Gee, they show a lot of useless footage of trotting around from the Hawforn game… but still 
Is VFLW now the highest level of football played in Australia?
We might have dodged a bullet with missing out on a AFLW licence. What a shambles.
By standard of play, no. Certainly not by money paid to players.
On the basis of less stupid rules and a hugely more legitimate season, it looks good though…
So now they want to reduce the season to 6 rounds (10 teams) so they can add one more final before the a Grand Final. Not a fan of the league myself but these girls actually have other jobs and need to take Annual Leave or LWOP so for them to sacrifice alot just for a 6-week Mickey mouse competition is not fair on them
Livingstone referred to the Business Plan and crowded schedules , including for TV sports. May be it is connected to the $30m to Fox sports and some sort of commitment by Fox or AFL to televise all AFLW games.
If so , revenue considerations are being put ahead of the sport itself.
It has to be approved by the AFL Commission
THE WORLD CUP IS ONLY 4 weeks long!!!
Ffs, the men and women and family’s associated with this comp are getting rolled.
Minimal wages, lots of volunteers a preseason that goes twice as long as the season.
They should all just go and play in another Como and see what happens.
Courtney Ugle one of three nominations for emerging leader of the year (in the Woman of the Year awards).
For your forward planning pleasure.
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Can’t wait for the big game against GWS…
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So I assume no one (including their Tweeter) went to the Crazyburn practice match on Saturday at noon?
Good news is the final VFLW practice match is a double header with the VFLM (on the 27th).
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2018 FINISH: 13th (1-13 record)
2018 BEST AND FAIREST: 1. Hayley Bullas / 2. Courtney Ugle / 3. Rebecca Neaves
2018 TEAM OF THE YEAR SELECTIONS: Hayley Bullas
2018 AFL WOMEN’S DRAFTEES: Jessica Trend (North Melbourne – pre-list), Danielle Ponter (Adelaide)
2019 SEASON START: vs Casey Demons @ Windy Hill, Saturday May 11 ( CLICK HERE for full fixture)
** CLICK HERE for information on purchasing a 2019 membership for Essendon and other VFL Women’s clubs.*
KEY RECRUITS
Marianna Anthony (22yo in 2019): “Marianna was originally a soccer player who has picked up Australian football this year. She shows really good balance, poise and skill, and I think she has quite a few tricks in her game.”
Ruby Svarc (26yo in 2019, from St Mary’s Salesian): “Ruby has serious speed on the outside. She’s new to the game too and is showing a lot of promise. Her and Marianna will be ones to watch in the first six weeks of the season.”
Eloise Ashley-Cooper (19yo in 2019, from Murray Bushrangers/Finley): “Eloise has come into the club and not skipped a beat. She’s blended into the group well, speaks up at training and works hard. She has a lot of upside and I think a year in the VFLW will do her wonders. She has X-factor.”
PRE-SEASON PERFORMERS
Hayley Bullas (23yo in 2019, 20 VFLW games): “Hayley has a quiet demeanour, but when it’s time to play, she goes like no other player in the VFLW. She’s worked really hard this pre-season on some of her deficiencies. While she built games last year on the back of her tackling, she’s brought a whole new dimension to her game with the way she’s used the ball this year.”
Courtney Ugle (23yo in 2019, 13 VFLW games) and Simone Nalder (29yo in 2019, 14 VFLW games): “Last year when we were starting the program from scratch, it was a big step up for a lot of girls. Courtney and Sim were really good examples of that, but they’ve come back in good condition this year and have worked hard on the high-performance aspects of being a footballer. They’ve really flourished with a targeted second pre-season.”
AFLW DRAFT PROSPECTS
“I have no doubt Hayley Bullas (see above), Courtney Ugle (see above) and Simone Nalder (see above) could perform at AFLW level, but it’s just about whether a club needs those particular types of players.”
LEADERSHIP MATERIAL
“I’d think Hayley Bullas (see above), Courtney Ugle (see above), Simone Nalder (see above) and Kirby Hicks (32yo in 2019, 43 VFLW games) would be in the mix (for the leadership group). Younger girls like Lauren Caruso (20yo in 2019, 14 VFLW games) and Molly Warburton (19yo in 2019, five VFLW games) have also taken a big step up with their leadership this pre-season.
“We’ll leave the decision on a leadership group until the latest possible time though. I want to give the players the most opportunity to get to know their teammates.”
TEAM STRENGTHS
“I think we have some serious speed on the outside this year and I’d like to see a bit more of an attacking style of footy. Last year we were quite defensive and closed down teams well, but we struggled to score at times. I’d like to see development in that aspect of the game this season.
“The list is definitely in better shape than in 2018 and I’m pretty excited about our 18 to 23-year-old age demographic.”
