AFLW R9 2023: Sydney Swans v Collingwood , 1.05pm EST Sun 29 Oct Henson Park

[liz]

So we may be (just) in the bottom half of the ladder but, as we head into the penultimate round of the season, the Swans are in number one spot for average home crowd numbers. So if you wake up on Sunday morning with no great plans for the day, think about heading out to Henson to do your bit to help the Swans retain that mantle.

Craft beer and cheese boxes: Swans tap into something ‘uniquely Sydney’ to draw AFLW crowds | AFLW | The Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/oct/27/craft-beer-and-cheese-boxes-swans-tap-in-something-uniquely-sydney-to-draw-aflw-crowds)

There's just one change to the side this week, with Paige Sheppard forced out after her concussion suffered last week, and Amy Wheian in as her replacement.

AFLW TEAM: One change for Pride Game (https://www.sydneyswans.com.au/news/1456809/aflw-squad-squad-locked-in-for-pride-game)

Our opponent, Collingwood, are on a winning streak of four games and will be desperate to continue that run to claim one of the remaining finals spots up for grabs. We're not out of contention for finals either, but will need to win both games to have any chance, with our percentage at the lower end of that middle pack, notwithstanding last week's big boost.

The Western Bulldogs showed today that they aren't complete mugs, finally winning their first match of the season. Even though it was against West Coast, that still puts our mauling of them last week into perspective. Tomorrow - win, lose or draw - Collingwood will provide a gauge of how much we've improved over the course of the year.

[dejavoodoo44]

So we may be (just) in the bottom half of the ladder but, as we head into the penultimate round of the season, the Swans are in number one spot for average home crowd numbers. So if you wake up on Sunday morning with no great plans for the day, think about heading out to Henson to do your bit to help the Swans retain that mantle.

Craft beer and cheese boxes: Swans tap into something ‘uniquely Sydney’ to draw AFLW crowds | AFLW | The Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/oct/27/craft-beer-and-cheese-boxes-swans-tap-in-something-uniquely-sydney-to-draw-aflw-crowds)

There's just one change to the side this week, with Paige Sheppard forced out after her concussion suffered last week, and Amy Wheian in as her replacement.

AFLW TEAM: One change for Pride Game (https://www.sydneyswans.com.au/news/1456809/aflw-squad-squad-locked-in-for-pride-game)

Our opponent, Collingwood, are on a winning streak of four games and will be desperate to continue that run to claim one of the remaining finals spots up for grabs. We're not out of contention for finals either, but will need to win both games to have any chance, with our percentage at the lower end of that middle pack, notwithstanding last week's big boost.

The Western Bulldogs showed today that they aren't complete mugs, finally winning their first match of the season. Even though it was against West Coast, that still puts our mauling of them last week into perspective. Tomorrow - win, lose or draw - Collingwood will provide a gauge of how much we've improved over the course of the year.
Yes, there's a decent chance of a big crowd, since Collingwood supporters do like to show up at away games. Although it possibly won't be like games at Carrara, where many of them seem to take their annual holidays for a trip to the Gold Coast. Hopefully, many Swans fans will be enthused by last week's effort and also show up.

And if my maths is right, a win by eight points or more will see us in the eight. Which is easier said than done, as Collingwood have been one of the form teams of the competition, with wins against Essendon, Brisbane, Carlton and Geelong. And some of their players seem motivated by taking on ex-player, Chloe Molloy.

[mcs]

Good contest so far. Pies started very well but we built our way into the contest. Love the run and carry game we are trying to play - very enjoyable.

[dejavoodoo44]

Good contest so far. Pies started very well but we built our way into the contest. Love the run and carry game we are trying to play - very enjoyable.
Yes, I thought our ball movement was better and we're applying much more tackling pressure. Hopefully can kick away with the wind in this quarter.

[Mel_C]

I was worried about Fredricks with Morphett being out. She is huge!

Good come back after the fast start by the Pies. I love how we play when we are ON.

We struggled with some of our kicks kicking in the breeze. They fell short into the hands of the Pies. We need to use the wind this quarter.

I thought we were robbed of a potential goal to Privitelli. Surely that was front on contact?

[mcs]

Looked blatantly obvious front on contact Mel_C to me - clearest free kick you'll see all day haha.

[dejavoodoo44]

Love how Molloy can take advantage of half chances and ensure that the effort upfield is rewarded.

[mcs]

What a nice kick for goal that was - great goal Privitelli!

[dejavoodoo44]

Privitelli has been excellent today.

[mcs]

Gee Molloy almost missed that - good quarter so far!

[mcs]

Excellent quarter there with the wind. Need a big effort in the 3rd to keep control and then come home well in the last.

