Best bet is usually Tuesday morning 9am at The Hangar, but last week they did train at Windy Hill.
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Thanks mate, much appreciated!
They had an intraclub sometime this weekend.
Still no news on whether weâre allowed to watch the coming âmatch simulationâ.
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In apparent height order:
- Wales 188cm
- Gough â180â <â hmmm⌠as I said, will play this year
- Brown 184
- Gamble 180
- Dyke 181
Adams look weird without her helmet.
Also, Vote 1 Smiley McSmileFace.
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KEY AFLW PLAYER MOVEMENT DATES
- Monday, November 4: First Rookie Signing period opens
- Wednesday, November 6: AFLW Draft nominations open
- Wednesday, November 27: AFLW Draft nominations close
- Saturday, November 30: 2024 NAB AFLW Grand Final
- Wednesday, December 4: Restricted Free Agency and first Delisted Free Agency Period opens
- Thursday, December 5: AFLW Trade Period opens
- Wednesday, December 11: AFLW Trade, Restricted Free Agency and first Delisted Free Agency periods close
- Thursday, December 12: First Rookie Signing period closes; second Delisted Free Agency period opens
- Friday, December 13: Second Delisted Free Agency period closes; 2024 Telstra AFLW Draft order finalised
- Monday, December 16: 2024 Telstra AFLW Draft
- Monday, February 3, 2025: Supplementary Signing Period opens
- Friday, February 28, 2025: Supplementary Signing Period closes
This is mostly vague questions without answers. Doesnât know that Sheridan has been playing forward this year (and last week), or that Keaney was a goal-kicking wing last week. Doesnât mention Dariaâs return, and thinks Sheridan is a more interesting prospect than Gough. Doesnât think our delivery into our forward line is our biggest flaw. Doesnât talk about our draw. Not spell-checked (âSyndeyâ, at least).
Not about winning games, but at least they found someone else to join The Big ThreeâŚ
https://aflw.bolter.team/slidingdawes/21
Team Overview
Essendon had somewhat of a successful season last year, finishing seventh on the ladder, before losing to Geelong in the first final. In 2023, Bonnie Toogood asserted herself as a premium forward, eclipsing the 100 mark and being a model of consistency. Midfielders Maddy Prespakis and Georgia Nanscawen also provided us some great scoring throughout the year, and may be options this season again.
The off season has seen some improvements to mid and defender stocks. Maddy Gay comes in, with Gaylor and Adams also providing some midfield depth. Keaney has also come across from Gold Coast to slot in at half-back. Gough may be one who slots in as she brings something different.
Essendon were tough for all positions outside the rucks, so be cautious of expecting a lot against the Bombers this season. Essendon have one of the best early schedules in the game, with Freo, West Coast and St Kilda in the first three weeks. This opening schedule definitely makes players like Toogood, Gay, GNans and MPres more tempting options.
Throw Away the Key
Bonnie Toogood (FWD, 1.323m Official, 216.8k Bolter) finally arrived as a fantasy premium in 2023 as the top FWD of the competition, most weeks proving simply far too good for the opposition. In season 7, Toogood was solid in her first season for the Bombers averaging 63 fantasy points. This was done through 13 disposals, 3 marks and 3 tackles a game, along with a goal a game. Toogood took a massive jump in season 8, becoming one of the best premium forward options in the game and averaging 102. Toogood averaged a very impressive 19 disposals, 6.5 marks, and 5 tackles, along with 1.5 goals a game. Toogood didnât need CBA action for this, pushing up the ground and showcasing an all-round game week in, week out.
Toogood did not only become a great forward premium, but she became one of the better premium options in the entire game. Out of her 11 games, 8 of those had scores above 100. Her maximum score on the year was 126 highlighting a great ceiling, with 2 scores over 120. Her floor was a crazy 81, with her three lowest scores being 83, 83, and 81. Toogood also has a great ceiling in each stat line. Her highest disposal count was 24 disposals. Her highest mark tally was 10, whilst her highest tackle count was 11. She also kicked 3 goals in a game.
Looking at her TOG and Market Share, the signs continue to look positive. Across the season she averaged 93% TOG. In regards to market share, she averaged 9.6%, and hit a market share over 10% in 5 of her games. This highlights her importance to the team. Any improvement to team scoring this season, could improve her average even further purely based on the scoring share she has. If you are going to pay up for a forward premium, particularly in Official where the options are far less appealing, we think Toogood is too good to pass up.
The Next Best Three
Maddy Gay (DEF, 644k Official, 105.3k Bolter) has been a somewhat underrated fantasy player within AFLW circles. She can play both ends of the ground, but mainly played in defence during her time at Melbourne. Last season she averaged a solid 54 fantasy points despite spending some time forward, and in season 7 she averaged 56. This comes from solid averages of roughly 13 disposals, 3 marks and 3 tackles a game across those seasons. Her best season came in season 5 where she averaged 71 points, from 17 disposals, 2 marks and 5 tackles a game in a forward mid role. It is yet to be seen where she cements her role at the Bombers - although it is likely in defence - but she has showcased great scoring all over the park and could follow suit of many others last season that moved clubs and became certified premiums. Gay enters 2024 priced at 50 in both formats.
