AFLW AFLW 2023 - Geelong & the greater league

[winty]

I promise you they get over it... been doing it for decades at all hours over here.

GO Catters

Ended up watching the replay this morning, and I didn't think the umpiring was as bad as people in here were making it out to be - it was a lot worse than that.

 

[Hinkley29]

Ended up watching the replay this morning, and I didn't think the umpiring was as bad as people in here were making it out to be - it was a lot worse than that.

The disappointing thing was when Brisbane kicked the goal to hit the front with 6ish minutes to go, it was inevitable that we had no chance.

With the way the game was umpired, Brisbane knew that all they had to do was halve the ruck tap, drop it at the feet of the pack and then either drop on the ball or grab the ball wait to get tackled and force a ball up. With the clock not stopping they knew they could easily do this for 6 minutes. Credit to Brisbane, they were smart enough to take advantage, but it killed the game as a spectacle.

Whatever happened to making a realistic attempt to getting rid of the ball?

The biggest mistake we made at this time was for the majority of the last 6 minutes Hoare was off the ground and Darby was in the ruck. Our only chance was to clear the congestion with a big tap, and Hoare was our only chance to do this. We almost caught a lucky break when Darby came off with the blood rule, but it looked like Hoare was gassed when she came on.

 

[cats_09]

I don't think it made any difference to the outcome, she didn't make any howlers and any other player we had picked most likely would have had the same lack of impact.. If Zali had been OK to play she obviously would have been in.

Anna-Rose will likely benefit from the exposure longer term as well.. She is a good size and I was impressed with her tackling technique given the lack of experience

The thing that's really impressed me with our Irish recruits is how well they all tackle, considering their backgrounds and Gaelic football not being that full tackle sport

Kearns in particular just attacks the ball and opponent in a crazy hard manner which you can't help but love

Hope all 3 are back on the list next season

 

[AnUltimateRessie]

Kennedy had a couple of strong tackles in the first half

The reality is though that her selection wasn't a factor in winning or losing last night

Nope, but having someone competent may have helped.

 

[Hinkley29]

The thing that's really impressed me with our Irish recruits is how well they all tackle, considering their backgrounds and Gaelic football not being that full tackle sport

Kearns in particular just attacks the ball and opponent in a crazy hard manner which you can't help but love

Hope all 3 are back on the list next season

Kearns’ improvement over this season was a revelation. Her second half of the season was great, she really found a home in the back half. She would certainly make the other players around her a bit worried with how hard she attacks the ball, and she gave drive offensively out of defence. She is a keeper.

 

[Hinkley29]

I would love to see Ash Moloney play as a tall midfielder next season. Her agility and speed is elite and she started to become more physical as the season went on.

If she played midfield/wing and then floated forward with a smaller opponent she could be unstoppable. The sky is the limit with her.

 

[Hinkley29]

It is actually disappointing that the season is over. 10 weeks plus finals feels short, and it felt like a number of teams were improving every week. I kind of wish we had another 6 weeks to see where the team would get to.

Does anyone know when the next season starts and if it will be longer?

 

[cats_09]

Nope, but having someone competent may have helped.

I'd suggest more than a few senior teammates lacked composure at important times last night, and that had would have had a bigger impact on the result

It would have been nice to have Friswell available, but with the 21st spot being between Kennedy, Bragg, Plummer & Featherston, I'm not sure any 4 of them would have been the difference between winning & losing last night - especially with senior, experienced players around them making basic errors

Like last week with Featherston playing, it's not like we had some secret gun sitting in the stands

 

[cats_09]

It is actually disappointing that the season is over. 10 weeks plus finals feels short, and it felt like a number of teams were improving every week. I kind of wish we had another 6 weeks to see where the team would get to.

Does anyone know when the next season starts and if it will be longer?

I believe it's not planned to be longer as this season didn't reach the AFL minimum threshold for fan attendance this season

But that felt planned by scheduling games at small venues and shit times

 

[jim boy]

I believe it's not planned to be longer as this season didn't reach the AFL minimum threshold for fan attendance this season

But that felt planned by scheduling games at small venues and s**t times

AFL does the bare minimum for women's football. They could have taken the wbbl approach, which was to play a lot of games over the first couple of seasons. The early quality and watchability was low, but all the matches really helped the teams improve, to the point where Australia women's cricket dominates. Teams should play each other once

 

[PzBlinky]

Had to chuckle at the Roos players complaining they touched it when Hatchard kicked the goal almost point-blank. Guess they're consistent about that - but it's still amateurish as hell.

 

[cats_09]

 

[Geminicatz01]

Geel Addy

There was more good news to come for the Cats after their thrilling semi-final win over Melbourne, with the club officially nominating prospect Bryde O’Rourke as a father-daughter selection.

But Geelong VFLW star and VFLW league-best-and-fairest Charlotte Simpson, the daughter of former Geelong and St Kilda player Sean, was instead nominated by the Saints.