[stellation]

Beautiful day, beautiful play. Very lucky not to give up a goal late.

[aardvark]

Kennedy doing the job on Davey. Brilliant!

[dejavoodoo44]

Looks like Davey is getting pissed off by the attention she's getting from Kennedy. Kennedy often spends time negating the opponent's best mids and usually does a very good job. To the extent that I'm thinking of bringing back the term "vok", which used to stand for "victim of Kirk".

[aardvark]

This is fun to watch. Hope it continues.....

[Mel_C]

Good quarter...we used the wind well.

What was that brain fade by Newman? She could have cost us a goal on the siren.

How good was Privitelli's goal from the boundary?

I love Molloy but she has frustrated me a couple of times today. In the first quarter she held onto it too long instead of passing to Hamilton earlier. And then she nearly missed that goal from the goal square! I am harsh I know!

Hamilton has changed her helmet. It's not as red.

Important question...is there a coffee truck there this week?

[Mel_C]

Some undisciplined play this quarter when we've had the ball.

[dejavoodoo44]

Pies getting plenty of umpire assistance this quarter.

[Mel_C]

Umpires are annoying me. Newman was clearly pushed in the back and no free. A Collingwood player is slightly touched and it's a free.

[mcs]

Collingwood players have learnt well from their Men's team in being able to exaggerate anything remotely like contact or potential free kick inducing actions.

- - - Updated - - -

That was a ridiculous HTB call. Swans player had two pies players holding the ball to her haha.

[mcs]

Really were holding on in that quarter - lets hope playing with the wind in the last can help us change the tide of the game.

[Mel_C]

We really needed the siren. That was a disappointing quarter. Undisciplined, bad kicking from defence and bad umpiring. We never looked like scoring.

Hopefully we can get back on track and take advantage of the wind.

[Mel_C]

That was a ridiculous HTB call. Swans player had two pies players holding the ball to her haha.

Was that the Kennedy HTB? She had her head taken off first, but of course no free.

[dejavoodoo44]

I thought Gardiner had plenty of classy touches in that quarter, while Kennedy continued to be a physical presence around the contests. Good to still be in front and if we can get the ball forward enough with the wind, Molloy, Privitelli and Hamilton should be able to kick a winning score.

[mcs]

Great start - well done Hurley!

[dejavoodoo44]

Hurley has been showing her skills lately, as well.

[Sandridge]

C'mon Bloods! Hang on!!

[mcs]

Got a bit lucky then with that touched call I think.

- - - Updated - - -

Great goal again from Hurley after Molloy tried really hard to undo her great mark with a poor kick to the corridor!

Come on Swannies!

[dejavoodoo44]

I suppose there was method in Molloy's madness then.

[Mel_C]

What a tackle by Heads!

[mcs]

The tackling pressure is sensational - glad to see the AFLW team taking on beautifully the best of the AFLM team in that regard!

- - - Updated - - -

What a beautiful kick of the footy Ham is. That kick across field was wonderful - she is going to be a superstar in time.

[dejavoodoo44]

Good that we're being rewarded for our tackling this quarter. Currently 80 to 50.

- - - Updated - - -

And Molloy seals it against her old club. What a star.

[mcs]

Well done Swannies - excellent win!!! The massive steps forward this season have been so enjoyable to see - even if we don't make finals, we are building a great basis for becoming a very good team.

[Blood Fever]

Our tackling and pressure is elite. Backed up last week's effort.

[Sandridge]

Sensational win!

GO BLOODS!

[aardvark]

How good was that? I love beating Collingwood!

[Mel_C]

Great win! The last couple of weeks have been impressive.

Very disappointing that 2 weeks in a row there has been no post game coverage. Last week I could understand because we kicked so many goals and the game went overtime. But this week there is no excuse because they had time for ads straight after the siren.

[Sandridge]

Great win! The last couple of weeks have been impressive.

Very disappointing that 2 weeks in a row there has been no post game coverage. Last week I could understand because we kicked so many goals and the game went overtime. But this week there is no excuse because they had time for ads straight after the siren.

Yep! Will have to wait for the song on the Swans website.

[dejavoodoo44]

Excellent win, especially since Collingwood were in excellent form coming into the game. Perhaps the most pertinent statistic, was winning the tackle count 85-55, with Kennedy leading the way with 12 and Gardiner with 9. And those two were instrumental in us winning the clearances, despite Collingwood winning plenty more hitouts.

I think that pairing were probably vying for BOG, although Molloy and Hurley were also very good. I might go for Kennedy, just because her pressure and presence really seemed to be getting to the Collingwood mids.

