The Doc is back with all his Likes and Dislikes from Week Six of AFLW action
LIKES
The Crows
Sometimes it’s not about the loss, it’s how you follow up.
Some would consider Adelaide extremely unlucky to be on the losing end against Brisbane again last week. It was a quality game, and the Crows held a good account of themselves against a side that will be right there again come the tail end of the season.
The Saints, my god it was plucky, but the Crows showed their experience and dug deep to record a good win, to stay in touch with getting a home final.
Everyone will direct their attention to either the Kelly sisters, who were opposed on the same wing in an intriguing battle that saw both of them pick up plenty of the footy. But I would love to direct the attention towards the battle between Ebony Marinoff and Tyanna Smith.
It was the classic dialogue of the young up-start looking to prove herself against arguably the best inside midfielder that is strutting around this season.
Marinoff will take the three votes in this game and with that, make a serious push for the league’s best and fairest award this year, recording 31 touches, along with 17 tackles and 9 clearances.
But Smith shouldn’t be disgraced. 22 disposals, 13 tackles and 10 clearances is as good a performance as any midfielder and if anything, put one last stamp on it that she is an elite midfielder and is ready to break out.
Also one last mention to both Danielle Ponter and Hannah Munyard in the dying minutes, both faced situations where they were outnumbered, yet somehow managed to find a way to not just win the ball, but gain territory without necessarily turning the ball over.
That’s a sign of a good side.
I Love Lucy Cronin
Given everything else, I don’t think you can find a first-year player from the past couple of years, who not only adapts but has taken everything head-on in the manner that Lucy Cronin does.
The AFLW world stood up and took notice when she held Dakota Davidson goalless when the Pies made the trip to Brisbane earlier in the season.
While playing in the monsoon that was in Victoria on Saturday, she still had the job of managing Katie Brennan for a large part of the game, and you could visibly see how frustrated Brennan was with the attention she was given.
Not only was Brennan held scoreless, but she was kept to just seven touches. Cronin, herself, had the nine disposals.
It was also made the more impressive that she copped a massive hit to the face during the third term and still managed to play on and keep to task the job of shutting Brennan out of the game.
It’s easy to suggest weather played a part, but Richmond was well on top and had plenty of opportunities to score through Brennan, but Cronin kept at her like glue, and it outlines just how good of a defender she will be through the years.
Cronin leads all key defenders for contested defensive one-on-ones with 24, and while she boasts the worst loss percentage out of the top five in this statistic, she has only lost a one-on-one contest five times this year and has already put some significant names on the board in terms of shutting down some big forwards.
The move of the year?
I’ve enjoyed seeing Ryan Ferguson switch the magnet and elevate Eilish Sheerin from an attacking defender who intercepts and gains territory to a midfielder who not just attacks, but bustles and hustles her way to the footy.
We all knew from her debut a few years back she’s a good talent, but I don’t think many realised how much-untapped potential she had to make an impact in the midfield.
Since returning to the Richmond side in week three, Sheerin has spent an average of 52 per cent across centre bounces this year, and it’s only behind the established midfielders at the Tigers – that being Monique Conti, Ellie McKenzie and Grace Egan.
It’s a unique blend of dash, dare and poise. Even with the torrential conditions on Saturday, the Tigers still showed a lot of run and flair with the ball and are showing their attacking style is as good as anyone else’s – McKenzie and Sheerin combined for four of their seven goals on the weekend.
Many have talked about Hawthorn or Fremantle as the sides who have shown the most improvement, but hardly anyone has talked about the Tigers, maybe it’s because they were top four in season seven.
We all knew last year was more of a write-off due to the number of injuries the club had, but on a much cleaner bill of health this year, the Tigers are poising themselves for another top-four finish, and hopeful they can move a little further than they did two years ago.
Port’s inspirational fightback.
Port Adelaide were 19 points down at quarter time, failed to score and only had five inside 50s.
Given the nature of the Eagles’ season, we were asking the question of how much at quarter time, but Lauren Arnell and the Power had other ideas. They not only managed to claw the lead back by halftime, they just kept on kicking on in the second half.
At quarter time, their pressure rating was at a paltry 188, which moved up to 233 in the second term, so the pressure was applicable.
It was moments like Shineah Goody shutting Ella Roberts out of the second term, after having 11 touches and four score involvements in the opening term. Roberts only had one touch in the second quarter, and that helped swing the momentum back in Port’s favour.
