AFLW Round 2 - 2024 AFLW season

[Teen Wolf]

Back-to-back finals appearances seems unfathomable for the Swans and Suns now, with the Hawks and Saints asserting themselves early as their likely replacements. Richmond, if Sheerin quickly returns and no other big injury issues arise, should swap in for Essendon.

Were that to be the case, the top 8 will be a 6-2 Vic-nonVic split (can't see any of the top 5 from last year missing). It'd be a rather fitting time for such lopsidedness to occur, with the first fully national draft coming at the end of the year.

But for the Suns, two home games vs non-finalists from last year, two losses, disastrous start to the season.

Underlining the not goodness of the loss (wherein Charlie Rowbottom still had a monster 35 disposal, 10 mark, 10 tackle game), they were favoured 17-1 by the tipsters at AFL.com.au and The Age, with former Blues player Phoebe McWilliams the only one tipping against GC.

 

[Teen Wolf]

Some reasonably solid crowds this round:

Just over 3000 at Arden Street, possibly the least spectator friendly venue given it's lack of seating as well as inclement weather potentially putting people off.

Around 2700 at Moorabbin, again with inclement weather putting people off

Yet to be confirmed but apparently over 3000 at Victoria Park on Saturday. Was at the game and had a great vibe.

Around 2700 at Fremantle.oval and over 2000 at Minerals Resource Rent Park.

1534 at Casey Fields. I get their tie in with Casey, but Melbourne aren't doing themselves any favours playing games out there. Need to look at shifting as many games as they can to Ikon Park. As one of the stronger AFLW teams they could be pulling 3000+ regularly.

997 at Punt Road seems low, until you consider capacity is capped at 2000 due to the Jack Dyer Stand being off limits and with GWS not bringing a large amount of fans.

Weather plays a huge part in attendance for AFLW compared to the mens game considering the often limited shelter (excluding Ikon Park, GMHBA and People First stadiums).

3,258 and 3,283 are the numbers I've seen reported for the Victoria Park game. Lathlain was a good result for an 11am start, def would've been sub-1000 in the Prior era.

Disregarding the WB-PA game, this round hit the numbers I expected, and the next 7 weeks should all be better (in the fixture thread I had R2 and R10 as the equal lowest-drawing of the season).

Re Casey Fields: Melbourne wanting to build their south-east connection is fine. But 1 H&A game per season there would be sufficient, and playing the rest at North Port Oval would be ideal (rather than the 3-2 split with Ikon Park this year). But the AFL have been down that road and repeatedly thwarted by the Vic govt.

 

[Mitchell Madness]

Some reasonably solid crowds this round:

Just over 3000 at Arden Street, possibly the least spectator friendly venue given it's lack of seating as well as inclement weather potentially putting people off.

Around 2700 at Moorabbin, again with inclement weather putting people off

Yet to be confirmed but apparently over 3000 at Victoria Park on Saturday. Was at the game and had a great vibe.

Around 2700 at Fremantle.oval and over 2000 at Minerals Resource Rent Park.

1534 at Casey Fields. I get their tie in with Casey, but Melbourne aren't doing themselves any favours playing games out there. Need to look at shifting as many games as they can to Ikon Park. As one of the stronger AFLW teams they could be pulling 3000+ regularly.

997 at Punt Road seems low, until you consider capacity is capped at 2000 due to the Jack Dyer Stand being off limits and with GWS not bringing a large amount of fans.

Weather plays a huge part in attendance for AFLW compared to the mens game considering the often limited shelter (excluding Ikon Park, GMHBA and People First stadiums).

Melbourne barely get 20k to the mens games. Venue is not the issue. Community engagement is.

I live a stones throw from casey fields. You'd barely know they play there. Driving past on game days (including vfl) there's no signage or anything. Leading up there's no local advertising.

Compare that to the hawks. Active on socials, Frankston council advertises them, and there's advertising on bus shelters etc.

Frankston and Casey are 20 mins apart, and similar drive times from the city

 

[Teen Wolf]

Hawthorn r da best... 2,794 for R1 vs a Big 4 club. Less than what the little Kangas had yesterday vs a team from another city.

 

[Mitchell Madness]

Hawthorn r da best... 2,794 for R1 vs a Big 4 club. Less than what the little Kangas had yesterday vs a team from another city.

