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AFL Women's

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AFL Women's
Most recent season or competition:
2024 AFL Women's season
SportAustralian rules football
Founded15 September 2016
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
First season2017
CEOEmma Moore
No. of teams18
CountryAustralia
HeadquartersMelbourne, Victoria, Australia
Current premiersNorth Melbourne (1st premiership)
Most premiersAdelaide (3 premierships)
TV partner(s)Seven Network
Fox Footy
Streaming partner(s)7plus (Australia)
Kayo Sports (Australia)
WatchAFL (Overseas)
Sponsor(s)NAB
Related
competitions		AFL
AFLW Under 18 Championships
QAFL Women's
SANFL Women's
VFL Women's
WAFL Women's
Official websitewomens.afl

AFL Women's (AFLW) is Australia's national semi-professional Australian rules football league for female players. The first season of the league in February and March 2017 had eight teams; the league expanded to 10 teams in the 2019 season, 14 teams in 2020 and 18 teams in 2022. The league is run by the Australian Football League (AFL) and is contested by each of the clubs from that competition. The reigning premiers are the North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos.

The AFLW is the second most attended women's football competition in Australia (behind A-League Women) and one of the most popular women's football competitions in the world. Its average attendance in 2019 of 6,262 per game made it the second-highest of any domestic women's football competition. Its record attendance of 53,034 for the 2019 AFL Women's Grand Final was until 2020 the highest match attendance for women's sport in Australia.

The AFLW has attracted an audience of more than 1 million attendees[1] and 2 million viewers[2] and has managed to maintain high interest while moving to primarily ticketed and subscription broadcasting models since the 2021 season. It consistently ranks in the top three (alongside cricket and netball) most watched women's sporting competitions in Australia.[3] The league receives international interest, particularly in Ireland where it has begun to attract a significant television audience due to the ongoing recruitment of Irish Gaelic football stars.[4] However, it was reported in mid-2023 that data revealed a significant drop in attendances for the seventh season of the women's league compared to the first season.[5]

History

[edit]

Establishment

[edit]

In 2010, the AFL commissioned a report into the state of women's football around the country.[6] Along with findings concerning grassroots and junior football, the report recommended the AFL Commission begin working toward the establishment of a national women's league. While the option of new stand-alone clubs was considered, a model using the resources and branding of existing AFL clubs was to be the preferred model for the planned league.[7]

The first on-field step towards the competition took place in early 2013, when the AFL announced an exhibition match to be played between women's teams representing Melbourne and Western Bulldogs in June of that year. On 15 May 2013, the first women's draft was held, establishing the playing lists for the two clubs in the forthcoming exhibition match.[8] The match played on 29 June 2013 marked the first time two women's sides had competed under the banners of AFL clubs. A crowd of 7,518 watched the historic match, which Melbourne won by 35 points.[9] The exhibition match became a series between the clubs, with another game played in 2014 and two played in 2015, the last of which – on 16 August 2015 – was the first women's AFL game to be broadcast on free-to-air television. It attracted an average audience of 175,000, surpassing the 114,000 average audience for the AFL men's clash of the previous day, between Adelaide and Essendon.[10]

The success of these exhibition matches prompted the AFL to accelerate its plans for a nationwide women's competition, announcing a preferred start date of 2017.[11] Prior to this, the league had announced only aspirational plans to have the women's competition established by 2020.[12] The already-planned 2016 exhibition series was expanded at this time, with a total of ten matches to be played in venues across the country and featuring a range of new temporary representative teams.[13]

In 2016, the AFL opened a process for existing clubs to tender applications to join the new competition. The 18 clubs in the men's league had until 29 April 2016 to place a bid for a licence, with 13 clubs making bids: Adelaide, Brisbane, Carlton, Collingwood, Fremantle, Geelong, Greater Western Sydney, Melbourne, North Melbourne, Richmond, St Kilda, West Coast, and Western Bulldogs.[14] The AFL's preferred distribution of clubs was four clubs from Victoria and one each from New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, and Western Australia.[15]

