AFLW ROUND 7 GAME ANALYSIS PART 2/2

Finishing off this round:

Lions - the dominance is officially over for Brisbane and Adeliade after being the best teams since the inception of AFLW but be happy it happened. The group needs reinvigorating, will bring in a new coach and then I wonder what alterations they can make to that list to bounce in 2028 as there's enough there to play finals

Suns - you can't help but look forward to what this team can be in 2029-30 but passed pretty much every test so far this year with 10 first year players in their 23. Melbourne at home is a mammoth opportunity.

Power - sometimes you win when you really shouldn't and that's football but taking your chances early is a huge factor in AFLW and the Power will definitely take this one after their recent form

Crows - +49 disposals, +12 inside 50's, +5 hit outs, + 48 uncontested possession, + 2% time in possession, + 23 marks and all for going goalless until 9mins into the last quarter. Look they probably weren't making finals but if you falling short by this game if you were?

Kangaroos - a very similar stat line to the Crows but ended up scoring at will in the last quarter and a bit and back to premiership winning form on both sides of the ball with 8th, 16th, 12th and 11th to come so god help us

Swans - battled but just didn't have the magnets to cover everything once Morphett went down. Smith/Quin in the ruck took their firepower away and any chance of stretching the Roos defense and also having to run through Molloy through the middle to get some territory also took away scoring chances. Only -7 in inside 50's but -55 for points and -15 for scoring shots

Magpies - scores in first halves for the season is 17.25.127 v opposition 27.33.195 so -68. Scores in 2nd halves is 15.32.122 v 38.28.256 for -134. Pies accuracy also goes from 40% shot on goal accuracy in 1st halves to 32% while opposition goes from 45% to a whopping 59%. 4 - 5 more quality players across the field would go a long way to handling this.

Demons - had the do what you had to do game here after getting up for the Carlton/North Melbourne double but will need to reenergise for the Suns away or risk dropping pout of the top 4 after being 1st just 2 weeks ago!

Eagles - have won 4 on the trot now and have 3 games that 50/50 opportunities but I can't get them in the 8 unfortunately unless they pull off a miracle v the Cats at home in 2 weeks time

Dockers - not the game to drop with North and Geelong to come in the last 4 games and unfortunately I cant get them into the finals.

Again over 2 videos, today we look at:

• Geelong at Center Bounce
• Richmond Thwarting Geelong at Center Bounce x 3
• Richmond Team Defense
• Who Leaves Chloe Sheer Loose?
• McKenzie Kick
• Richmond Missed Handball
• Geelong Give the Handball
• Port Adeliade at Center Bounce x 2

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AFLW ROUND 7 GAME ANALYSIS PART 1/2

 

No real earth-shattering results from the weekend and the top 8 teams look set pretty much where my ladder predictor has the Hawks in for Freo but both teams are highly inconsistent so that could go either way and the inequity's of the draw is probably the most deciding factor.

Blues - were far cleaner and more direct with the ball and an early 19-0 is pretty much insurmountable in those horrendous conditions

Hawks - the Hawks defense just was not prepared adequately for the conditions and it clearly showed in their output but that's on the coaching staff

Tigers - were solid for half the game but fell away a lot going 0.0 v 3.9 in the 2nd half + 17 v 39 inside 50's so were very lucky this didn't get very ugly

Cats - due for a "down" week but were only +2 at clearance with a belting in hit outs 22 v 11 but Prespakis still managed 8 clearances her own 

Giants - just a weird set up at the Giants - they have a clear method which most-lower placed teams don't yet cannot make even 1 step of on-field progress and this might be the worst of them all after dominating the 1st half then literally stopping in the 2nd for even Essendon to come over the top of them 

Bombers - don't get used this Bomber fans but this was a huge effort and win so can we now see something resembling this week to week please?

Bulldogs - shocking conditions, shocking accuracy but a win is a win and that's easily enough in wintery conditions at Ballarat (stadium looks pretty good actually!)

Saints - what's left to say about the Saints? o wins, a % of just 37.2% and a lot of traction on social media (funny when no one pipes up when good things happen in AFLW isn't it?) yet have a real chance this week against the Pies so if there is a response to be had, and not even a win, then it has to be this Saturday 

Over 2 videos, today we look at:

• Hawks Lose Touch Inside Forward 50
• Hawthorn Crumbers Out of Position
• Blues Ignoring Corridor
• Carlton Getting Out the Back x 2
• Essendon Forwards All Over the Shop
• GWS Cutting Off Their Own Length
• O Dowd Run
• Essendon Wing Ball Watching
• Essendon Creating Length/Space
• Saints Defensive Woes
• Gold Coast Cutting Off Their Own Length

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BRISBANE LIONS BALL MOVEMENT 2025/26

Back in December last year I released a 26 page PDF on Brisbane's ball movement for season 2025.

