Skipper’s classy response amid awkward scenario; touchy call that left Port stunned clarified — W Talking Pts

We’re halfway through the 2025 AFLW season.

And there’s two burning questions: Who’s going to beat North Melbourne? And what’s going on at Geelong match committee?

A wrap of the best news and opinions from Fox Footy’s new show The W Debrief in AFLW Round 6 Talking Points!

Watch every match of the 2025 NAB AFL Women’s Season LIVE ad-break free during play. New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.

HASN’T BEEN EASY’: STAR OPENS UP ON SHOCK CALL

It’s the stunning selection call that has AFLW circles buzzing. But Geelong captain Meg McDonald says her three-week absence from the senior side has provided new opportunities, while remaining determined to win back her spot.

A dual All-Australian, Geelong best and fairest winner and club captain since 2021, McDonald prior to this season had played a club-record 66 of a possible 68 matches for the Cats.

She then played the first three games of the 2025 season – in which the Cats lost all three matches – before being omitted for the Cats’ Round 4 clash against Essendon.

Geelong has won all three matches since – against the Bombers, Tigers and Power – with McDonald still yet to regain her place in the side, despite being voted in as Geelong skipper for a sixth straight season.

“I can only imagine how much you (McDonald) are getting asked about it, because everywhere I go in W circles, everyone wants to know: ‘What’s going on with Meg? Why isn’t she in the team?’” Herald Sun reporter Lauren Wood told Fox Footy’s The W Debrief.

“Even though there is the off-field element to a captaincy, I think for the majority of people to not be having that on-field presence week-to-week and particularly now for three weeks running, it is a little bit strange, for want of a better term.”

Fox Footy commentator Kelli Underwood said it’d been an “interesting call by the coach”.

“I know that the players vote and it’s popularity to some extent – and yes Meg’s a great leader – but if Meg was given the hint that maybe her position wasn’t guaranteed throughout the entire season, why would the coach make her captain?” Underwood asked on The W Debrief.

“It’s awkward, isn’t it? It’s weird, from an outsider’s view, that your captain hasn’t played the last three games.”

McDonald, to her credit, appeared on The W Debrief on Sunday night and delivered a classy performance as she answered Underwood and Wood’s questions.

McDonald said she was “holding up just fine”, but conceded the situation “hasn’t been easy”.

“I don’t know if I would have been on the show the first week it happened, but there’s all matter of emotions attached to sport. That’s why we love it,” McDonald told The W Debrief.

“It’s been a challenge, but there have been opportunities to come from it – both for me to develop in different ways and lead in different ways to get my game back to where I’d like it to be and for those girls that were on the park for them to respond in their own way, to lead the team and to get three wins on the board.”

McDonald said she’d had “discussions along those lines at the end of last season” with coach Daniel Lowther and “knew it was a possibility” she wouldn’t play every game in 2025.

“We did sit down to sort of review those and see how the pre-season was tracking. A few weeks into it, it was going well at the time,” McDonald said.

“We ultimately went to a player vote and I said I was happy to be considered again as captain. I certainly wouldn’t if I didn’t feel like I was an appropriate choice, but we have a shared leadership model and some brilliant emerging leaders who are leading the team, whether I’m there or not.”

McDonald said missing out on the Cats’ best side had reminded her of the start of her footy career when “you know you’re not guaranteed of a place in the team”, adding: “It’s been interesting to consider that some of those emotions towards the end are similar to the ones at the beginning.”

McDonald said she was “certainly” desperate to get back in the team.

“I think leadership begins first and foremost with leading as a player. Part of the emotion attached to being dropped and being omitted and having those challenges is disappointment in performance,” she said.

“It was made clear during those discussions that these things would be performance-based. I want to get back to my best footy … I want to continue to improve relative to the competition and try and contribute to the team that’s now looking to play finals.

“I’ve accepted that part of it, of course, and continue to try and get better each week and do what I can for the team on field and off. But to be honest, we’ve got a backline that’s really excelling at the moment and some young, up and coming stars of our team that I’ve been very proud to see play well.

“I think the added challenge of it, in my position and my stage of my career, is that there may well be an Instagram post that has your face on it that says ‘omitted, captain’ – there’s stuff like that to manage. There’s an existential crisis to manage about whether this is the end of your career.