The inaugural teams were announced on 8 June 2016. Adelaide, Brisbane, and Greater Western Sydney were the only teams to bid in their respective states and were granted licences to compete in 2017.[16] Both Western Australian clubs made bids, with Fremantle's bid chosen ahead of the bid from West Coast. Eight Victorian clubs made bids: Melbourne, Western Bulldogs, Carlton and Collingwood were successful, with Geelong, North Melbourne, Richmond and St Kilda being unsuccessful but granted provisional licences.[17]

Details about the branding of the league were released in the second half of 2016. On 15 September 2016, the AFL announced that the league would be named "AFL Women's" or AFLW for short, with the logo being unveiled on 19 September 2016.[18][19] The logo is a stylised rendition of an Australian rules football ground goal square and goal posts, drawn from a perspective that resembles a "W".[19] On 10 October 2016, the National Australia Bank was named as the league's naming rights sponsor.[20]

Carlton and Collingwood players contesting the first ball-up in the inaugural AFL Women's match in February 2017. The match was played before a lockout crowd of 24,568 – the highest attendance of the inaugural season.

The first premiership game was played at Ikon Park on Friday, 3 February 2017.[21] The AFL had initially planned to host the game at Melbourne's Olympic Park Oval, with a capacity of just 7,000, but was forced to change to Ikon Park due to overwhelming interest and a need for more seating.[22] The match was deemed a "lockout" with a capacity crowd of 24,568 in attendance, with estimates of a few thousand left outside.[23] Gillon McLachlan, the AFL's CEO, personally apologised to those who missed out. The game was also a great success on TV, attracting a national audience of 896,000, including 593,000 metropolitan free-to-air viewers, 180,000 regional free-to-air viewers, and 123,000 on Fox Footy.[24] The Melbourne metropolitan audience of 424,000 was on par with that of Friday-night AFL men's matches.[24]

The inaugural season concluded with the Grand Final held on Saturday, 25 March 2017. The Adelaide Crows were crowned the league's first premiers after defeating the minor premiers, the Brisbane Lions. The scoreline read Adelaide 4.11 (35) def. Brisbane 4.5 (29).[25]

Expansion (2019–2022)

[edit]

Expansion of the competition occurred in two instalments, with two clubs added in 2019 and four added in 2020, resulting in 14 teams in total.

The 10 AFL clubs not originally participating in the competition were invited to bid for inclusion, with priority given to the five clubs that had submitted unsuccessful bids to participate in the inaugural season.[26] The deadline to lodge submissions was 16 June 2017. The only clubs not to bid were Port Adelaide and Sydney.[27] North Melbourne worked with AFL Tasmania to craft its bid, with the club aiming to play home matches in Melbourne, Hobart, and Launceston, and also to select half of its playing list from Tasmania.[28][29]

A final decision on which clubs would be admitted to the competition was expected by the end of July 2017, but was delayed several times.[27][30][31] On 27 September 2017, the AFL announced that Geelong and North Melbourne had been selected to enter the competition in 2019.[32] North Melbourne retained its commitment to playing matches in Tasmania.[33] The league then added four teams in 2020, with the AFL selecting Gold Coast, Richmond, St Kilda and West Coast to join the competition.[32][33] The growth in clubs for the 2019 season was accompanied by the introduction of an American-style conference structure, which was abandoned after the 2020 season in favour of the traditional single ladder.[34] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 season was curtailed and eventually cancelled without a premiership awarded.[35]

On 12 August 2021, the other four AFL clubs without AFLW licenses – Essendon, Hawthorn, Port Adelaide and Sydney – were granted entry into the competition, to commence in AFL Women's season seven.[36]

North Melbourne became the first expansion team, founded after the inaugural season, to win a premiership, when the Kangaroos defeated Brisbane by 30 points in the 2024 decider.[37]

