Oppo Camp Womens Footy - what are the issues, what arent you happy with

[marty36]

Given the distance they kick they need a smaller ground size. That way it doesn't take an extra kick to score allowing the opposition to more easily get back. Scoring is so hard at the moment. Must be the worst position ever being a full forward in the AFLW. Never going to kick a bag given the whole side struggles to score.

As for skills, which have improved, and list numbers, that will get better and bigger as depth improves throughout the country. Then you'll have more genuine footballers then athletes.

The point that they come from different sports and will go back to those sports one the season finishes will undoubtedly slow their improvement the elite footballers do football only, as they say practice makes perfect

 

[Eaglemaniac]

The point that they come from different sports and will go back to those sports one the season finishes will undoubtedly slow their improvement the elite footballers do football only, as they say practice makes perfect

Thats actually not quite correct though Marty, only perfect practice makes perfect. Practice actually makes permanent, so whatever way you practice something, is the way you will perform it under pressure.

 

[marty36]

Thats actually not quite correct though Marty, only perfect practice makes perfect. Practice actually makes permanent, so whatever way you practice something, is the way you will perform it under pressure.

I truly think it's great snaring these athletes from other sports but seriously to take your game forward you need to concentrate on it year round, most of these girls are going back to their other sports

A local amateur club has players from January to October every year, which are players that don't get paid a cracker. Then the elite players are just full on.

I can see this being one of the short comings of the game as it stands today, this may however be rectified

 

[External Inputs]

I truly think it's great snaring these athletes from other sports but seriously to take your game forward you need to concentrate on it year round, most of these girls are going back to their other sports

The fact that athletes from other sports are competing shows they're interested in the game, so I don't think it's safe to assume they're going back to their other sports. Even if they do, they can still practice their football skills during the year. They may not improve as much as would be possible by devoting all their efforts, but they could still improve more than a player with less all round ability. Considering the limited time some of them had from recruitment to the season start, a whole year is quite a long time in comparison. It's still very early days, and some bet hedging from the players is to be expected while the series is taking shape.

 

[marty36]

The fact that athletes from other sports are competing shows they're interested in the game, so I don't think it's safe to assume they're going back to their other sports. Even if they do, they can still practice their football skills during the year. They may not improve as much as would be possible by devoting all their efforts, but they could still improve more than a player with less all round ability. Considering the limited time some of them had from recruitment to the season start, a whole year is quite a long time in comparison. It's still very early days, and some bet hedging from the players is to be expected while the series is taking shape.

Agree I wouldn't throw away another sport for a comp that runs 7 weeks with no guarantees.but to master parts of the game especially kicking its an all year round gig. Like I said even metropolitan and amateur league players give it 10 months of the year minimum

If the AFL can get them into a position where they devote 10 months the standard will improve

 

[keithrichards]

Anyone have a break down of the Humber of 'athletes' vs 'footballers' on each list?

Is there really that many non-footballers on each list that it is an issue?

I don't know enough of the background of the girls to know the split

 

[Aeglos]

Fwiw when I did my coaching accreditation(s) about a decade ago the presenters said that when someone who hadn't kicked a footy before came under a good coach they'd typically end up a better kick than a kid who had been taught by his dad or learned by himself in the backyard

 

[marty36]

Fwiw when I did my coaching accreditation(s) about a decade ago the presenters said that when someone who hadn't kicked a footy before came under a good coach they'd typically end up a better kick than a kid who had been taught by his dad or learned by himself in the backyard

Then these clubs better get some better kicking coaches as unfortunately the kicking needs a truckload of work. Like I said fix the kicking and it has an instant impact on the standard, unfortunately it's not as easy as it sounds

 

[BringBackTorps]

Anyone have a break down of the Humber of 'athletes' vs 'footballers' on each list?

Is there really that many non-footballers on each list that it is an issue?

I don't know enough of the background of the girls to know the split

My understanding is that the AFLW % of pure athletes (ie never played AF before the AFLW; never even played up to U12 before they were forced to "retire"-due to non-existence of girls'only comps) would be less than 10%.

 

[The_Wookie]

My understanding is that the AFLW % of pure athletes (ie never played AF before the AFLW; never even played up to U12 before they were forced to "retire"-due to non-existence of girls'only comps) would be less than 10%.

Where does this understanding come from

 

[NoobPie]

Where does this understanding come from

I haven't seen actual numbers but from following it somewhat, 10% seems to me a conservative estimate (Ie women who neither played when they were juniors or recently as adults)

Seems to be only a handful or two that have not played either as a junior or recently as an adult

 

[marty36]

My understanding is that the AFLW % of pure athletes (ie never played AF before the AFLW; never even played up to U12 before they were forced to "retire"-due to non-existence of girls'only comps) would be less than 10%.

