Carlton Supporters Club

Crowds at Carlton are down considerably. By a factor of 8, based on Rd 1 crowds compared to the first season.

....and the fact that you don't know when/where  a game is being played 2 days before it's scheduled doesn't help either

If you look deep enough you can always find excuses.

The comp is a farce and 99% of fans know it just don’t want to say it.

Regardless of the type of women that want to play such is a whole other kettle of fish, I think you are misunderstanding my comments.

The diluted talent is not about the number of teams exactly, it's the location of those teams and how the draft works.

Adelaide are the strongest team in the comp and have been since the comp started.
Adelaide have access to every girl in SA and NT. Their 'draft' is simply picking the best players from that group and no other team can pick those players.

Add up all the players who they have access too and compare that to the amount of players from Victoria.
Now you have 8 teams in Victoria (including Geelong) who have to pick from that list.
Unless there are 8x more girls in Vic, simple maths shows you Adelaide will get a more talented/better list.

It's been similar for freo and Brisbane up until the recent introduction of West Coast and Gold Coast.

The talent is not evenly distributed across the aflw because the draft is not a national draft. It's essentially a state draft.

It's not about the overall standard, it's about the distribution of talent and the one sidedness that has created.

I understood your point.

I think you might have missed the fact that I made a different one.

Still you might not have.  The men's competition represents the top 700 men in the country irrespective of where they want to play their footy (plenty go home).  The women's competition is the top 700 women in the country.  Most of which are talented enough to earn a crust playing a different sport, and the pool those 700 come from is a much smaller pool, than the equivalent for males.

Thats my point.  The competition is too big.  The afl clubs have ruined the women's version because they all want to show how progressive they are.  

It's chicken and egg lods.

Does the standard get better and that leads to better pay
Or
Does better pay lead to a better standard.

....and which should come first.

The girls are starting to make a bit of noise about pay. Not that they think they deserve more for playing AFLW, but because in order for it to take the next step, the girls need some kind of security. 1 year contracts is the norm, with 2 year contracts the maximum possible and rare by comparison. Those 1 year contracts are basically for 6 months, they other 6 they don't get paid.....BUT....they are still expected to be elite athletes.

The afl dropped the ball when they canned the season mid finals 2 years ago.
You had girls busting their gut all year, play 7 or 8 games and then the afl pulls up stumps and you get nothing out of it. Postpone first, cancel as  last resort.

How can the girls take the next step with their commitment if the afl doesn't give them any?

Give them a proper season, give them an annual wage they can make work financially and the standard will magically improve....and it will grow the game where their salaries are covered, by the revenue aflw makes.

You hear the girls speak and their love for the game is never in doubt. They just want what's fair. The criticism they get and the demands that are asked of them are both completely out of whack with what they get paid.

Give them the money they want need and the rest will take care of itself.....including a truly national draft which evens out the competition like its supposed too.

I tend to agree with LP's comments that the AFLW needs to develop some points of difference that improve the spectacle but keep the basic structure of the game.

Just looking at the AFLW ladder

Carlton have played 6 games thus far.
Our 5 losses have been to 5 teams who are currently in the top 6 on the ladder.....the other team in there we play R10.

The 1 team we have played that is outside the finals is Geelong, and we looked a class above them......and we were never meant to even play them, we were meant to play the 8th placed bulldogs, who have played 1 less game and should be in 7th spot realistically.

To say we've had a hard draw is an understatement.

Sure, our season is still disappointing, but IMO we had the worst draft/trade period out there and it was to be expected.
There has been changes in the off-season to 'weed out' some of our issues and i think it could be detrimental to our development if we sack the coach right now. We'll see some improvement in the girls from here.

I would hazard a guess and say that those within the 4 walls of the organisation will accept none of those as reasons or excuses for poor performance. Few supporters should also, not saying the coach should be sacked but...