Expansion of AFL Women's
Club Entry in 2017 Entry in 2019/20 Entry in 2022 (S7)
Placed
bid 		Granted
entry 		Placed
bid 		Granted entry Placed
bid 		Granted
entry
2019 2020
Adelaide Yes Yes —
Brisbane Yes Yes —
Carlton Yes Yes —
Collingwood Yes Yes —
Essendon No — Yes No No Yes Yes
Fremantle Yes Yes —
Geelong Yes No Yes Yes —
Gold Coast No — Yes No Yes —
Greater Western Sydney Yes Yes —
Hawthorn No — Yes No No Yes Yes
Melbourne Yes Yes —
North Melbourne Yes No Yes Yes —
Port Adelaide No — No — — Yes Yes
Richmond Yes No Yes No Yes —
St Kilda Yes No Yes No Yes —
Sydney No — No — — Yes Yes
West Coast Yes No Yes No Yes —
Western Bulldogs Yes Yes —

Clubs

[edit]

The competition's 18 teams are based across five states of Australia. Ten are based in Victoria (nine in the Melbourne metropolitan area), and New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia have two teams each, while a team from Tasmania will enter the AFLW at a date to be confirmed.[a] The Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory are the only states or territories not to have AFLW teams.

Current clubs

[edit]
Club Colours Moniker State Home venue Exhibition
games 		Est. Seasons Premierships
First Total Total Most recent
Adelaide Crows South Australia Norwood Oval — 2016 2017+ 8 3 2022 (S6)
Brisbane Lions Queensland Springfield Central Stadium 2016 2016 2017+ 8 2 2023
Carlton Blues Victoria Princes Park — 2016 2017+ 8 0 —
Collingwood Magpies Victoria Victoria Park — 2016 2017+ 8 0 —
Essendon Bombers Victoria Windy Hill — 2022 2022 (S7) 2 0 —
Fremantle Dockers Western Australia Fremantle Oval 2016 2016 2017+ 8 0 —
Geelong Cats Victoria Kardinia Park — 2018 2019 6 0 —
Gold Coast Suns Queensland Carrara Stadium 2016 2019 2020 5 0 —
Greater Western Sydney
Giants New South Wales Various[b] 2016 2016 2017+ 8 0 —
Hawthorn Hawks Victoria Frankston Park — 2022 2022 (S7) 2 0 —
Melbourne Demons Victoria Casey Fields 2013 2013* 2017+ 8 1 2022 (S7)
North Melbourne Kangaroos Victoria & Tasmania^ Arden Street Oval — 2018 2019 6 1 2024
Port Adelaide
Power South Australia Alberton Oval — 2022 2022 (S7) 2 0 —
Richmond Tigers Victoria Punt Road Oval[c] — 2019 2020 5 0 —
St Kilda Saints Victoria Moorabbin Oval — 2019 2020 5 0 —
Sydney Swans New South Wales Henson Park 2016 2022 2022 (S7) 2 0 —
West Coast Eagles Western Australia Lathlain Park 2016 2019 2020 5 0 —
Western Bulldogs Bulldogs Victoria Whitten Oval 2013 2013* 2017+ 8 1 2018
^ denotes that the club has a formalised partnership with this state or territory
* denotes that the club had a foundation women's team
+ denotes that the club was a founding member of the AFLW

Notes

  1. ^ North Melbourne currently have a formalised partnership with Tasmania, which enables the club to draft players from and play home games there.
  2. ^ Hosting home games at Blacktown ISP Oval, Henson Park and Manuka Oval during the 2023 season[38]
  3. ^ Hosting home games at Princes Park during the 2023 season while Punt Road Oval undergoes redevelopment[38]

Future clubs

[edit]
Club Colours Moniker State Home venue Joining league
Tasmania Devils Tasmania Macquarie Point Stadium TBC

Venues

[edit]

