Richmond midfield star Grace Egan would like to see the men’s and women’s AFL seasons aligned, hoping it would bring more fans to their games and help fans with footy fatigue after the lengthy men’s year.
Egan proposes a women’s season that starts during the men’s mid-season bye and plays out the same final series.
Grace Egan of Richmond.Credit: Joe Armao
She added this would allow for double headers, such as the Western Bulldogs and Port Adelaide game before the Dogs men’s elimination final two weeks ago.
While the jury is still out on the effectiveness of double headers, Egan said it would bring more eyes to the women’s game.
“I don’t think I’ve talked to a girl that hasn’t loved it [the idea of a double header],” said Egan.
“Like the NRL, they do it really well ... It’s both the men’s and the women’s are one, and they play before the men and they follow each other around. I think that that’s probably where we should start going. I don’t know if it will ever happen, but I think it would work a lot better,” said Egan.
Grace Egan of the Tigers runs out for their first home game of 2024 against GWS.Credit: via Getty Images
“Instead of like, the men’s finals on now and it literally takes away everything from us.”
She said a grand final weekend could work, with the men’s decider on the Saturday and women’s on the Sunday.
“That would be where I think the next thing [is] that everyone would want to go,” said Egan.
“Because once the men’s AFL grand final is done, people just don’t want to watch footy in a way [because of footy fatigue]. But then the next sport comes in, like, cricket, you know?
“So it would be nice to just align that too and then we get to finish when the men finish and enjoy it all together.”
Grace Egan in action during round one.Credit: Getty Images
In spite of potential footy fatigue, Egan has noticed an uptick in fans supporting the Tigers women’s side this year, potentially looking for a bright spot after the men’s poor year.
The men’s side finished 18th with just two wins and had a slew of beloved players request trades in their exit meetings, plus the retirements of Marlion Pickett and Dylan Grimes and the loss Dustin Martin, who appears set for Gold Coast.
Things are looking much rosier for Richmond’s women after the first three rounds of AFLW. They are in the top four after two wins, the last of those a 46-point thumping of Sydney.
“To see the women do well and have some wins, it literally just brings the energy back around the club because for so long it hasn’t been good,” said Egan.
“But also with the fans, the fans love it... because they haven’t had a good year, now they’re jumping on our bandwagon.”
Egan has noticed new fans turning up to their games, such as eight red-haired kids who were hanging over the fence at Richmond’s round one West Coast game in Perth.
“They only wanted to be there because I had orange hair,” Egan said.
Also making her easy to spot is she’s quite often the loudest in the room – or on the field.
“Do I like being the energy bringer? I yeah, I do,” she said.
It’s an important role too, with Egan adamant “the vibe” of the group contributes to Richmond’s on-field success.
“Before our round one [game] the vibe was so off. I think our speaker was out, the music wasn’t working. We couldn’t go out on the oval, like, you know, all those things that you normally do just weren’t working. The vibe was so off. Everyone kind of was in their own head. And then we went out, played terrible,” said Egan.
“And then, literally, yeah, if the vibe’s on, you can feel it. Girls are up and talking, dancing, then, you know, then it feels good.”
She may get some extra attention on Thursday night, too, when she goes up against her old side Carlton at Ikon Park – a match-up she always finds more intense.
“I feel like anyone who plays their old side, it’s like a little bit of a like, you gotta play good to prove that, it’s like they lost you, maybe in a way ... Or, like, you know, you left them. So it’s like proving to them sort of thing,” said Egan.
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