The much anticipated 2019 ORRFW All-Stars game will be played at Flour Girls Arena this weekend before the ORRFW Grand Final between the Manildra Mystix and the Lake St Clair Devils. The format of the All-Stars game has changed from last year’s NBA All-Stars style circa 2018-2019, to a State of Origin format with Victoria opposed to the Allies. The squad is comprised of Victorian players from the six ORRFW teams that aren't playing in the Grand Final. Victorian Mystix and Devils players are ineligible for selection as they are required for the ORRFW Grand Final. Victoria’s 35 player squad for the ORFFW State of Origin game against the Allies are listed further down in this post along with their 2019 average. The teams will have the traditional ORFF* structure of: 4 Defenders 4 Midfielders 1 Ruck 4 Forwards 2 Interchange The first game of AFLW Round 7 between the GWS Giants and Geelong starts at 7.15pm so I will post the final Victorian team at about 6.30pm on Friday. @Jason, @walesy and @Bandit please provide your input on the composition of the Victorian side. @stripey, @Len and anyone else who is lurking around, the time has come to declare which of the two teams you support – Victoria or the Allies. If you are on board with Victoria please provide your input in this thread. Victoria’s squad Defenders (4 to be selected) Jess Duffin 76 Kate Gillespie-Jones 74 Kerryn Harrington 56 Hannah Scott 48 Lauren Spark 48 Libby Birch 45 Jade Van Dyk 42 Midfielders (4 to be selected on the ground plus another two on the bench) Emma Kearney 80 Jenna Bruton 69 Monique Conti 69 Ellie Blackburn 68 Renee Garing 66 Lily Mithen 63 Olivia Purcell 63 Brittany Bonnici 61 Aisling Utri 60 Alicia Eva 60 Madeline Keryk 59 Rucks (1 to be selected) Lauren Pearce 69 Erin Hoare 49 Maddie McMahon 46 Forwards (4 to be selected) Kaitlyn Ashmore 65 Jasmine Garner 61 Kate Darby 53 Lauren Arnell 52 Eden Zanker49 Georgia Gee 49 Aliesha Newman 48 Tegan Cunningham 48 Katie Loynes 47 Sarah Dargan 47 Sarah D’Arcy 44 Cristina Bernadi 43 Phoebe McWilliams 43 Brooke Lochland 39 Interchange (2 to be selected) Any players listed above can be selected on the interchange, however given the scoring across the positions two midfielders look to be the best option to fill the interchange positions. After members of the Victorian selection committee have provided their input a draft Victorian team for the 2019 State of Origin game will be posted in this thread late Thursday night. Members of the Victorian selection committee are welcome to provide any suggestions on the provisional Victorian team including any changes they would like to make. The final Victorian team will be submitted at approximately 6.30 pm on Friday.
I guess the decision comes down to whether we value runs on the board or potential. The former would suggest that the team should be filled by the players with the highest averages to date. The latter is more interesting but requires a bit more data (that I don't think I have access to). Brooke Lochland for instance has a scoring ceiling way higher than her 2019 average to date. But that was in a previous year in a very different team. It would be interesting to know which of the options has the highest ceilings on their scores to date, both for this year and over their AFLW career. But I just don't have that data.
A mix of highest average and highest ceiling/best recent form is probably the way to go @Jason in selecting the Victorian team. The AFLW App is a good source for stats, it provides detailed stats for each game the player has played in 2019 as well as averages for 2017, 2018 and 2019. Returning from injury in 2019 Lochland scored 48 points in Round 5 followed by 30 points in Round 6. Holding the record for most goals in an AFLW game with seven Lochland obviously has a high ceiling and the Bulldogs are playing the side she set the record against, Carlton. On the flipside, as Jason mentioned that was in a very different Bulldogs team and Lochland has only played two games since returning from injury. Average AFL Fantasy points for Brooke Lochland Year Average Games played 2017 45.0 7 2018 65.9 8 2019 39.0 2 Based on 2019 averages Victoria have six standout players that can probably be pencilled in with the remaining positions more difficult to decide: Def: Jess Duffin, Kate Gillespie-Jones, ?, ? Mid: Emma Kearney, ?, ?, ? Ruc: Lauren Pearce Fwd: Kaitlyn Ashmore, Jasmine Garner, ?, ? Int: ?, ? Monique Conti is a player who I would expect to outperform her average as in both her AFLW seasons with the Western Bulldogs she has improved as the season as progressed, partly because she has a limited workload in the AFLW pre-season due to her commitments with the Melbourne Boomers in the WNBL. In four of her past five games Conti has scored at least 74 points including her season best of 106 last weekend. Based on averages Conti would get a berth in the team and her impressive recent form further presses her claim.
Have had a go at picking a Victorian team based mainly on 2019 averages along with a couple of players with a high ceiling in Alicia Eva and Brooke Lochland. @Jason or any other Victorians let me know if there are other players you would like to have in the side and if you would like any of the players below to be removed. Def: Jess Duffin, Kate Gillespie-Jones, Kerryn Harrington, Hannah Scott (Lauren Spark) Mid: Emma Kearney, Ellie Blackburn, Jenna Bruton, Renee Garing (Lily Mithen) Ruc: Lauren Pearce Fwd: Kaitlyn Ashmore, Jasmine Garner, Lauren Arnell, Brooke Lochland (Kate Darby) Int: Monique Conti, Alicia Eva (Olivia Purcell)
@dmandrews and @Jason When you get a minute could one of you please post the final Big V side over at http://tooserious.net/forum/threads/orffw-2019-grand-final-and-all-stars-game.90373/ Cheers !
Sorry, haven't had enough time to do justice to this in the last couple of days. The key players that I was looking for are in the team that dmandrews posted above. I'm happy with that.