I assume this is a potshot at my post

Kangaroos have also been in the comp longer, and have done a wonderful job in engaging their local community to make It a welcoming environment for everyone (something their mens team has not done)

And "another city" oh boy... technically correct, but let's jot pretend geelong is a long way away from Arden st

 

[mblack42]

Melbourne barely get 20k to the mens games. Venue is not the issue. Community engagement is.

I live a stones throw from casey fields. You'd barely know they play there. Driving past on game days (including vfl) there's no signage or anything. Leading up there's no local advertising.

Compare that to the hawks. Active on socials, Frankston council advertises them, and there's advertising on bus shelters etc.

Frankston and Casey are 20 mins apart, and similar drive times from the city

Thanks for the insights re: Casey Fields. I live about a 20 minute walk from Moorabbin and St Kilda have definitely put in work to engage the local community. There's billboard signage advertising the club on Nepean Highway (both lens and women's teams), wayfinding signage from Moorabbin Station to Linton Street and local business promote AFLW games there (whilst encouraging you to stop by for a pre or post game feed/drink).

Frankston do a great job as well. Although it also helps that their ground is in the heart of their CBD and short walk from the train station. If and when the rail extension to Clyde becomes a reality, a station at or near Casey Fields would certainly be beneficial. It will be interesting what they do once Dingley is completed, cause that's somewhat isolated location.

 

[Mitchell Madness]

Thanks for the insights re: Casey Fields. I live about a 20 minute walk from Moorabbin and St Kilda have definitely put in work to engage the local community. There's billboard signage advertising the club on Nepean Highway (both lens and women's teams), wayfinding signage from Moorabbin Station to Linton Street and local business promote AFLW games there (whilst encouraging you to stop by for a pre or post game feed/drink).

Frankston do a great job as well. Although it also helps that their ground is in the heart of their CBD and short walk from the train station. If and when the rail extension to Clyde becomes a reality, a station at or near Casey Fields would certainly be beneficial. It will be interesting what they do once Dingley is completed, cause that's somewhat isolated location.

What I have been told by the club, when dingley is built there will be shuttle services from Westall and possibly mentone station to dingley on game days (similar to shuttles to waverly Park back in the day)

Obviously not ideal, but there is still the opportunity for community engagement.
I actually don't think travel plays as big of a part as it did before covid

 

[Teen Wolf]

I assume this is a potshot at my post

Kangaroos have also been in the comp longer, and have done a wonderful job in engaging their local community to make It a welcoming environment for everyone (something their mens team has not done)

And "another city" oh boy... technically correct, but let's jot pretend geelong is a long way away from Arden st

Hawthorn have been in the comp just as long as Sydney, whose crowds have been way better despite a winless first season.

Is that because the Hawks are heaps worse at engaging the community? Maybe it's just because Henson Park is actually close to the core Sydney fanbase, unlike Frankston Park which is nowhere near Hawthorn.

 

[CURVE]

AFLW needs to drill down into knee injury plague

AFLW needs to drill down into knee injury plague​

Posted by Gil Griffin | Sep 9, 2024 | Behind the News, Football | 0 |

Essendon co-captain Bonnie Toogood after injuring her knee against Fremantle in Round 1. Photo: AFL MEDIA
A wave of serious injuries to key players in the AFLW is threatening to become an epidemic. Only two rounds into the 2024 season, four club captains are done for the year.

Ange Stannett of Fremantle, Janelle Cuthbertson of Port Adelaide, Essendon co-skipper Bonnie Toogood, and most sensationally, Sydney’s Chloe Molloy, are the big names on the sidelines, with AFLW officials already praying more bad luck isn’t on the horizon.

Molloy and the Swans have been roundly criticised for their subterfuge with the public and players before their round two match about her having ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament.

But the smoke of the Swans’ “Knee-gate” and who knew what and when, must not obscure for the league the raging fire causing it. Literally and figuratively, the AFLW is knee-deep in a health crisis it must exhaust every available means to extinguish. The issue is soft tissue.

This is not the league’s first early-season rash of damaged ACLs, PCLs and MCLs. In 2019, only one of the league’s then-10 clubs had a player who didn’t suffer an ACL injury.

In the opening round of 2022, three of the league’s brightest stars succumbed to serious knee injuries – Brisbane’s Kate Lutkins, the previous season’s grand final best on ground, Collingwood’s Bri Davey, the league’s co-best-and-fairest, and Bulldog Isabella Huntington – all lost for the season.

All three players subsequently returned and are plying their trade, with Huntington since shifting to GWS, but what about the continued risk to their long-term knee health?

