AFLW West Coast Eagles Women's Team - Discussion Thread

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Nov 13, 2014
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More on how the trade went down from Aish here:


Always love hearing how we show potential recruits that we can help them grow as people off-field too.
Great read

I rate this acquisition highly, she’ll help Dana & Swanny immensely.

Just need that marking target now
 

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jatz14

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Yeah I can’t really agree with that completely. Niamh was decent, but Grace looked lost playing up forward. I’d prefer we spent our time and money drafting actual forwards this year. I guess we’ll see what the club thinks when draft time gets here.
I think Grace has huge upside, more so than Niamh. Ithink the Eagles were more impressed by Grace pre season, but being an inexperienced forward for the eagles in 2019 is a pretty terrible way to be introduced to footy frankly. Niamh hunting the ball and providing run through the middle was playing a role closer to her role in GAA.

I actually think Grace could be our number 1 marking target next year. She has the speed to get off most AFLW defenders, and is bigger than the ones that can keep up, she just needs a team capable of putting the ball even vaguely in her vicinity.
 

jatz14

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Cliffs: McCarthy and pick 3 to the Eagles in return for picks 2 and 16. I’m not sure what the point of swapping 2 and 3 is, if the Bulldogs are drafting out of the Victoria pool and the Eagles are drafting out of the WA pool it’s essentially meaningless isn’t it?

Also the Kelly sisters have re-signed for 2021 and 2022 and all three Irishwomen will be coming out for the start of pre-season training in November. (Pandemic situation permitting, I guess)
Its valuable for the Dogs.
Prior to the deal, Dogs had pick 3, which was effectively Victorian pick 2. Their problem is, for the Eagles, there is no difference between pick 2 and pick 10. So another club could have done a deal with us, and traded themselves into pick 2, and pushed the Dogs to pick 3 in Victoria.
So, this deal locks them into getting second pick of the Victorian pool, and it costs us nothing.
 
jatz14 Any names that we should be looking out for us to pick up with pick 3 ?

Also any young players that you would be happy to have join our list ?

Thanks in advance. 👍
 
jatz14 Any names that we should be looking out for us to pick up with pick 3 ?

Also any young players that you would be happy to have join our list ?

Thanks in advance. 👍

Just from a quick google, it looks like McKenzie Dowrick’s sister Abbey might be the leading candidate for that pick?
 

jatz14

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jatz14 Any names that we should be looking out for us to pick up with pick 3 ?

Also any young players that you would be happy to have join our list ?

Thanks in advance.
The good thing is, as footy expands, it becomes harder to keep on top of up and comers. 5 years ago, it was pretty simple. Look at the state U18 team, and the top players at maybe 4 club's, and you pretty much had it covered.

Not as clear cut now.

Dowrick would be the front runner, but every game I see I come across good players I didn't know before.

WAFLW seems to be awash with 16- 20 year Olds that are pretty decent.

Maybe that's also an issue. Lots of good talent, not so many stand outs? Or maybe, it's just harder to stand out than it was.

But Dowrick would be my go, after that I don't really have a clue.

On moto g(6) plus using BigFooty.com mobile app
 

jatz14

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An observation, I wonder if anyone else thought the same.

South Freo have been dire, unable to even score.

But, if you watch them play, they can actually play. They string good passages together, they just don't do it long enough.

In the past, teams getting thrashed generally looked like they couldn't play at all. Couldn't hit targets, couldn't mark, couldn't pick the ball up. South's can do all those things, they're decent, but the teams they are playing are just much better.

I think progress is shown best by the worst football. Footballers with ability always look good, but the strength of a league is shown by how good the last player picked is, and how good the worst team is.

Here, the WA women's footy scene has definitely improved.

Overhead marking while under pressure was a feature of the game of only the best players, most couldn't do it.

I would now say, most can.

On moto g(6) plus using BigFooty.com mobile app
 
Odd player to target :think:

I figured with that pick 16 we couldn't use, we'd go after someone blue chip to support Dana and Swanny in the guts.

Someone solid, a known quantity who isn't 'developing' and is almost guaranteed to give you X amount of output each week.

