AFLW 2022: AFLPA boss Paul Marsh deserve certainty on season start date

As players hit out at the league demanding start dates for the upcoming pre-season, the AFLPA boss has had his say.

Supplied artwork AFLW state of play

Players deserve certainty as many call for clarity on the proposed upcoming AFL Women’s season, AFL Players’ Association boss Paul Marsh says.

As a number of AFLW players hit out at the league demanding start dates for the upcoming pre-season – which has been slated to begin within weeks – there remains no concrete date for the sign and trade period, AFLW draft, pre-season or season proper.

Collective bargaining agreement negotiations have ramped up in recent weeks with the league recently responding to the association’s initial proposal, which had included a significant increase in both pay and paid hours for players.

Marsh said while the proposed August start date posed its challenges to players and clubs, it was overwhelmingly supported as the right timeslot for the game by players.

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A number of players have hit out at the league. Picture: Mark Brake/Getty Images

But he said the frustrations of players was acutely felt and proved the importance of certainty at a critical juncture for the competition.

“We understand why they want to bring it forward,” he said.

“We just need to lock down all the details and give the players and the clubs as much certainty as possible,” he said.

“We owe it to the players and the AFL owes it to the players and the clubs to get this sorted out as quick as possible.

“That’s what we’re trying to do.”

But given the importance of the new CBA, Marsh is adamant that the association will not be rushed into any deal that is not supportive for players.

Marsh also said securing adequate support and appropriate remuneration for the number of hours players put into training and games – which in previous seasons has been far beyond their contracted 15 hours per week – was a vital element.

“This is our number one priority as a players’ association right now,” he said.

“There is nothing more important to us at the moment.”

AFLW state of play: The fears, the falls, the future

As 2022 prepares for two AFL Women’s premiers within the space of a year, a number of key issues remain as the new timeslot looms large for the seventh season of the competition.

We take a look at the key factors still in play.

THE TICK-OFF

All four expansion teams — Hawthorn, Essendon, Sydney and Port Adelaide — have given the August start the green light, according to AFL general manager of football operations, legal and integrity general counsel Andrew Dillon.

The AFL commission has given its provisional approval for the shift away from summer, but the remaining 14 clubs will still be canvassed before it becomes official, with an announcement expected soon.

It has already received approval from the AFLW competition committee.

The majority of players are in favour of the August timeslot, but many were caught off-guard by the league’s acceleration to the shift, planned for this year.

The players’ association also has concerns, telling the Herald Sun recently that a number of “practical realities” had to be considered, including the mental and physical toll of a Covid-ravaged season.

There is also increasing disquiet among players and clubs at a lack of start date.

The first weekend of the next AFL Women’s season is slated to begin on August 26 — the bye weekend between the men’s home and away season and finals in late November or even early December.

League boss Gillon McLachlan has also forecast an entire round being played in Melbourne on the Friday before the men’s Grand Final, with a public holiday scheduled in Victoria that day.

THE DEAL

The most pressing issue at the moment is negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement. Last time around, it took months for the AFL and the AFL Players’ Association to find common ground after plenty of to-ing and fro-ing — and a few ugly moments along the way.

The pre-season — which is on track to potentially begin in late June — could begin without a new CBA in place, but it would be anything but ideal.

Negotiations have ramped up in recent weeks.

The agreement will take in issues like pay, pre-season length, contracted hours and the length of the season so is a vital element to the immediate future of the AFL Women’s season.

Players are eyeing an increase of pay and paid hours, with the AFLPA advocating for players to be paid for 22 hours per week – up from 15 – with the hourly rate set at the AFL men’s minimum senior-listed salary of $68.78 per hour.

It also wants 12-month contracts by season eight.

While the men’s CBA is also up for negotiation, they will be landed upon separately.

It will also provide something of a road map as to the immediate plans for the league, including if the season length is to be increased, as the AFLPA eyes players being fully professional by 2026 — if not sooner.

THE MOVEMENTS

Madison Prespakis became the first big name to jump ship to an expansion club, revealing her intention to become a Bomber in coming weeks after four years at Carlton.

Blues champion Madison Prespakis is on the move to Essendon. Picture: Getty Images

But a number of other key players have elected to stay put.

