AFL Women's

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AFL Women's
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2022 AFL Women's season
AFL Women's logo.svg
SportAustralian rules football
Founded15 September 2016,
Melbourne, Australia
Inaugural season2017
CEONicole Livingstone
No. of teams14
CountryAustralia
HeadquartersMelbourne, Victoria, Australia
Most recent
champion(s)
Brisbane (1st premiership)
Most titlesAdelaide (2 premierships)
TV partner(s)
  • Seven Network
  • Fox Footy
Sponsor(s)NAB, Chemist Warehouse
Related
competitions
AFL
VFL Women's
WAFL Women's
SANFL Women's
AFLW Under 18 Championships
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 8 teams; the league expanded to ten teams in the 2019 season and 14 teams in the 2020 season. The league is run by the Australian Football League (AFL) and is contested by a subset of clubs from that competition. The reigning premiers are Brisbane.

The AFLW is the most attended women's football competition in Australia and one of the most popular women's football competitions in the world. Its average attendance in 2019 of 6,262 a game made it the second highest of any domestic women's football competition. Its record Grand Final attendance of 53,034 for the 2019 AFL Women's Grand Final was the highest of any women's domestic club championship event in the world.

History[]

Establishment[]

In 2010 the Australian Football League commissioned a report into the state of women's football around the country.[1] 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.[2]

The first on-field step towards the competition took place in 2013, when the AFL announced an exhibition match to be played between women's teams representing Melbourne and Western Bulldogs in June that year. The historic match had a crowd of 7,518 and was won by Melbourne by 35 points.[3]

On 15 May 2013, the first women's draft was held, establishing the playing lists for the two clubs in the forthcoming exhibition match.[4] The match was played on 29 June 2013 and marked the first time two women's sides had competed under the banners of AFL clubs. The exhibition series was repeated with one game between the clubs in 2014 and two in 2015, the last of which, played 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 which outweighed the 114,000 average audience for the AFL men's clash between Adelaide and Essendon of the previous day.[5]

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.[6] Prior to this, the league had announced only aspirational plans to have the women's competition established by 2020.[7] 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.[8]

In 2016, the AFL opened a process for existing clubs to tender applications to join the new competition. The eighteen clubs in the men's Australian Football League had until 29 April 2016 to place a bid for a licence, with thirteen clubs making bids. These were Adelaide, Brisbane, Carlton, Collingwood, Fremantle, Geelong, Greater Western Sydney, Melbourne, North Melbourne, Richmond, St Kilda, West Coast and the Western Bulldogs.[9] 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.[10]

The inaugural teams were announced on 8 June 2016. As the only teams to bid in their respective states, Adelaide, Brisbane and Greater Western Sydney were granted licences to compete in 2017.[11] Both Western Australian clubs made bids, with Fremantle's bid chosen ahead of West Coast's. Eight Victorian clubs made bids: Melbourne, Western Bulldogs, Carlton and Collingwood were successful, with Geelong, North Melbourne, Richmond and St Kilda unsuccessful. All five unsuccessful bidders were granted provisional licences.[12]

Details about the branding of the league were released in the second half of 2016. The AFL announced that the league would be named "AFL Women's" or AFLW for short, on 15 September 2016, with the logo being unveiled on 19 September 2016.[13][14] The logo is a stylised rendition of an Australian rules football ground goal square and goal posts, drawn from a perspective which shows a "W".[14] On 10 October 2016, the National Australia Bank was named as the league's naming rights sponsor.[15]

Carlton and Collingwood players contest 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 on Friday, 3 February 2017[16] at Ikon Park. 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 the venue to Ikon Park due to overwhelming interest and a lack of adequate seating.[17] The match was deemed a "lockout" with a capacity crowd of 24,568 in attendance, with a few thousand estimated to have been waiting outside.[18] As a result, 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 TV 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.[19] The Melbourne metropolitan audience of 424,000 was on par with that of Friday night AFL men's matches.[19]

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 minor premiers the Brisbane Lions. The scoreline read Adelaide 4.11 (35) def. Brisbane 4.5 (29).[20]

Expansion (2019–present)[]

