VFLW 2024 Squad

Football Discussion Essendon VFLW
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Rolling back two months before the season started.

So, after half of the H&A, where are we at?

IN: Melnikas, Ryan, Richardson, Huggard
OUT: Prpic, Huta, Manfre, Tracey
B Maddison Ford Karly McNeice
Marnie Robinson Danielle Marshall Bailey Hunt
Ellie Huggard Eloise Chaston Drew Ryan
Tayla Hart-Aluni Jayda Richardson Tia Davidge
F Sarah Perkins Christina Bernardi
Krystal Russell Ruby Mahony Sophie Molan
INT Jaimee-Lee Morrow Maddison Shaw
Ashlea Melnikas Isabelle Porter Sarah Ford

The bolded players (including 80% of our forward line) are currently injured/sick, though…

These are the players left out (not including any juniors who might get called up):

Name 2024 games
Lily Bateman 5
Scarlett Orritt 5
Ava Jordan 4
Ruby Murdoch 3
Amy Carris-Brett 2
Emily Tassiopoulos 2
Tayla Crabtree 1
Emily Gallagher 0
Kalani Scoullar 0
Lily den Houting 0
Madison Gray 0

The point: we have a bit of depth, have had a lot of long-term injuries, and please let us have our preferred forward line at some point, to make and win finals.

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That’s a funny lookin ball.

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Post has to be read in the right accent to work best.

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Lou Painter and Chloe Baker-West the best for Bendigo and Calder in losses.

It is not often best on ground is a player in a 68-point loss, but that was exactly the case for the tireless working Baker-West who amassed 42 disposals, three marks, five tackles, four inside 50s, and nine rebounds in defeat. The bottom-ager covered the ground sensationally and had the ball on a string.

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You know how I wrote last year about the much much younger team we played compared to previous years?

Recap: 2019-2022 had average game day ages of 26.4-26.8 years. 2023 that plummeted to 22.9yo.

After round 10 our average age* has reduced even further to 22.6yo.

We have already used more players (46) than we did across 17 games last year (44).

We are a decent chance to reach 50 players this year (not yet played are the experienced quartet of Perkins + Bernadi + Shaw + McNeice, plus Scoullar and den Houting).

Em Gallagher was yesterday the 151st player to play for our VFLW team – the three Bendigo girls shared the 150th slot last week.







*I have set Em Gallagher’s birthday as 1/1/2002, as all we know is that she is 23yo.

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Old news, but Chloe Baker-West came back after that concussion (?) and had a casual 42 disposals vs Brisbane (7-75 loss).

FWIW, Calder Cannons have byes the next two weekends…

(Kyla Forbes averages just over half of her disposals — 20.3 vs 39.5 — but doesn’t keep missing games.)

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Learning Spanish currently, and it makes our captain’s name funnier (for language nerds, anyway).

Eloise Chaston is non-binary. Could have gone by El or Ella or Elle.

  • Él = he
  • El = the (masculine), but pronounced the same
  • Ella = she
  • Elle = sometimes used as non-binary he/she replacement (sadly for this context, “ll” is pronounced “y” — it would be an awesome pun if that was not true and they identified as Elle Chaston)

But none of the above matters, because nouns ending in “n” (or any of l o e r s) are almost always masculine.

So they are stuck with being named El (The) Chaston.

——

@Alan_Noonan_10 and others might have to correct my details! Yes, I know Elle in French is she/her, so that would be a failure to communicate who they are.

#41 - Saad El-Hawli - thru 2026
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Not sure how established the “turning masculine or feminine nouns and adjectives into gender non-specific” by replacing the suffix -a or -o with -e. I’ve heard of it but not a subject that consumes me.

I assume you’re excluding nouns ending -ión from the masculine generalisation. They’re all feminine, and very similar to English words ending in -tion (replace -tion with -ción).

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Ah, arbitrary exceptions…

Nouns that end in -sión, -ción, -dad, -tad, -tud, -umbre are feminine.