Below are the venues that hosted during the 2023 season.[38]

Venue Matches Location Capacity Host club(s)
Alberton Oval 5 Adelaide, South Australia 11,000 Port Adelaide (5)
Arden Street Oval 3 Melbourne, Victoria 4,000 North Melbourne (3)
Bellerive Oval 1 Hobart, Tasmania 20,000 North Melbourne (1)
Blacktown ISP Oval 2 Sydney, New South Wales 10,000 Greater Western Sydney (2)
Carrara Stadium 4 Gold Coast, Queensland 22,500 Gold Coast (4)
Casey Fields 3 Melbourne, Victoria 9,000 Melbourne (3)
Cazalys Stadium 1 Cairns, Queensland 15,000 Hawthorn (1)
Eureka Stadium 1 Ballarat, Victoria 11,000 Western Bulldogs (1)
Frankston Park 4 Melbourne, Victoria 5,000 Hawthorn (4)
Fremantle Oval 5 Perth, Western Australia 10,000 Fremantle (5)
Great Barrier Reef Arena 1 Mackay, Queensland 10,000 Gold Coast (1)
Henson Park 4 Sydney, New South Wales 30,000 Greater Western Sydney (1), Sydney (3)
Kardinia Park 5 Geelong, Victoria 23,000 Geelong (5)
Lathlain Park 5 Perth, Western Australia 6,500 West Coast (5)
Manuka Oval 2 Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 16,000 Greater Western Sydney (2)
Moorabbin Oval 5 Melbourne, Victoria 8,000 St Kilda (5)
North Sydney Oval 2 Sydney, New South Wales 10,000 Sydney (2)
Norwood Oval 3 Adelaide, South Australia 10,000 Adelaide (3)
Olympic Park Oval 1 Melbourne, Victoria 3,500 Collingwood (1)
Princes Park 12 Melbourne, Victoria 12,000 Carlton (5), Melbourne (2), Richmond (5)
Reid Oval 2 Warrnambool, Victoria 5,000 Essendon (1)
Springfield Central Stadium 5 Brisbane, Queensland 8,000 Brisbane (5)
Unley Oval 2 Adelaide, South Australia 10,000 Adelaide (2)
Victoria Park 4 Melbourne, Victoria 10,000 Collingwood (4)
Whitten Oval 4 Melbourne, Victoria 10,000 Western Bulldogs (4)
Windy Hill 4 Melbourne, Victoria 10,000 Essendon (4)
York Park 1 Launceston, Tasmania 19,000 North Melbourne (1)

Players

[edit]
See also: List of current AFL Women's team squads
Melbourne's Elise O'Dea evaded Hannah Scott of the Western Bulldogs in Round 3, 2017.

The club's playing lists were constructed from scratch through the later stages of 2016. All participants in the 2017 season were required to be over the age of 17.

Initially, clubs were asked to nominate a list of desired players, with the AFL assigning two of these "marquee" players to each club. In addition, clubs were able to sign a number of players with existing connections to the club, or with arrangements for club-sponsored work or study.[39][40][41] This number varied for each club, in an attempt to equitably spread talent across the teams. In addition, clubs were required to recruit two "rookies" – people with no Australian rules football experience in the previous three-year period. The majority of players were later recruited through the 2016 AFL Women's draft.[42] The remaining list spots were filled with free-agent signings in the week following the draft. In total, clubs have 27 active listed players in addition to injury replacements signed to take the spot of long-term injury-affected players.

Salary

[edit]

Player salaries are determined by collective bargaining agreement with each club's total payments being determined by a salary cap.

