Women's Footy Crows AFLW Season 2023 Pre Season Discussion

[cmndstab]

Jeez I remember I rated her, she was hard as nails, may have been one of the only ones that did and am usually critical of cross-coders especially at that time but I thought with one more pre-season there was a very good defender there. Still a bloody tough nut from the rare times I’ve flicked over & seen the Thunderbirds play.

I remember not thinking much of her, but to be fair, she was playing in that 2019 season when we were dominant so she didn't get much of a go. Good tackler from memory.

Meanwhile SA have utterly dominated Vic Metro in the U18 championships. Match just finished here, scores are 13.8 (86) to 4.4 (28). Lauren Young with ten marks and 5.0 to outscore the entire Vic Metro team just by herself.

Rasheed with 26 touches and 2 goals. Window with 20 touches and 1 goal.

 

[Firewalker]

In not really surprising news McKenzie Dowrick has been added to the inactive list after not recovering in time from her ACL, Crows have added Victorian 19 year old Brooke Smith to the list as her replacement.

AFLW Latest News - AFL.com.au/aflw

Latest breaking AFLW news from the official website of the Australian Football League.

www.womens.afl

 

[cmndstab]

Without wanting to sound mean, probably not a huge loss. Hopefully Smith will prove as useful in 2023 as the last time we selected a Victorian forward who was overlooked by every Victorian team in the draft (Okay she's primarily a defender but work with me here!)

For what it's worth, she made the top 10 in the 20m sprint during her draft year.

 

[Firewalker]

Without wanting to sound mean, probably not a huge loss. Hopefully Smith will prove as useful in 2023 as the last time we selected a Victorian forward who was overlooked by every Victoria team in the draft

Haven’t heard much on Brooke Smith, but has played very much the majority of all her football until this year as a half-back and according to RookieMe which is easily the best source of information was a very injury-prone junior who is really fast with decent skills but didn’t get a lot of the ball.

Another seemingly head-scratching selection by the list management committee as the two roles the list didn’t need were half-back and half-forward flankers, list was/is still crying out for a key forward or another stoppage midfielder.

A cynic might say further proof the Crows as a whole club, both men and women really don’t rate any performances in the SANFL/W #JusticeForVenning

 

[Firewalker]

Rookie me updated their write up on Smith after she was picked up today, played more forward as an overager in the u/18s in 2023 but played back in the All-Star game where she must’ve caught the eye of the Crows.

Draftee in Focus: Brooke Smith (Adelaide)

Dandenong Stingrays utility Brooke Smith has played across all three lines and earned a spot on Adelaide's AFLW list for Season 8.

central.rookieme.com

Clarke’s notes to Harper must just say “get me someone who can kick”

 

[cmndstab]

Some pace certainly wouldn't go astray in our side! We've been a one-paced side for our entire run, and it hurt us against Melbourne and Brisbane last season.

Surely they will be expecting her to play forward? Or at the very least, they might have a defender in mind to switch forward. I'm worried they might try to put Biddell back up there again.

I agree that the Crows don't seem to rate a single over-ager in the entire SANFLW. Not a single player taken in the most recent draft, and now they're not even looking to an SA player as an injury replacement. I wonder if Smith is expecting to stick around, or this will be a one-season thing and then she hopes to catch the eye of a Victorian club after that?

 

[Dirty Bird]

I said it last season - I want to see Biddell in the middle. Get Marinoff/Hatchard to get the ball to her, and have Biddell using that leg on the I50 kick.
Could be deadly.

 

[Firewalker]

Will be interesting if Clarke actually does move the magnets around this year, only positional changes last season were Randall playing forward/mid, Thompson back to half-back and Ballard up at stoppages.

Sounds like he’s going to keep Gould in the ruck and they have barely any natural forwards on the list with Ponter, Waterhouse and Jones who plays permanently on a wing now really the only ones, others like Martin, Ballard, Munyard ect. are more midfielders who have been wedged into forward roles. Will probably require trial and error with players like a Tonon or Bonner to see if they can fill a spot up there, don’t think you can plant talls like McKinnon up there due to her poor kicking or Jess Allan due to her lack of agility/athleticism.