ASSISTANT COACHING PANEL
- Wayne Schultz (from Essendon VFL)
- Bernard Shepheard (from Pascoe Vale)
- Brett Pollard (from Calder Cannons)
HEADLINE YOU WANT TO SEE
“Obviously more wins this year would be nice, but we’re a development program and the idea of ‘ See the young Bombers flying around ’ and playing good footy is the most appealing prospect to me.”
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I wonder when we will get a squad list? Is Pointer still with us?
I really hope the Comms improve this year. A lot of stuff was sent to the EFC women’s network but not to people who have the VFLW add on.
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A couple of the ladies from Denver are heading down there next month to try out. Essendon is one of the teams that they are training with along with Footscray, St. Kilda, GC and Brisbane. I’ve played some recreational footy with them. They were on the last IC side, for whatever that is worth.
Probably long shots, but good luck to them.
2018 FINISH: 13th (1-13 record)
2018 BEST AND FAIREST: 1. Hayley Bullas / 2. Courtney Ugle / 3. Rebecca Neaves
2018 TEAM OF THE YEAR SELECTIONS: Hayley Bullas
2018 AFL WOMEN’S DRAFTEES: Jessica Trend (North Melbourne – pre-list), Danielle Ponter (Adelaide)
2019 SEASON START: vs Casey Demons @ Windy Hill, Saturday May 11 ( CLICK HERE for full fixture)
KEY RECRUITS
Marianna Anthony (22yo in 2019): “Marianna was originally a soccer player who has picked up Australian football this year. She shows really good balance, poise and skill, and I think she has quite a few tricks in her game.”
Ruby Svarc (26yo in 2019, from St Mary’s Salesian): “Ruby has serious speed on the outside. She’s new to the game too and is showing a lot of promise. Her and Marianna will be ones to watch in the first six weeks of the season.”
Eloise Ashley-Cooper (19yo in 2019, from Murray Bushrangers/Finley): “Eloise has come into the club and not skipped a beat. She’s blended into the group well, speaks up at training and works hard. She has a lot of upside and I think a year in the VFLW will do her wonders. She has X-factor.”
PRE-SEASON PERFORMERS
Hayley Bullas (23yo in 2019, 20 VFLW games): “Hayley has a quiet demeanour, but when it’s time to play, she goes like no other player in the VFLW. She’s worked really hard this pre-season on some of her deficiencies. While she built games last year on the back of her tackling, she’s brought a whole new dimension to her game with the way she’s used the ball this year.”
Hayley Bullas led the way for the VFLW Bombers in their inaugural season last year. (Image: Ben Johnstone)
Courtney Ugle (23yo in 2019, 13 VFLW games) and Simone Nalder (29yo in 2019, 14 VFLW games): “Last year when we were starting the program from scratch, it was a big step up for a lot of girls. Courtney and Sim were really good examples of that, but they’ve come back in good condition this year and have worked hard on the high-performance aspects of being a footballer. They’ve really flourished with a targeted second pre-season.”
AFLW DRAFT PROSPECTS
“I have no doubt Hayley Bullas, Courtney Ugle and Simone Nalder could perform at AFLW level, but it’s just about whether a club needs those particular types of players.”
LEADERSHIP MATERIAL
“I’d think Hayley Bullas, Courtney Ugle, Simone Nalder and Kirby Hicks (32yo in 2019, 43 VFLW games) would be in the mix (for the leadership group). Younger girls like Lauren Caruso (20yo in 2019, 14 VFLW games) and Molly Warburton (19yo in 2019, five VFLW games) have also taken a big step up with their leadership this pre-season.
“We’ll leave the decision on a leadership group until the latest possible time though. I want to give the players the most opportunity to get to know their teammates.”
Courtney Ugle is among the chances to be added to the leadership group. (Image: Ben Johnstone)
TEAM STRENGTHS
“I think we have some serious speed on the outside this year and I’d like to see a bit more of an attacking style of footy.
“Last year we were quite defensive and closed down teams well, but we struggled to score at times. I’d like to see development in that aspect of the game this season.
“The list is definitely in better shape than in 2018 and I’m pretty excited about our 18 to 23-year-old age demographic.”
ASSISTANT COACHING PANEL
Wayne Schultz (from Essendon VFL)
Bernard Shepheard (from Pascoe Vale)
Brett Pollard (from Calder Cannons)
HEADLINE YOU WANT TO SEE
“Obviously more wins this year would be nice, but we’re a development program and the idea of ‘ See the young Bombers flying around ’ and playing good footy is the most appealing prospect to me.”
Nat MacDonald is among an exciting crop of young Bombers. (Image: Ben Johnstone)
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Marianna Anthony only started playing footy this year? Yowsers, she stood out in our intra-club (after Collingwood failed to turn up) last weekend.
Courtney Ugle has been named the 2019 VFLW captain.
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Ponter not playing for us this year 