After another year of studying the Lions on their way to a 2nd 3-Peat, it's now grown to a 42 page PDF!

I've broken it down into 6 categories being:

1 - Quick Release Short Kick

2 – Inner and Outer Layers

3 – High Half Forwards

4 – Defensive 50 Possession

5 – Creating Ground Length

6 – Kick Out Strategies

Each category contains a mixture of game clips, whiteboard clips and images to show you exactly what is happening with the just-recently added "New 2026" section added to the bottom of each category that adds to the original PDF from last year.

Brisbane are multiple levels above the rest when it comes to ball movement but that could your team as soon as 2027 but you don't need elite level kickers to do so.

Using Wheelo's Ratings, there are 2 kicking stats that tell the take:

Kick Retention is how likely a kick is to be retained by a teammate where they were 2nd to the Hawks

and;

Kick Threat is how likely a kick is to result in a shot at goal later in the chain where they were 1st by along way

They can then be broken down into expected stats:

Kick Retention Rating which is the measure of how often a player’s kicks are retained by a teammate compared to expectation where they finished 1st again

and;

Kick Threat Rating which is the measure of how often a player’s kicks result in a shot at goal later in the chain compared to expectation where they finished 15th.

This means that they are able to retain possession via easy-short kicks yet gain territory on most of them which adds up over a game when you have 108 marks, and thus, opportunities per game to do this.

And it's all in their positioning as most of the kicks you'll see in this PDF are doable at local level and/or don't require perfection either. 

This is a 1-time payment purchase and will be delivered to your email in a PDF format.

Click Brisbane Lions Ball Movement 2025/26 on the register page and kick your way to success in 2027.

GAME/TRAINING SCENARIO - GEELONG TRANSITION x2

 

Geelong are we on show right now with their clearance game + their transition handball game and are putting the league on notice with their offense.

In their 7 games this season they have scored 27 (in their only loss, albeit a bad one v North), 100, 64, 83, 57, 90 and 82 in a 6-game stretch where they're averaging 79pts/game at a total of 476pts, the highest 6-game scoring stretch in AFLW history (North are 2nd and 3rd with 475 and 474 points respectively from last season).

It shoes the rare offensive air they are occupying at the moment.

If you watched Geelong v Hawks last Thursday (seems a lifetime ago!), or even if just caught up on some of the rounds highlights then you definitely 1, if not both, pf these transition plays by the Cats, with both resulting in goals.

For both plays I'll show you the clip, provide a whiteboard set up of starting positions and running patterns - I also label each player in the actual clip.

To run this at training set them up in the starting positions from the 1st image with the only instruction being to handball chain as far as you can and when you can kick it then it has to be a shot on goal and see how far they can get.

I would suggest shortening the lengths of these plays compared to what I've laid out initially but then stretch them out as they get better at maintaining the extra number/s at the ball and keeping the handball chain alive. 

For full access to this game/training scenario, register for a level 4 membership from https://aussierulestraining.com/membership-account/membership-levels/.

AFLW ROUND 7 GAME ANALYSIS PART 2/2

Finishing up round 7.

Demons - looked to be the new number 1 but that only lasted 7 days

Kangaroos - back in top spot where they belong and are now a whopping 55% ahead of top of the ladder with no genuine contenders ahead

Magpies - took away all the time the Giants need to get their handball chains going cutting them from an average of 103 to just 76 in this game and totally stifled their ball movement

Giants - I picked them in this one thinking they could generate far more offense than the Pies but lost inside 50's by 18 and scoring shots by 4 so what do I know?

Crows - you're not gonna see a more up and down season then what the Crows have dished up so far but it's also expected when you lose very experienced players in Hatchard and Randall and replace them with 18 - 19 year olds

Dockers - I'm sure no one saw a 35 - 2 start in this one but the Dockers put some speed on the ball and went forwards a lot more then they have been and it worked an absolute treat

Swans - a mature win in conditions that usually favor the opposition but defended extremely well (allowed 10 more inside 50's) but had +7 in tackles where they've only lost that stats once this year and ave 9 more than 2nd placed Dogs

Lions - it'll be on in the QClash with Brisbane desperately needing a win in general but the Suns with a huge sniff of their 1st win across their cross-state rivals and I'll be tipping the Suns

Today we look at:

• Goody Wing Run
• Port Keeping Width
• Carlton at Center Bounce
• Wolmarans Work Rate
• Sydney at Center Bounce
• Suns Forward Handball
• Gold Coast Team Defense

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AFLW ROUND 7 GAME ANALYSIS PART 1/2

A bunch of 60/40 games but no real surprises from the results this week except maybe the number that North Melbourne on the Dees as well as what Geelong did Hawthorn.