O’Rourke, the daughter of Ray who played two games for Geelong in 1969, has been touted as a potential top-20 prospect in next month’s AFLW Draft, with the Cats awaiting a possible first-round bid.

The speedster represented Vic Country at the national championships and averaged 16.1 disposals and kicked six goals across 11 games for the Bendigo Pioneers in the Coates Talent League.

The club could not guarantee Simpson, the brother of delisted Cat Sam, a spot on the list despite her breakout campaign, given they are unlikely to use many selections at the AFLW Draft.

Johnson is excited by O’Rourke’s looming arrival and wishes Simpson all the best for the draft, believing she has what it takes to play at the next level.










































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Geelong Cats
AFLW 2023: The rise of debutant Anna-Rose Kennedy as Geelong explains father-daughter decision
Another Irish Cat is making her debut in Geelong’s biggest game of its existence. Plus, the Cats have made a decision on two of their father-daughter prospects.


Dan Batten
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@danbatten_
3 min read
November 24, 2023 - 3:50PM
News Corp Australia Sports Newsroom
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00:49
Geelong draftees welcomed at the cattery
AFL: The Geelong Cats draftees have been welcomed to the club, as they prepare for action at the Cattery.
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It is one thing to make your debut in a preliminary final, but it’s another to achieve the feat in your first legitimate game of Aussie rules.

That’s what is ahead of Irish recruit Anna-Rose Kennedy, who on Thursday night received a shock call-up to face Brisbane at the Gabba.

Kennedy, who arrived with sensation Aishling Moloney just weeks before this season from county Tipperary, has played just two scrimmage matches against AFLW opposition.


When you consider she sat out several weeks with a foot injury early in the season, Kennedy’s inclusion for the Cats’ biggest game in their AFLW existence is even more remarkable.

The athletic outside runner’s form in match simulation at Cats training has earnt her a preliminary final spot, and she is tipped to be used in defence or on a wing to help cover for injured young gun Zali Friswell.

Geelong assistant football boss Brett Johnson

Brett Johnson

Age

43

Ht

179cm

Wt

80kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.2

3star

K

7.8

3star

HB

5.4

4star

M

2.4

3star

T

2.0

4star

No current season stats available

D

11.6

3star

K

7.6

3star

HB

4.0

3star

M

1.8

2star

T

1.2

3star

said she has come a long way, like her good friend Moloney, and he expects the cool customer to be just fine on the big stage.


Anna-Rose Kennedywill make her debut on Saturday. Picture: Alan Barber
“Anna-Rose sustained a bit of a foot injury early in the season which limited her training throughout the middle part of the year and only in this past month, solid month of training has warranted her selection in the team,” Johnson said.

“She showed at training that she can play the role that we need and just her athleticism is such an asset that it makes it hard not to pick her because in these type of games that sort of stuff comes to the fore.

“Nothing really seems to worry her or she doesn’t get flustered. Even when we told her about playing she just took it in her stride.

“I think with both Aishling and Anna-Rose, when we recruited them from Ireland we knew they’d come in and have an immediate impact. The transition from Gaelic footy to Aussie seems to quite a good one for a lot of Irish players.”

There was more good news to come for the Cats after their thrilling semi-final win over Melbourne, with the club officially nominating prospect Bryde O’Rourke as a father-daughter selection.

But Geelong VFLW star and VFLW league-best-and-fairest Charlotte Simpson, the daughter of former Geelong and St Kilda player Sean, was instead nominated by the Saints.

O’Rourke, the daughter of Ray who played two games for Geelong in 1969, has been touted as a potential top-20 prospect in next month’s AFLW Draft, with the Cats awaiting a possible first-round bid.

The speedster represented Vic Country at the national championships and averaged 16.1 disposals and kicked six goals across 11 games for the Bendigo Pioneers in the Coates Talent League.

The club could not guarantee Simpson, the brother of delisted Cat Sam, a spot on the list despite her breakout campaign, given they are unlikely to use many selections at the AFLW Draft.

Johnson is excited by O’Rourke’s looming arrival and wishes Simpson all the best for the draft, believing she has what it takes to play at the next level.


Bryda O'Rourke has been nominated as a father-daughter selection

Charlotte Simpson won the VFLW best and fairest for her season with Geelong, but has instead been nominated by St Kilda as a father-daughter selection. Picture: Brad Fleet
“Really pleased to be able to put in that nomination. Bryde we have been watching closely for a long time,” Johnson said.

“Bryde is a really athletic outside runner who can play inside as well. Can play inside, on the wing, half back, a lot of flexibility. She is a really good size as well, really good overhead. She had a really good season.


We suspect that she will go quite high in the draft.

“We had a number of chats with Charlotte. We are really hopeful that she will get an opportunity. She has had a fantastic season at VFLW, her attitude has been first class and worked on the things that we have spoken to her about.

“We think Charlotte is ready to play AFLW football and we are just unsure at this point in terms of how many picks we have and what it looks like so we couldn’t give any guarantees unfortunately.”

