Juggling football and work the biggest issue for AFLW players
AFLW players are concerned the ever-increasing demands of an expanding competition will put more strain on their personal lives and have urged the league to help relieve the pressure.
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Players are reaching a “tipping point” when it comes to balancing AFL Women’s and their personal workloads, according to a number of the game’s biggest figures.
AFLW captains were surveyed at Tuesday’s season launch with a majority identifying player welfare and juggling work, study and football as the biggest issue facing players as the competition prepares to kick off its fourth season this weekend.
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The 14 AFLW captains met with the entire AFL Commission and executive for the first time, given the opportunity to voice their experiences to the game’s top brass.
Melbourne captain Daisy Pearce — who will return to playing this weekend just 51 weeks after giving birth to twins Sylvie and Roy — said “balance” was a key issue for players.
“As the competition gets bigger and better, we’re kind of at a tipping point with having to put more and more time into it, but it’s not yet professional,” she told the Herald Sun.
“It’s in a really difficult place, because it is getting bigger and better but with that comes more demands and more expectation that you have to meet and feel the pressure of.
“It’s not quite at the point where you can fully tip into it yet — you’ve got to be thinking about your income and career off-field. I think that’s the hardest thing for most players.”
Players are contracted for 15 hours per week in the pre-season.
North Melbourne skipper Emma Kearney said balance remained a consistent theme for the game’s 420 players to deal with.
“It is really challenging because your mind is constantly on footy and you’re trying to switch off from it and focus on your full-time role,” she said.
“But then you’re also trying to do everything you possibly can to be the best athlete you can and making sure you’re doing all the right recovery and stuff but there’s not enough time in the day to actually do it, as well as doing something for yourself that’s not related to footy or your work.
“I’m probably OK because I’m used to it but the newer players, just trying to get the right balance is really tricky.”
The league said that the meeting between the commission and the captains had been a valuable exercise.
“The club captains are so invested and passionate about the AFLW competition and just as passionate about ensuring we continue to grow as a code,” an AFL spokesman said.
“The AFL commission and executive were able to hear directly from our playing group leaders and it was a really beneficial discussion about the on and off-field elements of the competition and how we continue to support the development of players and clubs.”
Carlton captain Katie Loynes — who works as a teacher — takes Fridays off as long service leave while Collingwood counterpart Steph Chiocci has put her teaching career on ice for term one to focus on her football.
“(It’s) getting up for training but also getting up for teaching,” Loynes said.
“I love my job — I love both jobs. At the moment, that’s the way it is … it’s lucky I love both of my careers.”
Nicole Livingstone — the AFL’s head of women’s football — backed new player development managers installed in clubs to help relieve the pressure.
“While the players are still juggling these demands of work and study, it’s important that we actually do recognise that they are on hours that are constructed to be able to allow them to still pursue work,” she said.
“But it’s important for us to continue to research and continue to look at things like toil from their day jobs, if they’re labourers or they’re on their feet, to make sure that clubs and we’re recording that as well so we can then individualise programs. Clubs are moving that way … so that from an injury point of view we try to protect the players a little bit.
“The best ability is availability for each and every one of our players.”
14 CLUBS LOCKED IN UNTIL 2023
Lauren Wood
The AFL says it is in no rush to expand its women’s competition.
Fourteen clubs will contest AFLW for the first time from this Friday – up from 10 last year – and while league women’s football boss Nicole Livingstone concedes there is significant interest from the four clubs without a women’s licence, the competition is “settled”.
Hawthorn, Essendon, Port Adelaide and Sydney will not have a women’s team until at least 2023 if the league decides to expand then, with the season set under a three-year collective bargaining agreement.
“I think it’s really important for us to have the opportunity to embed these four clubs,” Livingstone said at Tuesday season launch.
“What we found with going from eight to 10, there are some things that the clubs need to get used to and the players need to get used to. These are professional environments.
“Whilst I understand that more clubs do see the value in AFLW, right now we’re settled at 14 clubs and we want to make sure that we can get them away really well in 2020.”
She said that the remaining four clubs “do want to be involved with AFLW”, with Hawthorn and Essendon having pitched for teams ahead of the last expansion.
“For some of them, (their interest) has changed over time in seeing the league grow, which I think we take as a compliment,” Livingstone said.
“The other clubs are very keen to get involved with AFLW and we do continue that dialogue with them. But it’s important for us to get these 14 clubs thriving.”
Originally published as Juggling football and work the biggest issue for AFLW players