Players are split into four tiers as follows:

Tier[43][44] 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
1 $29,856 $32,077 $37,155 $71,935
2 $23,059 $24,775 $28,697 $55,559
3 $19,661 $21,124 $24,468 $47,372
4 $16,623 $17,473 $20,239 $39,184
Total Player Payments (TPP) (per club)[45] $474,800 $576,240 $619,109 $717,122
Total Player Payments (TPP) (league)[45] $2,300,000 $2,752,000 $4,748,000 $8,121,000 $8,722,000 $25,000,000[46] $32,300,000

Rules

[edit]

The rules are mostly the same as those used in the AFL, with a few exceptions:

  • The use of a slightly smaller ball, in line with other women's competitions.
  • Quarters last 17 minutes (15 prior to 2023) instead of 20, with time-on only in the last two minutes.
  • Teams have 16 players on the field at a time instead of 18, and have five interchange players and 60 player rotations (unlimited prior to 2023) instead of four interchange players with one substitute and 75 total rotations.[47]
  • Throw-ins are executed 10 metres in from the boundary line, except within the 50-metre arcs, instead of on the boundary line.
  • A "last touch" out-of-bounds rule applies, except within the 50-metre arcs: during 2018, this "last touch" rule applied everywhere.[48]

Season structure

[edit]

Pre-season

[edit]

Prior to the commencement of the home-and-away season teams are paired off to play an exhibition trial match. In 2017, these matches took place during varying weeks of January.

Premiership season and finals

[edit]

For the first two seasons of competition, the home-and-away season was operated on a single table, and seven matches were played by each of the eight teams. The two highest-placed teams at the conclusion of the home-and-away season qualified for the Grand Final match, in the absence of a longer finals series.

With the addition of two extra teams in 2019, the AFL Women's home-and-away season introduced conferences, a concept not common in Australian sports.[49][50] The top-two teams from the respective conferences qualified to the preliminary finals, with the first-ranked team in Conference A meeting the second-ranked team in Conference B and the opposite employed for the other preliminary final. The winners of those matches then met in the Grand Final.[50]

The use of conferences was retained in 2020, along with the inclusion of four additional teams. The 14 teams were split into two conferences of seven, with teams playing each other team in their conference once. The top-four teams in each conference qualified for the finals series. The first round of the finals consisted of four knockout finals, with teams from opposite conferences playing against each other, first in Conference A versus fourth in Conference B, and so on. This left a final four of North Melbourne, Fremantle, Carlton, and Melbourne, with two rounds of finals to be played. At this point, the season was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with no 2020 premier.

In 2021, the league reverted to a single 14-team ladder. Each team played 9 matches, with the top six qualifying for a three-week finals series. All finals are knockouts, with the top-two teams having a bye in the first round of the finals.[34] Since 2022 (S7) the competition has been contested by 18 teams, and the finals series has expanded to eight teams and is played under the AFL final eight system that has been in use in the men's competition since the 2000 season.

On 21 August 2023, incoming AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon announced that the AFLW will receive equal prize money to the AFL. The prize money for AFLW players will almost double, going from $623,922 to $1.1 million to split between the top 8 teams.[51]

Themed rounds

[edit]

In 2018, the Western Bulldogs and Carlton women's teams held the first Pride game, to celebrate gender diversity, promote inclusion for LGBTIQA+ players, and to help stamp out homophobia. St Kilda and Melbourne held a Pride Match in 2020, and the first full AFLW Pride Round was held in 2021.[52][53]

An Indigenous Round was established in 2021.[54] This round acknowledges the significant contribution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls to Australian football and the broader community.[55][56] Each team wears a guernsey especially designed to celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture,[55] and the Dreamtime match is played between Richmond and Essendon.[57] An AFLW Indigenous Round Honouree is announced for each season.[54]

Awards

[edit]

These major individual awards and accolades are presented each season:[58]

  • Best and Fairest Trophy – to the fairest and best player in the league, voted by the umpires
  • Leading Goalkicker Award – to the player who kicks the most goals during the home-and-away season
  • All-Australian Team – a squad of 21 players deemed the best in their positions, voted by an AFL-appointed committee
  • Rising Star Award – to the fairest and best young player under the age of 21 as at the start of the calendar year, voted by the AFL-appointed All-Australian committee
  • Grand Final Best on Ground Award – the best player on the ground in the Grand Final, voted by a committee of media members

