AFLW: All the news ahead of round one of the 2022 season

St Kilda AFLW star Georgia Patrikios has revealed why she chose to sit out a full season rather than be vaccinated after making an emotional return to the club.

Will it be seventh heaven in year seven for the AFLW?

It was like Georgia Patrikios had been drafted all over again.

Sidelined after refusing government and league Covid vaccination mandates, she missed the past AFLW season, training in the park with her brother Perry and her boyfriend Emilio.

She kept track of the team via social media, an all-too-common phrase in the new world order — “isolating” — was a daily reality for Patrikios, one of the game’s brightest young stars.

But on July 13, 265 days after the league’s policy was first enacted, it was officially revoked with a phone call in the gym sending Patrikios jumping for joy.

She, one of the league’s strongest emerging talents, would be back.

Surprising teammates in a team meeting with her return to the club, the 21-year-old admits she became more emotional than she had anticipated on her long-awaited first day back.

“When everyone saw me they got really excited and made me feel really emotional, actually, when I walked in,” Patrikios told the Herald Sun.

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Georgia Patrikios who refused to be vaccinated against Covid 19, has returned to the Saints for this AFLW season. Picture: Getty Images

“It really was like my first day at the club again.

“It was quite isolating, being away from everyone, and only seeing things through social media was pretty hard. But everyone welcomed me with open arms.

“I actually got a fine for being late to the team meeting. But I’m very happy to pay that fine.

“You don’t realise how much you miss it until you come back, and how much you miss the game. I obviously spent a long period away from the club and away from footy and absence makes the heart grow fonder, I guess. It was that moment for me where I realised how much I really love it and how much I really missed it.”

Patrikios had wrestled with the idea of the Covid vaccination for months, eventually issuing a statement that she would be taking time away to consider her options and “dissect my own feelings about receiving the Covid-19 vaccine”.

At the time, she was backed by the Saints – who this week announced a major three-year partnership between its AFLW outfit and Red Rooster – and was signed to a further two-year deal during her playing hiatus.

Explaining her decision for the first time, Patrikios said she had felt that “it wasn’t the right time” for her.

“I thought it was so forced upon, and I wanted to take a step back and assess it,” she said.

“It was like ‘I don’t feel like it’s right’. I lean heavily on my brother – we were both in it together. We were in the same boat and didn’t want to be forced into it. That’s what it came down to.

“Everyone’s going to have their decisions and opinions and unfortunately that took me away from the game, but I’m back, so I couldn’t be happier really.”

She said there had been “a bit of back and forth” in her decision but she had been supported by family and friends who accommodated an inability to visit social settings like hospitality venues while strict government mandates remained in place.

“If they wanted to go out, we’d do something beforehand and then they’d go out,” she explained.

“They made it really easy for me … going out to parks and going for a kick – things that I love.”

Patrikios would train alongside Perry and Emilio, at West Coburg with plenty of skillwork, though she admits a return to contact training had been an adjustment.

She also found support in a group chat that included other AFL and AFLW players who had chosen not to be vaccinated against Covid-19, including former Blue Liam Jones who is expected to return to AFL level under the rule shift.

“It was there to check in and see how everyone was going. If you were struggling you could say what we were feeling,” Patrikios said.

“As soon as the news came out, everyone was sending through really positive messages. We had a good group to hold us together. I’m excited to see where Jonesy is going to go to.”

The young Saint admitted it had at times been difficult to watch her teammates playing the game she loves last season, but the day has finally come to get back into the thick of the action.

A recent ankle setback curbed her pre-season a few weeks ago, but now at full fitness she hopes to “surprise people and hopefully surprise myself as well”.

“Every day I come in, I’m so grateful just to be back and to be around my teammates again,” she said.

“It’s been hard, but now hopefully that’s all done and I can just focus on footy now.”

Glass Harf full: The ‘intense’ life of an AFLW coach

Daniel Harford has been learning a lot about Year 12 economics.

