AFLW AFLW 2023 - Geelong & the greater league

[cats_09]

 

[Cursed Cat]

Disappointing that we weren't able to reign North in after we'd made such a bright start, but on the other hand it was good to get a realistic idea of where we sit. There's still plenty of work to do.

Best players:

Meg McDonald - great leadership and judgement, the tide against us grew stronger as the game wore on but she was resolute.
Georgie Prespakis - 26 disposals, gathered the ball brilliantly in traffic at times and kicked long and direct.
Nina Morrison - tired as the game progressed but worked hard and put her body on the line time and again.
Mikayla Bowen - 2 first quarter goals and ran strongly, working up and down the ground to create an option. Her best game for 2023.
Claudia Gunjaca - positioned herself really well, intercepted and provided rebound from D50.

 

[terry_bright]

Not sure we can go with Darby, Fuller & Hoare as talls in the same team

Darby isn't offering enough as a forward target, so she also needs to be helping in the ruck which she really hasn't been doing a lot of. So if she's not going to be a supporting in the ruck, I'd be looking to bring in another midfielder or running option

Need to get more out of ruck support option, whomever that it

I’d drop Hoare who has been disappointing in the first few rounds. I don’t know if she has taken a mark yet this season and doesn’t look close to taking one (particularly contested).
I would like to see Fuller in the ruck and Darby as backup which we rolled with last year. Darby had her best season last year playing that role.
Missing Scott up forward and Webster in the guts atm.

 

[AnUltimateRessie]

I’d drop Hoare who has been disappointing in the first few rounds. I don’t know if she has taken a mark yet this season and doesn’t look close to taking one (particularly contested).
I would like to see Fuller in the ruck and Darby as backup which we rolled with last year. Darby had her best season last year playing that role.
Missing Scott up forward and Webster in the guts atm.

Hoare is no good but neither is Fuller.

Geelong and ruck problems, what a surprise.

 

[terry_bright]

Disappointing that we weren't able to reign North in after we'd made such a bright start, but on the other hand it was good to get a realistic idea of where we sit. There's still plenty of work to do.

Best players:

Meg McDonald - great leadership and judgement, the tide against us grew stronger as the game wore on but she was resolute.
Georgie Prespakis - 26 disposals, gathered the ball brilliantly in traffic at times and kicked long and direct.
Nina Morrison - tired as the game progressed but worked hard and put her body on the line time and again.
Mikayla Bowen - 2 first quarter goals and ran strongly, working up and down the ground to create an option. Her best game for 2023.
Claudia Gunjaca - positioned herself really well, intercepted and provided rebound from D50.

Agree with all of that.
I thought Emonson was great coming off half back as well.

On the flip side I thought Scheer and Amy Mac had their worst games for quite sometime.

 

[Chinacats]

Was 20-3 cats way when I walked into the boozer for the baggers v Dees game. I must have jinxed it lads! Sorry about that!

 

[cats_09]

Umm ok

 

[Cursed Cat]

Agree with all of that.
I thought Emonson was great coming off half back as well.

On the flip side I thought Scheer and Amy Mac had their worst games for quite sometime.

Yes Emonson was pretty good too, hit contests with speed, nailed most of her kicks as usual.

Scheer blanketed, and you're right, AMac wasn't her usual self.

I think you're also right in regards to our ruck situation btw; Hoare is off the pace and Fuller is ok around the ground but poor in the ruck contests - we need a big lift from either or preferably both.

 

[winty]

 

[winty]

Fair effort by Laura!

 

[goyoucatters]

I think you're also right in regards to our ruck situation btw; Hoare is off the pace and Fuller is ok around the ground but poor in the ruck contests - we need a big lift from either or preferably both.

Looks like neither of them will be the answer for us in the ruck at this point. For a team that's pushing up the ladder, we seem to have just about the weakest ruck division going around. Seriously doesn't help when so much of the best football being played by teams in the AFLW is based around midfield dominance.

 

[Cursed Cat]

Looks like neither of them will be the answer for us in the ruck at this point. For a team that's pushing up the ladder, we seem to have just about the weakest ruck division going around. Seriously doesn't help when so much of the best football being played by teams in the AFLW is based around midfield dominance.