Despite the top four leading disposal-getters being all Eagles, the Power found winners across the ground when it mattered.
Matilda Scholz (15 contested possessions, six clearances and six tackles) outworked Lauren Wakfer and had a massive influence. Abbey Dowrick (19 disposals and nine clearances) was exceptional too.
After a lean opening month, that saw her only return just two goals, Gemma Houghton is now on a bit of a roll, kicking another 2.2 this week to bring it up to six goals from her past three matches, and the Power might have found another likely option up forward with Caitlin Wendland – the former Brisbane player kicking a pair as well.
I’m still not sure about where Port sits in the grand scheme of things, but one thing is for certain, they’re on the way back.
Brisbane just keeps finding winners
People in and outside the walls of Brisbane will know about how good Charlie Mullins is, and some non-Lions supporters will know about her too.
But just how many outside of that group of supporters understand or realise just how good she is going to be?
The Lions did what they needed to this week against Carlton, poor accuracy denied them from winning by 70 or 80 points, but that’s football, isn’t it?
Leading the disposal count for the Lions, it wasn’t Ally Anderson, it wasn’t Belle Dawes, it wasn’t Bre Koenen or Nat Grider. Rather it was the 19-year-old from North Lakes.
Mullins played every game for the Lions last year and cemented herself as not just a regular inside Brisbane’s 21, but also as a premiership player, playing mostly as a half-forward type.
We saw her a lot more on the wing this week against Carlton, and had 23 touches, with 16 of them being uncontested, but had six score involvements (including kicking a goal), as well as five intercept possessions and five inside 50s.
She’s a ripper this one, and with only just 20 games of experience, the Lions have found another one to help prolong the Brisbane dynasty.
Maddy Prespakis
It’s been a tough week for Maddy Prespakis, who had to endure not just a hard tag from Tanya Kennedy on Wednesday night, but then was vilified for her weight by some coward hiding behind a fake Instagram account.
And for what? That she didn’t clear that bozo’s multi by not getting 20 touches? Give me a spell.
A lot of us have seen this, I’d wager some of us have probably felt it at some point in time or another, but the AFLW community threw their arms around Maddy, and that’s almost the bare minimum we can do, aside from calling out the action, which most did.
Stepping back onto the scene at People First Stadium on Sunday, she had to endure another close-checking opponent through Elise Barwick, and whilst Barwick will learn a lot, Prespakis channelled in for another classy performance.
Hard at the grindstone through the stoppage work, and pushing forward to provide an option, Prespakis relished the challenge and was the most influential player on the ground full-time, recording 22 disposals, nine clearances and 2.1
Sometimes, and I might be a little guilty of it myself, we as the punters tend to sort of brush past players like Prespakis, because we all know how good of a player she is and just how consistent she has been basically since she stepped onto the scene.
However, games like this one, remind us about how much she belongs in with the competition’s elites.
Geelong’s great escape
Poor kicking cost them on Tuesday night against Fremantle, and it nearly cost them again against the Swans on the weekend.
Geelong had 19 scoring shots for the match held a 14-point lead at three-quarter time and led by as much as 21 points early on in the final quarter. They conceded all three Swans’ goals from stoppage and the fact they only held on and secured a second win for the year, papers over the large cracks that have emerged from this season.
Another two goals from Aishling Moloney will continue to raise claims that she is in the mix for a key forward slot in the AFLW’s All-Australian side. And without Amy McDonald in the side, the Cats were still +21 in the contested ball and were just about breakeven on clearances.
Geelong’s depth has been tested and will be talked about on another occasion, but they can find some solace in the fact that their contested game is still intact, despite the injuries. Georgie Prespakis, Nina Morrison and Rebecca Webster combined for 28 contested possessions and were three of the top four Cats on the ground for that stat.
As written about in the mid-week wrap, this game was perceived as an elimination final and Geelong live to fight another day, but sitting a game and a half behind eighth, they are on borrowed time.
A gutsy win from Hawthorn
Hawthorn have shown their flair throughout the year, but this was a win that practically solidified themselves as a genuine top-four threat.
Fremantle is going to be a finals-bound team this year, there is no denying it – Hawthorn is one of the highest scoring sides in the competition, and the Dockers only held them to just five goals in this match.
The Hawks also had to do with two on the bench by halftime – Laura Stone and Kristy Stratton suffering ankle injuries, while Mackenzie Eardley was stretchered off in the first quarter in what was slightly harrowing scenes, considering she was hardly moving when she hit the ground.