Expansion of the competition occurred in two instalments, with two clubs added in 2019 and four in 2020, to result in 14 teams in total. The ten AFL clubs not originally participating in the competition were invited to bid for inclusion, with priority given to the five clubs that unsuccessfully bid to participate in the inaugural season.[21] The deadline to lodge submissions was 16 June 2017. The only clubs not to bid were Port Adelaide and Sydney.[22] 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 select half of its playing list from Tasmania.[23][24] A final decision on which clubs are admitted to the competition was expected by the end of July 2017 but was delayed several times to September 2017.[22][25][26]

On 27 September 2017, the AFL announced that Geelong and North Melbourne had been selected to enter the competition in 2019.[27] North Melbourne retained its commitment to playing matches in Tasmania.[28] The league then expanded an additional four teams in 2020, with the AFL selecting Gold Coast, Richmond, St Kilda and West Coast to join the competition.[27][28] The growth in clubs was accompanied by the introduction of American-style conferences for the 2019 season, further details of which can be found in the season structure section of this article. The conferences were abandoned in favour of the traditional single ladder ahead of the 2021 season.[29] The 2020 season was curtailed and eventually cancelled without a premiership awarded due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[30]

On 12 August 2021, the other four clubs without an AFLW license, Essendon, Hawthorn, Port Adelaide and Sydney, were granted entry into the competition in the .[31]

Expansion of AFL Women's
Club Entry in 2017 Entry in 2019/20 Entry in 2023
Placed
bid
Granted
entry
Placed
bid
Granted entry Placed
bid
Granted
entry
2019 2020
Adelaide Yes Yes N/A
Brisbane Yes Yes N/A
Carlton Yes Yes N/A
Collingwood Yes Yes N/A
Essendon No N/A Yes No No Yes Yes
Fremantle Yes Yes N/A
Geelong Yes No Yes Yes N/A
Gold Coast No N/A Yes No Yes N/A
Greater Western Sydney Yes Yes N/A
Hawthorn No N/A Yes No No Yes Yes
Melbourne Yes Yes N/A
North Melbourne Yes No Yes Yes N/A
Port Adelaide No N/A Yes No No Yes Yes
Richmond No N/A Yes No Yes N/A
St Kilda No N/A Yes No Yes N/A
Sydney No N/A Yes No No Yes Yes
West Coast No N/A Yes No Yes N/A
Western Bulldogs Yes Yes N/A

Clubs[]

Australia Melbourne Inner Locator.PNG

West Coast
Fremantle
Adelaide
Brisbane Lions
Gold Coast
Greater Western Sydney
Western Bulldogs
Geelong
North Melbourne
Carlton
Collingwood
Melbourne
Richmond
St Kilda


The competition's fourteen teams are based across five states of Australia. Eight are based in Victoria (seven in the Melbourne metropolitan area), Queensland and Western Australia have two teams each and New South Wales and South Australia have one team each. Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory and Tasmania are the only states or territories not to have AFL Women's teams, however North Melbourne has a formalised partnership with Tasmania, which enables the club to draft players from and play home games there.

Current clubs[]

Club Colours Moniker State Home venue Exhibition
games
Est. Seasons Premierships
First Total Total Most recent
Adelaide Adelaide AFLW icon.png Crows South Australia Norwood Oval 2016 2017+ 6 2 2019
Brisbane BrisbaneAFL.svg Lions Queensland Maroochydore Multi Sports Complex 2016 2016 2017+ 6 1 2021
Carlton Carlton AFLW icon.png Blues Victoria Princes Park 2016 2017+ 6 0
Collingwood Collingwood icon.svg Magpies Victoria Victoria Park 2016 2017+ 6 0
Fremantle Fremantle AFLW icon.png Dockers Western Australia Fremantle Oval 2016 2016 2017+ 6 0
Geelong AFL Geelong Icon.jpg Cats Victoria Kardinia Park 2018 2019 4 0
Gold Coast AFL Gold Coast Icon.jpg Suns Queensland Carrara Stadium 2016 2019 2020 3 0
Greater Western Sydney Greater Western Sydney AFLW icon.png Giants New South Wales Henson Park 2016 2016 2017+ 6 0
Melbourne Melbourne AFLW icon.png Demons Victoria Casey Fields 2013 2013* 2017+ 6 0
North Melbourne AFL North Melbourne Icon.jpg Kangaroos Victoria & Tasmania^ Arden Street Oval 2018 2019 4 0
Richmond AFL Richmond Icon.jpg Tigers Victoria Punt Road Oval 2019 2020 3 0
St Kilda AFL St Kilda Icon.jpg Saints Victoria Moorabbin Oval 2019 2020 3 0
West Coast West Coast Eagles 2018 colours.png Eagles Western Australia Lathlain Park 2016 2019 2020 3 0
Western Bulldogs Western Bulldogs AFLW icon.png Bulldogs Victoria Whitten Oval 2013 2013* 2017+ 6 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

