Source :- THE AGE NEWS
Departing St Kilda AFLW coach Nick Dal Santo has accepted responsibility for his side’s poor season, but denied there were issues around the club’s treatment of the women’s team as an independent review into the program looms.
After eight consecutive losses, the Saints galvanised on Saturday to defeat Collingwood by two points and snatch their first win of the season, 5.9 (39) to 5.7 (37). The long-awaited victory came 24 hours after St Kilda announced they had parted ways with Dal Santo and confirmed they would initiate an independent review of their AFLW program, led by former Blues footy boss Brad Lloyd.
The 1-8 Magpies, meanwhile, are doing their own soul searching, with coach Sam Wright saying it’s clear the club didn’t “have our own backyard in order right now”.
After the game, Dal Santo joked with his players that he “should have quit earlier”, referencing their third-quarter comeback.
“It looked a little different, didn’t it? And what I just said to the group is, ‘That’s actually what it takes – but it’s every single week, and it’s every day of your whole football life’.”
Dal Santo started his press conference with a brief but emotional speech with his family and children watching on.
The 42-year-old ex-St Kilda AFL star acknowledged the season had been challenging and accepted responsibility for the Saints’ AFLW situation. They last week equalled the lowest score in competition history – 0.1 (1) – in their loss to the Western Bulldogs.
“There’s no hiding the fact that it hasn’t been great, but that’s part of our journey, unfortunately,” he said. “There will be a time that this whole club is really successful, and our women’s program in particular.”
Dal Santo said the independent review would uncover parts of St Kilda’s program that need to change, and said the club had identified “a month or so ago” that they wanted some “fresh eyes on the program”.
In a column for this masthead, football media figure and commentator Kelli Underwood reported several sources close to St Kilda said women’s players at the club feel like second-class citizens, with one source saying the club chef cooks for the men’s players whenever they’re in the building, and only once a week for the women’s team – and only when the men’s team is also there.
Underwood said some players were told they’d benefit from extra tackling sessions, but that they’d have to pay for them out of their own pocket.
This masthead asked Dal Santo if there was discrepancy between how the men’s team and women’s team were treated, and if players had voiced their concerns to him.
He replied that he had not read the paper.
“I would hate to think that anyone in our women’s program doesn’t feel like we’re fed well. Like, the way that we are treated, this is my assessment, and I’ve never heard any of our players speak about that in particular,” he said.
“If you’re talking about food … there’s bigger issues in the world as well.
“But no, we are very fortunate. We get cooked meals, we get takeaway meals, we have snacks … so I’m not quite sure what that story is.”
Dal Santo referenced the group of Saints men’s players who had attended the match, noting “every club is trying to build a one-club feel”.
“There’s some challenges within that, like the size of the facility, or one oval, but as sort of the representative of the women’s program, there’s things that we would love to do more of, but there’s also some restrictions around that.
“So hopefully, this [the review] uncovers a little bit of that, where everybody, and I’m sure the men feel the same at certain times. But that’s my stance on that.”
When asked if St Kilda AFL coach Ross Lyon – Dal Santo’s own former coach in his time as a Saints player – had shown enough support to the women’s program, Dal Santo said he “got along with Ross really well”.
“I think the bit that the group wouldn’t see is the amount of chats that Ross has, particularly with me. Coach to coach, I know he supports me heavily, and I know he supports our program, but maybe that fits into that same bucket of, ‘How do you just make it better?’”
At one point during the press conference, a St Kilda media officer interrupted and told journalists to ask “questions about the game”.
Dal Santo said his decision to not have social media was not about avoiding scrutiny, adding it was to be “more present” with his family and friends.
“I don’t read the paper because they’re probably not as available as they once were,” he said. “But the beauty about living in Melbourne is people are happy to tell you about it anyway. So when you’re grabbing your coffee, someone checks in.
“I understand that my surname probably gives it a little bit of extra oomph when you’re writing articles or talking about it, but I’m OK with that – I truly am.”
It wasn’t that the Cats defeated GWS on Saturday, or even that they vaulted to the top of the ladder in the process – it’s just how they dismantled the downtrodden Giants.
Mick Stinear’s side was utterly ruthless on their home GMHBA Stadium turf, leading 4.3 (27) to a scoreless GWS at quarter-time and going on with it to win by a whopping 63 points, 14.12 (96) to 5.3 (33).
Cats star Georgie Prespakis continued her stellar form with a game-high 40 disposals, to go along with 11 clearances and 414 metres gained, as the visitors were left shellshocked.
Aishling Moloney (25 disposals) and Jacqueline Parry (21) also booted four goals apiece in a dominant display for Geelong, while Tarni Evans (three goals) and Tilly Lucas-Rodd (26 possessions) stood strong for the Giants.
Meanwhile, at Alberton Oval in South Australia, Port Adelaide held on to a narrow lead late to just hold off the Eagles, snapping the visitors’ winning streak in a 3.8 (26) to 3.4 (22) win.
