The race for the 2018 AFLW premiership has hurtled to a spectacular close, with a round of shock results forcing some hastened arithmetic. By the close of round six, five teams remain in contention for a place in season two’s decider, with upset victories to GWS and Collingwood setting up a fittingly-dramatic conclusion to a season where very little separates best from worst.
The Western Bulldogs, who came into the round one game clear and with a handy percentage, looked to have a foot in the decider with only GWS, who finished wooden spooners in 2017, in their way. But, in yet another sign of how far the Giants have come this season under Alan McConnell, GWS simply outclassed a team that not so long ago could do no wrong.
Courtney Gum was monumental to her side’s fortunes with a game-high 23 disposals, four marks and a timely goal, but it was her contested work around the stoppages that proved critical, GWS outmuscling the Dogs in that category 110-89.
The eye-catching performance once again raised the question of why, at 36-years-of-age, it has taken us this long to see her at the elite level. Drafted as a rookie by the Giants after being shattered to miss out on selection in the inaugural season, Gum could yet be a shock league best-and-fairest winner.
As a columnist for Players Voice, Gum has mused that club recruiters thought she was “too old, too slow, too unfit, [and] not committed enough” for AFLW. Reflecting on her own commitment to the game, she has talked freely about giving up football as a teenager because of the (undesirable) attention paid to her as a girl playing with the boys, and for fear of being seen as “butch”.
When the-then 35-year-old decided to once again take up the game, she was raising an 18-month child and living in a tent while her partner, a carpenter, renovated their house in Adelaide and Gum set up her own physiotherapy business. Being drafted by GWS has meant the family has had to relocate to Sydney, where Gum works three days a week in an aged-care facility, runs her business remotely and somehow factors in four days a week minimum of football training and travel.
Gum’s story is a common tale of sacrifice and commitment, and in a round dedicated to International Women’s Day, is yet another reminder of the multiple and often untold barriers women in team sports face on salaries that are not cut out to sustain a professional competition.
This is an issue the league needs to address with the arrival of two new teams in 2019, and rumours that salary caps will be introduced for clubs to stagger wages as they see fit. Given that will likely result in increased salaries for top-line players, more must be done to protect those rookies who are struggling on basic wages of $8500 but are driven by spirit and dreams.
On Sunday, nightmares of missing out on last season’s grand final by percentage drove Melbourne to a record six-goal opening quarter against the Blues, an eventual 35-point win significantly boosting their chances of avoiding last year’s heartbreak.
The Demon’s victory was significantly tarnished, however, by the shattered dreams of their vice-captain, veteran Mel Hickey leaving the ground in the third quarter with tears streaming down her face and what looks to be a season-ending left knee injury. It was a gut-wrenching, emotional moment for all watching – and is yet another reminder of what the chance to play AFLW means for those for whom the league has come late.
The Lions, meanwhile, look to have blown their own chance at grand final redemption, falling at the worst possible moment to last-placed Collingwood, and in turn tumbling from second to fifth. Credit must go to the Pies, who showed fight and pride to continue their emphatic response to the public criticism of their lacklustre start to the season.
Christina Bernadi, with 16 possessions and three goals, starred, but perhaps most promising was the performance of Ashleigh Brazill, the Australian netballer and debutant who was given a baptism of fire by being sent to line up on Sabrina Frederick-Traub. In this role, Brazill could not have been more impressive, the future at Collingwood suddenly seeming bright.
On Friday night, against the backdrop of a stunning twilight Darwin sky, it was once again a case – to borrow a line from Girls Play Footy – of a “one-legged crow” hauling her side over the line. Erin Phillips, clearly hampered by a worsening quad injury, played almost exclusively out of the goal square, still managing three goals of her own, while she also gave off a selfless assist to Sarah Perkins for her first goal of an underwhelming season.
This was arguably the highlight of Adelaide’s night, and showed the clear camaraderie between captain and friend – the kind of bond that makes a team more than the combination of its parts. If Adelaide can scrape their way into the grand final (and results this round have gone mostly their way), they are every chance to repeat last year’s famous victory – so long as Phillips is planted somewhere on the field.
And so, as a do-or-die final round approaches, more drama looms: who will finish top, and where will the grand final be hosted? Looking assured before this round to finish minor premiers, the Whitten Oval had been floated as a possible venue should the Bulldogs host the interstate Lions.
It may yet be a blessing in disguise that this match-up looks increasingly unlikely, as a capacity of 12,000 for a grand final is an insult for a league that drew 19,852 for its opening game and a record 41,975 (more than this week’s men’s NRL clash at the same venue) at Perth’s new stadium. Ikon Park, with its lighting debacle, is also surely out of the picture if the game is a twilight or night fixture.
It makes most sense for the game to be held at either Etihad Stadium (for the Bulldogs) or the MCG (for Melbourne), but an AFL men’s fixture is scheduled for both of those venues on Saturday, so it is unclear how this would work. Let’s hope the mistakes of 2017 do not repeat, and AFLW is given the venue it deserves to shine on.