It’s not in an effort to branch out into the business department at Carlton, though he does have an array of various hats

As daughter Abbey, who recently turned 18, completes her VCE, Harford is doing what he can to help navigate the final few months of schooling.

But while it’s a nerve wracking time for any parent of a Year 12 student, the former Hawk and Blue has managed to find that it’s only adding to his coaching toolkit ahead of the seventh season of AFL Women’s.

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE OUR EXPERT PREDICTIONS FOR AFLW SEASON 7

“I have learned lots about the new world of maths, which is very different to my world of maths back in the old days,” Harford laughs of recent months.

“But I am one of the great English essay proof-readers. An extraordinaire, I am.

“Everyone’s busy – we just do it differently.”

He’s not home much on Tuesday and Thursday nights now that preseason is in full swing, with just three weeks remaining until the real stuff kicks off, but still coaches his son Will’s junior crew.

“There’s always time for family,” he told the Herald Sun.

“You make time.”

Daniel Harford loves juggling footy, family and radio commitments.

Always looking to develop professionally, Harford is even finding that parenting teenagers isn’t a minefield – rather, a goldfield in a coaching sense.

“Being the dad of a Year 12 (student) helps me relate to my players, too,” Harford says.

“I reckon it goes the other way – the way that Abbey lives her life, and speaks, and what she’s into, there’s no doubt that gives me a level of relevance or understanding to the young person’s world these days.

“Clearly I’m a very old man, and not normally would people my age be aware of these things, but I think my home life helps my footy life, I must admit.

“Most of me doesn’t want to, but I need to understand how they live – how people live. That’d be no different to any other job, for a manager bringing young people in. You’ve got to understand their lifestyle – it’s just different.

“Nobody talks face to face anymore, it’s all texts and Snapchats and all that stuff. The days of picking up the phone and ringing your mate’s house or girlfriend’s house and getting their parents because they only had one phone in the house and having to get through that conversation before you get to the person you want to speak to – they were nerve wracking times.

“You just need to have an understanding of why they do what they do.”

Blues draftee Keeley Skepper poses with Daniel Harford.

A WORKING WINTER

For the first time, AFLW will kick off in August, with the last season having ended in April.

It’s meant a quick turnaround for Harford and his counterparts, and while it’s been frantic, the media and businessman much prefers the craziness to the usual calm in the cold.

“One of the challenges with a big off-season is it does drag a bit, and you’ve got to try and stay connected with your group and keep them in motion and make sure they come back ready to roll in a challenging environment,” he explains.

“It’s actually been pretty positive, I reckon, and I think the players have liked it … that there’s continuity in their year, even just from an athletic perspective. They’ve been constantly moving and looking after themselves because they know that there was a season just around the corner.

“The worst thing you can have in any job is too much down time. It’s just boring and you’re just waiting for stuff to arrive. I think it’s not a bad outcome for us this year. We’ll clearly get a different dynamic next year, but for the moment, it’s working OK.”

Daniel Harford at work at RSN. Picture: Jake Nowakowski.

The alarm pierces his slumber in the wee hours, with a 6am slot on RSN alongside long-time radio comrade Adam White, with AFLW training held into the evenings with many players working or studying full or part-time.

There’s match-day radio, too – no rest for the wicked.

Anyone could be forgiven for sneaking a kip or two, though not so much lately as things ramp up towards Round 1.

“Footy mode is great mode,” Harford lauds.

“It’s stressful and it’s busy and it eats away a lot of your time, but it’s still the best mode. That’s why you’re involved – you want to get these players to be the best competitors they can and get them into a team chemistry and environment and see what you can do with it. That’s the art and job of a coach. It’s just come a bit earlier.

“It’s a bit of a squeeze – we all know that, but we’ll get our work done and then we’ll breathe at the end.”

Maddy Prespakis left Carlton for expansion side Essendon.

