AFLW 2017 - Rnd 1 - W.Bulldogs v Frem, WO, 7.45 (Fox, 7 national (ex.Adl),afl.com.au, app, watchafl)

[HG Pennypacker]

I'm not sure what you expected from 2 semi-pro girls per team and the rest being amateur club level players.

Would you have preferred it not to have been given media exposure until the skills got better? Considering the tv and crowd numbers and the overwhelmingly positive response I suspect your expectation of the skills and the reality were just too far apart.

I am glad the interest level is high and perhaps my expectations were a little unrealistic. All i am saying, along with some others, is that the skill level was poor, that's it. As you say there are mitigating factors for this, but forget expectations, forget the makeup of the team and the relative experience levels and all i am saying is that viewing the skills in isolation, they were poor.

The novelty factor is still strong so interest is elevated. But if you want to retain fans, the product (as much as i hate that word) has to be really good and on first viewing it really wasn't great. No amount of sob stories or tales of how hard they work or how they are all part time players will make a difference of basic skills can't be executed. 3 teams managed a solitary goal! Anyway, hopefully it improves and the season goes really well.

 

[Bazzar]

Similar scorelines.

AFL should reduce the competition to 4 teams for the first 3 years

 

[Sellyme]

AFL should reduce the competition to 4 teams for the first 3 years

In fairness, Fremantle weren't nearly as bad as the scoreline would suggest. They thoroughly outplayed the Bulldogs in the second quarter and seemed to just fall off for the second half, likely due to having never had to play a game after a cross-continent flight before. You'd also have a hard case against GWS having a team considering that the men's team was getting thrashed far worse than that when it started in the top flight, and similarly, Brisbane W can't possibly do worse than Brisbane did in the AFL last year.

I do wish that there was more focus in getting already established players signed up rather than trying to port over other sportspersons but either way having the larger presence is extremely important. A 4 team competition would arguably be a step down from 2016.

 

[Bazzar]

In fairness, Fremantle weren't nearly as bad as the scoreline would suggest. They thoroughly outplayed the Bulldogs in the second quarter and seemed to just fall off for the second half, likely due to having never had to play a game after a cross-continent flight before. You'd also have a hard case against GWS having a team considering that the men's team was getting thrashed far worse than that when it started in the top flight, and similarly, Brisbane W can't possibly do worse than Brisbane did in the AFL last year.

I do wish that there was more focus in getting already established players signed up rather than trying to port over other sportspersons but either way having the larger presence is extremely important. A 4 team competition would arguably be a step down from 2016.

Doesn't change the fact the standard has been full on second rate. I know we're supposed to give them some leeway cause it's new, but fact is its a very, very ordinary standard when you compare it to the quality of the womens soccer, cricket and netball.
Media need to back off and give it 4 or 5 years to develop

 

[Teen Wolf]

I'm not too down on any of the losing teams yet, the talent pool actually seems pretty well spread to me. A couple of supremely smooth moving Freo players caught my eye (though I'm not confident I caught their names), they just ran out of gas in the 2nd half. Even the Giants today, without their marquee signings, earned themselves more chances than the final margin insists.

But at the moment, these matches are almost like driving a truckload of nitroglycerin down a really bumpy road without any particular caution. I wouldn't necessarily be surprised to see higher (more even) scores tomorrow or next week--a late come-from-behind victory would be the greater departure. So much for these footballers to do, so much for us to see, perfection is the enemy of profitability.

 

[Sellyme]

Doesn't change the fact the standard has been full on second rate. I know we're supposed to give them some leeway cause it's new, but fact is its a very, very ordinary standard when you compare it to the quality of the womens soccer, cricket and netball.
Media need to back off and give it 4 or 5 years to develop

Women's soccer, cricket, and netball aren't even getting half of the attendance that the AFLW is right now because they didn't get that media coverage. I get your point that it's a bit unusual to see team that - let's face it - aren't very good getting such a huge coverage, but it's the only realistic way to actually generate enough serious interest in the sport that people who have a legitimate talent for footy are likely to pursue it as a career path. Cricket has followed down over the same route over the last two years with the women's BBL and look at how far that has accelerated its growth - meanwhile netball and soccer have stagnated to the point where the ANZ Championship was disbanded and the W-League is getting crowds of sub-1k and even sometimes as low as 200-300 on a weekly basis, because they just get no mainstream coverage, meaning that no-one thinks it's a viable option, meaning that it's not good enough to get the coverage.

