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Tasmania are the big winners of the AFL Women’s expansion for the 2019 season, with the state entering into a joint bid with the North Melbourne Kangaroos to hold a license for the competition after the AFL Commission reached a decision earlier this week.
While the joint agreement is likely to mean the Tasmanian side will only get to play half their games in the Apple Isle, it’s a big step forward for a state who have been crying out for a team to call their own.
The competition will only expand from eight to ten teams in 2019, with the AFL taking the decision not to rush things and dilute the player and talent pool.
The joint Tasmania-North Melbourne venture will be joined by the Geelong Cats as the other expansion side for the 2019 season.
Gillon McLachlan with Simone Wilkie announces that North Melbourne and Geelong will join the NAB AFL Women's competition in 2019. #AFLW pic.twitter.com/89GvuCTrV5
— AFL Women's (@aflwomens) September 27, 2017
At a press conference on Wednesday morning, AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan also announced four more teams would be added in 2020, taking the competition to 14 teams. The three remaining teams with a provisional license – being the
West Coast Eagles, Richmond Tigers and St Kilda Saints – will be joined by the Gold Coast Suns at the turn of the decade.
The Tigers, Eagles and Saints were disappointed not to gain a license for the inaugural season, so having to wait an extra season after the initial expansion will be a bitter pill for the clubs to swallow.
They join the eight teams from the inaugural and upcoming 2018 seasons – the Adelaide Crows, Brisbane Lions, Carlton Blues, Collingwood Magpies, Fremantle Dockers, Greater Western Sydney Giants, Melbourne Demons and Western Bulldogs.
The Crows were the inaugural premiers, defeating the Lions in the final and the 2018 season – featuring the same eight teams – is set to get underway in early February with the draw expected in the next month.