Staring down a grand final berth, Greater Western Sydney and Adelaide blinked. Following some complex permutations at the end of round six, the equation for both was simple: win, and be guaranteed a spot in the decider. But, with the biggest carrot of their careers dangling, both teams put in disappointing performances that will burn long over the AFLW off-season.
On Friday night, the Giants played at home in Blacktown in front of an expectant crowd, but last year’s runners-up were never going to be easy-beats. Beginning the round in fifth and needing a number of unlikely results to go their way, the Lions appeared to do a quintessential (Steven) Bradbury – skating into the last dance thanks to the face-plants of their higher-placed opponents.
That, however, would be to play down what was a strong season for the Lions – itself brought to a grinding halt at home in round six, when only last-placed Collingwood stood in the way of likely back-to-back grand finals. With the shackles off and nothing to lose, the pride of Brisbane town this time stood tall.
Their victory was engineered by the tallest of them all – Sabrina Frederick-Traub – who, at 182cm, threw her body weight around to time and again stand up in tackles and release the ball to teammates, or, as is becoming more common, attack the goal-front on her own.
By the end of the first quarter, Frederick-Traub had three of the Lions’ six goals, and would finish with four goals and 18 disposals in some measure of her competitiveness. Firebrand Jess Wuetschner, with three, was also critical in a rabid first term from which the Giants would never recover.
GWS’s inability to match the Lions’ intensity ended poorly what was a promising season. New coach Alan McConnell, who has done so much to turn the club’s fortunes around, was understandably frustrated post-game, lamenting that his team could score the first goal of the game only to surrender the next seven.
“We led the contested ball by six, five minutes into the game. We [also] had three shots on goal, then it all turns to shit,” he said. “When it mattered, when it was a one-on-one game pretty much, we weren’t good enough, [and] that’s the big lesson.”
Perhaps it was McConnell’s brutal honesty that engineered such a fine season, but those words will surely sting. Courtney Gum, to date a shining light for the Giants, might feel them particularly keenly after she managed just five disposals – shifted forward after being all-but ineffective in the middle.
The same could not be said of Alicia Eva, however, whose run-down tackle on competition speedster Kate McCarthy was a game highlight, and spoke aptly of the desperation of a preliminary final (in all but name). She finished with 18 disposals (15 kicks and six tackles) and is surely in the conversation for recruit of the season.
On Saturday night the Dogs and Dees faced off in harsh conditions, and brought the intensity anticipated of the game of the year. With wild winds and regular gusts of dust storms, both sides did well to score as freely as they did, the result on the line until the death. Brooke Lochland’s snap, with 90 seconds remaining on the clock, was a fitting winner, her second season rise typifying just how much improvement is left in the women of this competition, who too often gave up the game they loved as teenagers (at 13, in Lochland’s case).
BROOKE LOCHLAND PUTS THE @bulldogsaflw IN FRONT! #AFLW #AFLWDogsDees pic.twitter.com/GfEqBsuJ2n
— AFL Women's (@aflwomens) March 17, 2018
Lochland, who but for cleaning tables at Montmorency football club, might never have returned to Australian rules, is the perfect encapsulation of how much more AFLW could and will be. To top the competition goalkicking – after managing just one goal in 2017 – is an incredible feat for player and club. Her 12th was no doubt the sweetest, securing the Bulldogs’ passage into their maiden grand final, and leaving the Demons heartbroken once more.
In the end it was a dirty night for Melbourne, who lost their third player of the season – Sarah Lampard – to an ACL injury, and have been extremely unlucky to finish third on percentage in two seasons without a finals series. Surely, with two new teams introduced in 2019, the AFL must find a way to stage a final four (with two preliminary finals, one versus four and two versus three) or at least a top three, where the top side is guaranteed a place in the grand final, while two and three compete for the second grand final berth.
Should that happen, more needs to be done to ensure the AFLW a stage of its own in season three – with appropriate marketing, venue availability and TV presence. On Saturday night, with the first-placed Bulldogs facing second-placed Melbourne for a spot in the grand final, Channel Seven chose to screen a remake of The Jungle Book in Melbourne, while AFLW was shown on 7Mate. This continues the trend, shown by key stakeholders all season, of failing to capitalise on the momentum the competition had in its inaugural season.
And, after much conjecture, the AFL has now announced the grand final will be held at Ikon Park (Princes Park) on Saturday at 12:35pm (brought forward half an hour on Monday afternoon). Princes Park is the home of the Carlton football club, and has a capacity of approximately 24,000.
AFLW chief executive Nicole Livingstone said in a statement that Princes Park was chosen as a venue because of a desire to allow fans and AFLW members to attend. In the absence of tickets, the AFL has announced that team members from either side will have priority access for 30 minutes prior to gates opening for the general public.
This is at least a compromise that will allow those most diehard fans to attend, although it is a shame that the AFL did not leave space in its round one men’s fixture for the AFLW grand final to shine in its own right. Going forward, AFLW deserves to host its grand final on a professional ground with capacity for as many fans of the competition to attend as possible, and with transport options and infrastructure suitable for all.
Nonetheless, round seven – and season two – should be remembered for its positives: namely, its fierce competition. While it is true that Adelaide and GWS failed to stand up when it mattered most, their losses were also the result of a very even competition – where little separated top from bottom, or at least the top five. With talent set to be spread thinner in 2019, clubs can have faith that improved pathways for girls and women will ensure that remains the case.
