AFLW AFLW/VFLW 2024 - General Discussion

[BallaratBulldog]

We aren’t the worst team

 

[threenewpadlocks]

This is outstanding. Things have turned very quickly!!

 

[Bulldogs85]

Congratulations ladies enjoy this win

 

[Marsy]

How many players will be in the circle?

 

[stevieg1969]

Great win. Pritchard the stand out. A great goal by KWT. Pocket rockets in Grigg, Wilcox and J Smith. Green shoots everywhere.

 

[Marsy]

Looking at Ellie Blackburn out there with the team now, you can’t tell me she isn’t the real captain.

 

[Bulldogs85]

How many players will be in the circle?

Jasmyn Smith
Weston- Turner
Grigg
Ahrens
Gavalas
Kimber
Buttifant

 

[Fossie 32]

Great to see and should be looking good if the younger players keep improving

 

[Scott Tracy]

Well done girls! Also can you teach the boys how to kick 9.3 please.

 

[Bulldogs85]

 

[threenewpadlocks]

Grigg's shown more in four games than almost all of our earlier first-round draft picks over recent years. What a find. We're asking her to play a specific role but it's not hard to imagine giving her more responsibility for more impact very quickly in her career. A great find.

 

[weltschmerz]

Pritchard is still only 22. Will be one of the best in the comp in a few years.

 

[MYOB]

I love Grigg's attack on the footy and her ferociousness when tackling, but she needs to be a bit careful or she'll get done for a sling tackle.

Great day at the footy and so happy for the girls to get a win.

 

[Marsy]

I love Grigg's attack on the footy and her ferociousness when tackling, but she needs to be a bit careful or she'll get done for a sling tackle.

Great day at the footy and so happy for the girls to get a win.

I think aflw in general is careless when it comes to tackling and players need to be more careful.
Have the players been shown the correct way to tackle, or is it that women don’t have the upper body strength of men to guide the player to the ground?

 

[Bulldogs85]

 

[gordo2016]

Elenor Brown and Zimmie Farqurhurson singing the song in the circle, they would both add to the team if they were 100%. Grigg has a lot of raw talent but these are the types of players we keep losing. Great win and might be half a chance against Sydney at home.

 

[Oliver G]

By far the best day out at the AFLW in a long time, apart from the opening minutes we hardly put a foot wrong.

Obviously, Collingwood has a huge injury list and is using train on players, so this was always going to be a winnable game for us, but the Pies still had 100+ career games on us and we were 2 years younger on average and It wasn’t just that the Pies were poor it was how good we were, especially when we didn’t have the ball, easily our best pressure and tackling game in probably over a year.

We won and had season-best performances in these crucial KPIs …

Contested Possessions
Uncontested Possessions
Clearances
Inside 50s
Tackles
Disposal Efficiency
Shots Per Inside 50

Young teams make it or break with confidence and it was clear that everyone was on the same page today with confidence levels continuing to rise after each goal we kicked.

We kept Collingwood to 1 solitary point after QT and did not concede ANY score from turnovers for the entire match, a real rarity in the AFLW.

I was really impressed with how we chained the ball inside 50, it wasn’t just bombing it long and hoping to win a contested mark or ground ball, we actually were composed for the most part, looking for the handball on the outside or chipping it around until we had players deep inside 50. Did we kick it straight to their defenders a few times, yes but we didn’t revert back to the old bombing it in. That shows growth and what this team is building towards.

Pritchard lead from the front with 28 disposals, 14 contested , 6 clearances, 5 inside 50s and will no doubt receive the 3 votes on B&F night. She’s had a lot pressure from the media and fans on needing to take the Blackburn role but let’s not forget that she’s still only 22 years old. Our priority should be getting her signature on a long term contract as she is the clear favourite now for our club B&F.

Edmonds was outstanding as she has been all year and Fitzgerald has had an excellent couple of games as well. Woodley, Hartwig, Wilcox and Grigg all stood up in big moments. It was very much a team effort and it would be difficult to find anyone to criticise really.

We also got to see what Weston-Turner will offer us in the next decade or so, such an exciting player.