Athletes shouldn’t ever be deterred from living out their professional sporting dreams because of injury risks, but maximising injury prevention must be a higher priority if AFLW is to successfully make its best players and on-field leaders the household names they deserve to become.

Medical professionals worldwide acknowledge that, anatomically, women athletes are more susceptible than their male counterparts to serious knee injuries.

“The structure of the knee joint in women plays a big role in putting them at a higher risk,” says doctor Andrew Cosgarea in an article on the website of Johns Hopkins Medical Centre, a US-based, world-renowned health facility.

“Women’s joints – including the knee – generally have more looseness and range of motion than men’s. Women also have less muscle mass around the knee, contributing to more instability, which can lead to a ligament tear if the ligament gets overstretched.”

Earlier this year, IDA, a woman-owned US sports shoe manufacturer, rolled out and made available to the public a line of athletic footwear specifically designed for women.

IDA claims its shoes offer greater heel and toe support, a tongue that causes less irritation, and studs that boost traction, all in an effort to “mitigate ACL injury risk”.

Though many of IDA’s products are labelled as soccer boots, its website features an image of a Brisbane player holding up a pair of she wore in last year’s grand final, and Australian retailers are advertising them online as suitable footy boots.

While AFLW has yet to officially recommend or endorse IDA boots, the VFLW’s Darebin Falcons advertise on their website a promotional partnership with IDA, touting the manufacturer’s Classica Women’s Football Boot as ideal because of its “unique female foot mould” and its being built for “firm ground”.

Whether Stannett, Cuthbertson, Molloy and Toogood were wearing IDA boots at the time of their injuries has yet to be revealed. And of course, no shoe in human history has ever been or likely ever will be invented that will prevent injury. No women’s footy boots can work magic like the mythical pair of glass slippers worked for Cinderella.

But AFLW would be wise to take a leaf from Qantas – at least in its unconventional approach to an aspect of the long-term sustainability of its product.

The airline, in an unprecedented attempt to shrink the globe in commercial aviation, launched “Project Sunrise”. It challenged the world’s two leading civil aviation giants, Boeing and Airbus, to design the first commercial passenger aircraft that could safely, regularly, and reliably ferry customers directly between Sydney and New York, 16,000 kilometres apart.

While the jury is out on the veracity of the claim of serious knee injury mitigation IDA says it offers, perhaps an AFLW version of “Project Sunrise” could recruiting the world’s leading orthopedists, sports scientists, and athletic shoe manufacturers to develop health-sustaining footwear as revolutionary to professional women footballers as Qantas’s Airbus A350-1000 Ultra Long Range may become to international travellers when the aircraft is scheduled for take-off in 2026.

Keeping its best players on the park is in the AFLW’s best interests. And the sky should not be the limit in how high the league is willing to invest in its most crucial human assets.

 

[Cdog71]

AFLW needs to drill down into knee injury plague

AFLW needs to drill down into knee injury plague​

Posted by Gil Griffin | Sep 9, 2024 | Behind the News, Football | 0 |

Essendon co-captain Bonnie Toogood after injuring her knee against Fremantle in Round 1. Photo: AFL MEDIA
A wave of serious injuries to key players in the AFLW is threatening to become an epidemic. Only two rounds into the 2024 season, four club captains are done for the year.

Ange Stannett of Fremantle, Janelle Cuthbertson of Port Adelaide, Essendon co-skipper Bonnie Toogood, and most sensationally, Sydney’s Chloe Molloy, are the big names on the sidelines, with AFLW officials already praying more bad luck isn’t on the horizon.

Molloy and the Swans have been roundly criticised for their subterfuge with the public and players before their round two match about her having ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament.

But the smoke of the Swans’ “Knee-gate” and who knew what and when, must not obscure for the league the raging fire causing it. Literally and figuratively, the AFLW is knee-deep in a health crisis it must exhaust every available means to extinguish. The issue is soft tissue.

This is not the league’s first early-season rash of damaged ACLs, PCLs and MCLs. In 2019, only one of the league’s then-10 clubs had a player who didn’t suffer an ACL injury.

In the opening round of 2022, three of the league’s brightest stars succumbed to serious knee injuries – Brisbane’s Kate Lutkins, the previous season’s grand final best on ground, Collingwood’s Bri Davey, the league’s co-best-and-fairest, and Bulldog Isabella Huntington – all lost for the season.

All three players subsequently returned and are plying their trade, with Huntington since shifting to GWS, but what about the continued risk to their long-term knee health?