Many nouns that end in -ma are masculine.

Four of the nouns that end in -a are simply exceptions and must be memorized.
el día
el mapa
el planeta
el sofá

A few nouns that end in -o are feminine.
la mano
la radio

231

Marnie Robinson is 19yo today.

Bernardi is today 34 years + 1 day (and the spreadsheet has been corrected from same day same year but October).

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Paging @saladin …

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(The other last-night’s-training B&W photos put up by the club are much less interesting.)

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Old news highlighted below: this weekend is the last chance for predicted #4 AFLW draft pick Lou Painter to play for us (and qualify for finals).

She only missed that one week, and has played the last three Bendigo games. This past weekend she had 33 disposals, 10 tackles, and 9 inside fifties.

Bendigo are playing at Danendong this weekend. Come debut for us instead in round 14, like Gillard did three years ago (75% of her games with us were finals).

This year she has kicked four goals from six games for the Pioneers, averaging 24.2 disposals, 5.0 marks, 7.2 tackles 6.8 inside 50s and 2.7 rebounds, testament to her ability to impact in multiple roles. She is yet to be able to play VFLW due to an untimely injury the week she was set to play for the Bombers, but has turned out for the AFLW Academy twice and had some big moments.

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No other EFC-linked player is in that Top 30.

Chloe Baker-West might have been, but she’s played just two games this year – albeit for 42 and 37 disposals in 80-minute games!!!

Hopefully not repeat concussion.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/north/eightyearold-chloe-is-essendon-district-football-leagues-best-and-fairest/news-story/f2f9bbdc48a19d9af8b6d6db2c2d01f2

Eight-year-old Chloe Baker-West started playing in her first season of football with the boys and has won the EDFL Strathmore Football Club best and fairest in the U-10 Div7. Chloe was also awarded the best on ground medal in the grand final, Picture: Adam Elwood

CHLOE Baker-West is proving footy prowess has nothing to do with age or gender.

The eight-year-old has had a stellar debut football season, having been named ­Essendon District Football League’s best and fairest winner in the under-10 division 7.

Chloe, the only girl to play in Strathmore Football Club’s under-10 team, also picked up the best on ground medal in the grand final, ­despite her team losing by five points.

“I like playing with friends and kicking goals,” Chloe said. “I like playing in centre and playing in all the different places.”

Her dad, Darren Baker-West, said she had wanted to put boot to ball since watching her older brothers Mitchell, 14, and Lachlan, 12, play several seasons with the club.

Chloe was best-on-ground in the grand final.

“She’s been kicking a football in the backyard since she was four or five,” Mr Baker-West said. “She’s had a fantastic year, really ­enjoyed it, loved every minute of training, loved every minute of game day.”

Chloe had been geared up to play her first season in 2014 but an age limit change meant she was ineligible until this year.

“She was the only girl in the Strathmore team and, to give the boys credit, they treated her no differently, she was just one of their teammates. She didn’t mind at all,” Mr Baker-West said.

The Western Bulldogs fan, who is in grade three at Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School, also competes with Essendon Tennis Club.

“I’m extremely proud. She just gives 110 per cent each week in every sport she plays. She’s got very good skills, she practises and practises,” Mr Baker-West said.

Strathmore Football Club is hoping to start a girls team for those aged eight to 13 in 2016.

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Not this Olympics, the next one!

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ChristinaBernardi joined the ‘State of Play’ finals preview podcast. Included praise for Lily “1%” Bateman, and confirmation that Manfre has got a college sponsorship to presumably extend her gridiron / touch footy involvement.

No outright statement, but suggestion Christina might be in media next year. She’ll be back in future weeks’ podcasts.

Everyone had Norf as favourite this week and for the premiership.

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As per the above post…

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OK, better and less nerdy explanation for the below now:

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Mad Saturday farewell to the very very old Perkins.

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Not sure if Bernardi is illegally parked.

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