A season or two of Early Installment Weirdness is far better than just pretending that the competition doesn't exist for a few years and then wondering why no-one's clamouring to join it.

 

[The_Wookie]

Media need to back off and give it 4 or 5 years to develop

because thats worked wonders for the Wleague and netball. Dont be daft. The AFL has done well to capitalise on its media assets here, and general grassroots support for the concept is doing the rest.

Its not about the standard today - today is about showing girls theres something at the top of the game for them to aspire to and give them women as role models to follow. yes the hype is going to drop - maybe - but the AFL didnt do this league for the sole purpose of today, its is a generational thing. Its so the little girls of today know that theres something to go to tomorrow - and there were more than a few little girls at the footy over the weekend.

Auskick and junior girls footy is going to skyrocket this year, and thats more important to the league than you being offended by the standard of the first weekend of the first AFL womens competition ever, just two months after they were drafted - some having barely touched a footy in 20 years - and started training as a group. Seriously a single practice match and straight into a season - if they were men, they'd have had half a preason and we'd all be using it as an excuse for how rubbish they were playing and how unfit they were.

 

[ManOfClay]

Travel will be a factor in this league. Bulldogs spend the first 6 weeks at home.

Didn't take long for the WA chip on the shoulder to adjust to women's footy

 

[roscreasl98]

Doesn't change the fact the standard has been full on second rate. I know we're supposed to give them some leeway cause it's new, but fact is its a very, very ordinary standard when you compare it to the quality of the womens soccer, cricket and netball.
Media need to back off and give it 4 or 5 years to develop

I don't agree. Every sport has to start somewhere. Yes it's not men's footy standard, but their not men.
I enjoy the contest, and enjoy listening to people who aren't robots give interviews. The girls are great.

I think the low scores reflect the kicking skills though. Apart from Brennan/Carney last night none can kick over about 30 metres, so there's not much penetration and breaking the lines with long kicks. But, apart from that, I like it.

 

[boydee]

Why?

Why?

No one is forcing you watch the games mate. Naturally the standard will improve with the exposure and with thousands of more girls playing. Young people need dreams and girls now have the chance with cricket and football to

Dogs got the first 6 free kicks last night, with their golden armchair ride with the umpires (just like the men) lock them in for the flag.

Ha ha. Just like the mens team, the Dogs girls are desperate, support each other better than the other side and get to the contest first. Lets blame the umpire for that. Hilarious.

 

[Eaglemaniac]

The thing that interests me as I'm not really sure why it's the case, but in all the games I've seen so far, the girls really struggle to pick the ball up of the ground, even at slow pace or in a pack. On the flip side there were some great kicks in the Bulldogs Freo game. I think it was Kearney who hit a target with a 40 metre field kick which was a thing of beauty, and Hutchens (I think that's how it's spelt) had some great clearing kicks from the backline for Collingwood on Friday.

 

[Eaglemaniac]

Didn't take long for the WA chip on the shoulder to adjust to women's footy

Says the club that doesn't leave home for the first 6 games. Funny how it's only a home advantage when interstate teams travel to subi..

 

[Kram]

The thing that interests me as I'm not really sure why it's the case, but in all the games I've seen so far, the girls really struggle to pick the ball up of the ground, even at slow pace or in a pack. On the flip side there were some great kicks in the Bulldogs Freo game. I think it was Kearney who hit a target with a 40 metre field kick which was a thing of beauty, and Hutchens (I think that's how it's spelt) had some great clearing kicks from the backline for Collingwood on Friday.

The other skill they are shocking at is bouncing the ball. Fair enough a lot of people new to the game might find it hard to master but perhaps then until you do the maybe not try using it in a game??

 

[Bradesmaen]

Didn't take long for the WA chip on the shoulder to adjust to women's footy

I'm from South Australia thanks.

 

[Sellyme]

I'm from South Australia thanks.

So's Pav.

But on that note, anyone know how long before the match the Freo girls actually arrived in Melbourne? It did look like the travel had a huge effect on them and I'm not sure whether that's attributable to having no experience with it, having to fly in on the day to save on accommodation, or both.

