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AFLW delivers on the big stage

Lauren Arnell of Carlton (left) is congratulated by teammates after she kicked a goal during the round 1 AFLW match between the Carlton Blues and the Collingwood Magpies at Ikon Park in Melbourne, Friday, Feb. 3, 2017. (AAP Image/Joe Castro)
Expert
6th February, 2017
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AFLW launched with a bang over the weekend, bringing with it a sense of refreshing authenticity, and of people playing for the love of the game.

Two things stood out in the opening four matches of AFLW – the passion of the players and the passion of the crowd, and there can be no doubt the two are inextricably linked.

Firstly, the players.

After Round 1 of AFL last year, I wrote about the importance of intensity and my disbelief at how some teams couldn’t deliver it on the big Round 1 stage. No such worries with any woman that took the field on the weekend.

To a lady, they were ferocious in their attack on the ball and opposition player. The opening exchanges of each match were defined by bodies flying into packs at full speed, and the satisfying thwack that accompanies a well laid hip-and-shoulder.

There were several cases of concussion, and three players charged via the match review panel. The best teams have always played on the edge, and casualties are to be both expected and welcomed.

As AFL fans, we’ve all seen our teams appear to lack effort in some of their poorer seasons, when it looks as if it all becomes too hard for those out on the park. Sometimes it can become bad enough that we disengage as supporters, if only for five minutes, a quarter or a half. “If they’re not going to bother trying, I’m not going to bother going/watching” are common refrains.

The opposite is also true.

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With the players fully engaged from the get-go, the crowd had no choice but to be swept along. The fact the people had turned up in numbers beyond expectation meant they were keen to be part of history, but most important of all they were thirsty for a contest, and to see players giving their all.

The relationship was no doubt symbiotic, with players and crowd feeding off each other, to provide a spectacle that made up in passion what it lacked in polish.

The gap between the better players and those at the lower end was to be expected, with several women unable to get much possession of the ball or do something constructive when they did.

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Those with a background as an elite athlete stood out, whether it was ex-Matilda and W-League soccer representative Brianna Davey for Carlton, professional basketballer Erin Phillips for Adelaide, or WBBL Melbourne Star Emma Kearney for the Dogs.

And we saw plenty of natural talent, most breathtakingly from Friday night star Darcy Vescio. We also saw the well-established Katie Brennan tearing it up for the Dogs, the run, dash and hardness of Kara Donnellan at the Dockers, and the fierce play of Emily Bates for Brisbane.

Overall, there was a good sprinkling of quality skills from those at the top end of the talent pool, and we saw great examples of instinctive movement in traffic, clean hands in stoppages, rebound from defence and overall footy smarts.

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One of the better moments came from Adelaide’s first goal-kicker Kellie Gibson. After making position but being unused in a contest at half-back, she stayed involved in the play with hard-running as her teammates moved the ball forward, getting into the right position at the end of the chain before finishing beautifully from outside 50m.

There are several areas where the on-field play in AFLW will improve, and in a relatively short time. Wet weather at two of the games didn’t help, but many players struggled to penetrate with their kicks, which meant a lack of switching the play and clearing the ball to running players on the fat side of the ground.

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And even though the quarters were shorter than the men’s at 15 minutes plus time-on, the lack of overall athletic conditioning told late in the first halves and for much of the second half. For this, there were a number of factors, not least of which was the energy that would have been spent by all on pre-game nerves.

The heat at some matches and sodden ground at others would also have sapped the legs. Bone-jarring intensity also takes its toll as the hits start to mount up on bruised bodies.

We’ll see these issues overcome as natural evolution takes place, as the women get better and more used to the step up in competition.

AFLW has a chance to cement itself in the public landscape, particularly in the traditional Australian Rules states.

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Cricket has had its time by the end of January. The Australian Open tennis burns brightly for two weeks, but people turn their minds immediately to footy as soon as game, set and match is called at the men’s final. Soccer and basketball bubble along in the background.

AFLW can give people their early taste of Aussie rules for the year, serving as both a lead-up to the AFL season, but also getting some clean air to establish itself in its embryonic stages.

The goodwill from local media and fans in the lead-up was telling. The passion of the players was defining. AFLW isn’t the first elite level sporting league for women in this country but, in time, it has a chance to be the biggest.

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