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Saturday’s enthralling grand final was the perfect ending to a wonderful inaugural season of the AFLW competition.
It has been a resounding success, from the very first match, when thousands of eager fans found themselves locked out of Ikon Park, to the grand final itself, which delivered an absorbing contest and exemplified the athleticism and raw emotion we have come to expect.
Having exceeded the AFL’s expectations, the foundation has been set for the competition to continue to grow.
The end of the season presents the AFL powers that be with the opportunity to take stock of the competition and look at areas for improvement.
For as exciting as it was, several things need to be looked at to ensure the competition continues to develop.
One important factor is scheduling – both of individual games and the season as a whole.
Taking the latter first, the fact that the AFLW grand final was scheduled for the same weekend as the start of the AFL men’s competition was disappointing, and diminished the significance of the occasion.
Next year, the AFLW should be scheduled to finish before the men start, to give the competition the fresh air it deserves.
The fact the grand final was played as a veritable curtain-raiser to the Gold Coast versus Brisbane game later in the evening was indicative of a problem that has plagued the competition since Round 3, when the ALFW matches competed with the men’s pre-season competition.
In the first two rounds, AFLW matches were scheduled in prime time – in the afternoons or evenings – and received huge patronage and media coverage as a result.
Come the beginning of the JLT series, however, and the women’s matches were shunted to less-than-desirable time slots, many played early morning and as curtain raisers to men’s matches.
Whether intentional or not, this had the effect of positioning the women’s competition as inferior to the men’s, despite the fact the women were playing for premiership points while the men were not.
Next season, AFLW matches should be scheduled as prime-time games, and not made to fit around the vagaries of the JLT fixture.
Free entry is another issue that needs to be looked at. I understand the rationale behind the idea – more fans will come to the games if they are free – and that the AFL was concerned about the competition’s popularity.
However, the resounding success should put paid to the idea that AFLW matches will fail to attract crowds.
Asking fans to pay for entry to meaningless JLT games while AFLW matches remain free again serves to lower the standing of the women’s competition.
With its popularity now evident, the AFL can be confident in the knowledge that attendance will continue to grow, and that asking fans to pay for entry serves to legitimise the competition in the eyes of the public.
AFLW list sizes also became a problem as the rounds wore on, with mounting injuries taking their toll – several teams needed to ask the AFL for permission to top-up their list with players not originally drafted.
Increasing list sizes would provide teams with flexibility to cover for injuries, while also providing more players with an opportunity to play at a professional level.
Finally, and probably the most pressing issue, is the state of the pay deal. If the competition is to become truly professional, all AFLW players need to be fairly compensated for their efforts.
Higher pay would signify not just that the AFL values the contribution of every player, but also recognise the sacrifices many women have to make to play in the competition – taking time out from their full-time roles, moving states at short notice, without all the financial and moral support provided to male AFL players, and so on.
The AFL has said as the AFLW develops and continues to grow, so will the women’s pay packets.
With Cricket Australia recently offering up an attractive pay deal for female players – one which would see the average international cricketer paid $179,000 a season – the heat is on the AFL to make AFLW a financially attractive competition to continue to attract the best talent.
The competition has so much potential. With these issues rectified, I for one am eager to see what these women can create.
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