Autopsy AFLW Round 5, 2023: Western Bulldogs v St.Kilda

[Pakenhamsaint]

Eric Bana here. Ultimate Saints nuffie

On SM-S908E using BigFooty.com mobile app

Should be at the pub with me drinking with Steele

 

[Hayes4PM]

Nicola Stevens 4 the Brownlow

 

[Grav]

Good game of footy

 

[HunterClarksHeadband]

Great game - really hoping our lack of finishing inside 50 doesn't cost us.

 

[beside the seaside]

Lambert has been an outstanding pickup.

Also really like the look of Richards, has class.

 

[HunterClarksHeadband]

LFG

 

[moirae42]

All grunt from the captain.
Great game.

They have some confidence up and not many passengers. Everyone having a crack.

 

[Pakenhamsaint]

Daughter better than father again

 

[Saint Watto]

A terrific win............very impressive.

 

[Drop Kick]

A great win, love seeing them on the winner's list.

 

[Saints2001]

Awesome work ladies... Great to see it clicking. I had my doubts early in the season... Now we need to show this intent against better teams...

 

[CHBench]

Huge improvement in the last 5 quarters!! Happy to be proven wrong. Cant believe this is the same team from the first 3.5 rounds. Everyone is having a crack, running hard, tackling hard

Wardlaw is finally clicking and looking like the dangerous player she was at Brisbane
Patrikios is back (?!!)
Smith getting better with each game too
Lambert super pickup, great presence in the centre and F50
Grace Kelly's kicking is better than I was expecting - although she kicked a couple of shockers - with her speed she's a good addition to HB

Arresting the momentum in the 2nd quarter with goals of our own was huge, not something we've seen much of in the past. Great win

 

[The Jack]

Much better standard. Could actually see a plan. Richards is going to be a jet.

 

[Sully111]

Good win

Impressed by our pressure

 

[CursingFijian]

Fantastic game from Priest again! She's leading the way superbly. Wardlaw is a star despite the best efforts of Alice Edmonds to drag the doggies back in to it. Loved the way the team is allowing Patrikios to give and get, cause we really need her to have the ball in our hands.

I feel like we're still an undersized midfield, but plenty of grit and determination.

 

[saint66au]

His has been a fantastic turnaround. Halfway through the 3rd quarter last week you struggled to see where we were gonna win a game

 

[CursingFijian]

 

[Mat Mann]

great game from the girls.

Lambert has been huge, talk about standing up and leading the way, not as prominent tonight but all year has been the one to lead the way

really cut the dogs up with our run, good to see Georgie extract a digit and get on with it.

The 2 players I like watching are Hana and Molly. like how they play

still have to keep working on possessing the ball imo

 

[Saints2001]

Halfway through the 3rd quarter last week you struggled to see where we were gonna win a game

I know right... I was quite frustrated. I wondered how Wardlaw was going to fit into our team and whether she'd get enough supply but we have allowed her to get up the ground a bit as well plus our mids have found their game the last couple of quarters.

 

[Munga]

Probably the most professional four quarters we've put together, maybe ever. And the best I've seen us using our bodies, pushing players around and off balance. Each season I wonder why we don't play an extra two practice matches, and half a dozen or so players don't represent the Southern Saints, because it does take us a few games to get going. Especially with so many new faces this season, it would've helped. Anyway.

The forward line entries were pretty sweet, and the forwards are totally working for each other and creating space, it was magic to watch.
The defence again was vice-like. Dogs only had 3 marks inside 50 to our 13. And they only had 6 shots at goal, mostly bouncing through from an empty goalsquare.
The dogs mids did go on a 5 minute blitz, but that was about it from them and any impact. Priest was a beast, doing it all, unlucky not to get a few snags too. Patrikios is on some kind of upwards trajectory.

Plane, Watson, Boyd, Kelly, even Chiocci back there have settled the defence well with BJ. Plane has quite a boot, really nice kick and composed. Watson another surprise, a bit of a tough defensive machine and good with the pill too. Boyd is growing each week, reading it well and plucking marks. Kelly only knows one way, flat chat, and it's pretty much only herself that can stop herself. Can kick very well on both feet and run like no one can catch her, but sometimes doesn't know how much time she has and misses her boot altogether or takes a dodgy bounces (maybe tap it on the ground for now). Also doesn't need to keep the ball from going over the boundary line at every opportunity, just let it go out. But will only get better with experience and should be electric. When ball movement might be stagnant, Kelly comes through and opens it up. Probably why I've written much about her here, so much potential. Choch is working into it and I liked her work in defence today, that might be the role for her going forward. I think it might be the bulldog Cranston who should get sighted for taking out Choch off the ball. Commentators said it was an accident, funny no replay shown, but Cranston totally went for Choch then tried to apologise for the hit... good luck with that.

