What have you liked, learnt or hated about AFL Womens Round 1?

[DexterTan]

After watching all the games on TV (and one live at Whitten Oval) there are a couple of things I have noticed.

- These players have learnt the defensive skills that is required to be "elite" - tackling, pressure, smothers, accountability, multiiple efforts. For me this is the "boring"'/expected
side of footy.
- Majority of the players are struggling with the offensive skills of footy.
- picking up the ball cleanly
- effective handballing
- effective disposal by foot
- decision making with ball in hand
- marking
- goal kicking

In other words, they are stuggilng with the "pretty" and "fun" side of football hence the low scoring and mistake riddled football we've been seeing. However, a few of these mistakes can be attributed to the defensive skills that the players have already learnt. Also more coaching required with structures, when everyone is going for the ball, when they win it, it's a panic kick to no one or straight to the opposition (which results in a dropped mark and another mad scramble for the ball).

Another element to the mistake riddled and low scoring footy - shortened quarters with no time on unless a goal is kicked and of course - the lack of stamina of these players who are playing in grounds that are bigger than they are used to and playing with teammates they just met in November.

As a doggies supporter, when I see players like Emma Kearney (No. 5), Ella Blackburn (No 2), KB (No. 3) who have mastered both offensive and defensive skills and the stamina to boot - these players are damn good footy players and you start barracking for them to get the ball because they will help your team win the game. Reminds me of the days when Peter Rohde was coach of the men's team. The majority of the players had no skill or were new to AFL footy but geez, I was pleading with the match committee to please play Lindsay Gilbee!

The majority of the talent pool of AFLW is made up of athletes who were forced to stop playing footy and they're learning as they go and that doesn't help the pretty side of football. But hell they've learnt the basic and "easy" skill of defensive pressure pretty quickly!

The reason I like this competition is up and running is there's footy earlier than expected, I have a team that represents my club and there are players in that team that are bloody good footballers. I can't wait for Friday night when Libby Birch (who has size 5 feet) takes on Big Bad Tex Perkins at the Whitten Oval.

 

[Bombermania]

After watching all the games on TV (and one live at Whitten Oval) there are a couple of things I have noticed.

.

When you were at the game, did you notice much talking between the players? because watching matches on T.V, at times they seem to not communicate and therefore get into one another way and sometimes seem overly rushed to get rid of the ball rather than take advantage of any space or numbers around the ball.

 

[DexterTan]

When you were at the game, did you notice much talking between the players? because watching matches on T.V, at times they seem to not communicate and therefore get into one another way and sometimes seem overly rushed to get rid of the ball rather than take advantage of any space or numbers around the ball.

Communication is part of decision making/footy IQ skill. Will improve with coaching and experience and also learning the team's gameplan. Unless of course they don't have a gameplan. The players can only be as good as the influence that comes from off field.

Also some of these players wouldn't have played In front of big crowds before.

 

[TheKanga]

I hope i'm wrong but i can't see the Womens game keeping up decent crowds.
With such low skill and low scoring...

I can't say I've had any desire to watch any of the matches in my spare time.
I only caught a bit of the first match at work...

 

[DexterTan]

This like the beginning of A League of Their Own, except there's no problems with crowds. The girls just need to give the doubters out there SOMETHING. ☺

 

[jatz14]

After watching all the games on TV (and one live at Whitten Oval) there are a couple of things I have noticed.

- These players have learnt the defensive skills that is required to be "elite" - tackling, pressure, smothers, accountability, multiiple efforts. For me this is the "boring"'/expected
side of footy.
- Majority of the players are struggling with the offensive skills of footy.
- picking up the ball cleanly
- effective handballing
- effective disposal by foot
- decision making with ball in hand
- marking
- goal kicking

In other words, they are stuggilng with the "pretty" and "fun" side of football hence the low scoring and mistake riddled football we've been seeing. However, a few of these mistakes can be attributed to the defensive skills that the players have already learnt. Also more coaching required with structures, when everyone is going for the ball, when they win it, it's a panic kick to no one or straight to the opposition (which results in a dropped mark and another mad scramble for the ball).

Another element to the mistake riddled and low scoring footy - shortened quarters with no time on unless a goal is kicked and of course - the lack of stamina of these players who are playing in grounds that are bigger than they are used to and playing with teammates they just met in November.

As a doggies supporter, when I see players like Emma Kearney (No. 5), Ella Blackburn (No 2), KB (No. 3) who have mastered both offensive and defensive skills and the stamina to boot - these players are damn good footy players and you start barracking for them to get the ball because they will help your team win the game. Reminds me of the days when Peter Rohde was coach of the men's team. The majority of the players had no skill or were new to AFL footy but geez, I was pleading with the match committee to please play Lindsay Gilbee!

The majority of the talent pool of AFLW is made up of athletes who were forced to stop playing footy and they're learning as they go and that doesn't help the pretty side of football. But hell they've learnt the basic and "easy" skill of defensive pressure pretty quickly!

