The AFL has struck a $2.2 billion pay deal with players which includes plans for a mid-season trade period, longer contracts for first-round draftees and massive wage rises for women footballers.
In the first joint collective bargaining agreement covering both female and males, the average wage of AFLW players will rise to $82,000 by the end of 2027, up from the current $46,000, while their season will be expanded.
By the end of the agreement in 2027, the average AFL men’s salary will be $519,000 from $387,000 last year.
Men’s draftees selected inside the top 20 will now sign a three-year contract, up from two seasons.
The AFL also plan to continue discussions about a men’s mid-season draft after announcing the CBA alongside the AFL Players Association on Thursday.
“There’s still detail to work out around it, but I think it’s something that the game could benefit from,” Geelong captain and AFLPA president Patrick Dangerfield said.
“There’s players that could certainly benefit from it.
“And depending on the situation that each team is in I think there’s benefits for both teams that lose players and teams that gain players.”
After months of haggling, the CBA was hailed by both parties as a win for the sport.
Increasing the contract length of early draftees should help clubs keep hold of their top talent selected from interstate.
The pay on offer in the third year of the contract would be performance-based.
“Someone like Nick (Daicos) who’s obviously had an incredible first couple of years in the system, his payment will scale up based on his performance, the games played, the awards won, all that sort of stuff,” AFLPA chief executive Paul Marsh said.
“So that’s quite an important part of this. It’s not restraining them to a base level, it’s rewarding performance.”
The AFLW season will expand to 12 regular-season rounds by 2025, and potentially 14 during the deal, based on achievement of key audience metrics (average attendance of 6,000 fans, average broadcast viewers of 100,000).
The AFL past players’ injury and hardship fund will receive $60 million until the end of the agreement compared to $20m in the last deal.
The CBA also forecasts more five-day breaks between men’s games to provide fixturing flexibility and more Thursday night games.
“The new CBA provides certainty to the players for both competitions,” AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan said in a statement.
“Our AFLW players receive another immediate boost after an historic 94 per cent increase last season.
“And the opportunity is ahead of the competition to continue to grow in length if we can reach some key support metrics that have been achieved before.”
(AAP)
The AFL have abandoned last year’s much-maligned move of the grand final parade to the Yarra River, with the 2023 event to return to its traditional format – with an extra twist.
The upcoming parade will begin at Melbourne Park before making its way to the MCG via the Yarra Park precinct, following the river on land rather than by boat.
Last year’s parade, the first to feature the waterfront event, was widely criticised for keeping the players too far from attendees, forcing the league to scrap it moving forward. The AFL is anticipating an extra 10-15,000 fans will be able to experience the 2023 parade.
“The boats had some great elements, but ultimately, we wanted to bring the fans and players closer together,” league commercial head Kylie Rogers said in a statement to AFL Media.
“Our goal is to deliver a better viewing and overall event experience for fans, families, and passers-by who are out and about enjoying the Grand Final public holiday.”
The parade will begin at 10:30am (AEST) on Victoria’s grand final public holiday on Friday, the day before the grand final, and will be broadcast on Fox Footy.
Former Hawthorn great Jordan Lewis had a blunt, three-word answer when asked whether his ‘unsociable Hawks’ would have physically targeted Carlton’s injured players in a cutthroat final.
“Absolutely we would!”
Speaking on AFL 360, the four-time premiership Hawk issued a warning to the Blues, and in particular injured star Sam Docherty, who dislocated his shoulder in their semi final win over Melbourne, that they should expect no mercy from Brisbane.
“Sometimes you have information that you know players are vulnerable. They’ve [Brisbane] got information that there’s Carlton players that are hurt,” Lewis said.
“Absolutely we would [target injured players]… and so would Geelong in those days.
“I’ve got vivid memories of Hodgey [Luke Hodge] having sore ribs and I think it was Cam [Mathew] Stokes going up and giving it to Hodgey in the ribs!”
“That’s probably frowned upon in this day and age – but there’s absolutely ways you can target players fairly and squarely to make sure if they do have an injury coming into the game, which we know they’ve got, they might not participate at their best.”