Well we've got Hoare and Fuller for the rest of the season so we're going to have to make do goyoucatters - it's a tricky one because Hoare is tall enough to be competitive in the ruck duels but as terry_bright pointed out, she's yet to take a mark for 2023. Personally I think Fuller is quite decent around the ground; she's reasonably good at linking up with the other mids - but her ruckwork is pretty poor imo; she's a fraction undersized for the role.

terry_bright floated the possibility of pairing one of them (he nominated Fuller) with Darby providing the relief. Could work to a degree.

Hopefully one or both will find some form and improvement. But like you guys I suspect their collective ceiling is pretty low.

In which case, just have to try to mitigate the structural weakness as best as possible.

 

[winty]

Anyone know what Crockett-Grills did?

 

[cats_09]

Anyone know what Crockett-Grills did?

Her tackle in the third quarter - seemed to initially be called ok and then a diff umpire called it for rough conduct

There's footage in this article

MATCH REVIEW: FOUR players cop bans for rough conduct

The Match Review is in for round three of the AFLW season

www.afl.com.au

 

[cats_09]

 

[cats_09]

How good would it be to have Charlotte on our list this season - not one but two awards

I know it's "only" the VFLW, but how many players win the Rising Star and League B&F in the same season

 

[goyoucatters]

Well we've got Hoare and Fuller for the rest of the season so we're going to have to make do goyoucatters - it's a tricky one because Hoare is tall enough to be competitive in the ruck duels but as terry_bright pointed out, she's yet to take a mark for 2023. Personally I think Fuller is quite decent around the ground; she's reasonably good at linking up with the other mids - but her ruckwork is pretty poor imo; she's a fraction undersized for the role.

terry_bright floated the possibility of pairing one of them (he nominated Fuller) with Darby providing the relief. Could work to a degree.

Hopefully one or both will find some form and improvement. But like you guys I suspect their collective ceiling is pretty low.

In which case, just have to try to mitigate the structural weakness as best as possible.

Well said. Probably sounds fatalistic, but I just figure this will be a huge limiting factor on our prospects this time around. We're getting very little from any of the three players you mention here. I see Fuller as clearly the best of a very mediocre trio. And North massively exposed the concern that this will cause us against the best opposition over the course of this season.

 

[Cursed Cat]

Well said. Probably sounds fatalistic, but I just figure this will be a huge limiting factor on our prospects this time around. We're getting very little from any of the three players you mention here. I see Fuller as clearly the best of a very mediocre trio. And North massively exposed the concern that this will cause us against the best opposition over the course of this season.

You're probably right unfortunately. We'll see.

We've improved from a pretty abject team to a team that is competitive from week-to-week.

We're drawn to play Port over in Adelaide this week; hard to get a form line on them but it will be a good challenge for this group to travel and try to get it done interstate.

After that we're facing Melbourne for the 1st time and we'll get the proverbial audit of where we sit.

We're stuck with the rucks we have; only really have the Darby lever to pull at this point (worth a shot).

But we've got some good players to come back in, which is a good sign; AFLW lists are small, but we have relative depth.
Bec Webster and wily veteran Shelley Scott are best 22.
But the one we really miss is Annabel Johnson, she has only just begun to tap her obvious talent and she gives us plenty of defensive bite when she's fit. I wonder when she is due back, I have a bad feeling she had a serious foot injury? I think I've blocked it out.

 

[Wellsy35]

But we've got some good players to come back in, which is a good sign; AFLW lists are small, but we have relative depth.
Bec Webster and wily veteran Shelley Scott are best 22.
But the one we really miss is Annabel Johnson, she has only just begun to tap her obvious talent and she gives us plenty of defensive bite when she's fit. I wonder when she is due back, I have a bad feeling she had a serious foot injury? I think I've blocked it out.

It's a week out of date, but injury list looks like this:

 

[Cursed Cat]

It's a week out of date, but injury list looks like this:

View attachment 1807481

Oh cheers Wellsy35 - knee, not foot I now see ... poor Annabel will miss the bulk of the season by the look of it. Shame about Anna-Rose Kennedy too, would have been good to get a look at her. Featherston has had a tough run too; couldn't break into the team last year and now having injury issues ...