NEW SEASON, NEW LOOK

Breaths were held as Blues fans braced for player departures in the recent trade period, which was fueled by the addition of four new teams.

League best and fairest winner and three-time Carlton best and fairest Madison Prespakis headlined the Blues on the bounce, off to Essendon with fellow former Blue and best mate Georgia Gee.

It wasn’t a move that surprised Harford, once it came, declaring “you’ve got to move on”, having discussed the potential for the move for “the better part of 12 months”.

“You’ve got to find a way in this industry – it’s cutthroat, it’s super intense … you need everyone rowing in the same direction,” he says of those that left.

“That’s the key to any success that I’ve ever been involved in – certainly from a coaching perspective. Not always do you have that within your squads, for many and varied reasons.

“You want your people to want to be a part of your programs for the reasons that they need. That wasn’t the case, but that’s OK.

“That’s alright. What we want to really focus on is the energy of the people that are here now, to make it something pretty cool again. That’s the reality of our situation.

“As the Denis Pagan used to say – ‘no point spending time looking in the rearview mirror son, you’ll crash into the car in front of you’.”

While Prespakis, Gee, Grace Egan (Richmond), Charlotte Wilson (Melbourne) among others won’t be at Ikon Park, 23 Blues – including foundation stars Darcy Vescio and Kerryn Peterson (nee Harrington) – recommitted.

“They can see the light at the end of the tunnel and the gold at the end of the rainbow,” Harford said.

“It’s still a strong endorsement of your program from what I’ve lived through and what I can see. Let’s get going, let’s make something and let’s do something pretty cool that probably not many people think we can.”

AFLW CRYSTAL BALL: EXPERTS REVEAL BOLD PREDICTIONS

The countdown to season seven of the AFLW is on.

As we approach the first bounce of the first August season for the elite women’s competition, experts from the Herald Sun and The Advertiser and Fox Footy predict how season seven will play out.

LAUREN WOOD

Premier: Melbourne

Biggest threat: Adelaide

League best-and-fairest: Ebony Marinoff (Adelaide)

Rising Star: Jasmine Fleming (Hawthorn)

Headline I’d love to see: Up on the Dais – Daisy Pearce finally salutes as an AFLW premiership captain.

MARK ROBINSON

Premier: Brisbane

Biggest threat: Melbourne

League best-and-fairest: Monique Conti (Richmond)

Rising Star: Jasmine Fleming (Hawthorn)

Headline I’d love to see: Expansion delivers: new side makes the eight.

REBECCA WILLIAMS

Premier: Melbourne

Biggest threat: Brisbane Lions

League best-and-fairest: Monique Conti (Richmond)

Rising Star: Montana Ham (Sydney)

Headline I’d love to see: Seventh heaven – Final AFLW expansion delivers.

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With stars like Tayla Harris, Melbourne could be the team to beat in AFLW. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

LIZ WALSH

Premier: Adelaide

Biggest threat: Brisbane

League best-and-fairest: Anne Hatchard (Adelaide)

Rising Star: Hannah Ewings (Port Adelaide)

Headline I’d love to see: Crows become the first AFLW team to win back-to-back flags.

SARAH JONES (FOX FOOTY)

Premier: Melbourne

Biggest threat: Fremantle

League best-and-fairest: Anne Hatchard (Adelaide)

Rising Star: Sophia Hurley (Sydney)

Headline I’d love to see: Finally – Essendon win a final!

GLENN McFARLANE

Premier: Melbourne

Biggest threat: Brisbane Lions

League best-and-fairest: Monique Conti (Richmond)

Rising star: Montana Ham (Sydney)

Headline I’d love to see: Daisy finally wins her first AFLW flag.

How many games will Georgia Gee and the Bombers win in their debut season? Picture: Graham Denholm/Getty Images

JAY CLARK

Premier: Brisbane Lions

Biggest threat: Melbourne

League best-and-fairest: Monique Conti (Richmond)

Rising Star: Jasmine Fleming

Headline I’d love to see: Expansion delivers: New side makes the top eight.

