AFLW R2 2023: Swans vs Geelong 1.05pm Saturday 9 September 2023 @ NSO

[liz]

Round 2 is tomorrow, back up at NSO. Can the women back up their resolve of last week? It will be a tough ask against a strong Geelong side, but maybe the break through win last week will mean they can shake the nerves that seemed to affect them in the first quarter last week, and then can settle more quickly into playing the style they are trying to play. Pressure and tackling will be key.

There is just one change to last week's team, with Lexi Hamilton returning from injury and Bella Smith the unlucky player to make way.

AFLW TEAM: Hamilton returns (https://www.sydneyswans.com.au/news/1424901/aflw-team-hamilton-returns)

[Thunder Shaker]

I'm not optimistic about getting a win in this game. Geelong thumped the AFLW Swans last year by 75 points and they defeated the Dogs last week by 48 points. Geelong are a scary team this year.

[Mark26]

We are doing so well thus far. Go Swans!

[stellation]

Sheesh, if they want equality across the competition they shouldn’t have let Geelong steal all of the weights in the country for their preseason.

[Mel_C]

I haven't been able to watch so far. Is it as bad as the score suggests?

Are we kicking like the men?

OMG is that Razor umpiring?

[Mel_C]

Yes great goal by Molloy.

[Mark26]

This is better by the Swans. Geelong look like the complete team.

- - - Updated - - -


I haven't been able to watch so far. Is it as bad as the score suggests?

Are we kicking like the men?

OMG is that Razor umpiring?

Yes and he just gave us a fifty! Smash those Cats Razor.

[Mel_C]

Yes it is Razor and he gave us a 50 😯.

Newman goals!

[stellation]

I haven't been able to watch so far. Is it as bad as the score suggests?

Are we kicking like the men?

OMG is that Razor umpiring?

We look a lot better than the stats/score suggest. Geelong have a very, very good forward line.

[Mel_C]

Not a good start to the third quarter. Too many errors.

[Mark26]

Ally Morphett's got some skills. Great goal.

[dejavoodoo44]

Ally Morphett's got some skills. Great goal.
They weren't going to tackle her.

[Mark26]

Awesome goal by Newman. Back to back would be nice.

[dejavoodoo44]

I didn't see the first half, but I thought that quarter was pretty even, with the late Newman goal giving us a vague chance of a last quarter comeback. Do we have the wind in the last?

Love watching Morphett dominate in the middle. Molloy uses the ball really well and Heads was useful in defence.

[Mark26]

It will be good to get Ham back in a couple of weeks.

[dejavoodoo44]

I thought that we were competitive throughout the second half, without really looking like winning. Plenty of strong contributions.

Morphett is going to be a star of the competition; if she's not already. Molloy has some classy skills. Gardiner was busy and effective in the midfield. Newman was our most dangerous forward, with Privitelli doing a few good things. O'Sullivan, in her second game, acquitted herself well, when given the job of tagging Prespakis.

[Mel_C]

It will be good to get Ham back in a couple of weeks.
I was thinking the same thing. Can't wait to watch Ham and Molloy play together.

[Sandridge]

Huge improvement on the last time we played the Cats. Fantastic to see the development of our Swans!

[aardvark]

We have 7 Academy girls invited to the Draft Combine this year. With Hams back and another years experience we will be right up there in 2024. The team has made huge improvements from last season already.

[liz]

We have 7 Academy girls invited to the Draft Combine this year. With Hams back and another years experience we will be right up there in 2024. The team has made huge improvements from last season already.

Do we have priority access to our academy graduates? Presumably if they want to play for us (and are confident we will pick them up) the first step is to nominate with a NSW designation, rather than a National designation. But from there is it a free for all between the Swans and Giants, or do we each get priority over our own academy players?

[liz]

The atmosphere up at North Sydney didn't quite reach the heights of last week, but it was still a pleasant day at the footy. The crowd was only half the size of last week, which certainly contributed to the quieter atmosphere. And I guess the fact we never really challenged for the win didn't help either. But there were still big roars every time a goal went through the right end (and several times when we scored just a behind).

That's the best game I've seen Newman play by some margin. (I've only seen her in Swans colours - I know she came to the club with several years of experience behind her.) In her post match interview she suggested she was lucky with some of her three goals but I think she is selling herself short. Sure, one was a reactive snap when the ball fell from a contest but she needed to be in the right spot, and she was. The best play from her was actually not a goal, but a mark from which she kicked a behind. The ball into the forward line was lofted into a swirling breeze and you could see her watch the ball all the way and run around her opponents and a team mate to get exactly to the drop of the ball. I often lament (to myself - I'm the only person who listens to me) how few of our forwards seem to be able to watch the ball and maneuvre to the right spot. (And that applies to some of the men, as well as the women.) So it was heartening to see her do exactly that.

The stats say Morphett got a fair few hit outs but I didn't think she was nearly as influential as last week. That's fine. She's still a work in progress. Her goal, however, was a joy to behold.

It was fun watching O'Sullivan wearing Prespakis like a glove. You could see Prespakis getting a bit irritated but O'Sullivan stuck to her task. The only time she looked a bit lost was when Prespakis went and stood next to Molloy at a stoppage. O'Sullivan wasn't sure if she should follow or not. Sadly, Geelong had too much quality right across their team for the Prespakis tag to have much effect on how they used the ball.

