AFLW coaches told they are responsible for look of the game as well as winning

The AFL has told its women’s league coaches they have a responsibility to produce entertaining football in AFLW03 as club captains admit new rule changes could prove confusing.

Best friends and former teammates Emma Kearney and Ellie Blackburn are vying for one prize this season. Picture: AAP Image

THE AFL has told its women’s league coaches they have a responsibility to produce entertaining football in AFLW03 as captains admit rule changes in place could prove confusing.

Following a low-scoring and congested Round 1 of last season, the league sent a memo to clubs demanding coaches change their tactics with a number of “initiatives” encouraged.

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New rules have been introduced for this season and they are expected to open up the game up and allow for higher scoring.

But league head of women’s football Nicole Livingstone said that coaches have also been implored to look at the bigger picture.

“The rules are there, but what we have told our coaches is yes, we’re striving to win a premiership cup, but we are all responsible for trying to give a style of game that people love,” Livingstone said.

AFL head of women’s football Nicole Livingstone launched the third season of AFLW on Wednesday. Picture: AAP Image

“I don’t think we’ll tinker (with the rules during the season) … but that’s not saying that at the end of the season that we don’t do a full review about how the 10 rules we have in place worked for us.”

North Melbourne skipper Emma Kearney said the approach to the new 50m penalty rule — which is more strict on the infringing player, with the player with the ball advancing the mark by 50 metres and able to play on, both without the infringing player standing the mark — said the Roos’ approach was simple.

But she expected it to puzzle a few.

“Some of these new rules changes will come as a bit of a surprise to some, it will confuse them,” Kearney said.

“I think the 50m rule, there will be two 50m getting paid quite often because the girls will just follow the person and not clear that space.

Best friends and former teammates Emma Kearney and Ellie Blackburn are vying for one prize this season. Picture: AAP Image

“I think teams are being able to try to train it … the simple rule is just don’t give away 50s.”

Kearney’s former teammate, Western Bulldogs co-captain Ellie Blackburn, said it was “just fingers crossed that you don’t give one away and that you don’t have to worry about the outcomes of it” and that “you’ve just got to be really switched on in those times”, while Melbourne co-captain Elise O’Dea said it would be difficult to tell whether the rule changes had an impact.

“I’m interested to see how the 50 metre penalty rule will go, it’s just something you’ve got to be aware about,” O’Dea said.

“I think they’ll open up the game and it’ll flow a bit better, but the comp is just naturally progressing … it’ll be hard to tell whether it’s the rules that are doing that or it’s just because the girls have been in the system another year that that’s happening.”

New teams Geelong and North Melbourne join the competition, with AFL chief Gillon McLachlan confident that the league would cope well with an increase of 60 players to the midst.

“The feedback I’m getting is the skills are better, the conditioning is better, so I feel confident that we will accommodate the expansion and the standard will actually improve,” McLachlan said.

“If you look at the practice games the scoring was high (and) the football was open so I’m optimistic, but it always comes with risk.”

Originally published as AFLW coaches told they are responsible for look of the game as well as winning