Athletes shouldn’t ever be deterred from living out their professional sporting dreams because of injury risks, but maximising injury prevention must be a higher priority if AFLW is to successfully make its best players and on-field leaders the household names they deserve to become.

Medical professionals worldwide acknowledge that, anatomically, women athletes are more susceptible than their male counterparts to serious knee injuries.

“The structure of the knee joint in women plays a big role in putting them at a higher risk,” says doctor Andrew Cosgarea in an article on the website of Johns Hopkins Medical Centre, a US-based, world-renowned health facility.

“Women’s joints – including the knee – generally have more looseness and range of motion than men’s. Women also have less muscle mass around the knee, contributing to more instability, which can lead to a ligament tear if the ligament gets overstretched.”

Earlier this year, IDA, a woman-owned US sports shoe manufacturer, rolled out and made available to the public a line of athletic footwear specifically designed for women.

IDA claims its shoes offer greater heel and toe support, a tongue that causes less irritation, and studs that boost traction, all in an effort to “mitigate ACL injury risk”.

Though many of IDA’s products are labelled as soccer boots, its website features an image of a Brisbane player holding up a pair of she wore in last year’s grand final, and Australian retailers are advertising them online as suitable footy boots.

While AFLW has yet to officially recommend or endorse IDA boots, the VFLW’s Darebin Falcons advertise on their website a promotional partnership with IDA, touting the manufacturer’s Classica Women’s Football Boot as ideal because of its “unique female foot mould” and its being built for “firm ground”.

Whether Stannett, Cuthbertson, Molloy and Toogood were wearing IDA boots at the time of their injuries has yet to be revealed. And of course, no shoe in human history has ever been or likely ever will be invented that will prevent injury. No women’s footy boots can work magic like the mythical pair of glass slippers worked for Cinderella.

But AFLW would be wise to take a leaf from Qantas – at least in its unconventional approach to an aspect of the long-term sustainability of its product.

The airline, in an unprecedented attempt to shrink the globe in commercial aviation, launched “Project Sunrise”. It challenged the world’s two leading civil aviation giants, Boeing and Airbus, to design the first commercial passenger aircraft that could safely, regularly, and reliably ferry customers directly between Sydney and New York, 16,000 kilometres apart.

While the jury is out on the veracity of the claim of serious knee injury mitigation IDA says it offers, perhaps an AFLW version of “Project Sunrise” could recruiting the world’s leading orthopedists, sports scientists, and athletic shoe manufacturers to develop health-sustaining footwear as revolutionary to professional women footballers as Qantas’s Airbus A350-1000 Ultra Long Range may become to international travellers when the aircraft is scheduled for take-off in 2026.

Keeping its best players on the park is in the AFLW’s best interests. And the sky should not be the limit in how high the league is willing to invest in its most crucial human assets.

Good to have some decent journalism around the AFLW rather than the nonstop bullsh.t click bait at every turn that surrounds the mens game

 

[jatz14]

Good to have some decent journalism around the AFLW rather than the nonstop bullsh.t click bait at every turn that surrounds the mens game

Gil is American, so there is that for a start.

On SM-A346E using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Teen Wolf]

Today's episode of Credit to the Girls would be another example of what I was talking about during Round 1, wrt GWS strangely always getting extra criticism for losses.

Last year's 16th wins at home against last year's wooden spooners, then they lose on the road to last year's 10th (by 11 points) = "THE GIANTS ARE THE MOST UNTRUSTWORTHY TEAM IN THE COMP ARGHGHGH".

Meanwhile Fremantle follows up a win in Vic against a top 8 team from 2023 by going goalless at home vs Adelaide-at-half-ratpower (like they were the week prior when Port kicked more than 0 goals) = "oh yeah but um nah the Crows are good and stuff".

Are they Connar 4 Real??

 

[cmndstab]

Today's episode of Credit to the Girls would be another example of what I was talking about during Round 1, wrt GWS strangely always getting extra criticism for losses.

Last year's 16th wins at home against last year's wooden spooners, then they lose on the road to last year's 10th (by 11 points) = "THE GIANTS ARE THE MOST UNTRUSTWORTHY TEAM IN THE COMP ARGHGHGH".

Meanwhile Fremantle follows up a win in Vic against a top 8 team from 2023 by going goalless at home vs Adelaide-at-half-ratpower (like they were the week prior when Port kicked more than 0 goals) = "oh yeah but um nah the Crows are good and stuff".

Are they Connar 4 Real??

To be fair, that was mostly Bastiani who loves to get a sly dig in at GWS.