Well, it’s been a busy week in AFLW terms, as the games moved to midweek. The Doc, as always, was all over those clashes. Here’s what he saw.
THE STARS
SOPHIE CONWAY
After three weeks, discussions are already being made about who the best player in the competition could be.
Some argued about Sophie Conway being the best player in the competition.
When you compare her to Ebony Marinoff, both have a heap of pros: Marinoff is a contested beast, can put up big tackle numbers and is just about the best inside and outside player you can find in the competition.
Conway’s role as a winger is so hard, but she’s one of the best runners the competition has to offer, not only that, but she can damage players with the ball in a manner that very few outside players can.
Matched up with Brooke Barwick in large parts of the game, the 2023 draftee was handed a lesson in making space and working hard. She has been featuring around the centre bounces a little bit throughout the past few weeks, which is only underlying just how good she can be.
She kicked 2.2 and set up a goal with her nine score involvements, but also managed 11 contested possessions (equal third most of any on the ground) eight tackles, and picked up seven inside 50s from 22 touches.
Last year, she kicked 12 goals in her 14 games. In just four matches this year, she’s already eclipsed half of that total and she’s on the verge of a special year.
TAYLOR SMITH
No Dakota Davidson? No worries.
Taylor Smith is currently embarking on a season that’s bound to break personal bests.
She’s never averaged a goal per game in a season since her debut in 2020. After four matches in 2024, she’s averaged 2.3 goals per game. Of course, that average has been blown up due to the four-goal bag in the win against the Western Bulldogs and three three-goal effort last Friday night against Collingwood, but so far she’s kicked a goal in every game. Kicked a beauty early doors against Melbourne in week 2,
It was going to be interesting to see who would step up for the Lions after they pulled Davidson out late due to illness.
But Smith’s influence in the past two games shows that she has got what it takes to be a very good key forward. What’s more interesting is that statistically she’s not a big marking type, despite being a 180 centimetre-tall player.
It’s her work at ground level and her goal nous that amazes me the most.
MONIQUE CONTI
In a game that had very little class and composure, Monique Conti stood out among the players scrapping for the ball on Thursday night in Richmond’s win over Carlton.
In her 50th game for the Tigers, Conti went into halftime with 20 touches to her name, amassing 14 of those in a second quarter, that saw no Blue move anywhere near her in a stoppage. Abbie McKay went to her, but as soon as the ball went up for dispute, she went running her race, and that’s a bad mistake against one of the current-day greats of the game.
Conti finished eight disposals clear of the next best player – that being Grace Egan – with 32 disposals, 10 clearances, two goal assists and 580 metres gained. Her 18 contested possessions are her second-equal-highest
The Blues made sure of it to mind her in the second half, with Keeley Sherar doing a fair job in keeping her honest around stoppage, but this was a night that stood out. Conti’s cleanliness and composure were key in Richmond’s victory.
CAITLIN GREISER
She’s had her fair share of critics since breaking out in 2020, but this was perhaps one of the best performances we’ve seen out of Caitlin Greiser in quite some time.
Harriet Cordner had a magnificent duel with Katie Brennan, but the injury early to Kerryn Peterson meant that the Blues defence was under all sorts of pressure.
And like an ultimate opportunist, Greiser took advantage of the situation. While at the other end, the Blues were struggling to hit targets and clunk contested grabs inside their attacking 50, Greiser was taking the absolute piss in trying conditions up the other end.
She took five marks, three of which were contested, en route to kicking 3.1 – she was dangerous early and got on the end of some slick ball movement from the Richmond midfielders.
But I suppose one thing that won’t be talked about is her pressure inside 50. She had three tackles in Richmond’s attacking 50 on Thursday, the only Tiger to have more was Emelia Yassir, who had six.
Key forwards aren’t usually renowned for their pressure, but it was a quality performance, both from an offensive and defensive standpoint, from Greiser in this one.
THE FINDS
SANNE BAKKER
Football can throw us players from left field at times – 18-year-old Sanne Bakker started the year playing at the Oakleigh Chargers, and now she is fast emerging as a really good run-with player.
Last week, she was given the task of Ellie Blackburn, just to run around and agitate her and the injury-replacement player certainly made the Bulldog champion earn her keep last Thursday night.
She started the opening bounce latched onto the hip of Bri Davey, and while Davey got busy early, Bakker was thereabouts in keeping her honest.
In just 29 per cent of playing time, Davey had eight touches before she was crunched by Ella Roberts going back with the flight of the ball. It was a touch late and a little clumsy by the Eagles star, but she had just as every right to attack the ball too.
However, as far as Bakker goes, she’s shown in just three weeks, how important she can be to the Eagles team – disrupt the star on-baller and help Roberts and Ali Drennan clear it out.
OCTAVIA DI DONATO
Speaking of injury replacement players, Octavia Di Donato has been another find for Daisy’s Eagles this year.
She rose to the call for the Eagles against the Western Bulldogs when they were threatening, kicking a goal late to sink the Dogs, and while she was unable to hit the scoresheet this week, she led all Eagles for score involvements with four.
Di Donato showed just how clean she can be in terms of connectivity between midfield and forward, but her journey is more of perseverance than anything else.
Overlooked in multiple AFLW drafts, the 20-year-old has had to force her way through the VFLW in hopes of getting noticed. This past year, she was a co-captain in Carlton’s VFLW program, showcasing brilliant leadership and solid versatility, playing forward and back.
In her first two games, have justified the faith put in her by the Eagles to give her a chance.