Audience

[edit]

Attendance

[edit]

The league peaked at an average attendance of 6,828 in its inaugural season and a record 53,034 attended the 2019 Grand Final. Admission was free prior to 2022, when the AFLW introduced reserved ticketing at $10 admission per match, which was later increased. In mid-2023, data revealed a significant drop in average attendances for the seventh season compared to the first season.[5] Taking into account the greater number of games played, total attendance was still growing, just spread over three times as many matches. The league's choice of venues has been criticised, with many of the AFL's premium venues, such as Victoria's Melbourne Cricket Ground and Docklands Stadium, not used for blockbuster AFLW matches. The league has been cited as preferring the atmosphere of fuller smaller venues rather than emptier larger venues, particularly for its television broadcasting.

The following are the most recent season attendances (record figures are bolded):

Year Matches Played H&A Total Average Highest H&A Grand final
2023 99 284,122 2,870 8,722 12,616
2022 (S7) 99 265,950 2,686 20,652 7,412
2022 75 144,271 1,924 5,533 16,712
2021 68 155,908 2,293 9,552 22,934
2020 46 205,050 4,458 35,185 N/A[59]
2019 38 251,792 6,626 18,429 53,034
2018 38 174,012 6,000 41,975 7,083
2017 29 198,020 6,828 24,568 9,400

Television

[edit]

In its inaugural 2017 season, all matches were televised live by affiliate partners the Seven Network and Fox Footy.[60] As part of the initial broadcast deal, the free-to-air carrier Seven broadcast one Saturday-night game per week as standard, in addition to the league's opening match and Grand Final. Pay TV network Fox Footy televised all premiership season matches, including simulcasts of the Seven-hosted matches other than the Grand Final.[61] The two television networks covered the costs of broadcasting these matches, with no licensing fee payable to the league in exchange.[62] Fearless: The Inside Story of the AFLW debuted on Disney+ in 2022, the docu-series followed several AFLW clubs through the course of the 2022 season.[63] In July 2023 The Age reported that AFLW viewer numbers were down 70% from the debut season, blaming a combination of scheduling, poor quality venues and broadcast quality, and "football fatigue".[64]

The AFLW has attracted an audience of more than 1 million attendees[1] and 2 million viewers[2] and has managed to maintain high interest despite moving to primarily ticketed and subscription broadcasting models from the 2021 season. It consistently ranks in the top three (alongside cricket and netball) most watched women's sporting competitions in Australia.[3] The league receives international interest, particularly in Ireland where it has begun to attract a significant television audience due to the ongoing recruitment of Gaelic football stars.[4]

Online

[edit]

The official internet/mobile broadcast partner of the AFL is BigPond, part of Telstra. The company hosts the league website and those of each of the eight participation clubs. The AFL has retained digital broadcast rights to matches in the league's inaugural season and will stream all matches live and free on the league website and mobile app.[62] Since 2021 Kayo Sports has streamed all AFLW matches live and on demand in Australia.[65] Outside Australia, the inaugural season is available on Watch AFL.[66]

Corporate relations

[edit]

Sponsorships

[edit]
Logo used for the league since season 7

The National Australia Bank is the league's inaugural and (as of 2022) current naming-rights partner.[67] All playing and training equipment, as well as all licensed apparel and hats for the league's clubs, are manufactured by Cotton On.[68] Other 2017 league sponsors included Wolf Blass, Chemist Warehouse, and Kellogg's.[69][70][71] The official ball supplier is Sherrin.[72]

Merchandising

[edit]

Official match-day attire, together with other club merchandise, is sold through the AFL's stores and website, as well through the clubs and some retailers.

