into the final quarter with a healthy 18-point lead.

It was key forwards Courteney Munn and Bohanna (3.0) who converted to extend the margin and seal the Saints’ fifth win of the season.

Searle believes it was the number of inside-50s that proved a key difference on the day.

“[We had] 36 inside-50s to their 17 … we’ve struggled to get it over 20,” she said.

“It was a goal of ours to have over 25 and for the Bulldogs to have less than 25, so we smashed it.”

Searle also said “without a doubt” that close losses to Melbourne Uni (three points) and Hawthorn (nine) over the past fortnight proved a motivating factor for the team.

“They don’t need a lot of fire, they are quite intrinsically motivated. But it is a reminder of how much it hurts when you don’t get it done,” Searle said.

With another young debutante in Bate, Searle was pleased with the number of young players who have come into the team.

“Almost every game we have had a young player debut,” she said.

“For us to be reasonably consistent over the year in a team that has played so many different players is a real credit to the team itself.”

One young player who again stood out was Eleanor Brown, who just this week was invited to the NAB 2018 AFLW Draft Combine.

Ultimately though, it was the entire team’s effort that got the Saints over the line against the Bulldogs.

“Ali Drennan fought hard, she was tagged a bit. Her footy IQ is going to another level as she is becoming a tagged player, and she is working through that,” Searle said.

“Ali Brown was a positive today in her second week back from being out for three weeks. She understands the game and gets into really good spots, and was really strong.”

Searle was also impressed by the backline duo of Leah Olsen and Selena Karlson.

“They started to work together a bit more,” Searle said.

“Leah has had a really good couple of weeks, and Selena was really positive today in terms of playing in front of her player and allowing herself the opportunity to mark the ball and not just compete.”


The Southern Saints will now meet the fifth-placed Darebin Falcons at Bill Lawry Oval next Saturday.

WESTERN BULLDOGS 1.0 1.0 1.3 1.3 (9)
SOUTHERN SAINTS 2.2 4.2 4.3 6.4 (40)

GOALS T. Bohanna 3, C. Munn, A. Silver, H. Bate

BEST K. Ripari, R. Watt, T. Bohanna, E. Brown, S. Karlson, G. De Angelis

NEXT UP

Darebin vs Southern Saints
12pm Saturday 11 August, Bill Lawry Oval


Go Saints
 
Does anyone know what the finals configuration is? Can the girls make it from 8th?

I believe it's top 6, no qualification, start at semi's, top2 off, drop 2 in semi, prelim, GF.

So would need to leapfrog the dogs.
 
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