AFLW agenda: All the hits and misses from week seven
The AFLW is at a crossroads, and yet the league’s new boss is nowhere to be seen, leaving many to ask #WhereIsEmmaMoore. ELIZA REILLY runs through the hits and misses from Week 7.
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From a general manager missing-in-action to the courageous return of a Melbourne favourite, we run through the hits and misses from Week 7 in the AFLW Agenda.
MISSES
MOORE IS MOORE
#WhereisEmmaMoore?
That’s what former Carlton coach Daniel Harford posted on X on Wednesday morning with the competition at the crossroads. He is of course referencing the first-year AFLW general manager who has been largely unsighted since the season started. The former high-ranking NAB senior manager was happy to speak to the media on the eve of the season. But since the ball was bounced in 2024, it appears that Moore has done a small handful of radio interviews and an in-house podcast with the AFL.
#WhereIsEmmaMoore? https://t.co/1EAYB4o279
— Daniel Harford (@HarfSerious) October 16, 2024
She also spoke at the launch of Pride Round last week, a press conference that was scheduled at the same time as day one of the AFL trade period, one of the biggest media events of the year. As a result, just two journalists showed up. Moore did speak with the 18 clubs at an operations meeting earlier this week and she’s on her way to Perth for the AFLW western derby on Saturday. But the lack of public presence when the future of the AFLW is in the spotlight is odd to say the least.
The AFL’s view is that it will wait until the end of the season to review the competition and make considered decisions. That is completely fair and reasonable given that it is Moore’s first year at the helm and she needs time to wrap her head around every aspect of the operation. But even if the AFL needs time to work through things, is there not an opportunity to get on the front foot and offer the playing cohort and clubs some reassurance?
It is expected Moore will front the media in Darwin next week for the launch of the AFLW’s inaugural Dreamtime game and in the lead-up to the league’s finals series.
GIANT PROBLEM
Sydney coach Scott Gowans turned heads last year when he declared that the Giants are the worst foundation club in the league. A year on and it’s apparent that he might just be onto something. GWS has won just one game this season, a 63-point thrashing of the Western Bulldogs in round one, and it’s hard to see them winning any of their last three against Hawthorn, Fremantle and Port Adelaide.
Cameron Bernasconi has won just seven games in three seasons and given the Giants are set to miss finals again, you’d think he’s the coach most under pressure to keep his job unless the Suns make an early move on Cameron Joyce who’s contacted until 2026. You know it’s bad when the diehard fans are starting to question the club. Georgina Hibberd, author of Never Surrender, a book about the Giants 2020 season, and vocal GWS fan declared that “something has to give” on X after watching the Giants go down to St Kilda by 34 points last Tuesday. The worst was still to come on Sunday as Adelaide belted GWS by 64 points.
HITS
SUPER SCHOLZ
If Matilda Scholz isn’t on posters everywhere in Adelaide this week then Port are missing a trick. Actually, let’s skip Adelaide and hang it in the Louvre. If that wasn’t the best mark that’s ever been taken in the history of the AFLW, then find me one better. The lift and hang time as the 19-year-old climbed onto the shoulders of a Collingwood defender was a thing of beauty. It was weeks in the making too given that Scholz has put a big emphasis on her contested marking after failing to hang onto a few earlier in the season.
Not only is Scholz a contender for the Mark of the Year, but she also snagged an AFLW Rising Star nomination courtesy of 19 hit-outs, 15 disposals, six tackles and a goal. After a subdued start to the season, a result of the pressure she felt after such a promising debut year, Scholz has polled coaches votes in Port’s last four games as the Power mount an unlikely finals campaign. The future of the AFLW is in great hands with the likes of Scholz leading the way.
LIFE IN LIV YET
How brave do you have to be to return to the football field after suffering a serious facial injury during pre-season to the point where you can’t fly home from South Australia and have to remain in hospital? The return of Liv Purcell for Melbourne, Batman-style mask and all, was one of the heartwarming highlights of week seven.
The 24-year-old suffered a series of nasty facial fractures, forcing her to miss the first six weeks of Melbourne’s season before courageously returning against St Kilda. Purcell finished with 15 disposals, four tackles, four clearances and a goal in the third quarter, responding with a ‘mask on’ style celebration. The return of Purcell also allowed stablemate Tyla Hanks to run riot in the midfield, racking up 12 clearances. The Demons have now won their last three to give themselves a finals sniff.
RIVAL ROUND
They’ve dubbed it the “biggest western derby yet.” And it’s hard to argue with that. On Saturday afternoon at Leederville Oval, West Coast coach Daisy Pearce could make her biggest statement yet. The Eagles have never won a derby. The Dockers hold a 6-0 stranglehold on the cross-town rivalry and remain big sister. But the little sister always grows up eventually. That’s not to mention the bevy of players who have switched allegiances over the years, a clear breach of the ‘Daniel Metropolis’ rule. It’s the most consequential derby these two sides have played yet and it’s also likely to be one of the most evenly matched.
Both sides are coming off losses and both sides also need to win to keep their finals hopes alive. The Dockers should never have let their game against Carlton slip in the final 60 seconds and it might cost them a top four spot. A derby win would go a long way to cementing a spot in the top eight with winnable games against GWS and the Bulldogs in the final fortnight of the season. The Eagles have already produced their most successful season yet, winning four games in Pearce’s first year at the helm to remarkably remain in finals contention. And despite a hefty loss to Hawthorn, the Daisy dust might still have one last miracle left. It’s believed that around 3000 tickets have already been sold and walk-ups can account for up to 80 per cent of the final tally, putting the crowd estimate in the vicinity of 10,000. If you watch one game this weekend, make it this one.
Originally published as AFLW agenda: All the hits and misses from week seven
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