The good, the bad, the ugly: ‘Unacceptable’ abuse shows we still have a long way to go

The AFLW season is rapidly approaching finals with just two rounds remaining in the home and away season.

Four teams have punched their finals tickets, but injuries continue to mount.

Off the field, it was also a tough week for many women in the industry.

The good

Locked and loaded

With two rounds still to play, four teams have booked their finals ticket. North Melbourne, Hawthorn, Adelaide and Brisbane are all guaranteed spots in the finals, but the jostling for final standings is still up for grabs. Most would have predicted three of the four remaining teams to be in the top four come the pointy end of the season, it is a huge achievement for the Hawks who will play finals for the first time in their AFLW history.

Daniel Webster has completely overhauled the game style of the young brigade who, like their AFL stablemates, are playing an exciting but well thought-out game plan. Their run and gun game is entertaining to watch and is topped off by their equally athletic and exciting Irish forwards, Aileen Gilroy and Aine McDonagh.

North have been a powerhouse this season and sit undefeated on the top of the table with a rather healthy percentage of 335.6%. Hawthorn are sitting in second position with a clash on Thursday night against the in-form Dees, still in the hunt for finals. The Crows are powering home and were dominant in their victory over Collingwood, which also gave them a nice percentage boost. This sets up a mouth-watering clash this Friday night (on the screens of Seven and 7plus of course), between the Roos and the Crows.

If the Roos win, it would all but guarantee the club’s first minor premiership, with their final opponent the 17th-placed Gold Coast Suns at Arden St. This may be a blessing or a curse. Amazingly, the minor premier has only ever gone on to win the major prize twice in AFLW history (Western Bulldogs in 2018 and Adelaide in 2022 S6).

The Brisbane Lions round out the top four after a loss to a determined and punishing Geelong on Sunday at GMHBA Stadium. The Lions could still finish as high as top of the ladder (relying on other results to go their way), their final two opponents are the Swans and St Kilda, who got the victory over them last year.

The fight for the last four spots is well and truly on, with eight teams still in the hunt. Richmond, Fremantle, Port Adelaide, Essendon, Melbourne, St Kilda, West Coast and Geelong are all still alive in the competition. It is going to be a huge final two rounds with everything to play for!

The bad

Big time players with injury clouds

Some big injury clouds have rolled in over the round to big name and big game players. There is a question mark over Port Adelaide’s young gun, Matilda Scholz, after she grabbed at her knee after colliding with St Kilda’s Tyanna Smith while chasing a ground ball. Scholz grabbed at her knee immediately and limped off the field midway through the final quarter. She played no further part in the match but told Channel 7’s Emily Beaton post-match “structurally it is fine, it is alright.”

Thursday night saw Bulldogs ruck, Alice Edmonds, suffer a nasty ankle injury and play no further part in the game. Edmonds has been one the of most consistent rucks in the competition and one of the most consistent performers for the Bulldogs over the course of the season. If she was unavailable for one or both of the final two matches, it would really test the tall stocks at the Dogs with Jorja Borg already out for the season after suffering an ACL tear in Round 5.

Katie Brennan was the next casualty during Richmond’s loss to Melbourne on Saturday afternoon at Casey Fields. Brennan’s foot got caught under her awkwardly in a tackle early in the second term. She did not play any further part in the game. The Tigers will be sweating on scans for Brennan who has finally had a clean run after a shocking run with injuries. Brennan has kicked nine goals for the season and is fifth in the competition for marks inside 50, third in the competition for marks on lead and is arguably Richmond’s most important player inside 50. The Tigers are still fighting to secure their spot in finals and will desperate for the best possible outcome for Brennan.

The final blow of the weekend was dealt to Brisbane’s key forward, Dakota Davidson, who suffered a concussion minutes into the second quarter. The forward landed awkwardly and slammed her head into the turf after taking a strong mark in the forward pocket. Davidson was ruled out of the game almost immediately.. Davidson started the game well and was looking like she was going to be the dangerous forward on the day with Taylor Smith being worn very closely by multiple Geelong defenders most of the day. Davidson kicked the opening goal for the Lions in the first quarter. It was clear the loss of Davidson disrupted the Lions forward structure and also put a lot of added pressure on Smith, who was held goalless for the first time all season. Davidson has had previous history with concussion so you would think there is a risk she may miss more than the usual 12-day protocols – fingers crossed for Lions fans that this isn’t the case.

The ugly

Still a way to go

It was a tough week for many women in the AFL industry, none tougher than Richmond’s Kate Dempsey, who wrote a beautiful piece for Pride Round about her experience as a queer woman in the AFLW. However, after the AFL shared the article to social media, the post was flooded with hundreds of vile, homophobic and graphic comments, that went unmoderated for more than two days.

In the feature, Kate speaks of her battle with feeling like a “queer imposter” as she isn’t someone who isn’t particularly overt with her sexuality publicly. She touches on the fact that she isn’t “loud” with her pride but loves her friends who are. Kate explains how lucky she is to be married to her best friend, Ellie, and she is “proud that we share our other best friend, our daughter Pippa. I consider myself so lucky to live in a place and time where I am simply in a marriage, not a ‘gay marriage’.”

If I am being perfectly honest, in the wake of these comments, the article is a heartbreaking read. As a fellow queer woman, the battle of coming to terms with my own sexuality has been a journey. At times, you question whether you should tell new people you meet for fear of judgement or fear of not being accepted. These comments just further enforce this feeling of not being considered “normal” to society. People often ask “when did you come out” as if it is the one momentous moment where suddenly the entire world knows you are queer and you will never have to tell another soul – at times I wish this was the case. The truth is I would “come out” multiple times a week, I have potentially even done that to some of the readers of this article. I am forever telling people, whether it is when I speak about my partner and then as quickly as I can with the pronouns “she” to avoid an extremely uncomfortable conversation when they ask “what does he do?” or “what is his name?”

In response to the comments, the Richmond Football Club united to support Kate and condemned the “deeply disturbing comments.” “Kate’s is a story that should be celebrated. Instead, some individuals chose to make deeply disturbing and unacceptable comments,” the club said. “Richmond Football Club embraces diversity in all its forms. There is zero tolerance for homophobia, discrimination, or any form of hate in our game.”

The story was posted over Pride Round weekend ahead of the Richmond and Geelong match on Saturday, and Richmond notified the AFL on Tuesday of the disgusting comments on the post. The AFL then issued a statement on Friday apologising to Kate and her family. “The AFL would like to formally apologise to Kate and her family for the significant distress caused by these comments.” An AFL spokesperson explained that there are procedures in place for monitoring comments but admitted, “We acknowledge on this occasion that the comments were not removed quickly enough.”

Combine this with the all too well known GWS incident which came to light this week, and to say it has been a tough week for women in AFL/AFLW and the wider AFLW community would be an understatement. The AFL’s apology and the support shown by Richmond serve as reminders of the ongoing need for inclusivity and respect within Australian sport.

We love you Kate and we wrap our arms around you, Ellie and Pippa and the wider LGBTQIA+ Community. This is completely unacceptable and enough is enough!