The forwards were excellent and all pretty even today because they just work for each other. I really don't have much to say about individuals, they all gave the opposition a work over and plenty of headaches!! Very impressive. Some of the best creation of space I've seen for a while, and then the delivery hitting up the leads 30m out in front, delightful! What has been great about these past weeks is being able to see how our forward line can operate and it's capabilities, the beneficiaries largely due to the performances of our...

Midfield! Plenty of pressure and controlled physicality. Priest, immense. Lambert quieter but still impactful. If Doc backs this up next week then we can say she's officially back to her best. She's so fluid moving through the field, reminds me of someone I can't put my finger on at the moment.... maybe like Andrew McLeod

Andrew Mcleod

Age

48

Ht

181cm

Wt

82kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

19.8

5star

K

13.1

5star

HB

6.7

4star

M

3.1

3star

T

2.2

4star

No current season stats available

D

10.8

3star

K

6.8

3star

HB

4.0

3star

M

1.0

1star

T

1.6

4star

ish...? Ty so agile in the centre, then switches to a defensive midfielder role and doesn't let much get past. Vesely just doesn't shy away from the hard ball get and keeps getting up again. McDonald again finding plenty of space and we're using her well. I keep saying Richards will be awesome. Can take a contested mark. Is a big and beautiful kick. Has elite vision. She picked the game apart each time she had the ball, and only played 51% gametime!

Every minute of that match was just head down, work hard. Such a professional performance. Even after the Dogs blitzed 5 goals straight, there wasn't a hint of going into our shells. I'd love to bottle that for each match. Bring that every week and we could be a sneaky chance for finals! Yes, I said it.

AFLW - News, Fixtures, Scores & Results - AFL.com.au/aflw

The home of the NAB AFL Women's. Who are you supporting in the 2023 NAB AFLW S8 competition? Our Stories, GenW, Women of AFLW, The People

www.afl.com.au

AFLW full post-match, R5: Saints

Watch St Kilda's press conference after round five's match against Western Bulldogs

www.afl.com.au

 

[Fehring]

Just checked the AFLW ladder for the first time since round 2 last season. Fixture looks good for us too.

I missed the first quarter, so felt like I'd jinxed us when I turned it on! Great wrestling back of momentum in the second after we were getting absolutely smashed out of stoppages.

Most pleasing thing for me was Patrikios working so hard into D50. Still not at her absolute best, but she showed grunt and determination last night. Smith starting to warm into things too, and I love Molly MacDonald. I reckon the smile on Wardlaw's face after one of her goals told a story. I have to praise Dal (who I've smashed) for moving her into the ruck just to take the pressure off. That smile suggested the weight had come off her shoulders a bit. the Pies recruits were great. Go Saints!

 

[Joffaboy]

Was stuck in front of a couple of special needs doggies fans. Not being a prick, they were actually great supporters for the Bulldogs and football should be for everybody, however they were screaming in my ear and it was a bit too much for me.

Went down to the fence to watch the second half, I can tell you the women crack in really physically. Skills are still catching up, and I maintain that the ground dimensions are too big for them.

I have been to a few AFLW games and apart from qtr 4 this was easily the best.

Both teams gave it a real go, kicking for goal was good and generally not too bad.

AFLW is not my go though and feel it has a long way to go to catch women's soccer.

On SM-S908E using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[BrutThough]

I don't know what has clicked the past 6ish quarters but we look like a much better team. The best part of me was how we got momentum back after the Dogs had their run. Previous games, we've dropped our heads in that position but last night they got the game back in control which is a huge step forward.

Was impressed with Richards last night. Didn't have huge numbers but did some impressive things and her skills looked excellent. Happy Patrikios has realised she's a good player again. Wardlaw and Lambert were great pick ups. Feels like Smith is a few weeks away from a huge game.

 

[Munga]

the ground dimensions are too big for them.

Speaking on ground dimensions, what's up with that ground? In some parts it looks like the fence is 20 metres away from the boundary line!

 

[Mat Mann]

AFLW is not my go though and feel it has a long way to go to catch women's soccer.

soccer as in World Cup soccer or A-league womens?

cos a nation's top 12 players is always going to be better than a nation's top 450 players..

if you took the top 36 players and played a match it would look a heap better