If he plays Whitely there again as the main target forward you know things are not going well.

Also will need Charlton to go to an even higher level in the midfield or have someone really jump out of the box and become a revelation in the midfield like a Martin, Kustermann or Levy if they want to compete with the leagues top teams midfield mix.

 

[cmndstab]

Sounds like he’s going to keep Gould in the ruck

Why do you say that? The impression I got was that they were looking for her to be a full-time forward with McKinnon and Jess Allan battling it out for the lead ruck spot (or potentially sharing it, but if Prowse plays down back I can't see them selecting all four ruck-size options in one side).

 

[Firewalker]

Why do you say that? The impression I got was that they were looking for her to be a full-time forward with McKinnon and Jess Allan battling it out for the lead ruck spot (or potentially sharing it, but if Prowse plays down back I can't see them selecting all four ruck-size options in one side).

I think it’s obvious by dropping McKinnon last year that Clarke sees Gould as the pure number 1 ruck and then a lot of daylight, pretty much everything coming out of the club and what Clarke has said about the efforts Gould’s put in to improve in the ruck and how important her impact was in the ruck last season, also the work on stuff Jess Allan and McKinnon have both come out with certainly sounded like they were preparing to compete for a back-up role.

 

[Caputo]

AFLW: Crows Leaders locked in for 2023

Randall remains the League’s longest serving Captain at the one Club

www.afc.com.au

No surprise no change

 

[cmndstab]

I had to laugh at 15 players nominated for the leadership group.

So half the side, then?

 

[cmndstab]

SA U18 girls with another comfortable victory, this time over QLD. 20 points up in the end although they were around 30 points up midway through the 3rd.

Undefeated so far - good omen for us picking up some guns!

 

[Dirty Bird]

After todays result (men)
Bring on the women

On one hand, i can see us regrouping and being a force again.
On the other, can we compete with Melbourne?

Anyone else a threat this year?

From my perspective it feels a 2 horse race

 

[brucetiki]

I’d just like the AFL to drop a fixture sometime this year

 

[Firewalker]

SA U18 girls with another comfortable victory, this time over QLD. 20 points up in the end although they were around 30 points up midway through the 3rd.

Undefeated so far - good omen for us picking up some guns!

Well that’s if they actually delist some players for a change to free up list spots… that’s a big if given their history of wanting consistency/experience yada, yada…

 

[cmndstab]

Well that’s if they actually delist some players for a change to free up list spots… that’s a big if given their history of wanting consistency/experience yada, yada…

I'll give them the benefit of the doubt that they've been waiting for this current crop to come through for the last couple of years.

Back in 2019 after winning a flag they drafted something like 9 people.

 

[Caputo]

There are several factors to consider:
1. How good will be Port. What extra support they require.
2. Do the AFL Academy girls chose SA only. 5 in Young, Goody, Brooksby, Window & Grigg.
3. Do the rest of the SA girls chose National in Boileau, Whitcombe & Cox.
4. Do Port go Father Daughter Fiegert out of loyalty.
5. Does the talent level drop off after the top 8 girls.
6. There is another top level crop in SA next year in Rasheed, Boyd & Riggs.

 

[Firewalker]

There are several factors to consider:
1. How good will be Port. What extra support they require.
2. Do the AFL Academy girls chose SA only. 5 in Young, Goody, Brooksby, Window & Grigg.
3. Do the rest of the SA girls chose National in Boileau, Whitcombe & Cox.
4. Do Port go Father Daughter Fiegert out of loyalty.
5. Does the talent level drop off after the top 8 girls.
6. There is another top level crop in SA next year in Rasheed, Boyd & Riggs.

