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Joined April 2018
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Footy tragic. Dockers diehard. No claim to expertise - just gut-feeling and passion.
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When I started this supporter series there was only one person I knew I would interview, and the rest I’d figured out along the…
Since my last instalment, Suncorp released their 2019 Australian Youth Confidence Report, which revealed that nearly 50 per cent of girls are moving away…
Amidst the furore of Gillon McLachlan’s press conference regarding crowd behaviour, a little nugget – or rather a sizeable turd – slipped past the…
It’s been a week since 53,034 people packed Adelaide Oval for the AFLW grand final and I’m ready to carry on with my list…
I have a shameful secret to admit. And it’s not about that time I may or may not have posted a bulging eye emoji…
Now that the gripping conclusion to Fremantle’s season has passed, I figured it was time to get back to Carnage’s story. To quickly recap,…
I'm back with a two-part edition of the supporter series for your reading pleasure. This edition comes after lively negotiations with the man of…
When I was too young to know any better I tried long distance dating. Unfortunately it turned out the other person in the equation…
As an unapologetically one-eyed Dockers supporter I never thought I'd debase myself by interviewing an Eagles fan, but in the spirit of last weekend's…
Here's the first interview in Downsey's Supporter Series, where she ‘shoots at goal' with fellow footy supporters about their beloved teams. Of course, as…
In my 40 years of experience as a female, I haven’t heard a single chick say that they got into a sport because of the cheerleaders, or that they enjoy a sport because of the cheerleaders.
I think it’s pretty insignificant in terms of whether a female does or doesn’t play or follow a sport.
I’m not fussed whether cheerleaders stay or go, but I can understand why there’s pushback; their adherence to an appearance that speaks more to conventional ideas about femininity and sexuality doesn’t sit comfortably with many nowadays.
I’m not on any stay or go bandwagon. I just commented because the premise in the title seemed a bit of a stretch to me.
Excluding cheerleaders only removes women from the game
I’ve been thinking about Livingstone’s commitment to the conference system and I may be way off base here, but I wonder if the sticking point is the impact on players’ employment outside of the game.
At the moment, many of the players juggle full-time employment on top of their AFLW administration, training and playing schedule. Maybe these women have abnormal reserves of energy and are extraordinarily organised, but I reckon at some point this juggling act has got to become draining.
Clearly we can get the best out of our players with a 2-month season, but would we still be able to with a 4-month season? Would that be a few weeks too many to ensure their employment doesn’t affect their footy, and vice versa?
The alternative would be that players are employed full-time by the AFL so there’s no competing interest, but is that financially feasible and how many would be prepared to give up their current careers?
I think once the competition evolves more and is mostly ‘staffed’ by players who have come through the system in a way that they’ve been able to make a career out of their footy, we won’t see a change to the conference system.
And, to clarify, I’m not trying to suggest the women aren’t capable of doing all of that, I’m just trying to be a little pragmatic in considering the reasoning behind the conference system.
A little patience will help the AFLW go a very long way
Agreed, Mayne is a valuable player. I always rated him at Freo but he simply couldn’t get it together. I’m starting to wonder whether that was more about the club than the individual.
Ten talking points from AFL Round 2
Football and hyperbole. Who’d ever think they’d go hand in hand?
When a big Round 1 AFL victory is a sign of something more
Ditto. I was stoked to see Cam get up; I’ve got a soft spot for him. Now we just need some consistency or he’ll lose his spot almost immediately.
When a big Round 1 AFL victory is a sign of something more
I don’t think Fremantle expected it to be that tough because Donellan was rested so that she would be better recovered for the GF. That suggests to me, at least, that there was a reasonable degree of confidence that the girls would win. Otherwise, you’d be throwing everyone and everything at securing your GF berth, just like Carlton did.
I’m not pointing the finger at that decision, a team is more than one person, but I do believe withdrawing Donellan was Fremantle’s first misstep. That would have had a huge impact on the ‘mental’ side of the game; the last thing you need when your team is venturing into unfamiliar territory where the stakes are exceptionally high.
I reckon the conference system is to blame above all else. Fremantle played a finals series before starting the actual finals series. We couldn’t drop a single game for the last three rounds, with two of those against other finals contenders. Ultimately, we had to win 85% of our games to get into finals, whereas Carlton only had to win 57% (yeah it’s only 7 games all up, but it still equates to a significant difference). That difference in work load to reach the finals is what screwed us over.
I will absolutely froth at the mouth if WC pillages our side. It seems a few of the players have some pretty tight friendship groups, so I predict they’ll either go in those groups or not at all. I’d be gutted to see a mass exodus.
As for this weekend, Crows all the way. I honestly can’t seeing it going any other way. Their team is beyond dominant, they’re annihilators.
2019 AFLW Grand Final Adelaide Crows vs Carlton Blues preview and prediction
I’ve been reserved with my predictions for the Dockers this season, and continued to be so even after our thrashing of the Roos, but just tonight I was looking at our squad selection for Round 2 and it is an impressive list of players. We’ve got a champion side. If we can avoid any more injury and get our current injured players reintegrated smoothly, then we’ll have the stars aligning for a cracking season. I’m almost prepared to let a little purple bubble of optimism burst free.