 

[goyoucatters]

You're probably right unfortunately. We'll see.

We've improved from a pretty abject team to a team that is competitive from week-to-week.

We're drawn to play Port over in Adelaide this week; hard to get a form line on them but it will be a good challenge for this group to travel and try to get it done interstate.

After that we're facing Melbourne for the 1st time and we'll get the proverbial audit of where we sit.

We're stuck with the rucks we have; only really have the Darby lever to pull at this point (worth a shot).

But we've got some good players to come back in, which is a good sign; AFLW lists are small, but we have relative depth.
Bec Webster and wily veteran Shelley Scott are best 22.
But the one we really miss is Annabel Johnson, she has only just begun to tap her obvious talent and she gives us plenty of defensive bite when she's fit. I wonder when she is due back, I have a bad feeling she had a serious foot injury? I think I've blocked it out.

I entirely agree about the worth of Webster, Scott and Johnson. All three are not just in our best team but are potentially difference-makers in any given game.

Which is entirely the problem with our ruck division, really. The only possible difference we can seemingly derive from this group is a detrimental one. While other clubs have rucks who can play big games or stand up in big moments, we apparently have break-even options, at best. For all the other limitations in our current line-up, this seems like far and away the biggest concern for mine.

Happy to admit that the club tried to have a go at addressing the issue by getting Erin back on the list. But it already looks painfully obvious that she is not going to be the answer. Really hope we can look into acquiring some genuine talent in this area for the seasons ahead, as it could absolutely unlock some further potential with this group overall.

 

[Cursed Cat]

I entirely agree about the worth of Webster, Scott and Johnson. All three are not just in our best team but are potentially difference-makers in any given game.

Which is entirely the problem with our ruck division, really. The only possible difference we can seemingly derive from this group is a detrimental one. While other clubs have rucks who can play big games or stand up in big moments, we apparently have break-even options, at best. For all the other limitations in our current line-up, this seems like far and away the biggest concern for mine.

Happy to admit that the club tried to have a go at addressing the issue by getting Erin back on the list. But it already looks painfully obvious that she is not going to be the answer. Really hope we can look into acquiring some genuine talent in this area for the seasons ahead, as it could absolutely unlock some further potential with this group overall.

well, I suspect you're right - but hope you're wrong!
Hoare is only a handful of games back after a couple of years out of the game; there's a chance she could strike some form..... but truth be told I can't recall her playing to effectively 1st time around when she was on our inaugural list. Again; I hope I am wrong and that she can work her way into some touch!

 

[goyoucatters]

well, I suspect you're right - but hope you're wrong!
Hoare is only a handful of games back after a couple of years out of the game; there's a chance she could strike some form..... but truth be told I can't recall her playing to effectively 1st time around when she was on our inaugural list. Again; I hope I am wrong and that she can work her way into some touch!

Player who didn't look all that capable first time around has several years out of the system entirely. Player comes back and doesn't look any better than they did in their initial stint, in the context of a competition that has improved stratospherically during their absence.

Given the 'history', then, it's actually hard to imagine how we could have expected anything greatly different from the output we're seeing right now.

 

[Cursed Cat]

Player who didn't look all that capable first time around has several years out of the system entirely. Player comes back and doesn't look any better than they did in their initial stint, in the context of a competition that has improved stratospherically during their absence.

Given the 'history', then, it's actually hard to imagine how we could have expected anything greatly different from the output we're seeing right now.

Yeah I was slightly surprised that we re-drafted her.

I actually thought she was around 32yo, but just checked and she's 34 (!).

If she's going to have any impact she has a very short time in which to get it together. Hopefully she does.

 

[cats_09]

Yeah I was slightly surprised that we re-drafted her.

I actually thought she was around 32yo, but just checked and she's 34 (!).

If she's going to have any impact she has a very short time in which to get it together. Hopefully she does.

I wouldn't be surprised if the restrictions around the last draft influenced our decision to redraft Erin

If it was an open draft, I reckon we would have been all in on Charlotte Simpson, but being in a situation of only being able to draft a player previously on a list or who had nominated for the draft may have meant we saw this more as a free hit for the now since there wasn't necessarily the opportunity to invest in the future