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AFLW 2024 - Round 4 - Chat, game threads, injury lists, team lineups and more.
I reckon a lot of this debate would have been avoided this year if they'd given us access to Lance Collard. At least they could have forestalled the discussion somewhat.
And Darling. And Judd/Sampi.Let's not be all high and mighty about priority picks. Luke Shuey was a priority pick after all.
If everyone's fine with us losing by 60/70/80 points every week with the games being over by half time then have it.
I’m not here to fetch for you. Feel free to go find it. Or don’t, I’m not particularly concerned .
Freo have managed to rebuild their entire list within the landscape you described without draft assistance.
I reject the premise entirely there was no levers to pull. Barrass, Duggan as free agents in 2022 for a start. Darling had capital.
It was an administration that was so full of themselves that they refused to see what was clear as early as 2021 who refused to make difficult decisions.
That hubris has come back to bite the club, and they shouldn’t be bailed out by the AFL for their incompetence.
We were indeed competing in 2018 and 2019. By 2020 the ship had sailed. The Jackson trade was at the end of 2022. Only now at the end of 2024, 5 years after our window shut, will we be in a position to make a play for quality departing players. This missed opportunity is on the back of poor list magement.
I wanted to keep Gaff, as almost everyone did, but not on a 6-year term (after triggers achieved). On the otherhand, I was opposed to the Kelly trade at the time, not thinking he was worth the 2 first rounders floated, let alone the additional early 2nd and 3rd we gave up, particularly in a deep draft at a time the list needed an injection of youth.
It is not entirely hindsight. The structural issues on our list were clear as far back as 2019. We drove headfirst over the cliff (much like Richmond have now done). No one could have predicted covid, and it certainly accelerated these issues, but by putting all our eggs in one basket, we exposed ourself in the event of a downturn.
Rotating list managers, and consolidaring it with recruitment is on us. We did not prioritise list management.
Barrett is saying that we shouldn't get a PP but is now trying to camouflage his hypocrisy by pretending he also vocally opposed the PP's to North and GC before now. What a load of crap. He never opposed those clubs getting a PP.
If he and other Melbourne figures are now arguing that club's should take personal responsibility for their decisions and performance, pay the price for their own incompetence and that the AFL should not be intervening to help anybody then thats great. I totally agree. In that vein how about we get rid of the soft cap too then, and get rid of the current distribution formula of broadcast rights money and just give every club the same amount, and the AFL can stop guaranteeing loans and paying for training facilities for Melbourne clubs whilst we are at it.
Not that I want to give Barrett much credit but he was staunchly against North receiving assistance last year. At least, he was on the AFL.com.au panel shows.Barrett is saying that we shouldn't get a PP but is now trying to camouflage his hypocrisy by pretending he also vocally opposed the PP's to North and GC before now. What a load of crap. He never opposed those clubs getting a PP.
Am a firm believer the club should've burned down the 'Family, Friends, Flag' motto after the GF and replaced it with Footy Finals Flag! (we're here to win footy, it's not a social club for players with family, mortgages and credits in the bank))2020, I firmly believe that was our last chance, but once the spicy cough swept the world and the season was paused, with it our last crack fell at the wayside as our senior players took liberties during lockdown where as they should have been keeping fit before the season restarted.
The problem the AFL is facing now is one of their own making - the ridiculous handouts NM got have directly impacted our drafting position for several years... at a point where we only realistically have 2 years to sort ourselves out with Tassie coming.Barrett is saying that we shouldn't get a PP but is now trying to camouflage his hypocrisy by pretending he also vocally opposed the PP's to North and GC before now. What a load of crap. He never opposed those clubs getting a PP.
If he and other Melbourne figures are now arguing that club's should take personal responsibility for their decisions and performance, pay the price for their own incompetence and that the AFL should not be intervening to help anybody then thats great. I totally agree. In that vein how about we get rid of the soft cap too then, and get rid of the current distribution formula of broadcast rights money and just give every club the same amount, and the AFL can stop guaranteeing loans and paying for training facilities for Melbourne clubs whilst we are at it.
Lol - this is classic AFL. Stuff something up and keep adding to it, rather than fix the core problem. Like at the two spuds they got in to run league: Dillon (who you wouldn't even know has the job) and Laura Kane (no experience and continuing on with the same shit the previous league did). They're not here to innovate, but to run things off inertia like they've always done.The problem the AFL is facing now is one of their own making - the ridiculous handouts NM got have directly impacted our drafting position for several years... at a point where we only realistically have 2 years to sort ourselves out with Tassie coming.
They've gotten to the point where they need to give PP's to help teams recover from previous years PP's
I have asked previously without a response, it appears to be a real issue.Random question, sorry, didn't know what thread to put it.
What is the state of jnr development in WA footy in at the moment?
I understand WCE/WAFC/WAFL connection, a little.
A few things I've read here make it sound dire*, but I'm interested in opinions from people that are really involved giving an insight.
*WA 19's state side references in recent years
Is development that bad in WA?
I am not a colts or WAFL watcher but from what I read and how I understand WA talent has been diminishing for sometime….and getting worse.Random question, sorry, didn't know what thread to put it.
What is the state of jnr development in WA footy in at the moment?
