The year we failed to win a final -- the 2024 VFLW season summary

[theDJR]

ROUND 14

VFLW - Round 14 vs Cats @ Windy Hill - 2:30pm Sat 22 June 2024

Yes, it was against four teams (probably) playing finals, but Geelong have gone 20-314 in the past month. We got a week to work out our ■■■■. [image] Game order for the final H&A round: Pies vs WILLY NORF vs DOGS EFC vs Cats Casey vs Saints, whatevs PORT vs HAWKS and then Fark Carlton get denied by DAREBIN

EFC get the bye in the last round and win 10.4.64 - 2.3.15

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• EFC debut (ignoring the Darwin game) and one game away from 50 VFLW: Karly McNeice
• 25 EFC games: Sophie Molan (+11 VFLW elsewhere)
• 6 players have played the entire H&A: Melnikas, Chaston, Davidge, Ford, Ryan, Mahony. All but Ryan also played in Darwin.

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Happily, the game starts comfortably late enough to allow watching the series finale of Doctor Who first.

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Prpic has done her required running.

CarissBrett thinks this is shorts weather.

Huta has a little sausage dog.

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Tia becomes our 2024 goal-kicking leader; roves off the back of the pack from sFord intercept.

12-1

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I BELIEVE!

(zoom in to read the wrist tape)

Richo mark and set shot from forty.

BANG!

18-1 at quarter time

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It is a serious luxury having Chaston AND Molan at half-back.

Molan is just bossing this game.

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ChristinaBernardi great bodywork to dispose of her opponent and goal.

24-1

Here’s the video

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We are not kicking forward effectively. Around the ground the rest of our kicking is fine.

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CROWD AND TEAM ARE MANIFESTLY DEMONSTRATIVE. Players of both teams stop for the ump to pay the clothesline on Manfre at the top of the goal square. Ump says NO.

But Mahony pops up and goals shortly afterwards regardless!

30-1

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Jayda hits the ruck contest and kick forwards, but Tay can’t mark. But Jayda goes again, collects, and snaps the goal!

37-1 at halftime.

We’ve barely gotten started.

Here’s the video

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Noooooooooooooooooooo…

37-7

Otherwise, it’s been all not happening here in this third quarter.

@sausageroll

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It’s ye olde @handypoint and @sausageroll play!

Manfre intercepts the kickout and slots it from thirty on the angle.

44-7

Im not logging in and logging out for everyone of these 7 point plays to hand out a like

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Ruby hit high, NOPE, but goes again and hits up Manfre at the same spot as the previous goal.

BANG BANG!

51-7

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Gallivant wins the contest of capturing the long-distance thanks for the kick.

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@IceTemple

I’ve been out and missed all the fun for this game.

Not that fun. Geelong are just poor (but trying really hard)

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Richo Richo Girl!!!

Third goal after Mahony again flying high forward.

57-7

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Paraphrasing, the messages were to FINISH THEM.

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When Jordan as piggy-in-the-middle makes the smother, you stuffed up.

(Or she did REALLY well!)

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Cats score to make it 57-8

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@IceTemple

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MFord intercept mark. Chip to Chaston, who quickly roosts the ball to Hunt in the middle. Handball to the passing Porter, who spears it to Orritt. She plays on and KICKS TO ADVANTAGE into our forward line (seriously, it was that rare). Perkins has two opponents but that doesn’t stop her CLUNKING.

Beat two Cats.

brilliant mark!

Slots it from forty, and interchanges off.

63-8

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These Cats are world-class stagers. Feels a touch on her shoulder, violently throws herself back out of the contest. Ump again on the wrong side, and falls for it. Bailey is not impressed, especially given she copped an elbow to her head a minute earlier.

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Lily Bateman having a big last quarter killing the Cat attacks.

Crowd hates these umps.

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MY BEST: Richardson, Mahony, Hunt, Molan, Chaston, MFord

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Chaston and Hunt helping a granny to the rooms for the song.

And here it, and she, is!

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This was our biggest win (margin-wise) since the 2022 semi-final.

Geelong really tried, and at times moved the ball very well. But it wasn’t a fair contest, talent-wise.

Unfortunately, a large proportion of our forward thrusts were still pretty ineffectual. Gonna need better than that to roll Norf.

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• Ruby Mahony kicked her first goal for EFC today. And then her second goal!
• Liv Manfre kicked her fifth set of two goals (also has a triple earlier this year). She moved past CBomb to be our third-greatest goal-kicker. Long way to go to catch Frew and Clifford, though.
• Jayda Richardson kicked her first set of two goals for EFC today. And then she kicked her first set of three goals!

In going through this review, I made the possible link between the over-extension of her knee in round 10 (looked horrendous) and the following month:

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On the other wing, Drew Ryan has gone a bit quiet (7/8/7/6 disposals over the past month). Not looking to drop her, but she’s one who can lift us up in finals because her kicks almost always hit their target.

And this is presumably when Manfre said “I’m going to the AIS next weekend, and then to Finland for the Flag Footy World Championship, and I’ve got a scholarship to study in the USA, and watch out for me in the 2028 Olympic Games”.