{"id":83984,"date":"2021-08-05T14:40:11","date_gmt":"2021-08-05T04:40:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/afl.draftcentral.localhost\/?p=83984"},"modified":"2021-11-10T05:43:04","modified_gmt":"2021-11-09T19:43:04","slug":"bunker-excited-to-lead-new-group-out-as-magpies-eye-back-to-back-vflw-flags","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/2021\/08\/05\/bunker-excited-to-lead-new-group-out-as-magpies-eye-back-to-back-vflw-flags\/","title":{"rendered":"Bunker excited to lead new group out as Magpies eye back-to-back VFLW flags"},"content":{"rendered":"

ONE of only three Victorian Football League (VFL) Women’s listed talents in black and white who could become dual premiership players, captain Caitlin Bunker<\/strong> is excited for Collingwood’s grand final clash with Geelong. Having suffered defeat to the Cats three years ago to bow out of the race in straight sets after finishing minor premiers, Collingwood bounced back the following year to win a flag in 2019. After a global pandemic cancelled the hopes of going back-to-back immediately in 2020, the Magpies returned to the field in 2021 as hungry as ever, and have this time gone through undefeated.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s very different,” Bunker said of comparing the 2019 and 2021 seasons. “It was a very different group in 2019. “You know with new people, a new coach and with a season which was cancelled in between, it actually feels like it\u2019s a whole new level of exciting for me. <\/span><\/p>\n

“But also as I said with this group there\u2019s so many new girls who haven\u2019t actually had the chance to experience finals footy at the VFLW level and we\u2019re all so excited this new group to come together last year and we weren\u2019t given that chance to play, so we\u2019re just so excited, a real opportunity and we get to finish off this season.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Whilst it is true that the Magpies and Cats both have an opportunity to finish off their seasons, Collingwood heads into the 2021 VFL Women’s decider after a unique 29-day rest since their semi-final victory over Essendon. The Cats have only played the one game in that month-long period as well – also defeating Essendon – but that was last Saturday, giving them a nice touch-up ahead of the big game. For Bunker, the wait has made it challenging, but she is looking on the bright side.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it’s mainly just excitement,” Bunker said of how she was feeling ahead of the weekend. “I mean it\u2019s been a month building up waiting for this moment, the game was meant to be in early July. But the anticipation is really exciting. “We\u2019ve been working hard even though we\u2019ve had a break. “It\u2019s just a really good opportunity that we get to play out the grand final. “Obviously last year the whole season was cancelled so I think we\u2019re all feeling pretty grateful and excited about the chance.<\/span><\/p>\n

“We\u2019ve still got together on Zoom, and we’ve still met up with each other and been able to have that discussion about our game. “But also we\u2019ve been challenging each other on Strava and going for kicks in our radius with each other and just making that connection as teammates, but also keeping our footy skills up.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The Magpies and Cats have faced off three times, with Collingwood winning all three, and going through the season without a blemish. Twice, Geelong has got within a kick of the top ranked offensive and defensive side, with Geelong ranked second overall for defence, and finishing second on the ladder. Can the Magpies ensure they finish the Cats off for a fourth time?<\/p>\n

“Yeah absolutely, I have to back our group in,” Bunker said. “We\u2019ve played some phenomenal footy all year, but not too much will change for us. “I think we\u2019ve had a process and it\u2019s worked for us every game this year. “I actually don\u2019t think we\u2019ve seen our best footy this year so I\u2019m looking forward to watching our group put that together this weekend.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Since their last game, three VFLW-listed Magpies have been drafted into the AFL Women’s. Jasmine Ferguson<\/strong> was picked up by North Melbourne, with competition leading goalkicker Imogen Barnett<\/strong>, and livewire forward-midfielder Eliza James<\/strong> remaining in the black and white stripes. When asked about James and the impact she has had on the group since stepping up from the Oakleigh Chargers, Bunker said it was impressive what she has been able to do.<\/p>\n

“‘EJs’ an absolute superstar. She played a couple of games with us earlier this year and I mean she was exciting to watch,” Bunker said. “I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve seen her run, her attack on the footy, her ability to finish goals. “She\u2019s someone who\u2019s going to make a huge impact at AFLW level when she\u2019s given that opportunity, but the thing I\u2019m most excited about with the girls who were drafted in the last week were whether they\u2019re playing or not, they\u2019ve just got around the group and they\u2019re just excited to be there.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I think that\u2019s because of the strong culture and bonds we have at Collingwood and I think you can see that with the AFLW girls who come through to play with us at the VFLW level. “We all play together, we train together, and it\u2019s just exciting to hear the excitement from the AFLW group not just the VFLW group. “But yeah, I can\u2019t wait to see what EJ brings this weekend. She\u2019s a confident kid who\u2019s got an elite kick and she\u2019s going to be exciting to watch this weekend.”<\/span><\/p>\n

As for a player to watch, Bunker said there was a midfield teammate flying under the radar who had produced an outstanding regular season, who could be a huge key to the Magpies’ success.<\/p>\n

“I mean Jazzy, Imo and EJ all got drafted and I think they\u2019ll all play their roles this weekend, but someone that stood out for me this season and someone who has maybe who has been overlooked is Marla Neal<\/strong>,” Bunker said. “She\u2019s one of our midfielders, she\u2019s one of the hardest working players I\u2019ve ever played with. “She\u2019s tenacious, she\u2019s a team person, she plays her role week-in, week-out she\u2019s been building to this moment so I can\u2019t wait to see her this weekend.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Collingwood locks horns with Geelong at ETU Stadium from 1:15pm on Sunday to determine the 2021 VFL Women’s premier.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ONE of only three Victorian Football League (VFL) Women’s listed talents in black and white who could become dual premiership players, captain Caitlin Bunker is excited for Collingwood’s grand final clash with Geelong. Having suffered defeat to the Cats three years ago to bow out of the race in straight sets after finishing minor premiers, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":82359,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7949,8,11595,3121,3134,137],"tags":[9659,10186,3299,8661,15627,4151,17616,4599],"class_list":["post-83984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nab-league","category-news","category-oakleigh-chargers","category-vflw","category-victoria","category-womens","tag-caitlin-bunker","tag-collingwood-aflw","tag-collingwood-vflw","tag-eliza-james","tag-imogen-barnett","tag-jasmine-ferguson","tag-vdflw","tag-vfl-womens"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83984","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83984"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83984\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":90699,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83984\/revisions\/90699"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}