Future clubs[]

Club Colours Moniker State Exhibition
games
Joining
league
Essendon EssendonDesign.svg Bombers Victoria 2023
Hawthorn AFL Hawthorn Icon.jpg Hawks Victoria 2023
Port Adelaide AFL Port Adelaide Icon.jpg Power South Australia 2023
Sydney AFL Sydney Icon.jpg Swans New South Wales 2016 2023

Venues[]

Below are the venues that were going to be used during the 2021 AFL Women's season before the fixture changed due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Venue City Host club(s) Capacity Games
Arden Street Oval Melbourne North Melbourne 5,000 2
Blacktown ISP Oval Sydney Greater Western Sydney 10,000 3
Carrara Stadium Gold Coast, Queensland Gold Coast 25,000 4
Casey Fields Melbourne Melbourne 12,000 4
Fremantle Oval Perth, Western Australia Fremantle 17,500 4
The Gabba Brisbane, Queensland Brisbane 42,000 1
Hickey Park Brisbane, Queensland Brisbane 5,000 4
Kardinia Park Geelong, Victoria Geelong 36,000 4
Lathlain Park Perth, Western Australia West Coast 15,000 5
Manuka Oval Canberra, Australian Capital Territory Greater Western Sydney 16,000 1
Moorabbin Oval Melbourne St Kilda 10,000 4
North Hobart Oval Hobart, Tasmania North Melbourne 18,000 1
Norwood Oval Adelaide, South Australia Adelaide 22,000 5
Princes Park Melbourne Carlton 24,568 5
Punt Road Oval Melbourne Richmond 5,000 4
Ray Mitchell Oval Mackay, Queensland Gold Coast 10,000 1
Sydney Showground Stadium Sydney Greater Western Sydney 24,000 1
Victoria Park Melbourne Collingwood 15,000 4
Whitten Oval Melbourne Western Bulldogs 12,000 4
York Park Launceston, Tasmania North Melbourne 21,000 1

Players[]

Melbourne's Elise O'Dea evades 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 are 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.[32][33][34] 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.[35] The balance of list spots was filled with free-agent signings in the week following the draft. In total clubs have a 27 active listed players in addition to injury replacements signed to take the spot of long-term injury affected players.

Salary[]

The current collective bargaining agreement, in place until the end of the 2022 season, has total player payments per club of $576,240 in 2020 and $717,122 in 2022.[36] Players are split into four tiers.

Tier[36] 2020 2021 2022
1 $29,856 $32,077 $37,155
2 $23,059 $24,775 $28,697
3 $19,661 $21,124 $24,468
4 $16,623 $17,473 $20,239

Rules[]

The rules are mostly the same as men's AFL, with a few exceptions. For 2019, the main differences were: the women used a slightly smaller ball; played shorter quarters (15 minutes instead of 20); had 16 on the field at a time (instead of 18); 5 interchange players, and no limit on the number of player rotations (instead of 4 interchange players, and 90 total rotations).[37]

Other differences for 2019 were throw-ins were 10 metres in from the boundary; and a "last touch" out-of-bounds rule applies, except within the 50-metre arcs. During 2018, the "last touch" rule applied everywhere.[38]

Season structure[]

Pre-season[]

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[]

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.[39][40] 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.[40]

The use of conferences was retained in 2020, along with the inclusion of four additional teams. The fourteen 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 nine 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.[29]

Awards[]

The following major individual awards and accolades are presented each season:[41]

  • 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 22 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

Media coverage[]

Television[]

In its inaugural 2017 season, all matches were televised live by affiliate partners the Seven Network and Fox Footy.[42] 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.[43] The two television networks covered the costs of broadcasting these matches, with no licensing fee payable to the league in exchange.[44]

Online[]

The official internet/mobile broadcast partner of the AFL is BigPond, part of Telstra. The company hosts the league website as well as 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.[44]

Outside Australia, the inaugural season is available on Watch AFL.[45]

Corporate relations[]

Sponsorship[]

The National Australia Bank is the league's inaugural and (as of 2019) current naming rights partner.[46]

All playing and training equipment as well as all licensed apparel and hats for the league's clubs are manufactured by Cotton On.[47]

Other 2017 league sponsors included Wolf Blass, Chemist Warehouse and Kellogg's.[48][49][50]

The official ball supplier is Sherrin.[51]

Merchandising[]

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

Women's exhibition games (2013–2016)[]

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
  • Melbourne received the Hampson-Hardeman Cup. Named after women football pioneers Barb Hampson and Lisa Hardeman, who developed the first women's championships in 1998.[52]


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
  • Melbourne retained the Hampson-Hardeman Cup.