I understand WCE/WAFC/WAFL connection, a little.
A few things I've read here make it sound dire*, but I'm interested in opinions from people that are really involved giving an insight.
*WA 19's state side references in recent years
Is development that bad in WA?
Yeah i genuinely dont think we are that bad, the game plan we seem to be trying required a few of the guys who are out injured in order to work properly.I think unless we finish dead last with a percentage around the 40's or 50's, we get * all from the vAFL.
I really doubt that we finish last. Not saying we're going to be 9th-10th with a 99%, but genuinely expect us to win 4-6 matches post-bye with a caretaker coach and Flynn & Allen back.
North are a joke. Hawks seem to have gone backwards too. They're both smokeys to pinch the spoon from us.
If you flip our goals and behinds for the last two matches, our percentage would be around 75% after playing 3 teams who should make top 6. That's not horrible.
Maybe if they're generous they'll let us pick up Champion somewhere towards the middle of the first round (pick 30-35 )
Statistically it's not much of an issue at the moment. What is an issue is West Coast isn't able to identify the local talent.Random question, sorry, didn't know what thread to put it.
What is the state of jnr development in WA footy in at the moment?
I understand WCE/WAFC/WAFL connection, a little.
A few things I've read here make it sound dire*, but I'm interested in opinions from people that are really involved giving an insight.
*WA 19's state side references in recent years
Is development that bad in WA?
Yeah....we're gonna have that coveredI think unless we finish dead last with a percentage around the 40's or 50's, we get * all from the vAFL.
I really doubt that we finish last. Not saying we're going to be 9th-10th with a 99%, but genuinely expect us to win 4-6 matches post-bye with a caretaker coach and Flynn & Allen back.
North are a joke. Hawks seem to have gone backwards too. They're both smokeys to pinch the spoon from us.
If you flip our goals and behinds for the last two matches, our percentage would be around 75% after playing 3 teams who should make top 6. That's not horrible.
Maybe if they're generous they'll let us pick up Champion somewhere towards the middle of the first round (pick 30-35 )
Any team would've traded for Kelly in our position at the time, the problem was we publicly conceded we would have to pay a big price and ****ed up the negotiating position and lost the game of chicken with Geelong, we should've kept the last pick we gave. Also the picks ended up being 16, 18, 28 and 37, not exactly premium picks.Oppo fans would rightfully question why the AFL needs to bail out a team stupid and arrogant enough to hand over picks 14, 18, 24 and 33 spanning what has turned out to be two super drafts. That's four solid AFL players who would be coming into their prime now, for one player who wanted to come home anyway who is now in his final handful of seasons.
Any team would've traded for Kelly in our position at the time, the problem was we publicly conceded we would have to pay a big price and ****ed up the negotiating position and lost the game of chicken with Geelong, we should've kept the last pick we gave. Also the picks ended up being 16, 18, 28 and 37, not exactly premium picks.
So much revisionism around this trade from opposition supporters, and now it seems to be rubbing off on our own fans. Where did you get the idea that 2019 and 2020 were super drafts? That's absolute rubbish, and most of the players taken around the picks we traded were misses. Yes we could've landed Warner but he wasn't rated that highly at the time and every single club passed over him. The fact you think we would've landed 4 solid AFL players with those picks despite our poor drafting at the time is laughable, Kelly was a proven A grader and we had just won a flag. We missed out on picking some potential guns but the likelihood was we would've butchered atleast half of those picks anyway as the talent around them wasn't much chop. Getting Kelly in was the right decision at the time and to say otherwise just shows you're drinking too much victorian media kool aid.
Good God, Liam Shiels is still on a list! I used to Marvel that he lasted so long at Hawks, figured North delisted him last year.Another myth is the "North are 3-years ahead" of West Coast in their rebuild.
Results don't suggest this, nor does the age profile to be honest:
North Melbourne:
Average age at Opening Round, 2024: 23.2 (18th oldest)
Average games: 48 (18th most experienced)
Most games: Liam Shiels (271)
Players with 100-plus games: 8
Players with less than 50 games: 29
Most finals games: Liam Shiels (20)
Players with finals experience: 7
West Coast:
Average age at Opening Round, 2024: 23.7 (16th oldest)
Average games: 63.9 (14th most experienced)
Most games: Jack Darling (277)
Players with 100-plus games: 11
Players with less than 50 games: 26
Most finals games: Jack Darling (17)
Players with finals experience: 16
Too bad there isn't a footy smarts indicator for teams?Another myth is the "North are 3-years ahead" of West Coast in their rebuild.
Results don't suggest this, nor does the age profile to be honest:
North Melbourne:
Average age at Opening Round, 2024: 23.2 (18th oldest)
Average games: 48 (18th most experienced)
Most games: Liam Shiels (271)
Players with 100-plus games: 8
Players with less than 50 games: 29
Most finals games: Liam Shiels (20)
Players with finals experience: 7
West Coast:
Average age at Opening Round, 2024: 23.7 (16th oldest)
Average games: 63.9 (14th most experienced)
Most games: Jack Darling (277)
Players with 100-plus games: 11
Players with less than 50 games: 26
Most finals games: Jack Darling (17)
Players with finals experience: 16