Richmond's AFLW side packed with big-name stars but winless after four roundsBy Marnie Vinall
ABC
9 Sept 2025In short:Richmond have lost their first four AFLW matches in the 2025 season, last week falling to a 37-point defeat against Melbourne.
The Tigers list contains big names such as Monique Conti, Ellie McKenzie, Katie Brennan, Caitlin Greiser and promising teenager Sierra Grieves.
What's next?Richmond play Geelong at Princes Park on Sunday before taking on St Kilda at Moorabbin Oval.
Despite having some of the most talked-about names in the AFLW on their roster, Richmond currently sits in 17th place after losing their opening four matches of the season.
And those defeats have not been narrow ones.
The Tigers went down to Essendon by 15 points, the Western Bulldogs by 21 points and Sydney in the opening round by 20 points, with their heaviest defeat coming last weekend, a 37-point hammering by Melbourne.
This is despite a list containing the likes of league best and fairest Monique Conti, former number-one draft pick Ellie McKenzie, Katie Brennan, Caitlin Greiser and promising teenager Sierra Grieves.
They are now just one of two AFLW sides winless so far this season along with GWS, which finished 16th last year.
Given the brevity of the competition, a 0-4 start could mean its season is over before the side has really had a chance to click into gear.
But this is a team that made finals last year. So, what has happened?
What's going on?AFLW analyst and commentator Gemma Bastiani says Richmond's biggest issue is not being able to convert forward 50 entries into goals, often due to poor decision-making and a lack of chemistry among their forwards.
This year, they are averaging two fewer goals per game than last, kicking an average of 26.8 points for, compared to 40.8 last season.
Despite getting the ball forward often, they are turning just 9.3 per cent of inside 50 entries into goals — down from 16.8 per cent last year.
"These numbers are reflective of really poor decision-making in the front half," Bastiani told ABC Sport.
"It's not about skill because we saw last year the players that they have in that forward line can kick big scores, can take control of games.
"But the way they're choosing to play is not allowing them to do that this year — and teams are defending them better".
In their round 2 loss against the Western Bulldogs, Richmond had zero marks inside 50.
They are also easier to score against this year, conceding 50 points per game vs 34.1 last season.
"So it's not like they've gone into a really defensive mode and that's meant that their scoring has dried up as well," Bastiani said.
"They're actually leaking nearly three goals more per game than they were last year.
"So not only are they converting poorly, they're then allowing it to go straight back up the other end and hurt them."
'A lot of talent'Richmond are being figured out too easily by their opposition and they are not able to adapt in-game, which is a by-product, in part, of an over-reliance on a few senior players on the park.
"I think they are absolutely lacking depth, but not so much depth in talent. I think they have a lot of talent on the list. I think they're lacking depth in leadership," Bastiani said.
But that was, Bastiani said, also the nature of the young competition.
While the league is now 10 seasons old, a lot of players have only been in the system for two to four years.
"So yes, you can come in with all the talent in the world, but leadership, on-field game awareness, those sorts of things, you learn over time," Bastiani said, citing the experience on North Melbourne, Melbourne and Brisbane's lists.
"That means you have the players on the park that can actually see when you're in an awkward situation and change it.
"So Richmond on the weekend were really fascinating in that respect because at no point did they have the wherewithal to change what they were doing that wasn't working on their own, so they needed to go into a quarter-time huddle with direction from coaches because they didn't have the players on the park that could actually make those decisions for them."
Richmond have had no second-tier team for development or for fringe players to run through since they cut their VFLW program in 2021 and ended their VFLW alignment with Port Melbourne at the start of this year.
The Tigers' cause was not helped last weekend by the absence of captain Katie Brennan, who pulled up with knee soreness after their clash with Essendon.
So, season over?It is a disappointing start for a side that made the finals last year, exiting in an elimination final to Port Adelaide.
The year before that, they finished 10th. In 2022 they played in their maiden finals after finishing fourth on the ladder but bowed out in straight sets.
Publicly, the word remains positive from a club point of view, with coach Ryan Ferguson saying after their fourth defeat of the year there were "a couple of things going on but we keep chipping away".
"Sometimes it can feel a little way off but it can click as well and sometimes [it's] not as far away as you think."
The short AFLW season, however, at 12 rounds this year, makes it hard for teams to make finals after poor starts.
Yet it is not impossible. Adelaide currently sits inside the top eight with two wins and two losses.
Richmond next play Geelong at their makeshift home of Princes Park on Sunday, before taking on St Kilda at Moorabbin Oval.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-09/richmond-aflw-in-trouble-after-four-straight-losses/105748382