 

[Testekill]

The thing that interests me as I'm not really sure why it's the case, but in all the games I've seen so far, the girls really struggle to pick the ball up of the ground, even at slow pace or in a pack. On the flip side there were some great kicks in the Bulldogs Freo game. I think it was Kearney who hit a target with a 40 metre field kick which was a thing of beauty, and Hutchens (I think that's how it's spelt) had some great clearing kicks from the backline for Collingwood on Friday.

They're probably used to using a normal sized ball

 

[Sellyme]

They're probably used to using a normal sized ball

To elaborate on this, a "normal" sized ball is a size 5, that's what's used in the Men's competition and most other major leagues. There's also a size 4.5 that is used as the standard in most pre-existing women's competitions.

For reasons completely beyond the understanding of... well, basically anyone, the AFL decided "no, women need to use the size 4 ball designed for four-year-olds instead of the one they already play with".

This isn't even an exaggeration, here's an official sizing guide from Sherrin's website:

The AFL decided the recommended age group of "4 to 15 years" was better than the one that says "Womens" next to it and has already been used in the past. They really should fix that.

 

[The_Wookie]

 

[SportsCentre]

Auskick and junior girls footy is going to skyrocket this year, and thats more important to the league than you being offended by the standard of the first weekend of the first AFL womens competition ever, just two months after they were drafted - some having barely touched a footy in 20 years - and started training as a group. Seriously a single practice match and straight into a season - if they were men, they'd have had half a preason and we'd all be using it as an excuse for how rubbish they were playing and how unfit they were.

If it were the men, their players association would be whinging and refusing to play. I think this is one thing I am finding refreshing, there's no bullshit politics or pre-meditated tactics grinding the games down thus far. It's a national competition with a suburban footy feel.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

Change the channel then pal if you dont like it. Get out to some schools, watch girls play football, watch some womens games, coach the girls playing football, encourage them and you will see how wrong you are and you little you know. Then comment about the standard. You know nothing.

The standard is ordinary. Fact.

Add all the caveats as to why that is the case that you like, but the standard right here, right now, is that of a rural football league.

 

[boydee]

The standard is ordinary. Fact.

Add all the caveats as to why that is the case that you like, but the standard right here, right now, is that of a rural football league.

Yer right mate.

 

[The_Wookie]

 

[Hoooops]

Ratings Breakdown
- Women's AFL: Saturday Night Football (Channel 7) was the 11th most-watched FTA program of the day in the five main cities, despite only showing in one. 268000 people watched in Melbourne.
- Women's AFL: Saturday Night Football (Channel 7) was the 2nd most-watched FTA program of the day in Melbourne.
- Women's AFL: Saturday Night Football reached a peak audience of 498000 people across four metro cities on Channel 7 and multichannel 7mate.
- Coverage of the game on Fox Footy reached a peak audience of 190000 viewers.

Found it interesting that the article on the AFL website talks only about peak and "combined" audiences...

 

[jatz14]

The thing that interests me as I'm not really sure why it's the case, but in all the games I've seen so far, the girls really struggle to pick the ball up of the ground, even at slow pace or in a pack. On the flip side there were some great kicks in the Bulldogs Freo game. I think it was Kearney who hit a target with a 40 metre field kick which was a thing of beauty, and Hutchens (I think that's how it's spelt) had some great clearing kicks from the backline for Collingwood on Friday.

I think picking the ball up cleanly at pace is one of the more difficult skills for people to pick up, and one of the skills that really suffers if your development is interrupted.

I have seen some footage of footy overseas and it's noticeable that they have to run to the footy then basically stop to be able to pick it up.

Its the skill that will improve most when the youth girls start coming through in numbers.

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[jatz14]

The standard is ordinary. Fact.

Add all the caveats as to why that is the case that you like, but the standard right here, right now, is that of a rural football league.

So? Where you going with this? I watched because I wanted to watch. I will watch again because I enjoyed it.
Skills need to improve, but pressure and intensity are top notch.

People constantly going but but but but but but but SKILLS, are starting to really piss me off. Can judge the skills myself thanks, do not need your advice.

Suggest everyone else watching can judge them as well.

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