Bulldogs skipper Ellie Blackburn was heavily linked to expansion club Sydney before electing to stay at the kennel in a bid to chase another flag, while league best and fairest winner Emily Bates will remain at Brisbane despite heavy interest from a number of clubs, including Hawthorn and the Swans.

Key Crow Anne Hatchard has also shunned interest from rival Port Adelaide, where superstar Crow Erin Phillips will sign in coming weeks.

It has prompted the question as to how many big names the expansion clubs will be able to land, with significant overtures being knocked back in favour of loyalty.

Draft age eligibility also remains a key talking point. No date has been set for the draft as yet, but with at least 120 players set to enter the competition for next season, it will be more important than ever.

But by bringing the season forward, the AFLW season sits smack bang in the middle of the most important part of the school year for Year 12 students — many of whom would have been plotting a path to AFLW next summer.

A number of players struggled balancing training with study commitments this year.

It has been suggested by some to raise the draft age, but that could only inhibit the necessary influx of player numbers.

Western Bulldogs skipper Ellie Blackburn said recently that it could force some players to reconsider whether they nominate for this year’s draft or focus on their studies and then nominate in 2023 as top-age players.

The state-based draft has been the preferred model given the part-time nature of the competition, but means 10 Victorian clubs will all be drawing from the same draft pool.

Despite interest, Ellie Blackburn will stay with the Bulldogs. Picture: Getty Images

THE DOUBLE BLOW

For players including soon-to-be Giant Isabel Huntington, Tigers Harriet Cordner and Hannah Burchell and Collingwood skipper Bri Davey – among others - the proposed season shift to August poses yet another blow.

Given they suffered season-ending ACL injuries in season six, their recovery timeline effectively means they will miss two seasons as they sit on the sidelines in the wake of their surgeries.

Some players in this situation are considering travel, while Huntington has declared her wish to move to Greater Western Sydney in the upcoming sign and trade period as the medical researcher eyes life both on and off the field.

The proposed season shift could see Brianna Davey missing consecutive seasons. Pictures: Getty Images

THE SCHEDULE

No dates have yet been set for the sign and trade period, which is set to see a flurry of names shifting about the competition as the four new teams enter the competition, draft or preseason start.

Carlton star Darcy Vescio joked that the Blues’ final training session before their last game was actually a pre-season session for “AFLW August”.

If the pre-season begins in late June as predicted, it means around three months off for players before they get back into full swing — even less for the teams that made the grand final.

Adelaide coach Matthew Clarke reckons it’ll be a tight turnaround, but the band-aid has to be ripped off eventually.

“I’m an advocate for giving it free air wherever possible,” Clarke said.

“If that becomes the move, it can work.

“The turnaround time will certainly be quick, but if the competition comes to a long-term position of ‘this is where want it to be’, then the sooner we do it the better.”

Melbourne counterpart Mick Stinear agreed, saying after the grand final that it presented a prime window in which the season could be played, but that a balance had to be struck between time off and then launching players back into training.

THE PLAYERS

Players are tired, and concerned about what an August season being brought in this year might mean for them. While many canvassed by the Herald Sun agree that it is a much better timeslot for the competition than the height of summer, locking in the shift for this season means a scramble for many.

Many players have exhausted annual leave entitlements in the current AFLW season and now must approach their employers to seek more flexibility for another pre-season and season within months.

One captain has already submitted an application for leave without pay for the August timeslot given she has already drained her annual leave allowances.

Others also face the prospect of potentially moving interstate and sourcing housing and employment on short notice.

Collingwood star Chloe Molloy is one who has maintained a stance against the August 2022 start date.

“More warning would be nice,” she wrote recently.

“Not this August, but next August would be.”

Blackburn also said the added toll of the recovery from a season plagued by Covid for many players — and staff — meant the fatigue would be real this year.

“(Club staff) won’t have a break at all, and it’s not just football staff,” she said on The W Show.

“It’s the wider community as well – broadcasters, (media). There’s so many different layers to it. I don’t know if it’s been thought out or not thought out.

“We’ve still got to negotiate a CBA, which took a fair bit of time last time we did it. How long is the season going to go for, we’ve got to work out sign and trade period, draft time. All these things – they don’t have dates just yet. There’s a lot to come … before an August start.”

Originally published as AFLW 2022: AFLPA boss Paul Marsh deserve certainty on season start date