McCarthy seems a bit too speculative to me. Irish. Still learning the game. Always going to have the risk of her pulling up stumps and returning home :shrug:


Hope our pick 3 is someone impressive who can hit the ground running. Team seemed a fair ways off being competitive last year unfortunately.
 

jatz14

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Odd player to target :think:

I figured with that pick 16 we couldn't use, we'd go after someone blue chip to support Dana and Swanny in the guts.

Someone solid, a known quantity who isn't 'developing' and is almost guaranteed to give you X amount of output each week.

McCarthy seems a bit too speculative to me. Irish. Still learning the game. Always going to have the risk of her pulling up stumps and returning home :shrug:


Hope our pick 3 is someone impressive who can hit the ground running. Team seemed a fair ways off being competitive last year unfortunately.
Been it it from the start, and from the Doggies board, a popular player.

A key part of the decision for me is, as an Irish player, she is gettable.

She doesn't have a life in Melbourne to uproot. Now, she flies into Perth, instead of Melbourne, for 6 months. So, are there better players, who could be prised out for pick 16, who are willing to uproot their lives and move to Perth? Most players that have moved interstate, including the Eagles players, are looking to reboot their careers (or start them). We could have got another player like that, but pick 16 would be overs, and would they help us, or just be another fringe player?
 

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Been it it from the start, and from the Doggies board, a popular player.

A key part of the decision for me is, as an Irish player, she is gettable.

She doesn't have a life in Melbourne to uproot. Now, she flies into Perth, instead of Melbourne, for 6 months. So, are there better players, who could be prised out for pick 16, who are willing to uproot their lives and move to Perth? Most players that have moved interstate, including the Eagles players, are looking to reboot their careers (or start them). We could have got another player like that, but pick 16 would be overs, and would they help us, or just be another fringe player?


All good points, i can't pretend to know all the answers and just how appealing it would be for better players to join West Coast.

There's something about spending Pick 16 though, which seems well and truly overs for yet another player who's going to be developing and learning the game.

There's 14 teams in this league, and we chose to target a player from the ONLY team in the competition we beat, and the only team which was worse than us.
 

AlphaSheep

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The good thing is, as footy expands, it becomes harder to keep on top of up and comers. 5 years ago, it was pretty simple. Look at the state U18 team, and the top players at maybe 4 club's, and you pretty much had it covered.

Not as clear cut now.

Dowrick would be the front runner, but every game I see I come across good players I didn't know before.

WAFLW seems to be awash with 16- 20 year Olds that are pretty decent.

Maybe that's also an issue. Lots of good talent, not so many stand outs? Or maybe, it's just harder to stand out than it was.

But Dowrick would be my go, after that I don't really have a clue.

On moto g(6) plus using BigFooty.com mobile app

The AFLW's emphasis has tilted toward size and speed -- it used to be that good skills alone would get you in, but not any longer. There's lots of kids in WAFLW right now, especially those at draft age this year, at about 165cm and skinny. Some might make it, but it's a disadvantage. Dowrick is 165 but she's a tank, and fast, so should be fine. Meanwhile the top Vic pick will probably be Ellie McKenzie who's 173 in the midfield and built like an Olympic sprinter (once upon a time in women's footy 173 would make you a forward at least, but now you get Jasmine Garner and Ann Hatchard in the midfield at 175).

So we need to start making bigger athletes, or the Eagles will remain down the bottom for a long time -- Freo took most of the best mature local players, and the interstate players don't want to come even if they could, which is why we're chasing Irish players instead. Amy Franklin and Charlie Thomas look likely for next year's draft, so maybe that'll be the start of the new wave of athletic kids. But Freo will get half of them, so there need to be a lot.
 

jatz14

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Dec 13, 2011
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WA
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The AFLW's emphasis has tilted toward size and speed -- it used to be that good skills alone would get you in, but not any longer. There's lots of kids in WAFLW right now, especially those at draft age this year, at about 165cm and skinny. Some might make it, but it's a disadvantage. Dowrick is 165 but she's a tank, and fast, so should be fine. Meanwhile the top Vic pick will probably be Ellie McKenzie who's 173 in the midfield and built like an Olympic sprinter (once upon a time in women's footy 173 would make you a forward at least, but now you get Jasmine Garner and Ann Hatchard in the midfield at 175).

