AFLW- Round 1 Carlton V Collingwod-Match thread.

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Re: AFLW- Round 1 Carlton V Collingwod-Match thread.

Reply #60 – February 04, 2017, 03:15:17 pm

Quote from: No1inParticular on February 04, 2017, 03:03:31 pm

Don't do that Lods.

It was a funny interview and I could sense you were between a rock and a hard place

So you're back in the good books (until next time)

Steph went really well (don't worry about her not getting a gig) but she looked like she copped a bit of a head injury there towards the end (bit of blood).... hopefully OK for the next game.

Re: AFLW- Round 1 Carlton V Collingwod-Match thread.

Reply #61 – February 04, 2017, 04:30:22 pm

Quote from: kruddler on February 03, 2017, 06:56:05 pm

Been a rollercoaster week for me this week.

Lost a family member who was a lifelong blues member who made the front page of the Herald after we won the '79 GF.

Had my 2nd child today who is already a signed up blues member.

History in the making tonight.

Wish i could've been there, but i think its a fair excuse!

[1] Congratulations, Krudd, to you and your wife for baby #2. Hope you get some sleep.
[2] Commiserations for your loss. It is never easy losing someone close to you.
It sounds like you have been spending almost as much time in hospital as I have lately.

Now the game has been run and won, I hope it brought you some pleasure.

Re: AFLW- Round 1 Carlton V Collingwod-Match thread.

Reply #62 – February 04, 2017, 04:58:13 pm

We have provided a couple of instant (potential) stars who our young girls can identify with, all under the Carlton banner. Grateful that we were first up and backed up with good performance. It's Big Bash footy, opening up the game to a whole new demographic of supporter and participant, young girls.

Merchandising stands were flat chat. Big Bash cricket offends some. So be it. Well done girls! (Loved watching Darcy Vee....she moves like a footballer,)

Re: AFLW- Round 1 Carlton V Collingwod-Match thread.

Reply #63 – February 04, 2017, 04:58:38 pm

Sorry it has taken so long, but I have been pretty busy, one way or another.
Sorry this is an essay.

I managed to get to the game last night. I really enjoyed it.
In some ways it was a worry – I didn’t feel I had as much to lose psychologically, so I was much more relaxed over the whole game. However, that is my problem and I am sure it will change as the years go on.

[1]   The atmosphere:
One of the really interesting things about the crowd last night was that they were, as a rule, a lot more mellow that they would be in a ‘normal’ Carlton vs. Collingwood game. There were many more women (not a bad thing for a women’s game) and not the snaggle toothed normal Collingwood feral. Things like Carlton supporters clapping the first Collingwood goal (it was the first for the competition, after all) and Collingwood supporters doing likewise until they started to get smashed. There wasn’t the abuse, towards players or umpires. I enjoyed that.

[2]   The crowd was huge.
With the alternations to Ikon Park (the admin buildings, etc.) and Malthouse’s decision to shorten the playing surface to the size of Etihad, it was miraculous that I managed to get more or less where I used to sit, on the Southern wing, even though I arrived around 1815. The crowd then was significant. The crowd swelled to close to 25 000, as many people as can be safely held under the present orientation. The gates were officially locked at quarter time, with people outside and unable to get in.
At that point there were a few spare seats; maybe 25 at the far edge of the Legend’s Stand (how much they could see was questionable) and maybe 20 seats in the Gardiner Stand (also with probable poor viewing). The standing room could have been fuller: it was clear that the admin were basing the data on a formula, not just by having every inch full.
Outside the ground were a number of people, most of whom had arrived late. I have heard estimate of 2 000 to 5 000. These estimates were proved moot when a small group of people vandalized one of the roller doors under the Southern Stand, pulling it completely off, allowing several hundred people into the southern side of the ground. These people were not included in the official count. I don’t know what happened to them: they spread out like gas particles around the ground, although it was frankly dangerous for some time under the stand.
People wanted IN!
IF Ikon Park were to hold senior men’s game again, the new admin area would have to go. It does not allow any spectators in the area that held may a third of the crowd in the ground’s heyday.