LAUREN AHRENS
Not exactly one from left field, but of the Bulldogs’ off-season recruits, Ahrens has probably had the biggest workload of them all being stationed in the backline.
If it wasn’t for her, maybe that 11.15 scoreline Brisbane kicked on Wednesday night might be looking a little tidier, such was her desperation to disrupt any Brisbane attempts on goal.
But her desperation is what the Dogs have lacked for the better part of 12 months. She took a pair of contested marks and was the equal-second-highest player on the ground in terms of gathering intercept possessions, with six.
What has also stood out so far this year is her one-on-one work. In her earlier years at the Gold Coast, she was more of an intercept marking specialist, and her one-on-one loss percentage has never gone under 10 per cent in her five years at the Suns.
So far, in just 14 contested defensive one-on-ones, Ahrens has only lost just once.
In the top five of contested defensive one-on-ones, only Nicola Stevens has a lower percentage, having not yet lost a one-on-one contest in 10 attempts.
There have been very few positives out of the Dogs so far this year, but the recruitment of Ahrens so far has been dangerously overlooked by many this year.
TAMARA LUKE
I swear, she has retired about three or four times, only to come back nearly every time.
Tamara Luke retired from the AFLW last year, after stints at both St Kilda and Hawthorn. After a strong year for Box Hill in the VFLW, she was handed a spot on Richmond’s list, following the season-ending injury to Montana McKinnon.
She was given her chance on Thursday night, following an injury to Poppy Kelly, and whilst the combination of Jess Good and Breann Moody were solid in the ruck, combining for another 56 hitouts, Luke held her own in the contest.
She recorded 22 hitouts, with seven of them going to advantage, but also came through with five tackles and three clearances with just five touches of the ball.
It’s easy to dismiss the lack of disposals, but watching live, you could’ve felt her presence around the contest. Thank heavens they have her in their ruck stocks.
WHERE TO?
COLLINGWOOD
Three losses to start the year and five in a row stretch back to their last two games in 2023.
Sam Wright’s start to life as a senior coach has been a far cry from harmonious, and it’ll be made even tougher now with his three best midfielders out of the picture when his side is up against the Western Bulldogs on Sunday.
A loss to the Bulldogs on Sunday will make it six losses in a row, a feat they haven’t achieved since 2019.
It’s still expected the Pies will win at Victoria Park on Sunday. Still, no Brit Bonnici (calf) and Brianna Davey will make things interesting, given the Dogs’ slow rise in competitiveness around the contest over the past two weeks.
They’ll also be without Mikala Cann, after she was cited for rough conduct, and handed a week.
The Pies started on fire, kicking two goals within the opening five minutes of the game to give their supporters something to cheer about, but that was about where the positive football ended up for the Pies.
After putting up 11 inside 50s in the opening term, they only managed to get inside 50 just 11 more times over the next three quarters. In that same timeframe, West Coast went inside 50, 26 times.
Around the ground, they defended poorly on the outside ball, losing out on the uncontested ball (-47) and conceding a lot of marks (-24).
The Pies only had 24 fit players to choose from (including top-up player Jordan Ivey), and with Davey out, that availability dwindles ever so slightly.
WESTERN BULLDOGS
It depends on your approach to the game, whether your half glass is full or empty.
I saw many things to like with the Dogs when they could link up on the run and their work around stoppage and centre bounces. Yes, they were -21 in the contested ball, but the clearance numbers were deadlocked.
The half-glass empty approach is that they conceded territory badly: -23 in the inside 50 count, -84 in the uncontested possession count, and with 26 scoring shots to nine, the Lions should’ve had this one by 10 goals and then extras.
Collingwood might just be their best opportunity for a win now, a Collingwood side without their three best midfielders, the Dogs need what’s left of their best players to rise to the occasion.
Elisabeth Georgostathis will come back in, after being managed, and perhaps one of Analea McKee or Bri McFarlane will come in as well for a bit of structural stability.
I liked Sarah Hartwig in this game, and easily was the Dogs’ most dangerous scoring option, kicking 2.2 and taking four marks, and showed really good leading patterns. I’ve been a sceptic over the past few years of having her in the forward line, but it’s been a slow burn that is slowly paying off.
I’d love to see what happens when 20-odd inside 50 entries a game, goes up 35-40 entries.
CARLTON
Well at 2-2, they’d be disappointed with their efforts on Thursday night, it was almost an exact duplicate of their game against Geelong, only they were the ones who were rendered goalless by a Richmond side that heaped the pressure on.
While we laud the gun midfielders the Blues have at their disposal, they’re left wanting forward of the ball. In difficult conditions, Mia Austin was constantly double-teamed when the ball was heading her way.
But who’s playing the second banana? Surely after four games, it’s time to cancel the Celine Moody experiment. Her as a key forward just has not worked thus far in the Carlton system.
Her disposal numbers in 2024 have been as follows: three disposals in round one, seven disposals in round two, four disposals in round three and two touches against Richmond on Thursday night. And for the cherry on top, she is goalless for the year.
But it’s not on her either, who are the small forwards? Darcy Vescio is splitting time between playing wing and the forward line, and when
Darcy has gone to the forward line, it’s been a pedestrian effort.
The most dangerous forward in the past two games has been Tarni Brown, who looks lively anytime the ball hits the deck and is in her vicinity.
Only three Blues have hit multiple goals so far this year – Mia Austin has three, and the other two are Maddy Guerin and Keeley Skepper – both of them work as midfielders.
They need to build their forward line and build it fast because that’s what’s going to keep them back from making inroads in 2024.
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