Game is at 19:15 at Ikon for those who want to attend what is supposedly the 1000th game at our home ground.
We are not likely to win: Brisbane are one of the favourites for the Premiership.
Our line-up:
B: [27] Gen Lawson-Tavan [21] Harriet Cordner
HB: [6] Gab Pound [49] Madeline Hendrie [10] Mimi Hill
C: [36] Ciara Fitzgerald [23] Lila Keck [4] Keeley Skepper
HF: [25] Keeley Sherar [2] Jessica Dal Pos [26] Tarni Brown
F: [17] Dayna Finn [22] Mia Austin
R: [16] Breann Moody [18] Madeleine Guerin [20] Lily Goss
Int: [3] Darcy Vescio [15] Meg Robertson [14] Marianna Anthony [12] Jessica Good [11] Yasmin Duursma
Em: [8] Celine Moody [29] Jade Halfpenny [13] Lulu Beatty
Not surprised that Celine Moody is out, but our forward line is lacking. Darcy Vescio can't buy a goal and Mia Austin doesn't really know what she's doing yet.
Hopefully we can do a bit better than we did last week.
Gurkha did good on the first quarter to hold the main to a goal.
Flood gates looking like opening in the second.
Vescio playing game number 75.
Iron Park hosting game number 1000.
55 point loss against reigning premiers and looking like a top 3 team again.
Really struggled to get the ball forward with any kind of accuracy. Should've kicked a few more but poor kicking let us down.
Certainly didn't miss Celine out there and while her replacement Keck didnt do a whole lot, the resulting pressure was up.
Those f50 entry’s were atrocious, particularly in the 2nd !
If they can learn to possess the ball instead of turning it over they’ll amaze themselves at how competitive they will be… their endevour is fine.
I agree. The effort is there but the execution isn't. Struggled to clear the ball and if we did, the Lions were all over it.
It's a very young side and there are some good signs. For now though, development of this group is paramount.
Of our 5 losses so far, 4 have been against the teams who are currently 1-4 on the ladder - and these teams look light years ahead of the rest of the competition. It's fair to say our 10-game draw for this season has been ridiculously hard for a side that was predicted to finish in the lower half.
In traffic I was impressed by their ability to get the ball out but the targeting of the kick forward and equally, the “marking” efforts from the forwards were abysmal and don’t start me on the goal kicking… 🤦🏼♂️
There is effort and I think I can see some sort of plan/system but it’s hard when you continually shoot yourself in the foot.
It's a club wide epidemic!
Let me start my saying I have nothing against the AFL for Woman. Blame the AFL for the state of clubs like ours and the general state of the game:
1. Not enough money poured into woman's footy by the AFL themselves. The AFL should pour an equal amount of significant dollars into each club.
2. The result is a Mickey Mouse or token comp and the AFL is to 100% blame which to me at least is hard to watch.
3. RE point 1, Invest a bucket load of money into coaches and paying players properly so they can turn pro. No salary cap in the initial phase.
4. Once they turn pro, they will be able to work FULL TIME on fitness, conditioning and skills. All three are abysmal across the comp and if a male athlete presented like this day one of PS, they would be sent to the fat farm ala Lance Whitnell and more recently Mitch McGovern.
5. Play proper seasons as curtain raisers to the mens games. Not saying 23 games necessarily, but more games in parallel to the mens season. Leverage off the big game crowds to show case the game. Maybe even woman's games after the mens game (??).
6. As these upskilled, professional AFL players begin to retire, they become coaches to teach the next generation of young girls, rinse repeat until you have a fully fledge professional competition.
Build it and they will come.
Don’t lose sight of the fact that women have different bodyfat composition/distribution than men, particularly in a contact sport situation.
I just think we expect too much...
And I don't think the AFL have helped the situation by raising the profile and expectations of the game.
The development of a competition takes years.
The history of the Carlton men's club has little or no relevance to the Carlton Women's club other than they wear the same uniform.
The men's competition took over a hundred years to develop -the expansion, skills and professionalism we have today and the AFL have tried to cram it into less than ten years with the expectation that supporters will automatically embrace it because of club loyalties.
There's a strong feeling the talent pool is too thin in the AFL.
How can it possibly be sufficient in a women's competition, spread over the same number of teams.
As GIC mentions without the same semblance of full time professionalism it never will be sufficient.
I have no feeling of strong allegiance to the Women's side...that has to come from the development of a 'history'.
We often talk about the artificial creations of clubs like GWS and Gold Coast, seeming to be soulless entities.
These clubs have been revolving doors for player movements.
It's the same with many sides in the AFLW, particularly Carlton's.
If these clubs survive it will eventually come after years of stuggle as well as the occasional triumph.
Support will grow as the tradition and history grows.
I fear what might have happened in the early years is the initial enthusiasm for the concept has dissipated for many, as fans see their favourites moving into other jumpers.
Lower the expectations, consolidate what is there, and gradually increase the professional aspects...then the game will grow some history.
I think the whole club could benefit if the off-season is as much about improving skills as it is about building tanks.
Both the mens' and womens' teams have a significant disposal deficiency compared to the top-flight teams in the respective competitions.
You don't have to run around as much if your handballs and kicks hit the spot......
It might not look it, but the AFLW competition as a whole has improved its skills.
When you add the fact that there the amount of girls in the AFLW system is over double what it was when it came in, it shows that the talent base is spread far and wide.
Unfortunately, there is still a fair way to go.
Vescio was a 'freak' early on with what they could do.
Now....Darcy is doing something akin to Fantasia. Shows glimpses of past talent, but largely irrelevent.
Part of that is age, but a large part of it is everyone else is getting better.
Gender aside, you can tell a 'footballer' from how they move and how they kick.
No disrespect, but early on there was a bunch of girls playing footy.
Now, there are a bunch of female footballers.
Its a subtle difference.