Melbourne coach Mick Stinear says AFLW clubs have a responsibility to fans to play attractive football after a tough battle on Friday evening drew resistance from supporters and Channel Nine Footy Show presenter 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 put numbers behind the ball to pull off a blowout in front of 4,000 fans at Whitten Oval on Friday to prevent.
The Bulldogs, coached by Stinear’s former Melbourne assistant Tamara Hyett, scored just 0.3 (3) in their third goalless outing this season.
Hyett said their defensive stance, which drew criticism online from commentators and former coaches, had been intentional as part of an “educational phase for her team.”
“The defense is crucial for us as we develop our second phase, which we hope will be a little more attractive,” Hyett said after the game.
“The game looked pre-game the way we wanted it to. Moving forward we just weren’t connected, so that’s disappointing.”
Stinear said players on his side, whose core is significantly more experienced than the Bulldogs, might object to 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’ win over St Kilda on Sunday.
Melbourne coach Mick Stinear says AFLW sides have a responsibility to fans to play attractive football after Friday’s tough Bombers-Bulldogs clash (pictured)
Stinear (pictured) says teams need to defend hard, but also express themselves to provide fans with more exciting football
“But you also have to manage the team: bring out the team’s love for the game, their passion and enjoyment, and also their spirit.
‘That’s what you have to wrestle with. I know for our team personally, if we went too defensive you would probably wipe out some of their spirit and creativity.”
Stinear said it was important for teams to play in a way that fans enjoyed the game.
‘You still have to give your team the opportunity to be there in every match, and there are times when you have to defend, and defend hard, to maintain a lead or against the wind, but in terms of our group you want to do that. tap into that creativity and still give them a chance to express themselves,” he said.
‘You have a responsibility that the fans come to the match and also enjoy the football. It’s a delicate balance, but I feel like we’re in a good place right now.
‘We defend when we need to defend well and then give our team the best chance to create scoring opportunities.’
Channel Nine Footy Show host Tony Jones has called for big changes in women’s football, calling some of the weekend’s AFLW matches “diabolical and almost unwatchable”.
Western Bulldogs coach Tamara Hyett’s defensive approach has drawn heavy criticism
Nine-star Tony Jones says the women’s footy league is now at ‘crisis point’ after Dogs vs Bombers clash (pictured)
“The AFL is at a crisis point – they need to take action and show they are honest about supporting AFLW,” he said on 3AW radio.
“Some of those games over the weekend – especially with the Western Bulldogs – were just diabolical and almost unwatchable.”
Saints coach Nick Dal Santo said his side had to defend more than he would have liked against the Demons but could do little else when they were so badly beaten inside.
“I’m a bit mixed on (the tactical debate). “I’m not here to speak for the Western Bulldogs, but they have every right to play a brand of football that they think is best for them,” he said.
“That’s for other people to say whether they like watching it or not.
“From my perspective, we try to score openly, but we try to defend openly at the right time.
“In (Sunday’s game) we probably defended more than we would have liked because the Dees had the footy and they got it done around the well.”