ROUND 1 AFLW GAME ANALYSIS

AFLW round 1 for season 11 is in the books and here's what we found out about each team.

Saints - still middle of the pack and tried to be more dynamic offensively but a major work in progress

Blues - I've got them as 3rd at the moment because they play very similar to North Melbourne, but still not as good as them 

Melbourne - still probably the 2nd best team in it as they throw something different at the Roos

Hawks - backline will be an issue all year losing 3 our of their 5 starters from there from last season

North - are they even better?

Geelong - talent just doesn't match up with results but have a little bit of time with a new coach at the helm

Richmond - far more dynamic on offense than last year and a few positional changes worked very well

Pies - don't have the doeth to cover for injuries they already have - offense still a major issue

Suns - so young all over the ground but 9 shots to 10 in a 26pt loss

Bulldogs - could be anywhere finish anywhere this season - consistency will be what decides their season

Bombers - could score when they went forward but getting it there is a major issue

Lions - hunted the ball and player at an elite level but can I let you know after this week?

Adeliade - lost experience and replaced with youth but you can't have too many 2nd half fade outs in a 12 game season

Sydney - their best away win since their AFLW inception their time and showed real grit with 74 tackles and a 5.3 to 1.4 2nd half

Freo - need find a way to penetrate when in possession and to give themselves a chance to score

Port - an altered game style that still needs work but has top talent in all areas of the ground but possibly not the depth 

GWS - not sure they've ever had game where the goaled in every quarter? OK i just checked, it isn't but they have only managed it in 12 out of their 89 games and only 1/season the last 2 season's so it's been a battle

WC - possibly 2nd-year-blues on the horizon but again they're all so young but you don't waste a year either

Today we look at:

• Gold Coast Kick Out Defense
• Sydney at Center Bounce x 2
• Port Adeliade Outnumber Fail x 2
• West Coast Forward 50 Stoppage Goal

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BRISBANE v GOLD COAST GAME ANALYSIS

Brisbane took care of business against an again disappointing Gold Coast and barely looked to have got out of 3rd gear to do so.

With Swans completely losing the plot there's a more-open lane for the Lions for 3 on the trot, even if they do have to face Freo in Perth in the 1st week of the finals.

The Suns have clearly had a disastrous year but I expect them to bounce next season as the talent is just too deep up there, they've cut their age demo by a fair margin from last year, they'll get a bottom 6 draw and players who thought they were going well have had a much-needed kick in the backside but Dimma also needs to adjust his tactics to what they have, not what he wants them to be.

Today we look at:

• Lions Creating Corridor
• Brisbane Creating Space with Length
• Gold Coast Defense Fail
• Brisbane on Kick Out x 3

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NORTH MELBOURNE v GEELONG AFLW GAME ANALYSIS

As good as Melbourne were Thursday night for 2 quarters of footy, North Melbourne pretty much doubled that for a 73pt win and notching up 100pts in game 1 of the season (only 4 league-wide last season - Syd/Bris in round 2, Port/Nth round 3).

It might happen but I'm not really seeing anyone beating them again this year unless there is some dramatic injury bug goes through the entire joint - coaches included! 

Across all teams in round 1 they were equal 1st for total disposals (310), equal 3rd for inside 50's (46), equal 1st for disposal efficiency (70%), 1st for goal efficiency (34%), 2nd for uncontested possessions (176), equal 2nd for marks (68) and equal 5th for tackles (61).

All this against a Geelong team who already have an above average list and just brought in premiership coach Mick Stinear from the Dees.

If you're into coaching of any age and gender, then North Melbourne AFLW games are a must-watch as it's footy at it's absolute finest.

In 2 parts today we look at:

• North Melbourne Center Bounce Clearance
• Geelong Forward Handball
• North Creating and Maintaining the Outnumber Advantage
• Geelong at Contest
• Clean v Messy Ball Handling + Geelong Ball Watching
• Roos Creating Space by Lengthening
• North Forward 50 Stoppage Formation 
• Roos Wing Running Pattern
• Geelong at Center Bounce Clearance
• North Melbourne Kick Out Defense Formation
• Roos Trade Up Defending

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HAWTHORN v MELBOURNE GAME ANALYSIS

Last night saw a very high-quality game between the Hawks and Dees.

The Dees got away to a flyer that was ultimately the margin by the end of the game but the Hawks showed some great chops to get back into thew game and have it on a knife's edge at 3/4 time.

Personally, I thought the Hawks defense would struggle with missing key defenders in Everist and Eardley but with the Melbourne ruck going down and forcing Gillard from defense and then Harris from attack into 1st ruck duties, the temporary instability for the Dees allowed the Hawks to dominate inside forward 50 through Dupuy/McDonagh (4 goals 2 and 11 marks between them) and then Richardson intercepting at will (11).

In the end the Dees were the better team and deserved the win and look like they might be able to push North Melbourne to the end as per the Prelim last season.

Today we look at:

• Hawks Going Too Slow Inside Forward 50 x 2
• Hawks Messing Up the Number Advantage x 2
• Dees Mised Handball
• Poor Hawks Crumbing Formation
• Hore Leaks Out
• McNamara Nails Space Creation

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BRIS/HAW + SYD/PA + WC/COLL GAME ANALYSIS

The Lions are at it again with the bad loss 1 week turning into a ridiculous win the next week with a mauling of the Hawks who still seem midfielders or 2 short of the upper-tier teams but have a better defense and forward line then most at the same time so are a tricky proposition.

The Swans poured on 10 goals in the final quarter against the Power without their starting midfield so take out of that what you will.

The Eagles again ran close but couldn't close against the Pies who were well down on manpower so did very well to win this one (I picked the Eagles!!)

Today we look at:

• Brisbane on Kick Out
• Lloyd Wing Run
• Transition Offense v Transition Defense
• Serong Wing Run
• Sydney Compact to Expansion
• Carlton Looking Like Collingwood
• Collingwood at Center Bounce 

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ST KILDA v CARLTON AFLW GAME ANALYSIS

AFLW is back and first up we had the Saints and Blues.

The Blues have recruited well on top of an already very good list and have continued with their North Melbourne-inspired and clean handballing and marking game and seem the biggest threat to the Roos with other usually contending teams losing vital players over the off-season. 

The Saints seem once again stuck in the middle of the pack and were already stuck in the middle of which mode they wanted to play with throughout this game but had more success with quicker style in the 2nd half which I think they should stick with if it continues to work for them.

Today we look at:

• My Yearly "We Need 18/Team" Rant
• The Blues Mess Up a 2v1 Advantage
• St Kilda in Possession
• Saints Going Too Slow
• Saints Mess Up Their Outnumber Advantage
• St Kilda at Center Bounce x 2
• Saints Ball Stopping

 

AUSTRALIA v IRELAND WOMEN'S GAME ANALYSIS

It's always good to see the AFLW on its way back and this International Game seemed like a great idea on paper at least.

The game was solid but we definitely saw the specific strengths of each team and in Ireland's case, it's weakness, that being the ruck situation.

Playing on aground a measly 130m long means 1 tap and a 40m kick puts you just 25m out from goal which does lend itself to potentially high scoring but in the end, it makes it a clearance game and with the ruck taps 53 - 14 and thus clearances 35 - 21, both in Australia's favor, the Irish were always up against it.

With their strengths bei9ng speed and endurance, I'd like to see next year's game on a traditionally sized ground to allow them to play to their strengths and see what happens scoreboard-wise.

In this quick video we look at 2 center bounce clearances + a forward 50 entry from Australia showing elite leading patterns from numerous forwards.