IF YOU had done a poll at the start of the season to see which AFL Women’s team would be winless at the halfway mark, very few – if any – would have nominated Richmond. But, that is exactly how the ladder looks for the yellow and black, anchored to the bottom with an 0-6 record and a lot more pain to come based on the fixture.

We take a look at some of the key stats and perhaps the reasoning behind why the Tigers have had a stuttered start

2025 AFLW RESULTS:

Round 1: lost to Sydney by 20 points
Round 2: lost to Western Bulldogs by 21 points
Round 3: lost to Essendon by 15 points
Round 4: lost to Melbourne by 37 points
Round 5: lost to Geelong by 30 points
Round 6: lost to St Kilda by 7 points

It has been a frustrating year for the Tigers who have lost all bar two games by 20-plus points including to the Western Bulldogs, who only have that sole victory. They had their chances against Essendon and really should have put St Kilda away on the weekend, but faded and could not finish the job.

BALL-WINNING MEASURES

Star midfielder Monique Conti is the number one contested ball-winner in the league, averaging 15.7 possessions in that facet, per game. She is the only Tiger above 10, though both Grace Egan and Ellie McKenzie are not far behind. Conti is also ranked 12th in clearances, with McKenzie 26th and Egan 40th, but after that, the Tigers drop off with tall forward Katie Brennan (1.4) the next highest of those available with ruck Montana McKinnon (2.5) before going down with another dreaded ACL injury.

Perhaps first-year player Sierra Grieves – who dominated in the area at Under 18s – could be the one to step up and share the load around the contest.

OFFENCE MEASURES

Perhaps the most puzzling element for Tigers fans is not getting the ball into scoring areas, but being able to convert. They rank eighth in the competition for inside 50s, but only convert 14.2 per cent of their inside 50s into marks, and 10.8 per cent of those entries into goals. To put that in perspective, the ladder-leading Roos run at 32 and 24.8 per cent respectively. Now obviously North Melbourne is an anomaly of a side, but the likes of Melbourne and Sydney can also score well when inside 50.

The scoring element is more a tweak in the sense of they are getting enough entries to compete, but need to make more of them, be it greater efficiency, or deeper inside 50s. It does not help that they also only kick at 31 per cent on goal and are ranked last when you incorporate all shots on goal. If they can improve that area, then it can be a whole different ball game.

DEFENSIVE MEASURES

It is interesting to note that the Tigers are third for one percenters, which are for example, knock ons, smothers, shepherds and spoils. Generally, the team ethos is still there and that statistic proves it. However the damning one is 16th for tackles, which is not great when you are not winning that much of the ball.

Defensively they are holding up alright considering, and are able to compete and transition out of the back half, but because they are ranked second overall for clangers, little mistakes have proved costly for the Tigers. Perhaps Tasmanian Mackenzie Ford has slid under the radar a little, ranked equal-fifth overall for tackles inside 50 across the league. The four above her are Kiara Bowers, Ebony Marinoff, Jasmine Garner and Mikayla Bowen. Not a bad group to be associated with.

POST-MATCH FOLLOWING LOSS TO ST KILDA

Coach Ryan Ferguson

“I thought we did a lot right across the whole game and we controlled much of the game but moments let us down,” he said. “We released the pressure valve too many times either gave away goals or missed opportunities to have more chances at goal by giving away free kicks down each end of the ground.

“So moments cost us which enabled them to get momentum back in and I thought we could have actually created some separation but we released the pressure valve and invited them to come back in. Thought we fought out the game.

“Almost at the end again, just a bit of overzealous of wanting it so bad that we just started to lose a bit of our shape, but I just thought so much of the game was what we planned for and on our terms and we just weren’t able to maximise our scores and then take away theirs in those moments.”

POST-MATCH FOLLOWING LOSS TO ESSENDON, ROUND 3:

Coach Ryan Ferguson

“I know we didn’t get scoreboard nourishment and we wanted to take more shots in front of goal and hit more goals and create more opportunities, 3.10 and 10.3 looks a bit different,” he said. “I thought it was two teams going at it, like the high pressure both trying to get to space, trying to play the right way.

“I thought we were overrunning them in the second half and we almost had them on the ropes and we just couldn’t take those moments and they were really good at taking some moment that took energy back in their favour.”

UPCOMING FIXTURES

Round 7: vs. Brisbane @ Brighton Homes Arena
Round 8: vs. Adelaide @ Ikon Park
Round 9: vs. North Melbourne @ Ikon Park
Round 10: vs. Collingwood @ Victoria Park
Round 11: vs. Fremantle @ Fremantle Oval
Round 12: vs. Gold Coast @ Ikon Park

There are no easy games in season 2025, but the next three weeks are brutal for the Tigers. If they can somehow snatch any of those three games against those premiership contenders, it will give them massive belief heading into the last three games. The other three sides have had their ups and downs, Collignwood with the most consistency, while Fremantle and Gold Coast have been better despite some lows earlier in the year.

SUMMARY

The key word that continually pops up for Ferguson and his side’s focus is ‘moments’ and controlling them to the best of their ability. Richmond on paper has the talent, but just seems a little fragmented in the sense of linking up between midfield and attack, and then over-doing it when in defence.

It has been a strange old season because in no particularly round has Richmond looked like the worst team. In fact even in the bigger losses, it has been more frustration than shock, because the Tigers compete for periods of time, often even halves. However those “moments” just keep hurting them.

Realistically looking at that fixture remaining, Richmond should be able to pluck a couple of wins. Collingwood is a possibility if the Tigers bring the required heat, while playing Gold Coast at home is a huge advantage as well. Fremantle has been hit and miss but over there is tough, although if Richmond can finish on a high then it will given the Tigers confidence heading into 2026.