Re: AFLW 2025 Season
Reply #7 –
There has been a lot of discussion by the “experts” about the current crop of AFLW players having played junior footy and moving on to senior footy without a break. As a result, they are said to be more skilful and more natural footballers than those who played in the first few seasons of AFLW.
While there’s some truth to that, I still think that Erin Phillips is the best all round AFLW player by some margin. And then there’s the Irish girls who, unlike Australian cross-coders, have had absolutely no exposure to Aussie Rules before their first training session.
Dayna Finn and Erone Fitzpatrick are two of the best and most skilful players on our list. If it wasn’t for the occasional Gaelic Football touch, it would be easy to believe that they’d grown up playing Aussie Rules.
So, while an uninterrupted footy journey clearly contributes to good skills and footy nous, an athletic girl with stamina, strength, good hand/foot-eye coordination and an aptitude for team sports can be equally adept at the game.
You are trying to use a few outliers to throw shade on the majority view.
Its clear to every man and his dog, women too, that the AFLW standard is the best its ever been and by some margin.
Go back and watch some old games and compare to what is presented now.
Your average quality game today is the equivalent of the early (Dees vs Dogs) all star games.
Yes there are a few great players today who didn't play previously, and there were a few great players before who didn't play previously. Erin Phillips is an outlier and was already an elite athlete who grew up with footy in her blood courtesy of her old man, which is a unique case - an outlier.
I've used this in relation to Darcy Vescio, which proved evident again this week that the field has very much caught up to what was considered elite early on.
I'm really not sure what you're on about.
Yes, the footy skills across the AFLW are better than they were in the first couple of years of the competition. Being ably to play footy and not having to switch codes is a factor in that improvement, as is the greater professionalism of the competition, more training and better coaches. However, no-one has yet come close to Erin Phillips' all round mastery of the game or Darcy Vescio's elite ability to kick with either foot, and her torpedo goal last night was a timely reminder of just how good her foot skills are.
Then there's inaugural players Jasmine Garner, who is probably closest to challenging Phillips' best ever tag, former basketballer Anne Hatchard, and soccer convert, Shannon Campbell, all of whom bring up their 100th AFLW games this round and, while they may not all be classed as elite, are certainly better than most.
The point I was making is that Irish girls with absolutely no exposure to the game can master the skills in one season and many can reach elite level after a couple of seasons. Provided they have good athleticism, stamina, visual perception, spatial awareness, balance and dedication, good training and skills development can bring them up to, and in some cases, beyond the footy skills of girls who have played the game continuously. The same is true for Irish players in the AFL, many of whom can kick the ball better than teammates who have gone from junior footy through elite pathways to AFL.
It's not because they're Irish. It's because their potential was recognised and nurtured properly ... and bad habits not allowed to develop. The same is true for the cross-coders who continue to be recruited by AFLW clubs.
Phillips, Vescio, Garner, Hatchard, Campbell, the Irish girls, and countless cross-coders aren't "outliers". They are simply examples of how individuals with the right attributes can become very good to elite footballers despite not having a footy pathway.
Topic: AFLW 2025 Season (Read 10156 times)
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