It’s a neck injury for Eardley, but the Hawks say she was conscious and moving around by the time she went to the hospital for precautionary scans, you expect the Hawks will take every step to look after her health and well-being before she comes back onto the field.
Meanwhile, the players who were out there were brave. They unearthed one in Jess Vukic, the first-year ruck-forward out of the Eastern Ranges, who provided the cool head to kick one through when the Dockers got to within a goal of them in the last quarter.
Tilly Lucas Rodd’s (20 disposals and 445 metres gained) drive from half-back this year has been one of the bigger revelations about this team. Tilly’s only got one gear and that’s to move the ball forward, while the work of Eliza West in close (19 disposals, 11 contested and 13 tackles) was awesome to watch as well.
With six wins now for the season, Hawthorn has a foot and a half in the door of playing finals.
DISLIKES
Saints have lost three in a row
It’s a harsh dislike, because, except for the Hawthorn game, they’ve been up to their eyeballs against both Fremantle and Adelaide, the former now many believe will be a top-six side come the end of the home and away season.
As of their loss on Friday, the Saints currently sit in the eighth, but that will change by the time Essendon have their game against the Gold Coast.
They’ll have their mid-week game Tuesday night against the Giants, followed by Melbourne on Sunday, then Port Adelaide, the Bulldogs both away games, before meeting Brisbane at home to close the year out.
Currently sitting at 3-3, do you think seven wins get St Kilda a finals berth? Which makes this next week all the more must-win for them.
One criticism I do have with the Saints is that they cannot be scoring 15 to 25 points a match and expect to win every time. I respect the style Nick Dal Santo is trying to reach and making it a scrap in every game to give his side every chance.
But their last four matches have seen them score an aggregate total of 76 points, which brings the average to 19 points per game.
That simply doesn’t get it done in AFLW football anymore.
Wild weather causing chaos
I’ve heard from a few AFLW fans across the weekend they had to leave either Arden Street or Punt Road Oval on Saturday, due to the wild weather, the storms in particular delayed the Richmond/Collingwood game by around half an hour.
The old timers would be in an uproar about ‘in my day’ but in reality, some people don’t want to be drenched and be out in the open when stormy weather is about. On a health level, some just can’t cope with the weather.
We can’t do much about it, but surely we can do something about upgrading the facilities. Punt Road historically has been a poor venue for fans. If not for the capacity it’s allowed to host, then it’s the lack of shelter that accommodates the fans.
Looking around, Ikon Park has plenty of shelter within the Legends stand, Windy Hill has stands you can shelter in and likewise Whitten Oval.
I dare say we won’t be seeing the last of the weather, for we’ve seen some games affected by miserable conditions, which will no doubt beg the question of ‘when are they going to shift games to Marvel Stadium?’
Understanding everything about costs and whatnot, surely it can coincide with having an AFLW fixture work as double-headers with some of the men’s games at Docklands. Yes, it’s about time to reignite the debate about the scheduling.
This year has been an absolute dog’s breakfast from the AFL in terms of fixturing – the first half of the year has been swallowed up by the finals, and at this point, there are a lot of punters and fans who are tired of football and need to regenerate.
I surely can’t be the only one here who’s thinking this.
Injuries begin to mount for Dogs
The Dogs were never beating North Melbourne, but for what it was worth, they gave a good account of themselves in the opening half, before things started to unravel and North’s class shone through.
There’ll be lessons learned for Tam Hyett’s charges, but the big takeaway was the injuries to captain Deanna Berry and their best key defender Lauren Ahrens. Both of whom were not seen after quarter time.
Berry was cited by the club as an illness, and while there’s no clarity yet on her timeframe, Ahrens will likely be on the shelf with a foot injury.
Losing both will be a large blow structurally, especially Ahrens, who’s been holding down a spot as one of their key defenders, as well as being one of their key rebounders out of the defensive 50.
Ahrens has been one of the best players in terms of winning one-on-one contests, only going at a loss percentage of 10.5 per cent, losing just twice this year from 19 defensive one-on-ones, but also sitting in the top five in the competition for rebound 50s, and going at a kicking efficiency of 64 per cent.
The Dogs have been building, but it might be all unravelling if they sustain any more injuries to key personnel.
What happened to the Eagles?
They had no answers to the Port onslaught from quarter time.