[3]   The lights:
There were a couple of extra banks of arc lights for the game. If the ground is to hold night game regularly, these extra lights need to be enhanced. The level of lighting was just not good enough, trith be told. Especially after half time.

Re: AFLW- Round 1 Carlton V Collingwod-Match thread.

Reply #64 – February 04, 2017, 05:12:26 pm

Quote from: kruddler on February 03, 2017, 06:56:05 pm

Been a rollercoaster week for me this week.

Lost a family member who was a lifelong blues member who made the front page of the Herald after we won the '79 GF.

Had my 2nd child today who is already a signed up blues member.

History in the making tonight.

Wish i could've been there, but i think its a fair excuse!

Definitely a big week Krud.
Sorry for your loss.
Welcome to baby Krud. Hope the little one gets to sing the victory song over and over in this new Blues era.
Pretty sure your non-attendance is excused.

Re: AFLW- Round 1 Carlton V Collingwod-Match thread.

Reply #65 – February 04, 2017, 05:28:50 pm

[4]   The Skills and fitness levels of the Players:
Brettie noted the skills of the players being less than optimal. That was a true statement, but there are reasons:
(a)   The girls are NOT fully professional and are coming out of competitions that are essentially amateur. As such they not train 6 days a week, nor do they have the specialist coaching to ‘fix’ things like their kicking (remember that nobody can get that 100%: look at Casboult).
As such the girls’ skills were not far off what the VFL had in the 1970’s. They will improve, especially as the game gets more professional.
(b)   The intensity was certainly there. The attack on the ball by both teams was excellent. Nobody shirked an issue all night and every player was willing to put her body in. The collisions were excellent. The only reason why there were not a large number of contact injuries is the relative lack of power inherent in female physiology at this point (hence the lesser speed) and the fact that none of the players was 120 kg of muscle. The momentum was a LOT less.
That was not a bad thing either. It meant that the players did not feel like each contest was going to be their last.
(c)   There was very little ‘backwards’ play. That may sound like an old time football purist getting on his hobby horse, but it is not. There were good reasons why there was so little backwards play and none of them had to do with the girls playing ‘old time football’.
Firstly, and most importantly, none of the girls out on the ground kicked directly across the ground because they did not want to turn the ball over and give away a goal.
Scratch your head, do you? Well you shouldn’t. The girls made good decisions in this regard.
In modern AFL the football one of the main attacking weapons is to change the side of the ground to attack through, using the strategic planning of the coach and the athleticism and tactics of the players to move the ball to where the number of opponents was minimal. This has been going on for some time and requires defenders to have excellent kicking skills (to move the ball fast and low over 50 – 60 m).
The girls knew they could not do this. Very few defenders could kick it far enough or quickly enough to find open players. So the forwards had extra time to move and intercept the ball, leaving much of the opposition forward line open and a beaten opponent lying sprawling on the ground.
Poor tactics and poor strategy.
So the girls didn’t do it. They did not have the raw pace, the height, the marking power or the pace of the ball to make this a viable option.
(d)   The standard late was not the highest, but this was because the players tired and because the intensity of the play did NOT WAVER. The girls were as hard at the ball in the last few minutes as they were in the 1st quarter, That inevitably makes tired players make mistakes.

Overall, I was happy with the skills. I didn’t expect different to what I saw; a highly charged physical game in which neither side gave nor asked for quarter. Only when the pressure is off, or when a team gets on a role, does the skill level look extreme.

[5]   The Players:
With lighting conditions poor, it was difficult after half time to identify players very easily. That will change over time. I will get used to the numbers of the players and recognize who is who like I do with seniors. But it will take a while.

Re: AFLW- Round 1 Carlton V Collingwod-Match thread.

