Outclassed, but outclassed by the premiership favourites, and we are so much closer to the good teams now. I have said a few times that catching up to the best teams is going to be very hard given how quickly the women's game is developing. We have to improve at a much faster rate than the teams already at the top. But it is clear that this Richmond team have made up substantial ground.
The game plan looks so much better this year. It works but the execution still needs some work. That's fine, it takes time and experience in real games to get it right. We should be able to dispatch the lesser teams and with some improvement we can be close to the best teams. Much to look forward to with our women's team.
The umpiring was woeful, but hey, it's the AFL, I expect woeful. I was talking to my daughter and her boyfriend just as the ball was in that classic situation of 2 players running for the ball. The Richmond player goes to grab the ball, all the while the Melbourne player has been grabbing at her (holding the woman - not a rule for either sex it seems) and as the Richmond player gets the ball she is already being tackled and gets pinged for holding the ball. There is something seriously wrong when the rules discourage a player from trying to take possession of the ball.
Next week we apparently play Freo at Punt Rd, last I looked we were playing Gold Coast up in the tropics (or maybe the game has been shifted because we already are in the tropics in Melbourne). Is this a late change? I haven't seen an email about tickets and I'm an AFLW member.
DS