Shaky contender’s curious comment; what now after Brown’s brave move — AFLW Talking Pts

There’s big love for Matilda Scholz and Daisy Pearce’s Eagles, but early concerns for the Lions and Tigers.

And what now for the footy world after Mitch Brown’s brave move?

Fox Footy expert Chyloe Kurdas speaks to foxfooty.com.au to dissect the AFLW Round 3 Talking Points!

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HOW ‘IMMENSE TALENT’ EXPOSED STARK RUCK SHIFT

The Rising Star of 2024 could soon be the AFLW’s biggest star … if she isn’t already.

In Port Adelaide’s record-breaking 68-point win over Gold Coast on Saturday, Power ruck Matilda Scholz delivered a breathtaking display, showing off all her tricks and weapons.

Scholz booted 4.1 from 22 disposals, 14 score involvements, 12 contested possessions, seven clearances, seven inside 50s, eight marks and 710m gained as she constantly surged the ball forward by either taking it out of the ruck or charging through her opponents.

Then 20-year-old reached deep into her bag of party tricks to pull off a brilliant goal from the boundary. She took possession hard up against the boundary, took aim and slotted it through with a classy drop punt on the run from 30m.

It was the highlight of yet another dominant performance from Scholz, whose contested marking was as much a feature of her game as her crafty tap work in the ruck.

“I think she’s an immense talent and (coach) Lauren Arnell is really allowing the versatility in her game to come to the fore,” Kurdas said. “She’s got a lot of licence to roam and run, not get her off the ground, make sure she’s really in the play around the ground – I love how Lauren is playing her.

“If she keeps doing what she’s doing and she keeps getting the support around her, I think it’s very exciting for all of us.”

The Suns had few answers for Scholz’s dominance. Coincidentally, Lauren Bella – Gold Coast’s No.1 ruck since joining the competition – had been dropped for the second time in three weeks, despite playing all possible matches for the Suns between 2020 and 2024.

Kurdas believes players like Scholz have significantly improved the standard of rucks, adding players who didn’t follow up after stoppages were being left behind.

“There’s this great group of roaming rucks now – and I do wonder that’s why Lauren Bella is not able to hold her spot in the Gold Coast team,” Kurdas said.

“If you look at what Alice Edmonds does at Western Bulldogs and Mim Strom at Fremantle, you look at Scholz – it’s a new kind of ruck. You even look at Breann Harrington at Carlton and how she’s really evolved her role – this roaming, rampaging, tall, running, strong, athletic ruck that does so much more beyond the hit-outs. I think that’s really exciting for us.

“Harrington has almost piloted this craft and then you’ve got a coach (Arnell) who’s able to help bring out this immense talent and workrate and skill from Scholz. And she’s 189cm, doing stuff that we just never imagined players of that height would do.”

‘FEEL LIKE I’M WATCHING A NUMBER OF DAISY’S’

It’s the image that shows just how much Daisy Pearce clearly loves her Eagles players. And vice versa.

The Eagles, who’d won just 12 games from their previous six seasons in the competition, are now 2-1 after three rounds following victories over Gold Coast and, most recently, St Kilda.

The Eagles on Saturday were held scoreless in the first term and only had one goal to their name heading into the final term as the Saints looked destined for a comfortable victory.

But coach Pearce threw caution to the wind, moved the magnets around on the whiteboard — most notably Ella Roberts up forward — and got the desired result as her side booted the last five goals to down the hosts by 14 points.

Pearce rushed out onto the field post-game to celebrate with her team in great scenes.

“Look at Daisy Pearce, how good is this!” Fox Footy commentator Kelli Underwood said.

“Soak it up, Daisy. The best win under her coaching reign.

“It was an absolute masterclass by the coach.”

Kurdas said while this Eagles playing group was still early in its journey, the trust they have in each other and the coach was now evident.

“I think it’s probably the first time where there’s been an amazing level of belief in that group,” Kurdas said.

“Daisy is certainly a ‘17th player’ in that respect because you feel like she’s out there playing in how they play footy.