The reason I like this competition is up and running is there's footy earlier than expected, I have a team that represents my club and there are players in that team that are bloody good footballers. I can't wait for Friday night when Libby Birch (who has size 5 feet) takes on Big Bad Tex Perkins at the Whitten Oval.

What will keep people coming back is starting to identify with the players, the players with skill, the triers who just crack in hard. If Doggies supporters start thinking along the lines, who do they have that can stop Kearney and Blackburn? Who will play on Brennan? Then that generates a connection and brings people back.
The other thing that will have an effect is, the players will do far more learning and growing as footballers during the season than they did in preseason. They are, for the first time ever, going to be sitting down watching footage of themselves with someone pointing out what they did wrong, what they did right, what they should have done, then they will go out and work on those things straight away. The learning curve and growth should be steep, and will expose those not up to it fast.

 

[Bombermania]

What will keep people coming back is starting to identify with the players, the players with skill, the triers who just crack in hard. If Doggies supporters start thinking along the lines, who do they have that can stop Kearney and Blackburn? Who will play on Brennan? Then that generates a connection and brings people back.
The other thing that will have an effect is, the players will do far more learning and growing as footballers during the season than they did in preseason. They are, for the first time ever, going to be sitting down watching footage of themselves with someone pointing out what they did wrong, what they did right, what they should have done, then they will go out and work on those things straight away. The learning curve and growth should be steep, and will expose those not up to it fast.

This is why I wanted to know about the level of on-field communication because its clear that the girls are keen and we can see that in how they attack the ball but they will benefit greatly from watching the video and going though various plays.

Even in the AFL, we hear coaches talk about the need for teams to jell, and get use to one another, so I expect we will see gradual improvement as the season goes on.

 

[footyfan1978]

This like the beginning of A League of Their Own, except there's no problems with crowds. The girls just need to give the doubters out there SOMETHING. ☺

 

[boondy]

Autopsy of womens football is a fitting analogy of review . The womens game is a corpse and the fascination of seeing something weird and different will wear off quickly

 

[Bokonon_]

Liked:
Comp off to a safe and successful start. People criticise the skill level and it is obviously well below the mens comp with part time professionals and many female athletes with little experience. I actually enjoyed the one on one footy and the games were much easier to follow tactically.
Good for is hoping to attract new interest in Aussie rules and our club I think.

Learned:
Skills and fitness levels will take time but there had to be a beginning. If the AFL stays committed to the comp we will inevitably see it become a professional comp with the players paid appropriately IMO.

Hated: Not a lot. Lack of free to air broadcasts in Sydney not good. Some detractors but that was always going to happen.

 

[Bokonon_]

So if you don't think it's great, you're a "a basement dwelling MRA dickhead that's terrified of the opposite sex"

Good to see we're not over generalising here.

Clearly you are entitled to your view, and I get the frustration at not wanting to become a herd animal. You can simply ignore it though.

I think the much maligned AFL has done pretty well wirh rhe AFLW. Money has been invested of course, but it's a pretty low key start really. Over time Revenue will hopefully fund it at a much higher level, but they haven't gone in hard splashing cash.
It will probably turn out out to be a great investment in the long term.

 

[wagstaff]

Definitely wrote my post with Connolly in mind.

“I think there is a small percentage of dinosaurs out there who are going to complain regardless, for whatever reason. Maybe they feel threatened by women’s success. Maybe they’re resentful of it. Maybe they’re just sad and inadequate."

Quotes like the above from Connolly serve nothing but to divide the footy public, while being harmful to the overall success of the AFLW. It's very easy to see the AFL and the media politicizing the new league, which is going to put a sour taste in the mouth of the general footy public.

Yeah, this really annoyed me about Rohan’s tweeting on it. He was just creating a straw man argument that there significant opposition towards the AFLW when there had been massive positive coverage in the mainstream media and almost universal positivity amongst fans on social media I saw. Eventually he found one or two Twitter accounts antagonistic but you can find that on any topic on Twitter.

There was also an Age article late last week proclaiming AFLW would succeed despite all the naysayers against it. Who were these people? Again, unless I missed it there has been enormous anticipation from footy fans for this comp as reflected in crowds and TV ratings.

Just another example of why The Age is an irrelevant, dying publication.

 

[Ellie Aquitaine]

Liked:

• the fact a national comp exists and is on TV.
• The heart and passion on display. Most of these players are there for the love of it, certainly not the money
• The way that our women's team is seen as an integral part of the Club (I'm sure most other teams are the same)

Learned:

• There are some very good players who aren't named Daisy Pearce, Katie Brennan and Moana Hope (Darcy V, Brianna Davies spring to mind)
• You get hometown commentators and decisions no matter what code you play
• Kelli Underwood is as good as many male play by play commentators and Jason Bennett should get more AFL games

Disliked/Loathed/Hated

• The bizarre FTA scheduling. Why not show the Crows/Giants game in Sydney on 7Mate rather than the Bulldogs/Dockers? They showed the Crows in Adelaide; you'd think that NSW viewers would prefer to watch "their" girls even if the Saturday night game was meant to be a better demonstration of what women's footy can be.
• Eddie having a prior engagement and not going to the Friday night game.
• Haters gonna hate - even though I knew it was going to be there, and don't want it suppressed but it doesn't mean I can't hate the way it's expressed in all forms and media

 

[chiwigi]

I like that I feel a connection to the Lion's womens team already. Watching it today, I didn't think of the women's side as a separate entity, they were still the club I barrack for and I couldn't take the grin off my face when we won and they sung the song.