Abbey Dowrick continued her strong form for Port Adelaide with 25 possessions, eight tackles and nine clearances in a strong all-around game.
It was a disappointing day on Saturday for the Magpies, who were aiming to clinch their second win of the season.
The sun-soaked crowd at RSEA Park had to wait until the second quarter for a goal from either team – courtesy of Pies co-captain Ruby Schleicher – followed by another goal from ruck Sabrina Frederick, who celebrated with a warrior-like scream.
Frederick is the first Collingwood AFLW player to reach the 100-game milestone and walked out accompanied by her family and two children – including her dad, who had travelled from Manchester, England to watch her play AFLW for the first time.
Departing St Kilda AFLW coach Nick Dal Santo has accepted responsibility for his side’s poor season, but denied there were issues around the club’s treatment of the women’s team as an independent review into the program looms.
After eight consecutive losses, the Saints galvanised on Saturday to defeat Collingwood by two points and snatch their first win of the season, 5.9 (39) to 5.7 (37). The long-awaited victory came 24 hours after St Kilda announced they had parted ways with Dal Santo and confirmed they would initiate an independent review of their AFLW program, led by former Blues footy boss Brad Lloyd.
The 1-8 Magpies, meanwhile, are doing their own soul searching, with coach Sam Wright saying it’s clear the club didn’t “have our own backyard in order right now”.
After the game, Dal Santo joked with his players that he “should have quit earlier”, referencing their third-quarter comeback.
The Saints have galvanised, bidding farewell to departing coach, and club great, Nick Dal Santo in style – outlasting Collingwood by two points to snatch their first win of the season, thanks to an inspiring third-quarter effort.
On Friday, St Kilda announced they had parted ways with Dal Santo after eight consecutive losses – including last week’s defeat, in which they equalled the lowest score in AFLW history, 0.1 (1).
The Saints confirmed the former St Kilda and North Melbourne star would step down after Saturday’s game against Collingwood and said they would initiate an independent review of their AFLW program, to be led by former Blues footy boss Brad Lloyd.
Despite a last-minute scare from Collingwood’s Ash Centra, the Saints held on to win 5.9 (39) to 5.7 (37).
More to come
The Western Bulldogs brought a ruthless mentality to Pride Round, thrashing Essendon by 43 points on Friday night.
The 10.5 (65) to 2.10 (22) result was the Bulldogs’ seventh win for the season and sent a warning to the top eight sides on the cusp of finals.
It came despite their shaky start in front of a home crowd at Whitten Oval.
Essendon came out firing and Emily Gough kicked the first goal inside the first two minutes, spurring the Dons who played with high pressure and repeatedly locked the ball in their forward half.
The Bulldogs responded with five unanswered goals with the help of an unstoppable Isabelle Pritchard, who had 30 disposals and 10 clearances.
A decade ago, a fresh-faced Sabrina Frederick was quizzed about some people’s negative attitudes towards women’s sports, ahead of the inaugural AFLW season.
The 19-year-old marquee player was blunt and emphatic, telling Mamamia she wasn’t sure, but maybe “people were too scared to turn on the TV and realise we’re actually good”.
“But the people that don’t want to watch it, or won’t watch it, are definitely missing out. That’s all I can say – they’re missing out,” she said.
Now 29-years-old and on the cusp of playing her 100th game of AFLW, Fredrick bursts into laughter when reminded of the interview.
Aliesha Newman can’t have silence when she paints.
The former AFLW player says she’s notorious for playing music wherever she goes. The background noise helps her to zero in on whatever she’s creating.
“I hate the thought of listening to my own thoughts,” she says. “I’m very much a visual learner, and I need to visualise things before I can kind of put them on paper, a canvas or my iPad.”
Newman is the artist behind the design for this year’s ball for Pride Round, which kicks off on Friday with Western Bulldogs and Essendon at Whitten Oval, where the first Pride Round was held in 2018.
FRIDAY
Western Bulldogs v Essendon, Whitten Oval, 7.15pm (AEDT)
SATURDAY
St Kilda v Collingwood, RSEA Park, 1.05pm (AEDT)
Port Adelaide v West Coast, Alberton Oval, 3.05pm (AEDT)
Geelong v GWS, GMHBA Stadium, 5.05pm (AEDT)
Richmond v Adelaide, Ikon Park, 7.15pm (AEDT)
Gold Coast v Melbourne, Great Barrier Reef Arena, 8.15pm (AEDT)
SUNDAY
North Melbourne v Fremantle, Arden Street Oval, 12.35pm (AEDT)
Hawthorn v Brisbane Lions, Kennedy Community Centre, 1.05pm (AEDT)
Sydney v Carlton, Henson Park, 3.05pm (AEDT)
Hello everyone, and welcome to our coverage of round nine of the AFLW season.
Finals are only a few weeks away now and we’ll keep you covered for all the latest as clubs race toward the pointy end of the season.
Thanks for joining us.
