Expectations
as well as doubts surrounded the inaugural AFLW season but it proved to be an
intriguing experience as groups of women realised their dream of becoming elite
footballers.
The 2017
season will be looked at in a mixed light. The nay-sayers will criticise the
game for its low attendances and the fact that the crowds had free entry to
watch matches but for those who followed the competition intently, they would
have seen that women’s football has the potential to grow.
Adelaide – Entertainers and Inaugural
Premiers
Adelaide won
the inaugural AFLW Grand Final against Brisbane by six points in a tight
contest but the Crows were worthy winners. Throughout the season, the Crows
were a powerful attacking force capable of outscoring almost any opponent that
faced them.
Erin
Phillips was the star of the team, displaying great goal sense and also
possessing the ability to link-up with her teammates in the forward 50.
The daughter
of SANFL legend Greg Phillips was also decisive in the Grand Final for the
Crows, collecting 28 disposals and scoring two goals. She also won the AFLW
Players' Most Valuable Player Award for her efforts this season.
Other
stand-out performers for Adelaide this season were Sarah Perkins, Ebony
Marinoff, and Chelsea Randall.
Perkins was
recruited as a free agent after missing out at the 2016 AFL Women’s draft but
she has been one of the unlikely heroes of the campaign, finishing the season
with 11 goals in eight games. The 23-year-old scored more goals than any other
Crows player and her style of play and movement was typical of the
full-forwards of yesteryear.
Marinoff is
only 19 years old but the midfielder is one of the best users of the footy in
the AFLW. Not only does she collect a high number of disposals but she is clean
and accurate when kicking with that reliable left foot of hers.
Randall was
a rock in defence and she regularly nullified the best forwards from opposition
teams as well as collecting a lot of disposals. In the Grand Final she had 16
possessions and only three other teammates had more.
Credit
should also go to Bec Goddard, who is one of only two female coaches in the
AFLW but she ended up outcoaching her male counterparts. Surely her achievement
with Adelaide will inspire more women to take up coaching a footy club.
Brisbane and Melbourne -The Best of the Rest
The Crows
found it hard to win the premiership as they had to defeat a strong Brisbane
Lions side. If Adelaide was known for its great attacking prowess, the Lions
were the masters of defence. Coach Craig Starcevich created a team that was
capable of shutting down opposition attacks, reliant on handballing, and could
score goals out of nothing.
Brisbane had
a solid back six with Sam Virgo and Leah Kasler being the greatest stand-outs
while in the forward 50 the likes of Jessica Wuetschner, Kaitlyn Ashmore, and
Kate McCarthy fed off the crumbs left by prodigious key forwards Tayla Harris
and Sabrina Frederick-Traub.
The Lions
were written off before the season commenced but they surprised people by
finishing on top of the ladder.
One side
that was unlucky not to reach the Grand Final was Melbourne. The Demons were
another high-scoring team but their defeats to Brisbane and Greater Western
Sydney illustrated that they were vulnerable in wet conditions.
Dees captain
Daisy Pearce lived up to the hype by averaging 21.9 disposals per game, and
Karen Paxman was high-possession getter from defence, averaging 21.7 disposals
a game.
Lily Mithen,
a relative of 1950s Melbourne premiership hero Laurie, showed plenty of promise
in midfield while Alyssa Mifsud was another player who demonstrated the
importance of having traditional key forwards in the team by scoring nine
goals.
Carlton and Collingwood – Flashes of
Brilliance Not Enough
Behind
Melbourne on the ladder was Carlton, who showed some potential early but faded
as the season went on. The undisputed star of this Blues side was Darcy Vescio,
who only averaged 7.1 disposals a game but scored more goals in the AFLW by
kicking 14 majors.
Vescio was
not someone who would just score simple goals. She was a player who scored
goals out of nothing and displayed a sense of unpredictability that wasn’t
often seen in the league.
Collingwood
finished fifth behind their traditional rival Carlton, and the Magpies had
struggled at the start of the season, losing their first three matches. They
then went on to win their next three before suffering defeat to eventual
premiers Adelaide in the final round. Marquee forward Moana Hope struggled to
justify the hype, scoring only seven goals.
Western Bulldogs, Fremantle and Greater
Western Sydney –Dogged by Disappointment
The Western
Bulldogs, Fremantle, and GWS made up the rest of the table and needless to say
those three teams were disappointing.
The Doggies lost
star forward and captain Katie Brennan to injury after two rounds and
performances of Ellie Blackburn and Emma Kearney were the few bright spots in
an anti-climactic campaign.
Fremantle
shared seventh place with the Giants, who were wooden spooners on percentage.
The Dockers were a highly-fancied team but hardly showed anything to justify
the hype while Jessica Dal Pos starred in midfield for a poorly-performing GWS
side.
Final Thought
It was a
short season but it gave footy fans an insight into how women play the game.
Although the games featured less scoring than the men’s game, the ladies
displayed the effort and desire to play footy at elite level.
There needs
to be more drafting of talented players and player development needs to improve
but the foundations have already been laid. We may not see women’s teams
scoring over 100 points in a game just yet but a higher quality competition
will develop over time.
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