“It’s really interesting watching women who come into the coaching ranks and their team plays very much like how they played. The West Coast women are very structured, very organised, they’re versatile, they think their way through a game well, they have a great workrate, they’re honest at both ends of the field … they’ve got lots of belief in their own capability and I think they’re students of the game – which is very much how Daisy was as a player, both as a kid and as an adult in the W. So I feel like I’m watching a number of Daisy’s out there playing when they play.

“The loss last week to Essendon, they would’ve taken that as a learning and probably a disappointment because I feel like they believe they could’ve won that – and it’s probably just a bit of inexperience that cost them that game. But they’ve got that experience now.”

PANIC STATIONS FOR FINALS CONTENDERS?

In a 12-round season, it’s a bad spot to be if you’re 0-3.

But that’s where both perennial finals contenders Richmond and Geelong are three weeks into 2025.

Of the 11 Fox Footy AFLW commentators surveyed pre-season, five had the Tigers playing finals, while eight had Geelong returning to the top eight after narrowly missing out last season.

There’s a few caveats for the Cats, however.

Their three losses have been to reigning premiers North Melbourne, perennial contenders Adelaide and the emerging Sydney Swans – the latter loss by just five points on Saturday. They’re also missing several key players through injury: Kate Darby (calf), Caitie Tipping (knee), Shelley Scott (calf) and Chloe Scheer (knee).

“You can’t be too harsh on Geelong … let’s not panic about them yet,” Kurdas warned.

“But on paper, they’re too good not to be finishing in finals. And if they don’t play finals, there’s something amiss there.”

The Cats play Essendon at Windy Hill this weekend before heading to Ikon Park in Round 5 to face the Tigers, who’ve so far dropped games to Sydney, Western Bulldogs and Richmond.

Of Geelong and Richmond, Kurdas is more puzzled by the latter’s slow start to 2025.

“Aren’t they fascinating?” Kurdas said. “On paper, they’re incredibly talented … yet you could argue they’ve been pretty well beaten in those three losses and you’ve never really felt ‘they’re right in this until the final siren’.

“I don’t know what’s going at Richmond, but I think they’re definitely underperforming for the talent they’ve got on paper.”

Asked what needed to change at the Tigers, Kurdas said: “I think they’re a bit predictable, to be honest.

“If you look at Sydney for instance and how they go inside 50, Chloe Molloy is there but they’ve got the courage to use the others. Whereas you know Richmond are going to go to Katie Brennan and Caitlin Greiser. Emelia Yassir is there as a crumber to mop up if the mark is not taken, but they’re not using others as nominated goalkickers primarily.

“If I look at Ellie McKenzie and Mon Conti, who both get so much of the ball … I feel like they need to be seen to be dangerous around the goals – and they’re just not. Therefore, I don’t think that stretches the opposition well enough and it makes the progression to goal much more predictable.”

WHAT TO MAKE OF BIGGEST UPSET YET

Few would’ve predicted AFLW powerhouse Brisbane – the six-time grand finalists – to drop a home game to a young Carlton outfit on Sunday.

Yet off the back of a dominant first half, the Blues caused the upset of season 2025.

Like the premiership contenders they are, the Lions roared back to close within nine points at the final change. But star Blues recruit Tara Bohanna put Brisbane away early in the fourth term with two big goals to ensure the visitors came away with the win, 9.4 (58) to 6.8 (44).

It takes the Blues to 2-1 after three rounds, with their other victory coming against Collingwood in the Round 1 season-opener.

“What’s really nice about Carlton is it’s not off the back of one star player coming in and changing things up,” Kurdas said. “I think there’s been improvement in the group overall, but I think their gameplan has improved and they’ve had a bit of courage to evolve how they play as a group. They’ve put a bit more faith into younger players and their injury list is pretty healthy.

“They’ve flipped Darcy Vescio behind the ball – and Vescio is so smart – and how they’ve been played in the W forward of the ball, if the ball’s bot getting down there it’s such a waste. So having Vescio behind the footy as this roaming, rebounding defender with that lovely ball use … it’s so handy to have and a really clever move.

