AFLW 2022

[crashlander]

It was either Dalton or Jess Hosking leaving which netted us Dal Pos. Was akin to a straight swap in the washup i think.

Dal Pos is highly regarded by teammates and is an 'on-field' coach, but her efforts as a player are very much disappointing if you ask me.

Indeed. Very disappointing.
I'm sorry, but I put Elise O'Dea in the same category. She might be a good leader, but her on-field performances have been poor this season and not that great last year. She just make a terrible turnover that resulted in a goal (Harrington dropping a pretty easy mark didn't help either).
We've spent lots of time and money on players who are struggling to keep up with the game. They might be great people, but we need good players and they're not the answer.

Losing Davey and Harris as we did hurt us a lot, although we did get something reasonable back for Davey. Harris didn't even net us a 1st round pick. But it is the other players like Dalton, who could have made up the difference that hurts almost as much.

[kruddler]

O'Dea has at least played some decent footy, albeit disappointing for large chunks of time, very much this year.

Unfortunately, there is a common theme with O'Dea and Dal Pos
.....Vescio.

Those 3 go back to pre-AFLW days and were teammates from the Falcons.
Those 2 both came here because of Darcy (and perhaps NOT because of pure talent) and perhaps that is half our issue.
The game of AFLW has sped up so much since its inception and those 2 have always been on the slower side and its hurting us as a result.

[kruddler]

Just having a look at the ladder for a moment, it paints an interesting picture of where AFLW is at.


Look at the top 5 teams....
Fremantle - 1st WA side
Adelaide - Only SA side
Melbourne - Vic
North Melbourne - Vic
Brisbane - 1st QLD side......and played less games than the rest of the comp.

The middle group 6-9....
Collingwood - vic
GC - 2nd QLD side
GWS - only NSW side

The bottom 6 teams....
Richmond - vic team
Geelong - geelong/vic
Dogs - vic
Eagles - 2nd WA side
Carlton - vic
St. Kilda vic team

What you see is clear divide based on geographical location and/or time in the system.
Put simply, the talent pool is too diluted to follow the mens game and until you get the girls full time and 'force them' to go interstate from the draft, it will continue to be the case.

[Lods]

After being quite enthusiastic at the start of this project I've gone completely "off it" and Kruddler's post highlights one of the major problems.
We're still yet to see a full complement of teams yet the gap between the best and worst players on most teams is significant.
Consider the talent pool that sees the cream of players make the grade at male AFL level.
A talent pool well over 100 years in the making.
Yet they're trying to duplicate that level of participation with the women's sides.
As more teams enter the competition the talent pool is spread even further and players change teams like their socks.
How can you get continuity and bonding within a playing under those circumstances?
How do supporters get around and develop group an interest or bond with players?

[Lods]

Just to be clear...I'm not against the concept of AFLW.
It's a great idea and will give a lot of young players opportunities and enjoyment that they may not have experienced otherwise but...

Having created the competition I fear the way it's being advanced too quickly in a way that means that many people are becoming a bit disenchanted with some aspects, and like me losing interest.
What are the crowd numbers like for these games.
I suspect the TV audiences are up as the number of teams increases but are the 'average per game' increasing.

[Baggers]

K, Principal LODS - spot on. Well analyzed/said.

[Thryleon]

Not sure what everyone is so surprised about.  This is exactly where women's sports at the elite level ends up.

Will it get better in future?  Probably not. 

Aflw is a niche sport.  It doesn't appeal to the majority of girls, for a variety of reasons, but sports in general doesn't appeal to the majority of women.

Men have the opposite equation.  The majority of men i know would happily forge or would have forged a pro career whilst a lot of females I know aren't interested in sports like that.

It is what it is. 

I wish it all the best, but the talent pool is further diluted by this phenomenon.  Most women whilst happy to compete dont really want to get their hands dirty and can be quite delicate. 

[shawny]

Let’s just call it as it is. It’s junk. Awful to watch and gone backwards instead of forward. AFL will continue to bankroll it but if they were serious it would be cut.

They are not professional enough many are unfit majority have under 14 skills at best yet they throw 15 teams into a comp that with the talent available you would be pressed finding room for more then 6 teams.

A proper mens pre season comp like the 80s and 90s versions maybe even with some 2nd round draft incentive depending on where you finish would add some added interest. Imagine knowing if you win you get a 1st round selection in the 2nd round of the draft.

I would watch it.

[crashlander]

Just to be clear...I'm not against the concept of AFLW.
It's a great idea and will give a lot of young players opportunities and enjoyment that they may not have experienced otherwise but...

Having created the competition I fear the way it's being advanced too quickly in a way that means that many people are becoming a bit disenchanted with some aspects, and like me losing interest.
What are the crowd numbers like for these games.
I suspect the TV audiences are up as the number of teams increases but are the 'average per game' increasing.

Crowds at Carlton are down considerably. By a factor of 8, based on Rd 1 crowds compared to the first season.

[kruddler]

I wish it all the best, but the talent pool is further diluted by this phenomenon.  Most women whilst happy to compete dont really want to get their hands dirty and can be quite delicate. 

Regardless of the type of women that want to play such is a whole other kettle of fish, I think you are misunderstanding my comments.

The diluted talent is not about the number of teams exactly, it's the location of those teams and how the draft works.

Adelaide are the strongest team in the comp and have been since the comp started.
Adelaide have access to every girl in SA and NT. Their 'draft' is simply picking the best players from that group and no other team can pick those players.

Add up all the players who they have access too and compare that to the amount of players from Victoria.
Now you have 8 teams in Victoria (including Geelong) who have to pick from that list.
Unless there are 8x more girls in Vic, simple maths shows you Adelaide will get a more talented/better list.

It's been similar for freo and Brisbane up until the recent introduction of West Coast and Gold Coast.

The talent is not evenly distributed across the aflw because the draft is not a national draft. It's essentially a state draft.

It's not about the overall standard, it's about the distribution of talent and the one sidedness that has created.