Again I’m sure none of us are under any delusion that we played an easy opponent today and I’m sure we’ll have plenty of frustrating games over the next month or so but today we saw a glimpse of what the future holds.

 

[dogwatch]

I was on the highway so I saw none of the game but it's very gratifying to see the result.

Good to read the individual player reviews, thanks for those.

Any thoughts on the impact Tamara Hyett is having? Specifically how she is shaping the team and its direction? Any other off-field changes having an impact?

 

[Oliver G]

I was on the highway so I saw none of the game but it's very gratifying to see the result.

Good to read the individual player reviews, thanks for those.

Any thoughts on the impact Tamara Hyett is having? Specifically how she is shaping the team and its direction? Any other off-field changes having an impact?

I still think it's too early to get a complete picture, turning over a third of the list and completely turning over the football department was unprecedented, so it is hard to compare.

What is clear is the game style Hyett wants us to play, which is a much more uncontested style and chaining kicks and handballs inside 50. I've also noticed that we now using the switch more often than not. In the Burke era even when we made finals we were never really a team that had good entries inside 50, we were serial bombers and we scored largely due to the weight of inside 50s we had.

In terms of team morale, it's certainly a good sign that players like Blackburn, Edmonds, Georgostathis and Wilcox have all signed long-term contracts.

 

[geoffjennings79]

Elenor Brown and Zimmie Farqurhurson singing the song in the circle, they would both add to the team if they were 100%.

Great win, and good to see both these players alongside Blackburn as you say. Hopefully something to build on.

 

[Bulldogs85]

Sarah Hartwig and Maggie Gorham have committed to the Western Bulldogs, signing on until at least the end of the 2026 NAB AFLW Season.

Hartwig has played 43 games in the red, white and blue since being drafted with Pick 11 in 2020.

After starting her career as a defender, the 22-year-old has been deployed forward in recent times, booting 13 goals across the past three seasons.
Gorham joined the Kennel as an unrestricted free agent in 2023, and has played 12 games since her Bulldogs debut in Round 1 later that year.

Initially drafted to GWS in 2019, she is a former No.4 pick who has been a consistent contributor this season.

“We’re delighted to have Sarah and Maggie re-commit for an extra couple of years,” Dan Fisher, AFLW List Manager, said.

“Sarah’s athleticism and presence in the air as a forward is very exciting. We know she’s got scope to play multiple roles but we’re enjoying seeing her really blossom as that forward target.

“Maggie’s versatility and aerial ability has seen her play important roles on the wing and in defence for us this season. She’s a popular member of the group who gives great on-field direction too.”

 

[weltschmerz]

Hartwig is a super important signing. Right now our best forward and can also play back.

 

[maddog37]

Nice to see things moving in a positive direction.

 

[Bulldogs85]

Star Bulldog's injury worse than first thought

Ellie Blackburn is set to need another operation later in the year

www.afl.com.au

WESTERN Bulldogs superstar Ellie Blackburn's foot injury is more serious than first thought, with the midfielder set to need follow-up surgery later in the year to remove a plate.

The 29-year-old was initially diagnosed with a mid-foot ligament issue that would require an operation to fix, ending her 2024 season, but the full extent of the damage was revealed in surgery.

The knee and subsequent body weight of powerful young West Coast player Sanne Bakker landed on Blackburn's foot in an attempted tackle in the dying moments of the Dogs' loss to the Eagles 10 days ago.
It is understood the follow-up surgery in three months will mean Blackburn's full recovery will effectively start again, delaying her return to regaining full fitness. Staples were also required to stabilise the joint.

However, at this stage, the setback not expected to affect her playing timeline for the 2025 season. "It's not too bad, the pain's going all right. Bit of a long recovery ahead, but I've been well looked after, so it's nice," Blackburn told Channel 7's broadcast on Sunday.
"It's changed a little bit post-surgery, there was a little bit more damage than first expected, which is quite frustrating to hear.

"Hopefully I'm not too far off it in terms of getting some weight back through the legs. I think it'll be six or so weeks till I'm back putting weight back through my foot again, then reassess, I suppose."

 

[MYOB]

Should be a good crowd on Friday night with good weather, and Swans supporters in town