It has to start somewhere, so it will be an interesting excersize to how the AFL tackle the development of Womens football they have an infrstucture in place with boys/men, but how much will it cost to have additional staff to get it off the ground at primary school level right through club footy, SANFL, WAFL,VFL,NEAFL including Tassie and NT, being jimiors alone. But it has to start at primary school level so will need many more coaches , Umpires, Adminstrators , Nationwide. Then you will need to do the same for seniors

I would think conservatively to get this infrastructire in place Australia wide you would think $15 Million would do it. Not sure if the AFL will have the coin to dio it properly considering they lost 17 million this year.

 

[The_Wookie]

It has to start somewhere, so it will be an interesting excersize to how the AFL tackle the development of Womens football they have an infrstucture in place with boys/men, but how much will it cost to have additional staff to get it off the ground at primary school level right through club footy, SANFL, WAFL,VFL,NEAFL including Tassie and NT, being jimiors alone. But it has to start at primary school level so will need many more coaches , Umpires, Adminstrators , Nationwide. Then you will need to do the same for seniors

I would think conservatively to get this infrastructire in place Australia wide you would think $15 Million would do it. Not sure if the AFL will have the coin to dio it properly considering they lost 17 million this year.

Girls play with boys through under 12s - up to under 15s in some places - so juniors below that level and primary school probably arent that great a deal staffing wise. Its from u14's through under 18s and seniors that the changes are being rung in.

 

[Aeglos]

Then these clubs better get some better kicking coaches as unfortunately the kicking needs a truckload of work. Like I said fix the kicking and it has an instant impact on the standard, unfortunately it's not as easy as it sounds

Well, like the internationals that come through there is always going to be a certain number of failures amongst the successes
*edit*
Fwiw from my own coaching experiences it was near impossible to fix up kids kicking when they'd been playing for 5+ years, somewhat easier when they were new (0-2 years)
I'd make up a lot of mini games for them to play at training and overall the ones that adapted to those the quickest had the most plasticity when it came to making changes in their technique (whether it be kicking, marking, tackling etc)

 

[marty36]

Girls play with boys through under 12s - up to under 15s in some places - so juniors below that level and primary school probably arent that great a deal staffing wise. Its from u14's through under 18s and seniors that the changes are being rung in.

You would hope all clubs not just State leagues get teams along with country football, if you truly want to create the best standard possble it has to be a carbon copy of the males . Go in it half baked and you will no doubt get a poor stand it will already be a lesser standard because of the diffrece in sexes as we ee in every sport in the world

 

[The_Wookie]

You would hope all clubs not just State leagues get teams along with country football, if you truly want to create the best standard possble it has to be a carbon copy of the males . Go in it half baked and you will no doubt get a poor stand it will already be a lesser standard because of the diffrece in sexes as we ee in every sport in the world

it doesnt have to be a carbon copy of the males right down to juniors at all - your setting an unrealistic standard. A lot of community clubs around the country are pursuing womens footy now as well - as they should, extra teams could save a lot of these clubs from going under - but the demand is going to vary from club to club.

 

[marty36]

it doesnt have to be a carbon copy of the males right down to juniors at all - your setting an unrealistic standard. A lot of community clubs around the country are pursuing womens footy now as well - as they should, extra teams could save a lot of these clubs from going under - but the demand is going to vary from club to club.

Any increase in teams from whatever league we talk or even juniors will either require more funding or more volunteers. Volunteers arent an easy thing to find. One reason the AFL is totally reliant on state leagues and local comps, the majority of people at these clubs do it for the love where its the opposite in the AFL.

One reason the AFL cant jump in with both feet, if those volunteers arent available it will require $$$ and lots of them

 

[keithrichards]

My understanding is that the AFLW % of pure athletes (ie never played AF before the AFLW; never even played up to U12 before they were forced to "retire"-due to non-existence of girls'only comps) would be less than 10%.

That would have been my thinking too. There's a lot of talk about recruiting athletes ahead of footballers in the AFLW, yet aside from the 2 rookie spots on each list, it seems most have had some football background.

 

[BringBackTorps]

Where does this understanding come from

I had the H./Sun prior to the 1st Pr. Park game. It listed a profile of all 216 AFLW players, with their AF skill strengths and/or sporting background (but not all bios. detailed their sporting background).

I recall there might have been about 20 (?) who, it appeared, had never played any (ie jnr or snr) AF prior to the 2016 Academies/athlete Rookie camps.

The brand "newbies"I recall were Phillips, Melb. (frisbee); Cordner, Melb. (soccer); Mickle, Freo. (javelin); Bibby, GWS (basketball); Barclay, GWS lingerie Gridiron. There was also a speed skater & an Army doctor, both of whom had elite fitness. Most of the others were from soccer & basketball.

I recall being a bit surprised that there were very few from netball; & appeared to be NONE who came only from netball(ie never played AF before).
At jnr. girls'AF, there are huge numbers who have played netball (40% +?).