The other side to this is that those without teams are way more hostile than those without.

 

[Bokonon_]

Liked:

• the fact a national comp exists and is on TV.
• The heart and passion on display. Most of these players are there for the love of it, certainly not the money
• The way that our women's team is seen as an integral part of the Club (I'm sure most other teams are the same)

Learned:

• There are some very good players who aren't named Daisy Pearce, Katie Brennan and Moana Hope (Darcy V, Brianna Davies spring to mind)
• You get hometown commentators and decisions no matter what code you play
• Kelli Underwood is as good as many male play by play commentators and Jason Bennett should get more AFL games

Disliked/Loathed/Hated

• The bizarre FTA scheduling. Why not show the Crows/Giants game in Sydney on 7Mate rather than the Bulldogs/Dockers? They showed the Crows in Adelaide; you'd think that NSW viewers would prefer to watch "their" girls even if the Saturday night game was meant to be a better demonstration of what women's footy can be.
• Eddie having a prior engagement and not going to the Friday night game.
• Haters gonna hate - even though I knew it was going to be there, and don't want it suppressed but it doesn't mean I can't hate the way it's expressed in all forms and media

The Bulldogs-Dockers game was on FTA? I streamed it

 

[Xtreme]

The other side to this is that those without teams are way more hostile than those without.

I'd have the same stance regardless if Hawthorn had a team.

 

[Oneiros]

Was very enjoyable to watch for mine. Saw all four matches, and I felt it had a lot of heart and soul, unlike some of the AFL games you see. Seeing full houses turn out for the old suburban grounds was an amazing sight.

As for the product on the field, I think the big problem is depth. The gulf between the top six and bottom six players on each team is very significant. However, that's exactly what this comp, and the full pathway from juniors on to seniors that it represents, will solve. We're seeing this kick off three years early, after all.

 

[Sentinel]

Autopsy of womens football is a fitting analogy of review . The womens game is a corpse and the fascination of seeing something weird and different will wear off quickly

A corpse? It's in its infancy (relatively speaking), now with the chance to grow into something much bigger. Of course there's no guarantees, but with proper support, attitude and resources, there's no reason why it shouldn't keep improving and expanding.

To declare something 1 week old a 'corpse' is plainly ignorant. Did you not watch any of the games and see the support already generated? You can choose not to watch it or like it yourself, but that doesn't mean it's dead in the water.

 

[boondy]

Hey I didnt put ( autopsy ) as a thread topic . They usually do those to dead things

 

[citizen-erased]

Liked:
its a different game. a lot of ball movement. very scattershot at the moment, but that's expected given we're one round in.
I feel the coaches haven't gone too far into game plans and structures just yet and let the game be a bit of a spectacle.
With 2 less players and a bit of time, i expect it to be a pretty good game of agility and one on one battles around the ground.
Some of the hands were lightning quick. when they start hitting more targets and getting used to their team mates, it could be a very quick moving game.

Learnt:
There is a place for it. i dont know if pre-season is sustainable. i feel the games are a touch too short, but with smaller numbers on the ground and the amount of movement, playing in summer is going to be a risk unless it becomes an evening set of fixtures.

Hated:
the choice of grounds. Whitten wasn't too bad, but why they AFL didn't look to Punt Rd over Casey Fields is beyond me. Esp for the opening rounds when the interest was high. Ikon needed better lighting, but a good venue nonetheless.

 

[chiwigi]

I'd have the same stance regardless if Hawthorn had a team.

Fair enough, even though I coach a womens team and want the AFLW to work, I don't want other clubs benefitting their mens side because of it. Maybe I'm just a dick

 

[Pessimistic]

One good thing, Gillon isn't over at the super bowl getting fancy ideas

 

[The_Wookie]

One good thing, Gillon isn't over at the super bowl getting fancy ideas

Nor is Fitz, flew back from London for the womens footy apparently.

 

[Micksy]

One good thing, Gillon isn't over at the super bowl getting fancy ideas

GFW

• Micksy
• Feb 6, 2017
• gil

 

[NikkiNoo]

Kellie Gibson kicked a goal from the 50m line last night, and I thought it was bloody awesome. Super impressed with how far she kicked it, as I know how difficult it is for the AFLW players to get that sort of penetration.

Once we as spectators gain an understanding for what a 'normal' kicking distance is (which I imagine will be 35-40 maybe?) it'll make those 50m goals more special, just like the 70m goals in the men's comp

It was a wet ball too and Adelaide has a number of players who have a decent kick on them around the 40 - 50 m range - Gibson, Randall, Marinoff, Cramey, Perkins and Phillips, although Phillips is not kicking as long as she has before because of the quad issue she has. There are a couple more we have as well that have kicked at least 40m but I don't know all their names yet.