#MoveItToMarvel
So much disagreement on whether we have an easy draw, or not.
#15 (eq.) ESSENDON | 29 points
The expansion clubs need to be given a shot at competing with the well-established ones, so to have the Bombers down here is no surprise. Aside from a road trip to Moreton Bay to face the Lions in Round 6, and a Round 9 challenge against Melbourne at Casey Fields, the Bombers have a relatively good fixture. The first four rounds in particular treats the Bombers well, with two-point or less rated opponents in the form of Hawthorn, Carlton, West Coast (albeit in WA and Richmond). The noticeable aspect about Essendonâs fixture is the Bombers have the second easiest first five rounds of any side, then it rams up to be one of the most difficult runs home.
First half difficulty (average): 2.2
Second half difficulty (average): 3.6
Not much of a new article, but a few extra quotes from this morningâs press conference.
They will not need to move Melb/Norf 
FOLLOWING the move of the blockbuster Essendon v Hawthorn AFLW clash to Marvel Stadium, the AFL will continue to monitor ticket sales for remaining games scheduled for ETU Stadium.
The North Port Oval is set to host a Melbourne-North Melbourne battle on at 5.10pm on Friday night in round two and Essendon v Carlton on Sunday at 11.10am in the same round.
The match that looms as the biggest ticket seller is the inaugural Dreamtime game between Essendon and Richmond on Sunday afternoon in round four.
âWeâre continuing to work with ETU or Port Melbourne Oval. Itâs a great oval and facility, obviously it has broadcast lights as well there, but we want to make sure weâre doing the right thing for AFLW,â general manager of womenâs football Nicole Livingstone told womens.afl .
Hawthornâs Louise Stephenson and Essendonâs Sophie Alexander at Marvel Stadium on August 15, 2022. Picture: AFL Photos
"Weâll continue to talk to them about it. We do have matches scheduled there between rounds two and four, so there are more matches there. Weâd like to be able to utilise North Port Oval as well, but weâll continue to monitor ticket sales.
"We want to make the most of AFLW, itâs a new time for us, and thereâs soon to be 10 clubs with FOMO (fear of missing out) that their team has finished (in the AFL), but surprise, your team hasnât finished. You have a womenâs team, and youâll get a lot of pride and excitement getting on board and following your womenâs team as well.
âWe want to make the most of AFLW in this timeframe and if we need to move to bigger venues, then weâll consider that. But itâll be based on ticket sales.â
FWIW, our remaining H&A games:
- FCFC, lost 18-36 to Pies
- WCE, wooden spooners that beat newbies Port 40-28
- Tigers, lost 11-15 to Cats
- Pies, beat FCFC 36-18
- Bears, beat Freo 76-27
- Cats, won 15-11 vs Tiggers
- Swans, lost to Swans 27-56 (and perhaps lost Ham)
- Dees, beat premiers Adelaide 44-26 (and us in âmatch simulationâ 84-40)
- Port, lost to wooden spooners 28-40 (and to us 36-56 in the practice game)
Iâm going with WWW??LWWL?
Tigers/Pies/Port (away) are the three question marks, and would determine where we finish.
Whatâs AIA park? Is that Olympic Park? Trying to figure out where Pies home ground is.
Yes, itâs their crappy training ground (as used by Bomberblitz). Obviously entirely inappropriate (how do you charge for admission to there?), and will be moved.
I googled âAIA Parkâ and got results for Hong Kong. Guess I better book tickets.
I think itâs the renamed Holden Center, isnât it?
All their other home games are at Victoria Park.
Iâm all for the idea of using some of the suburban grounds but some of these donât have seats!
I know youâre aware of all this, but as a general comment, next week will be a really interesting test against an established side. The later intake V foundation sides gap was evident in previous seasons but as theyâve been weakened by poaching, and Essendon has some cohesion from the VFLW players, it will be fascinating to see how they go.
Sure, if they had a VELCRO and we didnât, it could be bad.
Did you watch the Thursday game? They were very unimpressive.
Something is going onâŠ
Yep, itâs invalid because they have made it a ticketless/free event. Anyone who paid money is getting a refund.
It is going to be a nightmare now, as the GF parade is on same day and they are having events along the Yarra.
It was always broken. Youâd have to host Freo vs the Suns there to not have crowd problems. But if theyâre cancelling tickets it seems they are going to keep it there.