JON RALPH

Premier: Melbourne

Biggest threat: Adelaide

League best-and-fairest: Madison Prespakis (Essendon)

Rising Star: Jasmine Fleming (Hawthorn)

Headline I’d love to see: We were wrong: AFLW competition has untapped depth despite four new teams.

MATT TURNER

Premier: Brisbane Lions

Biggest threat: Adelaide

League best-and-fairest: Anne Hatchard (Adelaide)

Rising Star: Jasmine Fleming (Hawthorn)

Headline I’d love to see: Inaugural AFW Showdown attracts more than 35,000 fans.

Finals curtain-raiser an ‘amazing opportunity’

– Lauren Wood

AFLW clubs Melbourne and North Melbourne will clash at the MCG next Friday as a curtain-raiser to the men’s qualifying final between Melbourne and Sydney.

The round 2 match was due to be played at Port Melbourne but the AFL has made the switch to the MCG

The game will be played at 5pm, with the AFL final between the Demons and Swans to kick off at 7.50pm.

AFLW chief Nicole Livingstone said the high demand for tickets and to have it played in front of a bumper crowd were key reasons behind the decision.

“To be able to run out on the MCG and play amazing football in front of a huge crowd ahead of a Final is an amazing opportunity and one we’re so glad we’ve made a reality,” Livingstone said.

AFL clubs and broadcasting boss Travis Auld said the move was the perfect opportunity to promote the women’s game on the biggest stage.

“We’re focused on ensuring our AFLW teams can play large stadiums wherever logistically possible,” Auld said.

“We’ll continue to champion our women’s teams and highlight the amazing talent we have throughout the league by facilitating these kinds of opportunities.”

Saturday’s AFLW round 1 game between Essendon and Hawthorn — two teams entering the AFLW for the first time this season — was sensationally moved a fortnight ago from Port Melbourne’s ETU Stadium to Marvel Stadium to accommodate surging ticket sales.

The AFL is keen to boost the crowd at Marvel Stadium by offering two-for-one tickets.

The stadium mailing list on Monday received a link to access “bring a friend for free” tickets in a bid to see as many people at the huge clash.

Will it be seventh heaven in year seven for the AFLW?

Breaking down AFLW’s seven biggest issues

As the seventh season of AFL Women’s looms large, will it be a case of seventh heaven?

Or will the season face its challenges as it did earlier this year?

We take a look at the biggest issues facing the game ahead of its first-ever August edition.

TIGHT TURNAROUND

It was midway through the last season of AFLW that the league first floated the idea of August, which was later agreed to by stakeholders and clubs.

It’s meant little downtime for players and club staff with the “off-season” lasting just a handful of weeks, if that, before pre-season began yet again.

Expansion clubs – who thought they might well have had another six months or so up their sleeves to build coaching panels and playing lists – were swiftly flung into top gear to get their act together in time.

It’s been a whirlwind, but they’re now on the home stretch.

Fatigue will no doubt become a factor in the latter part of the season with AFL Women’s players and staffers essentially having been on the clock since around last October, but many are pointing out that this will – hopefully – be the last time the game faces this issue as it settles in what is hoped to be a long-term home in August every year.

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COVID CHAOS?

We know, but we have to go there.

The Omicron variant ran rampant through the competition earlier this year, causing chaos everywhere it went. Fixture changes, finals moved, teams ravaged.

That’s not to say it won’t happen again.

The latest Covid variant is thought to be more transmissible and skilled at evading vaccine protection, meaning clubs intend to remain vigilant.

While many aren’t keen to place stringent limits on players and their movements – particularly many still work, study and provide care to others – it’s safe to say players will be making smart choices of their own.

As recently revealed by the Herald Sun, should the government opt to shorten the mandated quarantine period for Covid cases from seven days to five following the predicted winter wave, the league could also follow suit.