Docherty isn’t the only Blue carrying an injury into their semi final, with Blake Acres having nursed a damaged collarbone throughout the finals series and several players copping heavy knocks in their wins over Sydney and Melbourne thus far in September.
2018 premiership West Coast defender Will Schofield went even further than Lewis, saying the Lions ‘should be targeting’ Docherty’s injured shoulder.
“That shoulder will be sore, heavily strapped and he’ll [Docherty] have some assistance to be out there on the weekend,” Schofield said on Fox Footy.
“I think he’s fair game – I think Brisbane should be targeting it. Nothing untoward, but if you’re putting him a tackle, you’re going to be putting him on that shoulder, aren’t you?
“I think Sam would agree… once you’re out there, you’re fair game. He wouldn’t want any special treatment from Brisbane.
“If Brisbane are serious, Sam Docherty – one of the best players – you’d be targeting him. He’s not going to be 100 per cent.”
The Blues are expected to welcome back forward pair Harry McKay (concussion) and Jack Martin (suspension) for their trip to the Gabba.
McKay is all but certain to be recalled despite controversial media pundit and former great Kane Cornes urging the Blues leave the key forward out, with club assistant coach Ashley Hansen saying he is ‘flabbergasted’ by Cornes’ suggestion the team is better without him.
“This is a really easy question – we’re a better team with him in it,” Hansen said.
“Sometimes it’s intangible what players can do for your group… I think guys walk taller when Harry’s out there.
“It reduces Charlie’s [Curnow] workload which allows him to be more energetic and dynamic in other contests because he’s not having to get to everything.
“Harry is super important for us – I think in the last game he played [the Blues’ elimination final against the Swans] he was the leading score involvement player on the ground before he went off.”
Speaking on Nine’s Footy Classified on Monday, Cornes claimed he ‘can’t trust’ McKay in a final, pointing to a pair of poor misses from close range against the Swans in week 1 of the finals as proof.
“I think they’re a better team without him, just to be brutally honest,” Cornes said.
“I think his issues can infiltrate the psyche of the group – if he’s missing goals in the first quarter from 10m out directly in front I think it’s an issue for them, and I think they’re playing pretty well without him.”
Harry McKay. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Craig McRae has never heard anything like it since 2017, but that could be about to change.
The Collingwood coach – previously an assistant at Richmond – vividly recalls the sound of Tigers fans in a 94,000-strong crowd making their presence felt during the famous 2017 preliminary final.
On the receiving end in the MCG cauldron that day were GWS and a smattering of orange-clad supporters, in what remains the benchmark for one-sided AFL crowds.
Now McRae is calling on the Magpies’ army of barrackers to replicate that intimidating atmosphere to help lift his side over the line when they face the Giants in Friday night’s preliminary final.
“It’s a huge advantage … the roar of the crowd when Richmond kicked their first goal was significant,” McRae said.
“I’ve never heard anything like it and that is an advantage. You have to play against that.
“You can say you just play the ball but we have an advantage and we want to bring our fans along for the journey, and I’m sure they’ll be nice and loud on Friday night.”
The Magpies have played 15 games at the MCG this season, drawing an average crowd of almost 75,000.
More than 90,000 fans are expected to attend Friday night’s sold-out blockbuster and the effect of the Collingwood fans’ vocal support has not been lost on McRae.
“The roar of the crowd when we kick a goal and when we do something well, we get inspired by that,” he said.
McRae turns 50 on Friday and will coach his 50th game in the preliminary final, going head-to-head with another former Richmond assistant – GWS coach Adam Kingsley.
Like McRae, Kingsley has steered his club into a preliminary final in his first season in charge.
“Kingers and I are very similar, he just does a lot more weights on his arms. He spends so much time in the gym,” McRae laughed.
“He’s a great fella and I’m really, really happy for him.
“I’m not surprised by his success. It’s always followed him on his journey.
“I wish him well, just not this week.”
Collingwood are expected to make just one change to their side to face GWS.
Fit-again Nick Daicos is back from a knee injury in place of fellow midfielder Taylor Adams (hamstring).
The Giants could go in unchanged after an impressive 23-point win over Port Adelaide in their semi-final last week.
(AAP)
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