“But ultimately you go back to the opportunity it provides to reassess, perhaps detach from some of the things that you’re so desperately trying to achieve and play footy with some freedom and acceptance that – in a lot of ways, if I had have gone into the year fearing that this might happen, now it’s happened – we go on, we try and get better and there’s some freedom to be found in that.”

Asked if there was an acceptance this would be her last year or she could go on, McDoanld said: “We’ll see how the year pans out. First and foremost, I want to train well on Tuesday and Wednesday, get back in the team for Thursday and hopefully go from there.”

‘LANDMARK DAY FOR AFLW’ AMID GIANTS’ FOUR-YEAR FIRST

The Tsunami is beginning to roll.

The Giants on Sunday produced their greatest win in their AFLW history, defeating cross-town rivals Sydney to record consecutive wins for the first time since 2021.

But arguably the biggest talking point out of the game was the atmosphere and crowd.

A Swans-dominated crowd of 7,171 rocked up to Henson Park – the biggest AFLW crowd in the venue’s history.

Underwood labelled it a “landmark day for the AFLW”, while Wood explained why the Swans-Henson partnership was working so well.

“Whatever they’re doing at Henson Park, get that happening across the competition,” Wood said.

“They’ve got the luxury of beautiful weather … but everyone you talk to that gets to a game there, it’s all about the festival atmosphere – food trucks and music going – gee they’re doing it right. They create that atmosphere beautifully, people are flocking there and they get to see a great game of footy.

“They’ve got the exciting players as well – Zippy Fish, Chloe Molloy, all these really young and exciting players – that are taking this game to the next level.”

Sunday’s Henson attendance figure comes a fortnight after a crowd of 4564 watched the Swans beat Fremantle in the same Sunday timeslot. In Round 1 against Richmond, 4126 people attended Sydney’s home game at North Sydney Oval.

The average Victoria Park attendance for the four Collingwood home games so far this season is 2272, while the IKON Park average crowd figure for the five Blues and Tigers home matches is 3399 – although that is heavily skewed by the 8042 fans that watched the Blues-Magpies season-opener. The three Bulldogs games at Whitten Oval to date have attracted an average crowd of 2423.

“I think it’s really important that the rivalries between the big clubs continue to improve,” McDonald said.

“In the opening round we had Collingwood and Carlton and it was great to return to that match-up and I think when those clubs continue to move their way up the ladder like they have this year, we’ll see bigger crowds from those big rivalry matches. There’s no doubt you have to put time and effort into the matchday experience they’re trying to create at your ground and make it unique.

“And research tells us that in world sport, players are the big-ticket items for why we support certain teams and why we follow certain sports. Those two teams have some absolute stars in the making, but every team could make that argument and could really lean on those stars to draw big crowds to the game.

“As much as the skill and development of these players as they’re able to come through a pathway, it’s the mentality of them as well.”

‘NOT AN INTENTIONAL ACT’: AFL CLARIFIES TOUCHY CALL

We had our first major umpiring decision controversy of the season on the weekend, which prompted the AFL to address the decision.

A controversial fourth-term decision on Saturday handed Geelong a five-point win on the road against Port Adelaide.

The call for a deliberate rushed behind by Amelie Borg gave Cats forward Mikala Bowen the ball at point blank range. Bowen went back and kicked the goal giving the lead back to the Cats who were able to hold on for the third win of the season.

The groans and exasperation were heard loud and clear around Alberton Oval when the umpire signalled Borg hadn’t shown enough attempt to keep the ball in play on the goal line.

Fox Footy commentators Jess Webster and Chyloe Kurdas were also confused by the decision, with Kurdas labelling the game changing decision as “unfortunate”. At the time of the decision Port were leading the Cats by a point hallway through the last term when Mikala Bowen was handed what Webster labelled a “gift” to take the lead that determined the outcome of the game.

Underwood reported on Sunday night the Power would contact the AFL on Monday “with their concerns over several umpire decisions in the game against the Cats”, adding: “I know they’re particularly angry about the last call. Having said that, they probably didn’t turn up in the first quarter, so it’s not just these calls to blame, but this is the one they’re particularly seething about.