Women's exhibition games (2013–2016)

[edit]

Prior to the creation of the league, the AFL ran four years of exhibition matches between sides representing Melbourne and Western Bulldogs. In 2016, the series was expanded to multiple teams from around the country.

2013 exhibition game
Sunday, 30 June Melbourne 8.5 (53) def. Western Bulldogs 3.3 (21) MCG (crowd: 7,500) Match report


2014 exhibition game
Sunday, 29 June Western Bulldogs 4.2 (26) def. by Melbourne 10.12 (72) Etihad Stadium (crowd: 24,953 (D/H)) Match report


2015 exhibition series
Sunday, 24 May Melbourne 4.13 (37) def. Western Bulldogs 4.5 (29) MCG (crowd: 29,381 (D/H)) Match report
Sunday, 16 August Western Bulldogs 5.6 (36) def. by Melbourne 6.4 (40) Etihad Stadium (crowd: 27,805 (D/H)) Match report


2016 exhibition series
Sunday, 2 March Melbourne 3.3 (21) def. by Western Bulldogs 6.5 (41) Highgate Recreational Reserve Match report
Saturday, 2 April SANFL Blue 5.4 (34) def. SANFL Red 5.2 (32) Adelaide Oval (crowd: 51,585 (D/H)) Match report
Saturday, 9 April Sydney 9.8 (62) def. Greater Western Sydney 5.3 (33) SCG (crowd: 37,045 (D/H)) Match report
Saturday, 9 April West Coast 13.10 (88) def. Fremantle 3.5 (23) Domain Stadium (crowd: 40,555 (D/H)) Match report
Sunday, 10 April Northern Territory 13.11 (89) def. Tasmania 7.11 (53) Peanut Reserve Match report
Saturday, 16 April Brisbane 5.8 (38) def. Gold Coast 3.6 (24) Gabba (crowd: 20,041 (D/H)) Match report
Sunday, 22 May Melbourne 14.7 (91) def. Brisbane 3.2 (20) MCG (crowd: 26,892 (D/H)) Match report
Sunday, 5 June Western Bulldogs 8.5 (53) def. Western Australia 5.10 (40) Etihad Stadium (crowd: 28,769 (D/H)) Match report
Sunday, 5 June South Australia 4.3 (27) def. NSW/ACT 3.7 (25) Adelaide Oval (crowd: 40,896 (D/H)) Match report
Saturday, 3 September Western Bulldogs 14.6 (90) def. Melbourne 7.9 (51) Whitten Oval (crowd: 6,365) Match report
  • Selected matches aired live on either on the Seven Network or Fox Footy, as part of their AFL coverage.
  • This series saw the introduction of a women's Sydney Derby, Western Derby, and QClash: these would take place again in 2022 and 2019 in the AFLW.
  • The SANFL Blue v SANFL Red match was originally meant to be a women's Showdown, but Port Adelaide's women's team went into recess at the end of their 2016 season. After plans for an Adelaide v Rest of South Australia match fell through, Adelaide, Port Adelaide and the AFL mutually agreed to arrange this fixture, which also served as a selection trial for the inaugural Adelaide AFLW squad: the first women's Showdown would take place in 2022.
  • Only the 3 September clash between Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs, which was played in the week's break before the 2016 AFL finals series, was contested for the Hampson-Hardeman Cup. The match was televised on Channel 7, attracting a peak of 1.05 million viewers nationally, with 387,000 viewers in Melbourne; it was the highest-rated match broadcast in Melbourne during the 2016 home and away season.[74]

Premiers and awards

[edit]

Premiers

[edit]
Club Seasons in
competition 		Premierships Runners up Premiership
seasons 		Runner-up
seasons
Adelaide 2017–present 3 1 2017, 2019, 2022 (S6) 2021
Brisbane 2017–present 2 4 2021, 2023 2017, 2018, 2022 (S7), 2024
Western Bulldogs 2017–present 1 0 2018
Melbourne 2017–present 1 1 2022 (S7) 2022 (S6)
North Melbourne 2019–present 1 1 2024 2023
Carlton 2017–present 0 1 2019
Collingwood 2017–present 0 0
Fremantle 2017–present 0 0
Greater Western

