Melbourne coach Mick Stinear says AFLW teams have a responsibility to fans to play attractive football after a tough Friday night battle sparked negative reactions from fans and Channel Nine Footy presenter Show, Tony Jones.
The 2022 premiership coach said there was a “delicate balance” between keeping a team competitive and playing with “spirit and creativity” after the Western Bulldogs threw numbers behind the ball to avoid a blowout in front of 4000 fans at Whitten Oval on Friday.
The Bulldogs, coached by Stinear’s former Melbourne assistant Tamara Hyett, managed just 0.3 (3) in their third scoreless performance this season.
Hyett said his defensive setup, which was met with widespread criticism from online commentators and former coaches, had been deliberate as part of an “education phase for his team.”
“For us defense is crucial in the development of our second phase, which we hope will be a little more attractive,” Hyett said after the game.
‘The game looked how we wanted it to look before the game. In front of the ball we just didn’t have a connection, so that’s kind of disappointing.”
Stinear said the players on his team, whose core has significantly more experience than the Bulldogs, would potentially take issue with such a defensive game plan.
“From my point of view, you have to give the team the best possible chance to win,” he said after the Demons’ victory over St Kilda on Sunday.
Melbourne coach Mick Stinear says AFLW teams have a responsibility to fans to play attractive football following the severe clash between Bombers and Bulldogs on Friday (pictured)
Stinear (pictured) says teams need to defend hard but also speak out to give fans more exciting football.
“But you also have to manage the team: the team’s love for the game, their passion and enjoyment, and also bring out their spirit.”
“That’s what you have to deal with; I personally know that our team, if we got too defensive, we would probably dampen some of their spirit and their creativity.”
Stinear said it was important for teams to play in a way that fans would enjoy the game.
“You still have to give your team a chance to be in every game, and there are times when you need to defend, and defend hard, to maintain a lead or against the breeze, but in terms of our group, you want to take advantage of that creativity and still give them the opportunity to express themselves,” he said.
“You have a responsibility for the fans to come to the game and enjoy the football too – it’s a delicate balance but I feel we’re in a good place at the moment.”
“We defend when we need to defend well and then give our team the best opportunity to create scoring opportunities.”
Channel Nine Footy Show presenter Tony Jones has called for big changes to women’s football, calling some of the weekend’s AFLW games “diabolical and almost unwatchable”.
Western Bulldogs coach Tamara Hyett’s defensive approach has sparked intense criticism
Nine star Tony Jones says the women’s football competition is now at “crisis point” after the Dogs and Bombers clash (pictured)
“The AFL is at a crisis point – they need to act and show they are fair in supporting the AFLW,” he said on 3AW radio.
“Some of those games over the weekend, certainly with the Western Bulldogs, have been just diabolical and almost unwatchable.”
Saints coach Nick Dal Santo said his team had to defend more than he would have liked against the Demons, but there was little else he could do when they were beaten so badly inside.
‘I’m a bit mixed on (the tactical debate). “I’m not here to speak on behalf of the Western Bulldogs, but they have every right to play the style of football they think is best for them,” he said.
‘That’s up to other people to say whether they like to see it or not.
‘From my point of view, we openly try to score, but we also openly try to defend at the right moment.
“In (Sunday’s game) we probably defended more than we would have liked because the Dees had the football and they did it around the fountain.”