Reply #66 – February 04, 2017, 05:56:54 pm

[6]   Game style, tactics, et al:
I haven’t seen a lot of female footy, but, like the first few games last season, I could see our structures pretty well.
We played a quite AFL senior style of game plan, that required players to be extra fit and strong as a lot of running to support your team mates was required.
(a)   There may have been 16 per side on the ground, but every time we lined up at the centre bounce we had 2 players, one on each wing.
I do not know if that was planned or in response to Collingwood, but that we did. As a result our forward line started very open, with players gut running into the forward line with the ball.
(b)   Unlike the seniors, we appeared to have great confidence in our ruck division. We cycled 3 girls through the ruck and, although we did not often get a clear advantage, the players expected us to win the tap and direct it reasonably well.
Then at least 1 midfielder started off running hard at the centre bounce, often running directly onto the ball or into the player who was going to get it. There were no ball ups when at least one player was not on the move. Arnell probably did that the most and it worked well.
Even if the Collingwood mid got first possession, they ran into a team defence in the middle. The tackle was made, the kick was smothered. The ball did not come easily. As a result Collingwood got only 1 ‘easy’ centre clearance for the whole night.
We didn’t get a huge number of easy clearances, but we did well in the contested area and managed to get the ball further afield.
(c)   The smothering and tackling was superb. It was a real highlight, as no Collingwood player got an easy possession from a contested situation. We chased hard, spoilt hard and really used our bodies well to knock Collingwood players off the ball.

[7]   Tactical match-ups:
We did pull off some excellent tactic moves:
(a)   Stifling Moana Hope: we played Laura Attard on Hope and she did an excellent job. She concentrated magnificently, never giving Hope a free run at the ball.
Backing her up was our team defence, led by Bree Davey and Dani Hardiman, who were excellent at making interceptions and spoils and whose bodies were strong enough to keep the Collingwood forwards off the ball and allow our smaller defenders to get the ball and run out of defence.
(b)   Team defence: as above, our defenders really shot the Collingwood forwards down. Their strength and body work was excellent and they were very rarely outmarked..
(c)   Centre line structures: this worked very well on the night, as the girls backed each other up and continually put pressure on the opposing mids. They couldn’t get any easy ball, making it easier for our defenders to shut down the forwards.

Re: AFLW- Round 1 Carlton V Collingwod-Match thread.

Reply #67 – February 04, 2017, 06:11:42 pm

[8]   Best players:
Brianna Davey:   Looking at Davey last year and she looked like a strong, slowish defender who player mostly one on one football. That is not how she played last night. Her run out of defence was excellent, she left her opponent in the dust. She and the rest of the defenders formed an excellent team defence which stifled the Collingwood forward and allowed our defenders to run the ball out of defence. We often had an ‘extra’ and it was either Davey or Hardiman and they often took the mark or created opportunities for our smalls.
Davey had it 26 times in 60 minutes. That tells you a lot about her work rate and the style of game we played.

Darcy Vescio:   Our other marquee player did on the forward line what Davey and co did in defence. She was always dangerous and got the ball off well. Her kicking needs some work, especially under pressure, but she was excellent in knocking the ball to advantage, engaging her opponent (usually out bodying her) and making something out of not much. She did try to take mark of the night, but as the game went on her confidence in her own marking grew and she held some match winning marks.
4 goals from 6 shots and never out of the play when the ball got over the centre line.

Bianca Jakobsson:   In many ways I see a LOT of improvement left in Bianca. There were time when she fumbled and time when she should have gone for the mark but let it bounce. Her kicking was not always perfect. However, the longer the game went the better she played and the more confidence she got. She won some excellent one on one contests and moved the ball on well.

Danielle Hardiman:   Like Davey, she really led things in defence and took some clutch marks under heaps of pressure. She read the game well.

Re: AFLW- Round 1 Carlton V Collingwod-Match thread.

Reply #68 – February 04, 2017, 06:23:36 pm

Thought we looked 10 times fitter than the Pies' girls. Our run across the park was excellent.

Re: AFLW- Round 1 Carlton V Collingwod-Match thread.

Reply #69 – February 04, 2017, 08:20:49 pm

Great review Crash - thanks for the effort.

