Richmond Website - Clear AFLW bias

[Tigers of Old]

Given the lack of coverage to the men's side this off season, this deserves it's own thread..

This is a screengrab of the Richmond website this morning..

It begs question begs do we even have a men's footy team?

Have argued for ages that the women's team need their own website but this current AFL format is ridiculous.

Looking at other club sites it does appear to be an AFL directive to cover women's footy 100% at this time of year but it's clearly been at the expense of information about the men's game.

As a non follower of AFLW I find this disappointing & I'm sure others do too.

Been hardly any reports or videos this pre season on our male players, players who are training with us, injury reports, player puff pieces etc. etc.

All (possibly limited media resources) appear to be going towards plumping women's footy.

Sure we could just shut up & watch replays of the men's Grand Final all off season but it's gotten to the point where it's worthy of discussion.

 

[Baloo]

I have no issue with it. The girls are playing, the boys are in pre-season. If the boys had started practice matches then I might be able to understand the angst.

On top of that I wonder if the Footy Dept Soft Cap, and our extra 100k shortage thanks to the two dills, means we just don't have the resources to provide mens pre-season training coverage the way we used too.

 

[eZyT]

Yeah I agree we are being played a bit, and I think its a foolish strategy.

Its making me less likely to engage with WAFL because I feel manipulated.

I reckon its bad advice from a media person.

It won't impact Richmond, because we are all fully engaged and they could run exclusive stories on Kermit the Frog for a decade, and we'd all still be mental tigers and shell out our hard earned.

But how are clubs like The Suns going to keep members engaged who prefer mens AFL, when they dont have a Caesar living 500m from Metricon (maybe theres a retirement plan for me) ?

I want to make it clear that I support WAFL, I just dont like watching it.

I support heaps of things I dont want to watch. Brain surgery, for example.

having said all that, I dont mind the concept of affirmative action and womens AFL skill is on an upward trend and has to get better to watch, surely?

 

[Tigers of Old]

It's a simple solution just don't jumble it all on the main page. A simple two button click through front page would solve plenty.
Hate having to wade through a plethora of AFLW stories to find info on the men's team. Let us choose what we're interested in instead of shoving it all together.
But it's all about wanting us to embrace the women's game isn't it..

 

[eZyT]

It's a simple solution just don't jumble it all on the main page. A simple two button click through front page would solve plenty.
Hate having to wade through a plethora of AFLW stories to find info on the men's team. Let us choose what we're interested in instead of shoving it all together.
But it's all about wanting us to embrace the women's game isn't it..

we have to chose which dunny to go in, so shouldn't be a problem to have a mens and a womens AFL supporters space?

I wouldn't care if we have a 3rd web page for non-binary footy?

 

[eZyT]

actually, don't think it is an AFL edict.

a look at opposition web sites reveals that these clubs have significantly more mens content than RFC and others

hawks, pies, Ess, nor, port, swans, wc.

I suppose its reassuring that we aren't like Collingwood or Bombers?

 

[Baloo]

actually, don't think it is an AFL edict.

a look at opposition web sites reveals that these clubs have significantly more mens content than RFC and others

hawks, pies, Ess, nor, port, swans, wc.

I suppose its reassuring that we aren't like Collingwood or Bombers?

Essendon don't have an AFLW Team. Nor do the Hawks and Swans

 

[CarnTheTiges]

It’d probably be more acceptable if the AFLW team occasionally looked like winning a game.

 

[King Kong]

Agree from a brand marketing perspective it doesn't make a lot of sense to be focusing on the worst women's team in the comp when you have the opportunity to focus on the best men's team in the comp. Get the balance right RFC

 

[craig]

Agree from a brand marketing perspective it doesn't make a lot of sense to be focusing on the worst women's team in the comp when you have the opportunity to focus on the best men's team in the comp. Get the balance right RFC

Well said Kong.

 

[TigerFlag2017]

Interesting that dimma hasn't done an interview since the grand final.

 

[Tigers of Old]

Like magic a rundown of our men's team preseason appears on the club site.
Coincidence? Anyways was good to get some news!

 

[Ian4]

with all due respect to our women’s team, they have been around for 2 years, whereas our men have been around for 136 years. they should not be given equal billing on websites, membership cards, etc. Putting Katie Brennan on my membership card with Dusty is beyond ridiculous.

 

[eZyT]

Pretty simple really. We are a club with an elite mens and an elite womens team and have pride in them both.

The women are in season at the moment so of course they will have the lion's share of the coverage, and rightly so. The men are in the most uninteresting phase of the season. When their season ramps up they will receive much more coverage than the women ever will.

The cold reality is if you don't like the AFLW then you are out of step with Richmond, the AFL and the world in general. It's really not Richmond's job to pander to that.

I agree with all of that.

I dont like watching womens AFL. it's me.

 

[Coburgtiger]

I like watching the girls play.

I grew up watching a worse men's team.

Makes me nostalgic.

 

[DavidSSS]

Yep, hearing about players tearing it up on the training track really is not particularly enlightening.

The men's coverage when in season will be far more than we see of the women now, and the women will largely disappear when the men are playing. This is just the way it is.

I agree that our women's team are not playing great footy at the moment, they are definitely behind the 8 ball in trying to catch up with the better teams. But some of the good women's teams are playing far better footy now, it is developing fast. The game is improving so quickly it will be a lot better to watch in a year or two.

Hopefully we will become more competitive too - maybe we are a decent chance for a win this week - here's hoping.

DS

 

[bigwow]

Interesting that dimma hasn't done an interview since the grand final.

He has been a little busy. Still in the romance stage.

 

[Tigers of Old]

I support us having a team & am happy women have an avenue to elite football. At this point though I am just not very interested in it & don't really enjoy watching it.
Surely it's not too much to ask to break the website into relevant sections is it?

 

[craig]

I support us having a team & am happy women have an avenue to elite football. At this point though I am just not very interested in it & don't really enjoy watching it.
Surely it's not too much to ask to break the website into relevant sections is it?

Agreed

 

[Coburgtiger]

Yep, hearing about players tearing it up on the training track really is not particularly enlightening.

The men's coverage when in season will be far more than we see of the women now, and the women will largely disappear when the men are playing. This is just the way it is.

I agree that our women's team are not playing great footy at the moment, they are definitely behind the 8 ball in trying to catch up with the better teams. But some of the good women's teams are playing far better footy now, it is developing fast. The game is improving so quickly it will be a lot better to watch in a year or two.

Hopefully we will become more competitive too - maybe we are a decent chance for a win this week - here's hoping.

DS

Agreed.

I've actually been watching a bit and going to games.

We're much better this year than last. Unfortunately/fortunately so is the rest of the competition.

Our showing in round 1 would have won in round 1 last season.