“We’ve seen in recent weeks with the men’s game – and I know it’s the finals where there’s a blunder like that and one club is furious and going to contact the AFL – that they will put out a statement within 24 hours and say: ‘Yes, we’ll put our hands up, we’re happy to say the umpire made the wrong call.’”

Indeed, on Monday the league confirmed to Fox Sports News’ Monique Van Der Heyden that Borg’s goalline work was “not an intentional act and therefore a behind, rather than a free kick, should have been awarded”.

The Power stressed the decision didn’t cost them the game, but did suggest “every decision carries additional weight and significance” in close contests, hence their decision to follow up with the league.

McDonald, who watched her Cats hang on for a tight win, conceded it was “an incredibly harsh” call on the Power.

“I don’t envy her (Borg) being in that position,” McDonald said.

“You said the umpires suggested she didn’t try hard enough to keep it in. We always like to keep our feet, but she’s going to ground and either she’s trying to keep it in or she’s delivering one hell of a performance to convey that message.

“I think we were quite fortunate to get the free kick in that instance.”

NEW FLOATING FIXTURE?

Momentum is growing for the AFLW fixture in men’s Grand Final week to remain ‘floating’ to ensure women’s players can fully get behind their club on the Saturday.

Brisbane’s men’s side on Saturday night qualified for its third consecutive Grand Final, booking a date against Geelong.

Yet for the second straight season, the Lions’ AFLW team is caught in an awkward situation.

While Chris Fagan’s side will play at the MCG on Saturday afternoon, Craig Starcevich’s team will host Richmond in Brisbane the day after, meaning the AFLW side can’t fully support their men’s counterparts on Grand Final day.

It mirrors the situation the Lions faced in 2024 when the AFLW team played Adelaide at Springfield the day after Fagan’s troops triumphed in the AFL Grand Final the day before.

It’s less of an issue for Geelong’s AFLW team, considering it’ll host a game at GMHBA Stadium on the Thursday night before the Grand Final for a fourth straight season.

Wood on Sunday night elaborated on her CODE Sports article that suggested a floating fixture for late September was on the cards.

“I spoke to a number of clubs this week and gained the understanding it has at least been raised by one club in particular to have the men’s Grand Final weekend fixture floating for the AFLW,” Wood told The W Debrief.

“This all sits around the one-club mentality that we hear a lot about between the men’s and women’s program. We saw it with Brisbane last year and we see it with Brisbane again. They have copped it two years running … Essentially they can’t get to the game, they can’t enjoy the festivities they hope (will ensue).

“The premise of it is you would have the floating fixture and those two teams would play on the Thursday or Friday, get their game played so they can get along and support their men’s team – just like you would expect the men’s team would do for the women’s.

“I think it’s something that would garner great support. The clubs I spoke to this week said it’d be something they’d be behind.”

McDonald said she supported the idea ahead of “an incredibly exciting week” for her football club – and the fact the AFLW team had been given a Thursday night fixture for four straight years helped.

“All of us will speak to 2022 (premiership) being one of the most fantastic experiences in football,” she said. “We played on the Thursday night and had one of the most significant wins in our AFLW history and then we went on to enjoy being at the game and the festivities that followed when the men won their own Grand Final.

“It’s disappointing for Brisbane this has happened twice in a row … but with enough communication and the understanding that it’s for the greater good for those clubs that are in there and competition as a whole, I’m sure there’d be openness to it.”

BEST CHANCES OF BEATING NORTH

It’s the burning question still hovering over the AFLW: Who the heck is going to beat North Melbourne?

The Kangaroos on Saturday thumped the much-improved Carlton by 53 points, which was their 18th consecutive victory.

Ash Riddell recorded a record 44 disposals, while Jas Garner starred again with two goals from 29 disposals

Halfway through the season, the Kangaroos sit undefeated on top of the ladder with a handy percentage of 363.2.

So can anyone beat the Roos?

Perhaps the best chances would be Sydney (Round 8), Adelaide (Round 10) and Hawthorn (Round 12).

“All those teams would stand a chance, but they’re just in such rhythm and flow with their system,” McDonald said. “No matter who’s out on the park, they’re getting it done.

“They just know how to win – that’s what they’ve got going for them, first and foremost, that when they’re challenged they know how to put the foot down.

“We speak about Ash, but we know any of their players could have outstanding stats and get the job done.”

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