Adelaide Crows coach Bec Goddard believes the AFLW should remain the same size and not expand

ADELAIDE premiership coach Bec Goddard has urged the AFL to wait for a season before introducing more teams into the national women’s football competition.

Chelsea Randall, Bec Goddard and Erin Phillips celebrate the inaugural AFLW premiership. Picture: Michael Willson/Getty Images

PREMIERSHIP coach Bec Goddard has implored the AFL to keep the national women’s league to eight teams so that the competition isn’t weakened.

Goddard warned against stretching player numbers to allow the league to improve on the spectacle and success of the first season.

The AFL is understood to be debating the shape of the AFLW next season as some of the bigger AFL clubs are pushing for their own women’s teams, but both Goddard and advisory board member Jane Woodlands-Thompson told the Adelaide Press Club yesterday that it would be wise to keep the number of competing clubs the same in 2018.

“We shouldn’t be expanding,” Goddard said. “I think season two has to bed down the talent.

Adelaide Crows AFLW premiership coach Bec Goddard. Picture: Alex Coppel

“There’s no doubt there’s are some great players that didn’t get to play season one but desperately want to play season two. But I think there’s a real risk if you do that (expand) you give the really small minority of haters (a reason to) complain about the quality of the competition.

“That you give them some food to really go to town on.

“Season two I’d like to see the quality just keep getting better: girls getting faster, stronger, being able to adapt to the heat the way they did this year. Then come season three introduce some new teams.”

Woodlands-Thompson, who was part of setting up the premiership-winning Crows side alongside then-football manager David Noble, was of a similar mind.