If you don’t like AFLW then don’t watch it and spare us the public criticism, writes Mark Robinson

AFLW has its teething problems but the saturation of abuse and condescension on social media is utterly unnecessary. Mark Robinson has some simple advice for the haters.

The 10 AFLW captains at the season launch this week. Picture: Ian Currie

AFLW03 starts on Saturday night so cue the outrage about poor skills, low scoring and media saturation.

Here’s some advice: If you don’t like it, don’t watch it.

Here’s more advice: If you do watch it and don’t like it, don’t saturate social media with abuse and condescension.

Because what exactly does it achieve?

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Be outraged elsewhere.

Take your pick of more important subjects, be it about Trump, toxic masculinity, the Murray-Darling Basin or power prices.

Because when all of AFLW03 is debated and dissected, it’s still just women playing football.

What’s wrong with that?

There are issues, we know that.

Collingwood’s Sharni Layton and Geelong’s Anna Teague at GMHBA Stadium ahead of the AFLW season opener. Picture: Alison Wynd

Talent depth, skill development hampered by the lack of pathways, nine-week window to play, low scoring, slightly different rules, eyeballs on TV monitors and millions of dollars tipped out and not so much tipped in.

Yet, those issues are being addressed. Just ask the AFL.

At the season launch on Wednesday morning, in 36C heat at an outdoor Port Melbourne venue, and where the captains were required to wear gimmicky denim jackets at the presentation, which was runway sort of stuff, the AFL’s Gillon McLachlan and Nicole Livingstone listed what the AFL had instituted for women’s footy.

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It was impressive backslapping, but as Denis Pagan used to say, “Son, if you’re good enough, they’ll be telling you, you don’t have to tell them”.

This was supposed to be the players and the teams, but smacked of a PR stunt.

It was acceptable at AFLW01, but kind of awkward at AFLW03.

What’s going on here? AFLW captains were made to wear denim jackets in searing heat at the AFLW season launch.

After all, the women just want to be treated like footballers.

And football — be it AFL, or AFLW or Ammos or country or in the backyard — is about confronting and beating challenges, or succumbing to them.

It’s about fun, the competing and camaraderie and the wholly satisfying 30 minutes from final siren to shower time.

But mainly it’s about people and relationships.

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It’s about people such as Haneen Zreika from GWS, the first Muslim woman who will play AFL.

Football means as much to her as anyone, male or female.

A video posted by the Giants on Thursday night of the moment coach Alan McConnell told her she was playing was terrific.

Haneen burst into tears at the news.

“Thanks Alan,’’ she said.

Haneen Zreika will make her AFLW debut for GWS on Sunday. Picture: Richard Dobson

“You don’t know what it means. I have no words to tell you (and) how much it means.’’

Do watch it.

There are heartening stories at every club, such as Carlton captain Brianna Davey returning from an ACL injury and being played forward, No.1 draft pick Isabel Huntington also returning from an ACL to play for the Bulldogs, there’s a Hickey at Geelong, Emma Kearney switching from the Bulldogs to North Melbourne and best of all, a host of a newbies such as Nina Morrison (Geelong), Madison Prespakis (Carlton) and, of course, Sharni Layton at Collingwood.

AFLW03 will see even more players who have played all their lives, meaning they have come through the pathways, and that number will increase year after year, to the point eventually where teams are compiled mainly of pathway players.

Clearly, AFLW03 will have better depth and more skilled players than AFLW01.

So, give it a chance.

If not, save the abuse and the ridicule for someone or something which deserves it.

Originally published as If you don’t like AFLW then don’t watch it and spare us the public criticism, writes Mark Robinson