But of course, with a win like that, there are other good players all over the ground. I thought Tarrant, McEvoy, Heads and Mitchell all were on top in defence. Ham had some nice involvements when given a chance on the ball. While Privitelli was impressive working up the ground to present as an option and Cynthia had some useful touches forward.

Looking forward to next week. Fremantle in Perth won't be easy, but I suspect that we beat a better side today. A win should see us in the finals, which would be a remarkable achievement, considering the winless previous season.

[Ruck'n'Roll]

Thought Fregerick was going to cause big problems afte the first five minutes, but the Swans compensated and won hansomely. A lovely day on the bank in the sun.

[Sandridge]

After last year, I was just hoping we could show improvement this season and notch at least one win. Never dreamed that, with one round to go, we'd be in the running for a spot in the finals!

GO BLOODS!

[aardvark]

https://twitter.com/i/status/1718481048164790531

[Meg]

Camera hovered for very brief moment on a man wearing red Swans shirt and dark sunglasses, sitting on the grass with friends. Looked like Buddy - but it was a very brief glimpse. Did anyone see him there? Or was it my imagination?


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[Kafka's Ghost]

After last year, I was just hoping we could show improvement this season and notch at least one win. Never dreamed that, with one round to go, we'd be in the running for a spot in the finals!

GO BLOODS!

Totally agree! What a fantastic improvement this team has shown. Hope they make it, and we get at least one in Sydney.


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[liz]

Totally agree! What a fantastic improvement this team has shown. Hope they make it, and we get at least one in Sydney.


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Will be tough to earn a home final from here. Geelong, who are a rather large percentage ahead of us, play Hawthorn next week. Most decent teams - Swans aside - haven't had too much trouble accounting for Hawthorn. Hard to see Geelong losing that one, let alone receiving a thrashing to dent their percentage.

Then the other two teams ahead of us - Gold Coast and Essendon - play each other. Gold Coast are a draw ahead of us (so percentage is irrelevant) and Essendon are a game and meaningful percentage ahead of us. At least one of those two teams is going to remain ahead of us, regardless of what we do.

So our only chance of earning a home final requires Geelong to lose, and either Essendon to beat Gold Coast, or Gold Coast to inflict a huge loss on Essendon and us to get a big, big win out west.

Even if we win next week we could slip out of finals altogether if ours is a slim margin and St Kilda have a big win.

The healthy margin of our victory today makes it that much harder for Collingwood to overtake us on percentage next week if we both win. How good is that!

[aardvark]

Beating Freo at Freo will be a tough job but if we keep competing like we have the last two weeks we are a good chance.

[liz]

A lovely day on the bank in the sun.

I trust you managed to locate the coffee cart?

[Ruck'n'Roll]

My wife spotted the coffee truck from across the oval, it was behind the old kiosk next to the grandstand - She came back with a milkshake sized iced coffee - so all was good thankyou.

[neilfws]

The Age headline: "Pies miss out on $1m, lose a star player and spot in the eight in less than three hours". Some things don't change! I'd have gone with "Swans win".

[liz]

Henson Park has been quick to update its website with its new "highest crowd since 2003".

Henson Park | Austadiums (https://www.austadiums.com/stadiums/henson-park)

[ootf]

If only the facilities could be updated as quickly - I'm told the (temporary) changing rooms are fine but I wonder when the plans announced a while ago will actually come to fruition.

This weeks pics at AFLW Swans Magpies - Paul Carter (https://cartercapture.smugmug.com/AFLW-Swans-Magpies)

[Sandridge]

If only the facilities could be updated as quickly - I'm told the (temporary) changing rooms are fine but I wonder when the plans announced a while ago will actually come to fruition.

This weeks pics at AFLW Swans Magpies - Paul Carter (https://cartercapture.smugmug.com/AFLW-Swans-Magpies)

Great pics! Thanks for posting. Especially love the pics where the sizeable crowd features!

[Sandridge]

Henson Park has been quick to update its website with its new "highest crowd since 2003".

Henson Park | Austadiums (https://www.austadiums.com/stadiums/henson-park)

A very healthy crowd of 5,722 there on Sunday!

Anyone got figures to answer this - would there have been games in the "horror years" when our men's team didn't get that many through the gates?

[ootf]

(Non-Covid) 5272 v Bears 1990? Also AFLW at Henson only 1,619 v Suns last year - so good rise in interest.

[Sandridge]

(Non-Covid) 5272 v Bears 1990? Also AFLW at Henson only 1,619 v Suns last year - so good rise in interest.

Thanks for the quick answer, ootf!

[Ruck'n'Roll]

A very healthy crowd of 5,722 there on Sunday!
This year the AFLW Swans attendance figures have started to beat the figures "enjoyed" at some NRL games. I wonder, could it be the women that push AFL to equal standing in the Sydney market?