Cats - have the highest offense in the league on 503 total points, 47 in front of 2nd placed Melbourne, are averaging 79pts /game if you take away their 27 in round v North and with Richmond and GWS in the next 2 that gap will widen considerably more (4th and 7th worst defense - fun fact Geelong are 6th!!)

Hawks - probably the worst follow up you'll see after beating the all-conquering Kangaroos last week to a 48 - 6 in the red scoreline at half time the very next week

Bombers - 2.7 to 0.1 and +27% time in possession in the 4th is a prime example of how this season has gone for the Bombers

Eagles - have quietly won 2 on the trot even if 2 of them have been the Saints and Essendon but early losses to GWS and Gold Coast (at home) killed their season before it could get rolling 

Bulldogs - sitting nicely in 7th with St Kilda and Essendon to come then a tough finish with Carlton, Melbourne and Geelong to finish with. Not super at anything but solid in a lot of areas right now which could get them a finals win or 2 if they put it together for a string of games

Power - have gone from 7 wins and 2 finals wins to 6 wins to what looks like 4 wins this year for the Power and probably a worst drop off then the Saints for mine considering the list they have.

Blues - back to their best v the Tigers getting off to a 39-8 start but have an interesting run coming up with the Hawks, Swans and Dogs so we'll see if they've re-settled in as the 3rd best team or not

Tigers - were out of contention as soon as Conti went down but have found some players off the back of it and should be able to rebound well from this "negative" going forward. McLenzie being the number 1, Bacon/Greives getting a host of midfield of time and above all responsibility + Wolmarans forward and Graham back have all been extremely solid

Today we look at:

• West Crumbing Technique
• Geelong on Kick Out
• Geelong 2v1 to Hawks 5v1
• Surmon Defensive Run
• Essendon Unorganised on Defense

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GEELONG v PORT ADELIADE AFLW AT CENTER BOUNCE CLEARANCE

Taking a different angle for this post where I'll focus exclusively on center bounce clearance tactics used by Geelong in their game v Hawthorn and then look at Port Adeliade v Western Bulldogs.

Looking at Geelong first they have Georgie Prespakis who is currently the best player in the competition who is their go-to hit target but aren't using McDonald, Morrison and Bowan with their ruck Dunlop also solid at following up after ruck contests for the odd clearance.

What we'll also see is that they have a full menu of tap zones and combinations and rarely go to the same tap zone and player twice in a row which keeps the opposition mids on edge for the entire game, unsure of what to give and what to take away at any given time.   

Of the 8 clips I have here, we see Prespakis back wrap, Prespakis defensive side, McDonald back wrap, Prespakis Defensive Side Forward Run, McDonalds Back Wrap all in the first qt so you can clearly see the mix up of running routes and go-to players right there.

The other clips from later in the game show McDonald Back Wrap/Prespakis Defensive Side Forward Run, Prespakis Back Wrap and McDonald Back Wrap.

The back wrap is an interesting one as Dunlop is a great running single leg jumper but doesn't dominate the taps but the Cats uses the defensive side to their advantage and teams should definitely go to work on that.

Moving to Port Adeliade who have one of the top 3 tallest rucks (190cms) who also happens to be the most athletic one of the lot by a long stretch in Scholz going up against the Bulldogs without their first-string ruck Edmonds (189cms) and rolling with tall forwards as rucks in McKee (180cms) and Hardingham (179cms).

As predicted Scholt dominated taps (40 on her own v 11 in total for the Dogs) and with a 30cm+ reach as you'll see from the clips, a subsequent center bounce dominance but they severely lack the system and menu at center bounce that the Cats do, as you'll see.

Every tap goes to Dowrick and they only use 2 different tap zones that are easily scouted by the Dogs in the end but the lack of imagination from the Power was just a big a factor here in having 2 cleanish clearances from center bounce for the entire game and a convincing loss that already has them 2 games and a lot of % of out finals.

VIDEO 1 x GEELONG

VIDEO 2 x PORT ADELIADE

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