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
  • Melbourne retained the Hampson-Hardeman Cup.
  • Both matches were aired live on the Seven Network, as part of their AFL coverage.


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.
  • 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 rating match broadcast in Melbourne during the 2016 home and away season.[53]

Premiers and awards[]

Premiers[]

Club Years in

competition

Premierships Runners up Premiership

Years

Runner up

Years

Adelaide 2017–present 2 1 2017, 2019 2021
Brisbane Lions 2017–present 1 2 2021 2017, 2018
Western Bulldogs 2017–present 1 0 2018
Carlton 2017–present 0 1 2019
Melbourne 2017–present 0 0
Collingwood 2017–present 0 0
Fremantle 2017–present 0 0
Greater Western

Sydney

2017–present 0 0
North Melbourne 2019–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

Best and fairest[]

The best and fairest award determined in the same way as the Brownlow Medal for men, with umpires award 3, 2, and 1 votes to the best three players in each game, and suspended players ineligible.

Year Player Club
2017 Erin Phillips Adelaide
2018 Emma Kearney Western Bulldogs
2019 Erin Phillips[54] Adelaide
2020 Madison Prespakis[55] Carlton
2021 Brianna Davey
Kiara Bowers[56]
Collingwood
Fremantle

MVP (Most Valuable Player)[]

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

Year Player Club
2017 Erin Phillips Adelaide
2018 Courtney Gum GWS Giants
2019 Erin Phillips Adelaide
2020 Jasmine Garner North Melbourne
2021 Brianna Davey Collingwood

Leading goalkicker[]

Year 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

See also[]

References[]