So we need to start making bigger athletes, or the Eagles will remain down the bottom for a long time -- Freo took most of the best mature local players, and the interstate players don't want to come even if they could, which is why we're chasing Irish players instead. Amy Franklin and Charlie Thomas look likely for next year's draft, so maybe that'll be the start of the new wave of athletic kids. But Freo will get half of them, so there need to be a lot.
Yeah, a lot of the skilled kids in the WAFLW are sort of clones of each other. You take the best couple like that, but then you need to look elsewhere,
Would love to see Dowrick in her first year or 2 sat deep in the forward line as a chaos machine. I think she would wreak havoc. Then in a couple of years swing her into midfield, as I dont think she has the tank yet.
 
Great points jatz14 and AlphaSheep, good to read your points of view and thoughts.

Size is definitely an advantage & with the U18 here in WA at Rogers Cup level where you have the 14 (turning 15) & 18 yr olds playing together, you can definitely see the difference size.

Watch for Peel product 16ur old Ella Roberts to make her debut at WAFLW level. Smooth mover who can take a grab.
 
Odd player to target :think:

I figured with that pick 16 we couldn't use, we'd go after someone blue chip to support Dana and Swanny in the guts.

Someone solid, a known quantity who isn't 'developing' and is almost guaranteed to give you X amount of output each week.

McCarthy seems a bit too speculative to me. Irish. Still learning the game. Always going to have the risk of her pulling up stumps and returning home :shrug:
Couldn’t disagree more. She’ll aid Swanny and Dana substantially in my view
 

AlphaSheep

Team Captain
Jul 30, 2020
384
403
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Yeah, a lot of the skilled kids in the WAFLW are sort of clones of each other. You take the best couple like that, but then you need to look elsewhere,
Would love to see Dowrick in her first year or 2 sat deep in the forward line as a chaos machine. I think she would wreak havoc. Then in a couple of years swing her into midfield, as I dont think she has the tank yet.
Agree. We got the crap beaten out of us in a lot of games this season, Swanny and Dana in particular must have felt like they were in the UFC. Which is fair enough, because our skills crumbled under pressure, oppositions knew this so piled on as much pressure as they could. But Abbey's the kind of player who could make them scared of us for a change, especially as she gets older.
 
Couldn’t disagree more. She’ll aid Swanny and Dana substantially in my view


Hey I certainly hope so, but I lost count of how many time I heard X player is a gun, wait until Y player gets a game last year...

And then they play and are well and truly out of their depth with no impact.

Everyone's a jet until it's the 4th quarter and we've still yet to put a goal on the board.
 

AlphaSheep

Team Captain
Jul 30, 2020
384
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Couldn’t disagree more. She’ll aid Swanny and Dana substantially in my view
Yep, I think she was 13.5 disposals last season, still improving fast, could hit 15 per game next year, and she hits targets too. She's a physical presence too, Dana and Swanny just need someone to share the load so it's not always them getting mugged all the time. Added to some big improvements from Niamh, Mikayla and Imahra, and we could have a pretty decent midfield.

Then all we'd need is a backline. And a forward line. And a ruck. And a bench.
 

AlphaSheep

Team Captain
Jul 30, 2020
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Great points jatz14 and AlphaSheep, good to read your points of view and thoughts.

Size is definitely an advantage & with the U18 here in WA at Rogers Cup level where you have the 14 (turning 15) & 18 yr olds playing together, you can definitely see the difference size.

Watch for Peel product 16ur old Ella Roberts to make her debut at WAFLW level. Smooth mover who can take a grab.
Cool. I joined this board mostly in the hope of coaxing more information on WA junior girls, since there's so little on the internet. I write a bit of AFLW on The Roar during the season, can get lots of info on the Vics, but very little on WA.
 
Cool. I joined this board mostly in the hope of coaxing more information on WA junior girls, since there's so little on the internet. I write a bit of AFLW on The Roar during the season, can get lots of info on the Vics, but very little on WA.
Brilliant.
 
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