The biggest difference, however, between the two teams was the forward line. When you have some forwards who lead at the ball carrier, mark securely and are confident kicking from more than 30m out, it goes a long way to winning a game of footy. Privatelli took a couple of good forward fifty marks for us in the second half but clearly she wasn't confident of getting the distance and her attempts to pass off resulted in turnovers.

[aardvark]

Do we have priority access to our academy graduates? Presumably if they want to play for us (and are confident we will pick them up) the first step is to nominate with a NSW designation, rather than a National designation. But from there is it a free for all between the Swans and Giants, or do we each get priority over our own academy players?

I'm trying to find out. I'll get back to you.

[aardvark]

Do we have priority access to our academy graduates? Presumably if they want to play for us (and are confident we will pick them up) the first step is to nominate with a NSW designation, rather than a National designation. But from there is it a free for all between the Swans and Giants, or do we each get priority over our own academy players?

The little-known rule that could see top prospects bypass the draft (https://www.afl.com.au/aflw/news/1020122/the-little-known-rule-that-could-see-top-prospects-bypass-the-draft)

Seems we can prelist 3 Academy players before the draft. We should be talking to Marnie Robinson and Olivia Morris, both members of the AFLW & Swans Academies this year. https://sydneyafl.com.au/2023/01/23/marnie-robinsons-star-continues-to-rise-in-2023/

[liz]

The little-known rule that could see top prospects bypass the draft (https://www.afl.com.au/aflw/news/1020122/the-little-known-rule-that-could-see-top-prospects-bypass-the-draft)

Seems we can prelist 3 Academy players before the draft. We should be talking to Marnie Robinson and Olivia Morris, both members of the AFLW & Swans Academies this year. https://sydneyafl.com.au/2023/01/23/marnie-robinsons-star-continues-to-rise-in-2023/

Thanks for digging that up. Clearly it's a short-term entitlement only, not a long term priority access to our academy graduates.

The same question arises for the non-Northern state teams as applies to the mens competition NGAs - ie do the other clubs actually do much to develop their zoned players? However, in the AFLW it matters less given we are some way away from having a national draft, and most of the top talent will likely elect to stay in their home states, and have now been largely prevented from doing a deal with an interstate club because they can't nominate for a specific state other than their home state. It still won't prevent a Montana Ham or Charlie Rowbottom agreeing to join an interstate team if that team has the first pick in the draft. They can just nominate with a National designation and will be chosen at pick 1. But it prevents a Sophia Hurley type situation, where she knew she'd be chosen by the Swans but not at the first pick. By nominating with a National designation (rather than a NSW designation, as Hurley did) such a player will be fair game for all 18 clubs.

[aardvark]

An agreement between us and GWS not to draft each other's players unless the player was not required would seem to be beneficial to both clubs. I wonder how the AFL would react?

[Thunder Shaker]

I thought that we were competitive throughout the second half, without really looking like winning. Plenty of strong contributions.
Don't overlook the second quarter. In the second quarter, we outscored Geelong by 7 points.

Geelong won the game with a strong first quarter. After quarter time, Geelong outscored Sydney by one point. Though we lost by 27 points, it was a very competitive effort against a team that flogged the Bulldogs last week by a much bigger margin.

[Ruck'n'Roll]

The atmosphere up at North Sydney didn't quite reach the heights of last week, but it was still a pleasant day at the footy. The crowd was only half the size of last week, which certainly contributed to the quieter atmosphere.
I couldnt be there this week, any idea why the crowd should halve?
It was the same venue, just a slightly different time. Was it because the Giants game is a local derby?

[liz]

I couldnt be there this week, any idea why the crowd should halve?
It was the same venue, just a slightly different time. Was it because the Giants game is a local derby?

A few possible reasons:

- excitement last week at the opening of the season
- fewer away fans (though there was a sprinkling of navy and white in the crowd, including a pair of irritating children sitting close to me who spent much of the afternoon singing the "We are Geelong, the greatest team of all...")
- an expectation that we might get soundly beaten
- the male players and their entourage possibly still down in Melbourne. (Though I did observe Bronwyn Gulden diligently carrying out her coaching responsibilities during the warm-up and at breaks. Maybe she didn't fly down to Melbourne to watch Errol play, or maybe she got an early flight back.)
- lots of Swans supporters were still under their doonas sulking and/or mourning the men's team exit from this year's competition.
- the earlier kick-off time and/or the Saturday vs Sunday fixturing. Might it have clashed with school sport activities for some non-attendees?
- you weren't there...

A friend to whom I expressed disappointment at the much reduced crowd also pointed out that last week was a bye week in the men's competition, so some people might have seen the AFLW game as their weekly footy fix.

[Mel_C]

....
- the male players and their entourage possibly still down in Melbourne. (Though I did observe Bronwyn Gulden diligently carrying out her coaching responsibilities during the warm-up and at breaks. Maybe she didn't fly down to Melbourne to watch Errol play, or maybe she got an early flight back.)


Bronwyn was interviewed by Sam Lane before the game. When they discussed the elimination of the men's team, Bronwyn said that she went to the game. Sam commended her for going to the final and then flying back for the AFLW game.