AFLW at the crossroads: League set for reckoning on major issues like fixture, resources, low scoring

Snore fests. Low scores. A big gulf between the best and worst sides. The AFLW is at a crossroads unlike any other in its history, and ELIZA REILLY unpacks the major forks in the road.

When former AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan boldly announced that the start date of the AFLW would be brought forward three years back in June 2016, he declared that “our game will never be the same.”

The AFL had the keys to the next big thing in Australian sport – all it had to do was turn the lock.

Eight years and nine seasons later, we risk being shut out for good.

The optimism and momentum on which the AFLW was founded has worn thin and been replaced by a coat of fear, furore, and uncertainty.

Friday night’s dour clash between the Western Bulldogs and Essendon ignited a mainstream conversation. But what we do with the AFLW has been a long-running theme among players, staff, and fans who are desperate for more.

Bulldogs coach Tamara Hyett speaks to her players during their clash with Essendon. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

In this special investigation, Code Sports has spoken to three highly-regarded former coaches with 138 games experience at the helm between them to ascertain the health of the AFLW.

Nathan Burke (Western Bulldogs), Daniel Harford (Carlton) and Trent Cooper (Fremantle) have all weighed in on the biggest issues facing the competition and what the AFLW needs to do to stay relevant.

‘SHOULD BE BETTER’: THE PRESENT

Seven weeks and eight games into 2024, we’ve seen the best and the worst of the AFLW.

There was Hawthorn’s frenzied win over Geelong in round 5, a game that was arguably the best spectacle in AFLW history. Then we had Friday’s snooze fest with two of the three goals kicked coming from 50m penalties.

“The competition hasn’t moved forward this year I don’t believe,” Harford said. “It might’ve stagnated. It might’ve regressed a little bit. But it hasn’t gone forward which is disappointing considering the investment of clubs and players.

“The fundamentals still aren’t good enough. Nine seasons in, I think that should be better.”

Burke and Cooper believe that the standard of the AFLW is tracking in the right direction but the gap between the best and worst teams is widening.

Former Blues coach Daniel Harford. Picture: Jonathan DiMaggio/Getty Images.

“The good teams used to win but they didn’t dominate like they are now,” Burke said.

The biggest factor is the continued strength of the AFLW’s ‘big three.’ Hawthorn has been the big mover this season, with all three coaches acknowledging the club’s rapid rise. But experts believe that only North Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide can win the premiership this season.

“It’s not healthy for the competition to have three teams dominating the top four,” Harford said. “The genie is out of the bottle. We’re not going back to 12 or 14 teams.”

Added Cooper: “I think most sides are 3-4 years away from genuinely challenging them. Those sides aren’t hanging on with an ageing list. They’re replenishing.”

Burke said that the AFLW’s current tiered payment system is part of the problem.

“There are maybe six players who can dedicate their lives to football,” he said. “The majority on $40,000 can’t.

“It increases the gulf between the better players and the lesser lights. How can they catch up when they also have to earn a living? We need to get rid of tiers and give each team a salary cap to be spread how they see fit.”

WHEN, WHERE, AND FOR HOW LONG?

Summer or winter? Suburban venues or stadiums? And how quickly can we get to 17 games?

Where the AFLW sits within the calendar year is a Pandora’s box with attendance down by more than 60 per cent in the last five years.

“Every other sport in Australia avoids AFL finals time,” Burke said. “We chuck the AFLW right in the middle.

“Then to make matters even worse, AFLW coverage is diluted by trade week. So six of the 10 weeks are saturated by the AFL’s own products. To me, it’s ridiculous.”

Burke believes the season should start during the AFL mid-season bye rounds. Cooper would like to see it return to the summer months. Harford wants the AFLW grand final to be played during the AFL pre-finals bye or preliminary final weekend.

Former Bulldogs coach Nathan Burke speaking to his charges in 2023. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

Overlapping seasons will pave the way for more double-headers and access to AFL venues.

“Marvel should hold a footy festival every Saturday with three games back-to-back,” Burke said “That leaves six games to be played at suburban grounds.

“We play at too many grounds at too many different times. I love it and I still can’t keep up with it. How does the casual fan cope?”

There’s already a direct link between suburban venues and the standard of football.

“They’re all windswept,” Harford said. “How can you expect to have quality ball movement in conditions that are less than desirable for men’s VFL footy, let alone women’s?”

All three coaches agree a 17-game home-and-away season is non-negotiable.

“Sides make finals because of soft draws and others miss finals because of tough draws,” Cooper said. “It’s crucial for the integrity of the competition.”

‘LOST FAITH’: AN IMAGE PROBLEM

Matilda Scholz, Ella Roberts, Zarlie Goldsworthy – the AFLW’s next generation is a goldmine of football and marketing potential.

But Burke doesn’t believe the league is doing enough to promote the game.

“Is there marketing?” he said. “They made a big thing last year of the $1 million spent on the new marketing campaign ‘We The W.’

“My perspective was ‘Well, what does that mean?’ They changed the official colour of the competition to charged coral and that was going to be a breakthrough.

“We had the women’s World Cup in Australia right before our season started which Channel 7 broadcast but the AFL said ‘No we don’t want to compete with that. We’re going to avoid it.’

“We had more eyes watching women’s sport in Australia than ever before. I remember watching The Ashes and seeing NRLW ads. Ever since then, I’ve lost some faith in the AFLW marketing department.”

New general manager of women’s football Emma Moore is said to be a good operator but she’s been largely unsighted since the season got underway. All three coaches are adamant that the AFL needs to come up with a clear path forward.

“What is the elite competition supposed to look like next year in 2025 and up to 2030?” Harford said. “They’re constantly making decisions on the run and that’s not good for the competition.”

Former Fremantle coach Trent Cooper speaking in 2021. Picture: Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images/

But the plan needs to be flexible.

“We’d all like a vision that we can stick to for the next 10 years but in saying that, if they’re not confident in it, they might need to keep trying and experimenting until they are,” Cooper said. “There’s no point locking in a plan if it could end up the wrong one.”

Coaches were underwhelmed by the 2030 Women’s Football Vision a wide-ranging manifesto released three years ago that focused largely on grassroots. It’s hoped that at least 50 per cent of senior coaching roles will be held by women and that AFLW players will be the best-paid sportswomen in Australia.

“I was so excited when they said they had this plan,” Burke said. “But they prefaced it by saying something like ‘I know you want to know what the future of AFLW is but this is not about AFLW. This is about women’s football. So don’t ask me questions about AFLW.’

“It was the meeting we were all hanging out for and before it even started, they burst our bubble.”

Originally published as AFLW at the crossroads: League set for reckoning on major issues like fixture, resources, low scoring