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  2. ^ Cheryl Critchley; Michael Warner (22 March 2010). "Sam Newman weighs into debate on female footy". Herald Sun. Melbourne, VIC. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  3. ^ "Daisy 'ready to go again' – AFL.com.au". afl.com.au. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  4. ^ Twomey, Callum (16 May 2013). "Pearce the first pick in AFL's inaugural women's draft". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Archived from the original on 12 January 2018. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  5. ^ Ward, Roy (17 August 2015). "More watched women's footy on TV than Bombers' demise". The Age. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  6. ^ Gorr, Libbi; Goswell, Gus (18 February 2016). "AFL promises 2017 women's competition as eager starters call for more details". Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  7. ^ O'Halloran, Kate (29 June 2013). "Women kicking on in all fields". The Age. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  8. ^ "AFL announces 10-match national women's exhibition series to be played in 2016". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 20 February 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  9. ^ "AFL women's teams announced – AFL.com.au". afl.com.au. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  10. ^ Matthews, Bruce (29 April 2016). "Decision time as 13 clubs want women's team". Australian Football League.
  11. ^ Women's league bidding heating up, with teams scrambling for licenses
  12. ^ Matthews, Bruce (15 June 2016). "Eight teams named for inaugural women's league". Australian Football League. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  13. ^ "AFL announces name for inaugural women's competition". Australian Football League. 15 September 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  14. ^ a b "Logo revealed for new AFL Women's competition". Australian Football League. 19 September 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  15. ^ Gaskin, Lee (10 October 2016). "NAB signs on as AFL Women's League naming-rights sponsor". Australian Football League. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  16. ^ "First Friday in February". AFLW audio collection. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  17. ^ "Pies-Blues AFLW opener moved to Ikon Park – AFL.com.au". afl.com.au. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  18. ^ "Maiden AFL Women's match thrills packed house in Melbourne". ABC News. 3 February 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  19. ^ a b "TV ratings bonanza for AFLW opener – AFL.com.au". afl.com.au. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  20. ^ O'Halloran, Kate (25 March 2017). "AFLW grand final: Adelaide Crows beat Brisbane Lions – as it happened". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  21. ^ Phelan, Jennifer (9 May 2017). "AFL Women's set for expansion in 2019". Australian Football League.
  22. ^ a b "Eight clubs submit bids for AFLW in 2019". afl.com.au. Australian Football League. 16 June 2017.
  23. ^ McGowan, Marc (16 June 2017). "Roos and Tasmania combine for AFLW bid". afl.com.au. Australian Football League.
  24. ^ "North's AFLW proposal". nmfc.com.au. North Melbourne Football Club. 16 June 2017.
  25. ^ "Can you believe it? Less than 48 hours until AFLW makes its next little piece of history! Get set for new teams in 2019!!!". Instagram. Australian Football League. Archived from the original on 26 December 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  26. ^ Schmook, Nathan (29 August 2017). "Decision on AFLW expansion delayed". Australian Football League.
  27. ^ a b "North and Geelong win AFLW expansion race". Australian Football League. 27 September 2017.
  28. ^ a b "AFLW: Tasmania-North Melbourne and Geelong win licenses to field teams in 2019". ABC News. 27 September 2017.
  29. ^ a b "AFLW 2021 season: Conferences out, $10 tickets, start date revealed". womens.afl. 10 December 2020.
  30. ^ Canil, Jourdan (22 March 2020). "No premiership in 2020: AFLW season ends immediately". womens.afl. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  31. ^ Black, Sarah (12 August 2021). "'Changing forever and for the better': Final four clubs complete AFLW". womens.afl. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  32. ^ Bruce Matthews (21 March 2016). "Women to kick-off 2017 with two-month season". Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  33. ^ Grant Baker; Eliza Sewell (15 June 2016). "AFL National Women's League: Marquee system aims to spread the talent across eight licensed clubs". Herald Sun. Melbourne, VIC. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  34. ^ Matthews, Bruce (20 August 2016). "Meg Hutchins joins Pies under new women's priority pick rules". Australian Football League. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  35. ^ "Women's draft nominations open". Melbourne Football Club. 5 September 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  36. ^ a b "Landslide yes vote ensures 2020 AFLW season will go ahead". AFL Women's. 28 October 2019.
  37. ^ New Rules for 2019, AFL, 7 November 2018
  38. ^ AFLW Insight: New season, new rules, AFL, 6 February 2019
  39. ^ "AFLW introduces US-style conferences but teams still won't play every other team". ABC News. 7 September 2018.
  40. ^ a b "AFLW 2019: How the conference system works". AFL.com.au. 7 September 2018.
  41. ^ Guthrie, Ben (1 February 2017). "AFLW awards revealed ... but titles on hold". AFL Media. Bigpond. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  42. ^ Australian Associated Press (9 December 2016). "Every AFL Women's game to be televised as 2017 fixtures are released". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  43. ^ Wright, Patrick (9 December 2016). "AFL women's competition: Fixture released, all games to be broadcast on TV". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  44. ^ a b Schmook, Nathan (8 December 2016). "First AFLW Grand Final to be held during round one". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  45. ^ "Aussie Rules TV Schedules for 2017 for USA, Canada, and Mexico". www.afana.com. Australian Football Association of North America. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  46. ^ Gaskin, Lee (10 October 2016). "NAB signs on as AFL Women's League naming-rights sponsor". AFL Media. Bigpond. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  47. ^ Navaratnam, Dinny (10 November 2016). "New uniforms unveiled for AFL Women's comp". AFL Media. Bigpond. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  48. ^ Connolly, Eoin (11 January 2017). "Wednesday's Daily Deal Round-Up: Boxing and much more". SportsPro. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  49. ^ "Wolf Blass to sponsor AFL Women's League". Mumbrella. 2 February 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  50. ^ Faloyin, Dipo (31 January 2017). "Kellogg's to sponsor inaugural AFL Women's League". SportsPro. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  51. ^ https://www.sherrin.com.au/
  52. ^ First bounce for women's footy at the MCG
  53. ^ Di Giorgio, Giulio (4 September 2016). "Women's All-Stars game a ratings smash". Australian Football League. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  54. ^ Erin Phillips wins AFLW best and fairest for second time after Adelaide Crows premiership win, ABC, 2 April 2019
  55. ^ Indigenous player Madison Prespakis named AFLW's best player, NITV, 29 April 2020
  56. ^ [1], Womens.afl, 25 April 2021

External links[]

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