The AFLW season is almost upon us, and with it comes the most stacked campaign of women’s footy we’ve ever seen.
We have four new teams, tons of new players and, for the first time ever, living wages (for some athletes).
But you, like many, might be a man sitting at home hoping to change the channel to find any other program to watch. Maybe you can even remember a time when you mumbled the phrase ‘women’s footy is not very good’.
Everyone is entitled to their opinions, and if that is truly your opinion, then let me try and change your mind and tell you why this is the season you should start tuning in each week.
We are into only the seventh season of professional women’s football. Some of the players who are going to be lining up on the weekend didn’t even know how to kick a football seven years ago; how could anyone expect them to be as good as men who have practised the nuances of AFL for their entire lives?
The average viewer of women’s football seems always to try and compare it with the men’s competition. But ever since they were little boys, AFL players have dreamed of making it to the big stage. To get there they had to be better than 99 per cent of all other little boys who also had that dream.
At every stage of growing up, men have programs and elite coaching sessions to help progress their skills. When I was playing under-nines football, I had to compete just to keep my spot in the firsts team. You would be hard pressed to find a club with a full squad of under-nines girls, let alone two under-nines teams competing for their chance to play in the higher grade.
A majority of the AFLW players are rocking up to their nine-to-five jobs on weekdays, slogging out a gruelling training session two nights a week and then going out and playing football on the weekends. How could we ever expect the competition to improve if most of the players spend their lives clocking shifts or sitting behind a desk? I have that same routine every week and my skills haven’t improved since 2014.
Erin Phillips of the Crows celebrates a goal during the 2022 AFLW Grand Final. (Photo by Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
The bar is set completely differently for women, and that’s okay. Hopefully, it won’t be too long until we do see the women’s game become as competitive just to make it to the big leagues. And that’s not to knock the players who are lining up for their clubs this weekend. The players we will see this weekend are the best of the best, elite athletes showcasing their craft on the biggest stage.
But this is why we, as males, must continue to support them. These women are our wives, our girlfriends, our mums, our sisters and our daughters. We should be helping in whatever ways we can to give them the best opportunities in life to achieve their dreams. And the simplest way to do that is to turn on the television, cheer for your club and purchase a membership. The average price of an adult AFLW membership is just under $40.
So now you’re watching a game and you’re wondering why the score isn’t as high as the men’s competition or why none of the players has kicked a bag of five goals in this match. Well, the cool thing about AFLW compared to the AFL is that it’s a completely different game. It’s the same sport, sure, but it’s a different game.
The strategies are different, the rules are different and the women play an entire quarter less of football than the men thanks to quarters running to 15 minutes rather than 20. Once you jump over the hurdle of, ‘Oh, this is a different game’, then you will really start to enjoy it. If you go and watch a chess match expecting it to be a bull riding competition, you’re going to be let down every time.
Watching 16 girls on either team work their tails off and pour their hearts into a match to try and come away with the four points is entertaining, even in a blowout, because the team that is losing by 40 points still has 21 girls on it who are thrilled to have an opportunity that their mothers and their mothers’ mothers never even thought would be possible.
You might have heard the Bill Burr stand-up routine where he challenges people to name five WNBA players, and his point is that nobody watches the WNBA, which is why their players can’t earn decent money. Fundamentally the same concept applies to the AFLW. If the competition doesn’t get enough eyeballs, if the AFLW doesn’t earn enough revenue, then we will never reach a point where the players can do this full time and improve to a level beyond our wildest imaginations.
So jump on the bandwagon now. Encourage your sons and daughters, nieces and nephews to watch every game like you used to when you were a boy. Encourage them to look up to their favourite superstar athletes and role models. Tell them they can become whatever they dream of and sit beside them and watch the games along with them.
Figure out who your own favourite players are, go along to an open training session or even buy a $10 ticket to attend a match. Cheer as loudly as you can and try and get a high-five or an autograph when your favourite player does a lap of the ground following a win. It costs almost nothing, and you’ll have an incredible afternoon. Maybe you’re a single guy like me – take somebody on a date and impress them with your knowledge of the teams.
The AFLW is one of the greatest sporting competitions in the world because it’s truly more than a game; it is an example of what equality can look like in society. It gives our young women a sense of belonging and a drive to be the best. It gives our young girls a dream to strive for. And it gives our men and non-binary friends a fun and entertaining sport to religiously sit down on the couch (or in the stands) and watch every single week.
peter cox
Guest
I honestly tried. I haven't watched since the early days when it was awful. After two games over the weekend I can only say it's still awful. Low scoring, total defense and a mess when the ball hits the deck. I keep thinking maybe a smaller ground but I'm over it.