Sydney

2017–present 0 0
Geelong 2019–present 0 0
Richmond 2020–present 0 0
St Kilda 2020–present 0 0
Gold Coast 2020–present 0 0
West Coast 2020–present 0 0
Essendon 2022 (S7)–present 0 0
Hawthorn 2022 (S7)–present 0 0
Port Adelaide 2022 (S7)–present 0 0
Sydney Swans 2022 (S7)–present 0 0

AFLW best and fairest

[edit]

The best and fairest award determined in the same way as the Brownlow Medal for men, with umpires awarding three, two, and one votes to the best three players in each game, and suspended players are ineligible.

Season Player Club
2017 Erin Phillips Adelaide
2018 Emma Kearney Western Bulldogs
2019 Erin Phillips[75] Adelaide
2020 Madison Prespakis[76] Carlton
2021 Brianna Davey Collingwood
Kiara Bowers[77] Fremantle
2022 (S6) Emily Bates Brisbane
2022 (S7) Ally Anderson[78] Brisbane
2023 Monique Conti[79] Richmond
2024 Ebony Marinoff[80] Adelaide

AFL Players' Association Most Valuable Player

[edit]

The MVP award is voted on by the players' peers, in a similar method to the Leigh Matthews Trophy for men.

Season Player Club
2017 Erin Phillips Adelaide
2018 Courtney Gum GWS Giants
2019 Erin Phillips Adelaide
2020 Jasmine Garner North Melbourne
2021 Brianna Davey Collingwood
2022 (S6) Emily Bates Brisbane
2022 (S7) Monique Conti Richmond
2023 Jasmine Garner North Melbourne
2024 Ebony Marinoff Adelaide

AFL Coaches' Association Champion Player

[edit]

Each week, the senior coach of each club gives five votes to the player they consider to be best on ground in the game in which their team plays, four to the second-best, and so on to one for the fifth-best.

Season Player Club
2017 Not awarded
2018 Chelsea Randall Adelaide
Emma Kearney Western Bulldogs
2019 Erin Phillips Adelaide
2020 Jasmine Garner North Melbourne
2021 Kiara Bowers Fremantle
2022 (S6) Emily Bates Brisbane
2022 (S7) Jasmine Garner North Melbourne
2023 Jasmine Garner North Melbourne
2024 Ebony Marinoff Adelaide

Leading goalkicker

[edit]
Season Player Club Goals
2017 Darcy Vescio Carlton 14
2018 Brooke Lochland Western Bulldogs 12
2019 Stevie-Lee Thompson Adelaide 13
2020 Caitlin Greiser St Kilda 10
2021 Darcy Vescio (2) Carlton 16
2022 (S6) Ashleigh Woodland Adelaide 19
2022 (S7) Jesse Wardlaw Brisbane 22
2023 Kate Hore Melbourne 20
Eden Zanker Melbourne
2023 Aishling Moloney Geelong 21
Taylor Smith Brisbane

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "AFLW passes the million mark as crowds keep growing". AFLW. 11 January 2022. Archived from the original on 9 June 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Over 2.6 million Australians watch AFLW on TV", from Roy Morgan, 29 March 2021, Finding No. 8674.
  3. ^ a b "Fox Sports research shows women's sport gaining popularity in Australia". Mediaweek. 6 March 2022. Archived from the original on 8 March 2022.
  4. ^ a b Bastiani, Gemma (4 May 2023). "The Cora effect: What's behind the explosion of Irish AFLW interest". AFLW. Archived from the original on 10 May 2023.
  5. ^ a b "AFLW attendance and ratings numbers don't tell full story". ABC Radio Melbourne. 6 July 2023. Archived from the original on 30 July 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
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