 

[cats_09]

The irony of a Brisbane fan complaining about last night's umpiring...





Got to say, when you see Hawthorn & Collingwood fans questioning the umpiring against Geelong, then it feels like you can be a little more about things, and that it's not just feeling like you're own team was hard done by

 

[Hinkley29]

AFL does the bare minimum for women's football. They could have taken the wbbl approach, which was to play a lot of games over the first couple of seasons. The early quality and watchability was low, but all the matches really helped the teams improve, to the point where Australia women's cricket dominates. Teams should play each other once

This season did feel like a quantum leap for the women’s game in terms of match quality and fan interest.

It feels like the season is just building momentum and now it is basically over. It feels like a lost opportunity, and another short season next year kind of proves that there is a fair amount of tokenism in the AFL’s support for the women’s game.

 

[Hinkley29]

The irony of a Brisbane fan complaining about last night's umpiring...





Got to say, when you see Hawthorn & Collingwood fans questioning the umpiring against Geelong, then it feels like you can be a little more about things, and that it's not just feeling like you're own team was hard done by

The fact that fans of any/all teams are passionately getting upset about the umpiring is a good sign that the AFLW has cracked the mainstream fan base. In a weird way it is a very good sign for the game.

But the umpiring was shit.

 

[patience]

Is Big Footy mourning the state of AFLW umpiring? Or, is it just me in the dark?

 

[Teen Wolf]

It's guaranteed to increase to 11 H&A rounds next year, and then minimum 12 in 2025, btw. The attendance thresholds relate to accelerating faster than that.

 

[Johnny Cattery]

It's guaranteed to increase to 11 H&A rounds next year, and then minimum 12 in 2025, btw. The attendance thresholds relate to accelerating faster than that.

So aiming to match the men's AFL in 2037.

good not to rush things ...

 

[noclashjumpers]

So aiming to match the men's AFL in 2037.

good not to rush things ...

It’s such a wrong-headed and nonsensical way to approach things.

Presumably the end-game is to have the comp transition from being subsidised to self sustaining, and finally to being a money earner in its own right.

Here’s where it stops making sense; for the AFLW to clear these hurdles, it needs to attract bigger crowds and generate more organic attention. How does it do this? Basically the product needs to get better. How does the product get better? Well, the players need to play more games and have the freedom to devote more of their time to the craft.

So we have a situation where the AFL has invested a considerable amount to get the comp up and going (and expanded) - and subsidise it week to week - but are balking at the last investment step that is needed for the comp to make these transitions.

If nothing else it’s a stupid financial position the AFL have put themselves in. They’ve created a product, but refuse to adequately invest to give the product a chance to make them money.

And this was ALWAYS going to be the case. That this final investment step is needed should be no surprise, but moronically the AFL appear to be acting like it is.

Why the AFL aren’t looking at the Matildas success and seeing a massive opportunity is beyond me. The time is now, the iron is hot. Finish what you started or why start it at all?

 

[Jhye Clark 13]

I watched 10 minutes and switched off.

The standard of umpiring makes it unwatchable.

 

[evilgwyn]

If I'm reading things correctly it looks like we've played in the three top drawing finals crowd-wise across the AFLW finals series to date (biggest crowd overall was our home final against Essendon). The GF will probably relegate that to 3 out of the top 4 but its great to see Geelong supporters coming out to support the team in person. Does anyone know how we ranked crowd-wise over the season?

 

[rocker_oz33]

Shocker - Perhaps debuting Kennedy wasn't a great idea in a do or die final.

The girls team had a few inj issues.

Layed some strong tackles in the first half .
One goal saving tackle.
She got some wheels we'll see more of her.

 

[rocker_oz33]

The disappointing thing was when Brisbane kicked the goal to hit the front with 6ish minutes to go, it was inevitable that we had no chance.

With the way the game was umpired, Brisbane knew that all they had to do was halve the ruck tap, drop it at the feet of the pack and then either drop on the ball or grab the ball wait to get tackled and force a ball up. With the clock not stopping they knew they could easily do this for 6 minutes. Credit to Brisbane, they were smart enough to take advantage, but it killed the game as a spectacle.

Whatever happened to making a realistic attempt to getting rid of the ball?

The biggest mistake we made at this time was for the majority of the last 6 minutes Hoare was off the ground and Darby was in the ruck. Our only chance was to clear the congestion with a big tap, and Hoare was our only chance to do this. We almost caught a lucky break when Darby came off with the blood rule, but it looked like Hoare was gassed when she came on.

Quiet a few bris players had their arm out to frend were tackled dropped it ...play on ..
Press was held longer in the tackle heaps in the second half.
Quiet a few times cats girls were jumped on with out the ball.

I felt the finals was ump different to H and A rounds ...heaps let go...

True best ruck off the ground ...

Maybe push Kennedy or Rach up forward for some speed ...
I felt some speed leg speed was needed around the F 50

 

[rocker_oz33]

Go North .