When a big Round 1 AFL victory is a sign of something more
Alright, I’ll probably get slaughtered for this, but here goes…
“We shouldn’t pick and choose when to stand with someone and when to work against them.”
For me, it was about the timing of the announcement of Hogan’s mental health diagnosis that seemed suspect, rather than the diagnosis itself.
By all accounts (and I know they’re mostly unverified but where there’s smoke there’s fire), Hogan has been having a fairly wild time over the last few months. The point at which Fremantle decided to connect this behaviour to Hogan’s mental health was the point at which it spilled over to training in front of a public and media audience. So, for the more sceptical amongst us, it seems as if the club is doing a bit of suspect picking and choosing.
However, even if my right eyebrow is raised, I still make an effort to “choose my words wisely… without the abuse” and I think this is the key point in your article worth remembering.
AFL fans can't pick and choose when to care about mental health
May not have ‘expert’ status but Shepherd and mastermind have been doing a great job.
Tayla Harris: 1, trolls: 0
Well, yeah, but it’s a brain that’s misfiring.
Even so, your point is fair. People can make chronically poor decisions irrespective of a mental health diagnosis. Kind of like how you’re in control of your brain and limbs but still manage to stuff up your commentary time and time again. 🙂
Freo's Hogan banned for alcohol slip-up
Not necessarily. Anxiety disorders come in many shapes and forms, and aren’t always about social anxiety or being the centre of attention. Speaking from experience, I have clinical anxiety and I lead an active social life. However, it’s also medically and psychologically managed, and not self-managed through alcohol.
That said, I can understand why eyebrows are being raised.
Freo's Hogan banned for alcohol slip-up
One occasion where I can see where you’re coming from. I don’t think it’s the case, but I can understand why people might feel there’s ‘spin’ involved in this situation. The timing to make a mental health announcement is a bit suspect when it comes right after a training incident, despite his drinking being fairly unrestrained for some time beforehand (I acknowledge, unverified at this point).
I hate that the thought crossed my mind, but there you go.
I hope he makes it back asap.
Freo's Hogan banned for alcohol slip-up
You misunderstand, Anon. Changing his occupation wouldn’t result in minimising his clinical anxiety. Football may have nothing to do with it. Even if it does, simply walking away from football wouldn’t resolve it.
Freo's Hogan banned for alcohol slip-up
Haw-haw! Thigh-slapping humour.
The problem is, when you and the rest of your comically-talented mates make similar commentary, it leads to people who would sexually harass others believing their behaviour is legitimised.
'The comments were sexual abuse': AFLW star Tayla Harris
“They have finally formed a strong forward line, now led by Jesse Hogan, Rory Lobb, Brennan Cox and Cam McCarthy.” Huh? Did you mean Taberner rather than McCarthy?
Definitive guide to AFL 2019: Part one
Hoping West Coast don’t pillage our ranks for next year, and Bowers is a motherforking gun.
ELO-Following Football AFLW ratings for Round 7
I think the purple haze will pack Fremantle oval on Saturday – perhaps we’ll make the difference. Houghton keeps getting better and whether it’s Saturday’s game or next season, she’s going to dominate the forward line (it might just be the women’s team who lock in a KPF before the men). Duffy strikes me as the type to get fired up and mongrel’y for a match like this. Donnellan is due a big game, and I’m sure Antonio would like a final chance to have had more impact this season. So, all in all, lots of positive for the Dockers leading into this huge clash (and one insurmountable negative in the conference system… I suspect Livingstone is feeling sheepish about her “ladders will balance out” comment).
ELO-Following Football AFLW ratings for Round 7
Yeah, fair points.
Absolutely can’t wait for Saturday. It’s going to be an exciting match!
It’s time to let go of the 'honourable loss'
“…let’s label those things for what they are and not substitute them for an ‘honourable loss’…” What would your label be, Marnie? Just a loss?
I tried to think of alternatives, but I needed too many words, which is why I now figure it’s simply an easy (maybe lazy) term for losses with a bit more complexity to them.
Hey, my Freo girls take on your North girls this Saturday. Are you feeling confident?
It’s time to let go of the 'honourable loss'
All good, Nuwan. I put it down to human nature more so than cricket-specific.
I had a wonderful couple of years with some top chicks. One of my fondest memories is when the team got together for one of the women’s Ashes matches at the WACA, and had such fun challenging each other to get player autographs – awesome gender camaraderie and fun. We were all so inspired by Perry.
Why cricket is Australia’s most feminist sport
I’ll also add that I was pleasantly surprised at how seriously many of the players took their cricket. It appeared to me that in WA there’s a decent-sized portion of female players who take their cricket very seriously and are highly skilled and knowledgeable in the sport – more so than I had expected from an outsider’s point-of-view.
Why cricket is Australia’s most feminist sport
I haven’t listened to the link, but in this article is it actually stated that the only reason McDonald follows NRL is because of cheerleading?
The premise of the article is that there’ll be fewer women following or playing NRL if cheerleaders are removed. I think this is a bit of a stretch.
However, removing performance day and paid employment avenues for cheerleaders could lead to a decline in their sport’s exposure and therefore their participation numbers, and by extension, total female participation numbers in sport. That premise is more plausible to me.
Excluding cheerleaders only removes women from the game