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Topic: AFLW 2024 Rd 8: Carlton vs Western Bulldogs @ Ikon. (Read 1862 times) previous topic - next topic
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Re: AFLW 2024 Rd 8: Carlton vs Western Bulldogs @ Ikon.

Reply #15
I think the standard of the average VFL game is subpar, and I'm not sure I would play money to watch them play.

The girls and the AFLW are experiencing growing pains IMO, nothing more and nothing less.
I see it as a consequence of a number of things.

Firstly, this stupidity of the pay issues, it's basically bankrupted the competition, they are being overpaid for what they bring in, the AFL might see this as a loss leader, but it's clearly affected funding.

The AFL has limited the AFLW resources and exposure, it's a bit silly like shooting yourself in the foot, as above is also.

NRLW did it much better, playing the girls as curtain raisers in the season proper. There was none of this bullcrap about the grounds being overused or not having enough staff to cover all the games. FFS, AFL is already spread across so many days we barely have one game a day per venue per state, are the AFL genuinely claiming one extra game a day can't share the available resource? I'd assert it's completely bogus.

In effect, we've ended up with a Mickey Mouse competition, games being delivered at a fraction of the skill and professionalism they should be, promoted, reported, broadcast and analysed to a substandard level.

Keep in mind, this my my perspective off the back of being an AFLW booster!

Finally, another thing I'll repeat having stated once before, it was a huge mistake allowing the AFLW to construct itself as a imitation of the men's competition, it should never have been that way but it came about off the back of a noisy minority. A handful of activists who want to play "real footy" with a dream fantasy of one day playing alongside the men!
"Ruck, ruck, ruck, ruck ....... Ruck, ruck, ruck, ruck"

Re: AFLW 2024 Rd 8: Carlton vs Western Bulldogs @ Ikon.

Reply #16
Feeble effort last night, really poor.
DrE is no more... you ok with that harmonica man?

Re: AFLW 2024 Rd 8: Carlton vs Western Bulldogs @ Ikon.

Reply #17
I don't really follow the AFLW, but my observations/understandings are:
 - AFLW is scheduled when it is, as there aren't enough players to support both AFLW and VFLW
 - When the players are fresh (ie sufficient breaks between games), the standard is improving
 - At a local junior level, the standard is definitely improving
 - The schedule of their season is ridiculous and I struggle to see how it caters for anyone: Mid week games during school term with short breaks between the games - who wants to go to 3 games in 15 days?
 - The short breaks surely mean that the players are still fatigued and that has a compounding effect, which lowers the skill level
 - Is this schedule impacting the number of injuries - they seem to get a lot
 - Players need to be paid an amount to give them incentive to play - up to AFLW to sort out how this works.
 - Now that footy grounds are needed for cricket, this means that they need to play on 'more obscure' grounds - does a WB fan want to go to Casey Fields on a windy Tuesday night?

This is more the AFL/AFLWs doing.