Some numbers between quarters two to four – Port beat them at the inside 50 count 35-18, outscored them 7.7 to 2.5 and outtackled them 58-37.
We’ve hit that stage of the year where teams are often relying on certain few to get it done, and for the Eagles not enough stood up when it mattered.
Lauren Wakfer was outworked and had just seven touches, Jess Rentsch and Georgie Cleaver had just six touches and Jaide Britton had six touches as well – all of them are still young players and yet to reach full potential.
Having said that, Ella Roberts (28 disposals, 11 marks one goal), Bella Lewis (26 disposals, eight marks, one goal) and Charlie Thomas (24 disposals and 10 intercept possessions are all still relatively young and yet to hit their prime years.
But the Eagles are certainly missing some experience, especially Jess Hosking, who’s proven to be a big influence in the forward half of the ground this year. But also Amy Franklin, important to the Eagles’ structures up forward, has been badly missed.
And what’s happening to the Blues?
The last four games have seen Bucky’s Blues score an average of just 13 points per game, including three matches in which they have scored either no goals or one goal in a match.
After winning two of their first three games of the season, the Blues have plummeted to the bottom four of the AFLW ladder and are in the proverbial no-man’s land.
They were walloped by Brisbane on Saturday in the centre-bounces 11-3 and went -29 in the contested ball. Defensively speaking, the pressure rating was 203, but it felt as if the Lions made it look way too easy at times.
They’re missing captain Kerryn Peterson greatly, and Abbie McKay has left a huge void in their midfield structure. Good sides manage to cover these holes with the depth, but unfortunately, the depth is just not good enough right now.
The Blues have more battlers than stars. You know what you’ll get from Mimi Hill, Keeley Sherar and Maddy Guerin – they’re all either A-grade players or are on the periphery.
I love the efforts of players like Marianna Anthony, Lily Goss, Ciara Fitzgerald and Maddy Hendrie – but have they got another few levels left in their development, or are they just going to be players who are good at VFL footy, but plateau at the top level?
Is Breann Moody being wasted as a key forward who pinches in the ruck?
How fast can they track Meg Robertson and Lila Keck – both I thought tried hard as first-year players.
I can understand a lot of these players are still finding their way, and maybe they need to go backwards before they can go forward, but this past month has been nothing but bog average for Carlton.
Put a line through the Swans
They are sitting in 12th and with just four games left, they are sitting two wins behind the eighth-placed West Coast.
While it’s not technically impossible for the Swans yet to reach finals, it’s about time to cross them off. They’ve been lackadaisical with the ball, and especially in the past two matches – against Essendon on Wednesday night and then against Geelong on Sunday, they waited until the last quarter to get a string of goals together.
It’s a pattern that no club wants to have, but the injuries the Swans have had this year – two of their three All-Australian have been put on the shelf – suggest they are too reliant on too few.
Another Laura Gardiner masterclass in the midfield, registering 30 disposals. This year has proven Sofia Hurley (20 disposals, nine tackles) can stick with the best of them in the midfield, and Tanya Kennedy will always hold a spot as a negating midfield type.
We saw Paris McCarthy come into this side on Sunday and slot into the forward line and kick three second-quarter goals in a bid to lift her side.
But not many others lifted around them. Alice Mitchell’s last fortnight has been exceptional as a key defender, and Brenna Tarrant continues to fight on, but that’s about where it ends for them.
Freo’s slow starts
For as good as Fremantle have been, the most damning statistic this year for them is that they are yet to win a first quarter in 2024.
Against Hawthorn, they conceded four of the first five goals of this game, and while they worked so hard to get themselves back in it, they were always fighting an uphill battle against a side who are beckoning for a top-four spot.
It was a good account of themselves by the Dockers, restricting Hawthorn to just one goal after halftime and finishing up with more scoring shots. They also won the contested possession count by seven and the inside 50 count by six.
However, it was the forward line structure without Aine Tighe that seemingly let them down. With no real target to kick to – they had Ari Hetherington, Ebony Antonio and Tunisha Kikoak as the marking targets, and while two of them hit the scoreboard for a goal, the smalls were left floundering.
It’s perhaps Lisa Webb’s next phase in her run as a coach is to get maybe another general forward who can find herself up the ground and help connect the midfielders to the key forwards, but I digress.
The Dockers are a good enough side for finals, but perhaps they’re a step or two behind the pace, they’re looking like they’ll get there in the next few years.
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