Just on the skills I think the thing that the detractors also need to remember is that this the very first time they have actually played together, many of the players have played very little football [eg Davey], and they don't train anywhere near as much as the guys. They are coming from a long way back, but I think it will improve quickly as they train more and play more.

It was also apparent that there was a very big gap between the top and bottom 6 in terms of skills. I reckon this gap will close up within a year or two and the overall effect will be significant on how the game is played. More talented athletes will also be attracted to the sport for sure based on the early popularity and commercial opportunity. The better players will also improve significantly with more games and experience.

The timing of the comp is also really interesting. Playing games through February / March might just be a master stroke as there are a lot of footy starved supporters out there desperate for a footy fix. By not going head to head with the men, and playing at family friendly times and venues could provide a real point of difference for the league. It's also much easier to get media interest as there is not much else to talk about. This strategy has worked a treat for the BBL.

One thing you can't question is their intensity and attack on the footy.

Re: AFLW- Round 1 Carlton V Collingwod-Match thread.

Reply #70 – February 04, 2017, 08:36:32 pm

Quote from: sydneybluesfan on February 04, 2017, 08:20:49 pm

Great review Crash - thanks for the effort.

Just on the skills I think the thing that the detractors also need to remember is that this the very first time they have actually played together, many of the players have played very little football [eg Davey], and they don't train anywhere near as much as the guys. They are coming from a long way back, but I think it will improve quickly as they train more and play more.

It was also apparent that there was a very big gap between the top and bottom 6 in terms of skills. I reckon this gap will close up within a year or two and the overall effect will be significant on how the game is played. More talented athletes will also be attracted to the sport for sure based on the early popularity and commercial opportunity. The better players will also improve significantly with more games and experience.

The timing of the comp is also really interesting. Playing games through February / March might just be a master stroke as there are a lot of footy starved supporters out there desperate for a footy fix. By not going head to head with the men, and playing at family friendly times and venues could provide a real point of difference for the league. It's also much easier to get media interest as there is not much else to talk about. This strategy has worked a treat for the BBL.

One thing you can't question is their intensity and attack on the footy.

No worries.
And you are 100% correct: you cannot question the intensity of the players nor their attack on the ball and the player with the ball.

Re: AFLW- Round 1 Carlton V Collingwod-Match thread.

Reply #71 – February 04, 2017, 08:44:34 pm

Sorry, I had to cook dinner. I didn't quite finish the best players.

Nat Exon and Laura Attard deserve more than a mention for doing their jobs. They didn't get the possessions of the some of the other girls, but their concentration and body work was a real winner. I don't know which one had the most spoils or smothers, but....

Lauren Arnell was a great trouper in the middle of the ground. She tried to hit the ball at pace at every centre bounce and always attacked the ball at pace.

Had I been giving votes, I would have mentioned a few others as well, including the rucks.

Re: AFLW- Round 1 Carlton V Collingwod-Match thread.

Reply #72 – February 04, 2017, 08:53:58 pm

@Crash
Fantastic review.
Thankyou.

Re: AFLW- Round 1 Carlton V Collingwod-Match thread.

Reply #73 – February 04, 2017, 11:22:14 pm

Interesting comparison with the soccer. The Carlton/Collingwood crowd doubled the attendance at the Brisbane Roar match on Friday night and matched the Victory/City crowd tonight.

The W-League Perth/Sydney semi-final crowd wouldn't have been lucky to top a thousand.

The comparison might be a bit unfair. Admission is free for the AFL-W and the first match had event status. But I doubt the FFA was amused.

Re: AFLW- Round 1 Carlton V Collingwod-Match thread.

Reply #74 – February 05, 2017, 12:19:22 am

Apparently TV viewing numbers were a blow out too. Over 1million nationally.
In Melbourne, it attracted 100 000 more than next most watched show. That was the news.

We've finally hit the headlines, and it's all good news for Blues.
Totally sensational in so many ways for our club.

PP looks to have more games too. Hopefully the club gets to make a dollar or two. Hey if this continues we might even dare to think about offloading some of our debt.