Georgia Nanscawen (MID, 1.059m Official, 173.5k Bolter) was a great rookie option for coaches last season, providing not only great money making ability, but also good scoring on field. Nanscawen was an original signing for Essendon when they entered the competition, touted as a top-line player with leadership qualities. Unfortunately injury ruled her out of Essendonâs debut AFLW season, but she stamped her authority as an inside beast upon returning to football. After only managing a 21 average in 2 games for North Melbourne in season 3, she had a breakout in the VFLW in 2022, earning her a spot on the Essendon list in 2023. âNansâ averaged 107 in the VFLW in 2022, highlighted by six games with over 10 tackles, and a ceiling of 138. After a 63 average across her first five games for Essendon in the AFLW last year, she went on to average 100 in her next six games. Across the season she averaged 19 disposals and 8 tackles, however in her last 6 games she averaged 21 disposals and 10 tackles. In her second season for Essendon, there is definitely scope for improvement on price in both formats of 83, and she could be an option in our midfields.
You know what you are going to get with Maddy Prespakis (MID, 1.247m Official, 204.3k Bolter). She led the team with 86% CBAs across the season, averaging 97 fantasy points from 26 disposals, 3 marks and 5 tackles a game. She didnât quite showcase a ceiling, however she was very consistent scoring in the high 80s to 100 range. With the supporting cast around her, she has been prone to the tag, so the scope of improvement may be the improvement of those around her to allow her to get more cheap ball. Essendon have a nice early fixture for midfielders, so MPres is one to watch to see if the inclusions or further improvement of Nanscawen can free her up.
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Context on the below is that previously there was only nation-wide Combines BEFORE their last junior season.
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Mon Conti?
I mean outstanding player but Iâd be absolutely shocked if sheâs even in the top 10 goal kickers!
@theDJR - How are we shaping up this year? Is the list stronger? Can we win a final this year? Are we relying a little on Prespakis and Toogood again?
The answer could well be yes we are a better team but we go backwards ladder wise due to the tougher draw.
I canât see us beating NM, Melbourne, or Adelaide. There are some potential coin toss games vs Freo, St Kilda, GC, Sydney, and Richmond.
We should beat WC, Bulldogs, and FARK CARLTON.
Probably need 6 wins to make finals.
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Yep.
Beating Geelong on the weekend (minus Georgie) was a good sign. We controlled the bulk of the game⌠but we were still poor at entering our forward line, which has been a constant bane of our existence. We still have no legit classic forward pocket.
Our three new kids are good enough to play from round one, and Gay and Keaney have been busy.
Last year we dropped a couple games we shouldnât have, and it massively altered where we finished. This draw is less forgiving:
- Freo â need a big crowd, and to win
- WCE â over there, need to win
- Sts â should win
- Adel â urgh
- Melb â urgh
- Syd â two very different practice match results! But we likely need to score big to beat them.
- Suns â away, probable loss
- Dogs â should win
- Norf â urgh
- Tiggers â should win
- FCFC â MUST, and will, win.
So we probably need to win at least 6 of the 7 games not against the Big Four + Suns. No slip-ups, please!
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I havenât reverse-engineered Gemmaâs picks to see if she has us beating Melbourne.
| # | Gemma Bastiani | Lucy Watkin | Sarah Black |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adelaide | North Melbourne | Adelaide |
| 2 | North Melbourne | Adelaide | Brisbane |
| 3 | Geelong | Brisbane | North Melbourne |
| 4 | Brisbane | Geelong | Geelong |
| 5 | ESSENDON | Melbourne | Melbourne |
| 6 | Gold Coast | Collingwood | Fremantle |
| 7 | Hawthorn | Gold Coast | Richmond |
| 8 | Melbourne | Richmond | ESSENDON |
| 9 | St Kilda | Sydney | Collingwood |
| 10 | Sydney | ESSENDON | Gold Coast |
| 11 | Richmond | Carlton | Sydney |
| 12 | Fremantle | Hawthorn | Hawthorn |
| 13 | Port | St Kilda | Carlton |
| 14 | Carlton | Port | St Kilda |
| 15 | Collingwood | Fremantle | Port |
| 16 | West Coast | West Coast | West Coast |
| 17 | GWS | GWS | GWS |
| 18 | Footscray | Footscray | Footscray |
VDH a test, Scott out for 3 and Brown out for 7.
Van Dyke not listed as injured so do they go with her to fill Brownâs spot? Or Gough? Or just go smaller
7 games is brutal considering the whole season is 11 (well, 14/15 for us!)
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Weâve still got two overt tall defenders (Gamble and Clarke). At some point youâve just got to trust the likes of Gay and MORCS to just intercept and neutralise the rest.
Iâve made my opinion clear on the two you mentioned.
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OK, I tipped every game (with 30-25 or 40-20 scores) and 6th-9th are all on 7 wins⌠(Swans Suns EFC Port).
Port is my big outlier versus the tips of the experts above: they have a great draw. I have them playing the teams finishing 1st, 2nd, 7th, and 11th-18th.
And yes, the Big Five finish as the top five (Melbourne 8 wins, the other four 9 wins).
In reality, football is weird, tipping the whole season is silly, and weird things will happen.
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