Funny how a high quality tall key forward again is not amongst the top SA draft prospects (I know Lauren Young is playing that role at the moment but it’s only due to circumstances), SA not being able to produce top quality key position players in the recent past an issue reflected on both the Crows & Port lists.

Poppy Scholz has previously played forward but now has found her niche as mobile tall defender, her and Riggs are the State’s best key position sized prospects for a long time but both are defenders and not eligible till 2025, U/18s ruck Jacinda Schunselaar is one that I think can maybe be thrown forward at 180cm but given it’s just a plethora of midfielders available trying to manufacture a key forward (that isn’t a 35 year old from Ireland) will either be someone already on the list (Gould/Prowse) or they go looking interstate again given they don’t rate mature SA talent.

If the draft was tomorrow this is how I’d think it would play out;

Delisted: Whiteley, Varnhagen, Ward, Bonner, Dowrick

In:
Smith
Button - definitely shouldn’t as she was rotisserie cooked before another ACL but they will

Draft
1st round: Port - Young, Crows - Goody
2nd round Port - Grigg, Crows - Window
3rd round Port - Brooksby

Then you throw a blanket over Boileau and Schunselaar for who takes that last spot or it will be some random Victorian that’s been recommended to Phil Harper over the phone again.

Given the club will almost certainly miss out on Lauren Young unless they trade someone good out to somehow jump in front of Port’s pick (even then the AFL will just give her to them) they’ll need to do everything the following year to get India Rasheed who’s just as special talent, the irony of a big Crows fan in Young playing for Port and the daughter of Rodger Rasheed playing for the Crows would be an interesting dynamic.

 

[brucetiki]

Round 1 fixture is out - home Showdown at Norwood.

What an epic fail from the AFL. Assuming they keep the capacity capped at 10,000 (ala gather round), you're going to lock half the people that went last year out!

 

[Scorpus]

Whole fixture is out. From S7 we play

Top 4 teams: Brisbane, Melbourne, North Melbourne (all of them). We play both grand finalists away.

Other finalists: Richmond, Western Bulldogs

9-12: Essendon, GWS, Gold Coast

Bottom 6: Port Adelaide, West Coast

Don't play (finalists): Collingwood, Geelong

Don't play (non finalists): Fremantle, St Kilda, Carlton, Hawthorn, Sydney

Another extremely unbalanced fixture for us as expected

 

[Firewalker]

Just when you think Cricket Australia takes the cake with really poorly organised female competition fixtures the AFL remembers they have to throw something together.

Having an actual home ground for the team by 2046 might help boost some attendances for the games, they might one day get a move on with that. Also my personal annual time to whinge just how much I hate Norwood Oval and what a God awful pace it is for spectators, only a massive demolition and rebuilding effort will bring that ‘stadium’ up to standard for future Gather Round and AFLW matches and Unley Oval’s only passable for local footy with a crowd of under 800 or if you need a place for your dog to do their business

 

[brucetiki]

I'm not too fussed about the fixture. While it's unbalanced, it's not unexpected that we play our fellow top 4 sides (which is the same as the other top 4 sides). On the positive side, we have no home 'exotic' timeslots.

A major disappointment is missing out on a home Pride Round game again (and, to add insult to injury, it's an away game against West Coast).

On a side note, Melbourne and Geelong play each other for the first time this season (only taken 6 seasons).

I'm pleased we're staying at Unley where we can for matches - I just hope the surface recovers so the matches don't get moved away from there (as has been discussed in the SANFL thread, Sturt aren't even training there at the moment due to the quality of the surface).

 

[cmndstab]

No issues with us needing to play the better sides - we've shown in the past that if we can't beat them during the season, we're not winning a flag.

The second half of that fixture is pretty tough! That four-week block of Melbourne, Bulldogs, Brisbane, North will let us know where we sit.

Are we seriously playing a match at 10:30AM? What the hell.

 

[radiojake]

AFC.com.au taking a lot of liberty by trying to claim we have two games in Melbourne with one of them being out at Casey Fields

Legitimately easier to get to Kardinia Park than there