WELL GROUNDED

The Bombers’ first round meeting with Hawthorn has already been shifted to Marvel Stadium and more games could yet be on the move.

Melbourne faces North Melbourne at Port Melbourne’s ETU Stadium, with the first-ever Dreamtime game between Richmond and Essendon also scheduled for that ground, raising suggestions ticket sales could warrant more upheavals.

And why not?

Hawks senior coach Bec Goddard declared in starting the push to “Move it to Marvel” that “no one rises to low expectations”, and women’s sport around the globe is seeing record numbers of crowds flock to games.

Why not here, Essendon forward Bonnie Toogood said recently.

Hawk Lou Stephenson played a practice game on the MCG on the eve of the season, and said “there were a few tears” pre-game.

“We deserve to be there,” she said.

“We’re professional athletes now. That’s the stadiums and the credit that we deserve to be at.”

DEPTH TESTED

It was arguably the first issue highlighted when four new teams – Hawthorn, Essendon, Port Adelaide and Sydney – were announced as joining the competition in 2022, 2.0.

Is there enough talent in the market to sustain an extra 120 players joining the competition, and what would it mean for state leagues, too?

Depth is key to premiership hopes – particularly in the Covid era.

Only time will tell, but the recent AFLW draft presented a vast number of strong prospects who have come through a solid Australian rules pathway.

Industry figures remain optimistic given the numbers of participants in women’s football across the country that AFLW is going to become stronger with the development framework continuing to lay the foundations – just like the boys have had for decades.

Libby Birch has been forced to make a choice between footy and work. Picture: AFL Photos/Getty Images

UPPING THE ANTE

Players have already noticed a significant increase in what they’ve been able to achieve in being contracted for more hours at clubs.

Some have already opted to step back from work, according to Demons defender Libby Birch, who recently said “if you’re not totally doing that, the competition is going to surpass you”.

“You’ve got to sort of take back your work now and become more of a footballer,” she said, in the wake of the game’s latest collective bargaining agreement that significantly boosted both player pay and contracted hours.

Fitness and ball skills have been notably improved already in the wake of clubs having more access to players in the new era.

But some club officials have warned of the fine line teams will have to balance with some players still employed or studying and balancing their football commitments.

Year 12 students have allowances to train less and have to be supported by their clubs.

Concerns were raised by some AFLW players last season that access to facilities and resources needed to lift, with some players even reportedly resourcing their own rehabilitation at times.

DRAW DESIRE

Some teams still don’t face each other, which remains a bugbear for some players.

Some teams have never even met across the six seasons of the competition thus far.

Season growth will be a key element to the negotiations of the next collective bargaining agreement, which will begin in coming months, after the league maintained the season at 10 weeks plus finals.

The AFL Players’ Association is eyeing a full-time, 18-round competition by 2026 – if not sooner.

Incremental growth is the preferred option for players.

Erin Phillips will be in new colours next season. Picture: Getty Images

ON THE MOVE

New season, new colours.

Expansion delivered one of the busiest off-season sign and trade periods in recent years, with two league best and fairest winners picking up their boots and shifting across town.

Superstar Crow Erin Phillips is going back to her roots at Port Adelaide – where she grew up with dad Greg – as skipper alongside ex-Docker Gemma Houghton, while former Blue Madison Prespakis has a new home at the Bombers.

Safe to say the expansion sides made their presence immediately felt, making a big play for top players at most clubs.

And while they weren’t always successful, they certainly made an impression and ruffled a few feathers along the way.

Premiership Bulldogs Bonnie Toogood and Brooke Lochland also have new homes at Essendon and Sydney respectively, while a heartwarming homecoming at the Hawks sees league favourite Sarah Perkins in brown and gold.

How expansion teams perform in their first AFLW season will be a key watch.

Originally published as AFLW: All the news ahead of round one of the 2022 season