“Overall their ball use is really good under pressure – which we haven’t seen for a long time – and their workrate to push back, provide assistance from the mids is really strong and positive.

“I think Tara Bohanna coming in, she’s such a good marking target, she’s so mobile and her workrate is extraordinary, which gives them a little bit of versatility. And Harrington has stepped up again with that licence to ruck, roam and go forward. It looks like she’s gotten stronger as well, so her contested marking has improved.

“And the kids are good. There’s a level of humility with the young players at Carlton where you feel like they understand what their role is, they’ve really accepted their role and they’re all playing their roles together.”

The Lions are now 1-2 after three rounds, sitting outside the top eight.

Lions coach Craig Starcevich post-match conceded Carlton was simply “better on the night”, but suggested last week’s 70-poiny blowout win over Fremantle could have played some role.

“I think part of it is having a comfortable win the week before too – that mindset is a hard one to get past,” Starcevich told reporters. “You know, you’re talking about professional athletes now so you should be able to do that – they are all human.

“Just getting back into that hard competitive mindset is sometimes a little more difficult than sometimes we give it credit for.”

Starcevich’s comments intrigued Kurdas.

“Whether that comment was intended for fans or his playing group, I’m not quite sure. But he’s pretty clever at popping stuff out publicly and you feel like it’s a message for his group,” she said.

“I think it’s an interesting admission that the mindset might not have been appropriate because one thing Brisbane has been so good at is mindset. That in itself has me asking questions, because mindset is the thing that’s been unflappable with the Lions. They’ve always been able to regroup, evolve and reset mentally and bounce back well.”

It doesn’t get any easier for the Lions, with games against Adelaide and North Melbourne in the next two weeks.

PRIDE FOR BROWN’S BRAVE MOVE

This was a landmark and positive moment for the code.

Former West Coast defender Mitch Brown last week became the first player in VFL/AFL history to publicly declare he’s a bisexual man — a courageous move that has brought him “peace, but more importantly, comfort and confidence”.

Brown, who played 94 games in 10 seasons at the Eagles, opened up about his journey in an exclusive interview with The Daily Aus, detailing awkward conversations with teammates, as well as describing a culture of “hyper-masculinity” that he felt led to own sexuality be “buried”.

Brown’s revelation came a week after Adelaide star, Izak Rankine, joined a lengthy list of AFL players banned for homophobic remarks.

Kurdas last week lamented the lack of conversation around “the wellbeing of the people who potentially are on the end of that sledge”, pointing out how there “could possibly have been a same-sex attracted player on the opposite team or in the Adelaide Crows team that now feels they’re safe”.

It’s why Kurdas was so thrilled by Brown’s bravery last week.

“I just felt so good for Mitch. To hear the honesty in his voice and the courage in his voice, but I also sensed an element of relief to be able to be himself,” she said.

“I think we got a bid of an insight too into what comments like that (from Rankine) can have. There was a level of vulnerability, but also sensitivity in how he shared what he shared. I certainly felt a sadness as well because I could feel the damage that he’s had to navigate in the men’s footy scene during his career … I wonder about what we didn’t get with Mitch as a result of that.

“He played 94 games, but could that have been more had he had a safer working environment to play footy in? That’s the stuff we’ll never know that’s potential lost for all of us when people can’t be all who they are.

“Now we have a living, breathing example of the damage that’s done when comments like Izak’s aren’t addressed and the culture doesn’t change.

“It probably was just a reinforcer of why it’s so important to call out and change the culture in the industry.”

AND A NOD TO A MILESTONE …

Kurdas on Saturday provided special comments for Fox Footy’s broadcast of the Port Adelaide-Gold Coast game.

It was her 200th AFLW game as a broadcaster – a tally that includes TV duties for Fox Footy and radio roles at both ABC and SEN.

“I feel really privileged and really fortunate to be able to do that every week,” Kurdas said.

“I just try and share the joy I get from the competition with everyone else watching and listening – and I hope that’s what they can get from it.

“It’s a really beautiful, terrific space that’s about empowerment, strength, community, connection and people being all who they can be.”