Mattik
Roar Rookie
When you watch sports you expect to be entertained. Nothing about the AFLW is entertaining. I'm sorry, I have nothing against women playing footy, but it's just not entertaining. They lack the skill that is physically and biologically impossible for them to attain. Also, instead of asking the men to start watching, maybe ask the women to start watching too. It seems more men are up to watch a AFLW game than women, yet the media loves to blame the 'misogynistic' society of men. I'm already over-indulged in sports across the world, why would I waste more of my time on watching something that is the opposite of entertaining?
Downsey
Roar Pro
Wow, what’s happened to the quality of Roar threads?! I used to be able to come here for balanced conversations but it seems like the socials’ trolls have discovered new lands. Petulance abounds! I love watching the AFLW. I’m a Dockers’ inaugural member and find it very rewarding seeing for myself the growth in the girls’ footy skills, style and smarts. As a woman, I find their athleticism and game play so impressive, but then I’m not belligerently funnelling everything through an AFLM lens. Thanks for promoting the AFLW, Josh.
Downsey
Roar Pro
Your sexist nonsense isn’t going to work either. Way to reduce female athletes down to their adherence to antiquated gender expectations, and sexual preferences. But then, I guess I can’t expect much better from someone who gleefully throws around ‘white knighting’ like the greatest burn of all mankind.
Al
Guest
No, it's not. Also your white knighting isn't going to work, they don't seem to be into the blokes.
Naughty's Headband
Roar Rookie
"...people who treat womens sport as a political movement'. It's like someone turned a light on - that's what bothers me about the AFLW.
Naughty's Headband
Roar Rookie
Me too. And the netball.
Naughty's Headband
Roar Rookie
"If the competition doesn’t get enough eyeballs, if the AFLW doesn’t earn enough revenue, then we will never reach a point where the players can do this full time and improve to a level beyond our wildest imaginations." This will never happen. Women aren't physically capable of being that good - the best female footballer will never be better than a decent local male footballer; they don't have the strength or the stamina. Put it this way - AFLW games are 4 x 15 minutes (1 hour); local senior mens games a 4 x 25 minutes + time on (2 hours). So local footballers would be able to run out a game better than the elite women's footballers.
Downsey
Roar Pro
Well, gosh, it's automatically been a woman's role to support men regardless of their chances of sporting success for what seems like all of heckin' eternity, so how about you try to find it deep within your indignant heart to balance the ledger a bit... Men working their arses off and on the field to build the game also required a huge amount of financial investment in men's sport, so another reason that the ledger needs to be balanced AFLW way. More so, your premise completely disregards the contributions of women to the success of the men's game over the last 100 years too. "Real" equality would be men unconditionally supporting women to achieve their sporting dreams in return. Unless such a simple thing as returning the favour is too "woke" for you.
G money
Roar Rookie
This.. you've nailed it. It all seems to come so easily. And the media goes way over the top in gushing praise for standard acts. it's put people off
George Apps
Roar Rookie
Isn’t that a wee bit sexist? And the word is “they’re”.
Dentshop
Roar Rookie
Welcome to the internet kid.
Dentshop
Roar Rookie
The AFL was an awful standard this year. It really is tough to watch. The umpiring is infuriating, the rules a mess, the administration don't even. But oh yeah, that one game. 5 of the 9 games on the weekend were 10 goal blowouts. Dat one game tho...
Brendon the 1st
Roar Rookie
Got nothing against the girls playing footy, but the constant media hype around what is a fledgling comp is absurd. The pay they get is also absurd given their ticket prices. Fans want a genuine sporting comp, then they'll watch, they won't watch a second rate comp, as evidenced by Soccer in this country forever. Perhaps not pressuring men to do something they don't want to do is a better way of going about things? I get a bit sick of being the villain sometimes
Steven Harris
Terrific..couple months of training and I can pull on a Swans or West Coast jersey and play in front of television and a crowd pfft wonder why men are sceptical
Gerry
Guest
I should have added that even when the targets are hit by hand and foot the recipient often drops or mishandles the ball which also leads to stoppages as the tackling that results is one skill that is first-rate
Gerry
Guest
The final score in this year's AFLW grand final, on a perfectly fine day, between the two best teams was 4.5 to 2.4 - this is not due to the fact that the quarters in women's football is 5 minutes less than the men's game (why it is I'm not sure - same as why the boundary ropes in women's cricket is moved in so far) but seems to be due to the poor skill level. Missed targets by foot and hand lead to constant stoppages which hold up the play and the opportunities to score are reduced - not sure what the answer is above wait until the skill level improves as you predict it will - i do hope it continues to improve as it could be a brilliant 'product' but not in its present state and don't start me on the VFLW - 6.6 to 0.7 in their grand final on another brilliant day weather-wise,
Coastyboi
Guest
Target? In a car they could. Unless it’s reverse park.
Coastyboi
Guest
Mark, they’re all “winners”. Every child gets a prize.
Macca
Roar Rookie
I sometimes think that "and" should be an "or".