 

[The_Wookie]

I had the H./Sun prior to the 1st Pr. Park game. It listed a profile of all 216 AFLW players, with their AF skill strengths and/or sporting background (but not all bios. detailed their sporting background).

I recall there might have been about 20 (?) who, it appeared, had never played any (ie jnr or snr) AF prior to the 2016 Academies/athlete Rookie camps.

The brand "newbies"I recall were Phillips, Melb. (frisbee); Cordner, Melb. (soccer); Mickle, Freo. (javelin); Bibby, GWS (basketball); Barclay, GWS lingerie Gridiron. There was also a speed skater & an Army doctor, both of whom had elite fitness. Most of the others were from soccer & basketball.

I recall being a bit surprised there appeared to be none who came only from netball(ie never played AF before).

It IS what the rookie picks were designed for.

 

[cptkirk]

My thoughts on all the other replies in this thread...

1) Recruiting Athletes over Footballers
- bigger grounds + less players requires more running
- they already possessed "50% of the requirement" in that they had been in semi/professional envirnoment sbefore, had near/elite capacities in specific qualities already (speed, aerobic etc)

2) Limited FTA coverage which means if I don't go to the game I can't watch it until the replay comes on online after I've found out the score...I would have loved to have watched the GWS/FREO and ADE/CARL games this week without knowing the final score beforehand...especially when there is shoe lace tying races or something similar on all 4 C7 channels

3) Expansion should probably be 3 years away for mine BUT then there is an issue with all these academy girls coming out in that time and if they can't all be drafted because of limited spots available then what happens to them? Also what happens when new teams do come in? Can you "protect" 5 players and the rest are free to be signed up wherever?

4) Skills need work yes but I figure as these academy girls come in who have played footy since they were 5, it will pick up quite dramatically...The teenage girls I've seen kick the footy at AFLW games with subconscious ball drop, kicking technique etc and the way they move towards the footy in flight all bodes well for future draftees.

5) Intensity is great but they need to learn how to protect themselves...At one point I think in the GWS/FREO game a player was running to the next contest running away from the kicker and ran right under the drop zone and got smashed by 2 or 3 on-coming players - could have been bad.

6) The injury toll is frightening for mine...In understand the short build up, huge increases in intensity and such but they again they need to learn how to take and give constant without hurting themselves. I know the Lions have worked a lot of tackling technique to avoid injury even if it's not pretty...As the women's have more pre-seasons I hope this improves greatly

7) That being said they'll be going from local season to AFLW season to local and so on if they keep the AFLW season where it is which I do like but then it means there is little down time, little general/semi specific prep time (base fitness/strength etc) and the high rate of injury is maintained.

8) More players per list for sure but again, more training time is also needed to prep players

9) Dropped marks with players on their own has actually hurt teams - a simple skill really.

10) I wouldn't be against players names on their jumpers like basketball to help us get to know the players quicker

11) Smaller grounds/venue might be better for the game but I don't see the crowds decreasing soon which is a logistical nightmare.

12) I'd like to see the AFLW season stand alone and not be on during the men's season as that will affect crowds dramatically with females (and me) playing footy those days and not being able to go to games...Also families with kids who play footy/Auskick might find it hard to go as well

13) Congestion is an issue which is part skills and part coaching...I wouldn't be against having to keep 1 or 2 players/team in each half of the ground at all times but then we don't get to see McCarthy's goals from the weekend

14) How many of these players picked from different sports will actually go back to them or stay in footy "full time"? I'd like to think that the how outrageously successful AFLW has been so far that they'd stay...

15) How hard do the AFL go in funding women's football at all levels? I'd say they have to go as hard as they can and back it in - it can't all be about the top end and simply ignore the bottom...At least set liaise with bottom feeder teams/leagues etc and make sure they an all survive initially as they build up

Great Thread!

 

[The_Wookie]

2) Limited FTA coverage which means if I don't go to the game I can't watch it until the replay comes on online after I've found out the score...I would have loved to have watched the GWS/FREO and ADE/CARL games this week without knowing the final score beforehand...especially when there is shoe lace tying races or something similar on all 4 C7 channels

Just a note that you can watch ALL AFL Womens games live on the AFL Womens website for free.

 

[cptkirk]

I should have mentioned that my internet streaming capacity is beyond terrible...I still try though in the hopes that it will work one day...is it reliable the AFLW streaming as I can watch streaming tv shows etc when i need to...

 

[Scotland]

It's unrealistic to expect all games to be live on FTA TV. Ignoring the fact that Foxtel paid for the rights to televise it, there are established competitions that don't have that sort of coverage. Even the NBL, A-League, Super Rugby etc. don't have that sort of coverage.

 

[The_Wookie]

I should have mentioned that my internet streaming capacity is beyond terrible...I still try though in the hopes that it will work one day...is it reliable the AFLW streaming as I can watch streaming tv shows etc when i need to...

My net is pretty crap and its generally ok.