Darcy Vescio explains how shutdown has hit women’s footballers, why AFLW can’t be cut too deep

AFL clubs trying to trim budgets are looking at combining AFL and AFLW coaching roles. But Carlton star Darcy Vescio says that’s a bad idea for both sides. Here’s why.

Hello, this is an “untouchable” speaking. Hands off.

Debate has erupted around AFLW over the past week after Mark Robinson wrote an article in the Herald Sun declaring the AFLW should be spared from the cost-cutting measures to help save the game from financial crisis due to COVID-19. He labelled us “the untouchables” and many weren’t happy. Kane Cornes branded it “the most ridiculous article I’ve read during the coronavirus period”, while mostly going over the same points we’ve heard before to justify his opinion — free entry, the competition reportedly costing $20 million to run, people losing their jobs and male players at other levels having their seasons impacted.

When I read the article I didn’t interpret it as others did. I didn’t read it thinking nothing will change for us — that would be surprising considering this year’s AFLW season was fast-tracked into finals when the pandemic hit Australia and then it was cancelled a week later, with no premier named.

Most, if not all, AFLW staff members have been stood down, while the nature of most players being on one-year contracts means the vast majority don’t know if they’ll be on an AFLW list in 2021 because contracts can’t be offered now, list changes haven’t been made and the trade period hasn’t been held.

Sad to see Scott Gowans lose his role at North. The people who have been invested in women’s football should remain key pillars in AFLW programs. https://t.co/9DbSeALsSR

— Darcy Vescio (@darcyvee) June 4, 2020

We’ve already been affected and there’s still a lot of uncertainty.

As players we’re acutely aware change is coming, but how much is largely unknown. We have a lot of questions, but not many can be answered right now. What we do know is change is necessary and we’ll need to adapt.

Right now we’re training individually to ensure we maintain our fitness, strength and touch for a VFLW season that is in serious doubt. People might forget we still play VFLW in winter because the AFLW season is so short, but there are no concrete plans for the season to go ahead. Clubs have been communicating with us as much as possible but we, and hundreds of other female footballers, are in the dark. Are we playing or not? That’s another season we’ve potentially lost.

Darcy Vescio says many AFLW players are in the dark about their jobs.

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The part-time nature of AFLW means some players also work at clubs. Will the opportunity to work and play at an AFL club still exist post-COVID-19? The answer to this will influence livelihoods and list management as clubs could be unable to offer jobs alongside playing contracts, limiting the ability to lure players from rival clubs.

Caroline Wilson said: “Clubs will be told to integrate their services and I think it will end up being good for the AFLW because people will be let go …” AFLW programs are already lean, so I find it hard to see where these supposed cuts will come from. We don’t have full-time staff members – a women’s footy general manager and the senior coach might be considered full-time at some clubs, but mostly staff are contracted for a period, while the average salary for an AFLW player is about $20,000.

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It’s natural to think changes being discussed in the AFL would also apply to AFLW, but the fact is potential cost-saving measures are on a completely different scale for us. To make the same changes would be unfair because the competitions are different — it can’t be one size fits all. There isn’t the same scope to cut from the women’s game as there isn’t as much money or people in it to start with.

Katie Brennan of the Tigers is tackled by Carlton’s Katie Loynes.

Cornes even suggested an AFL midfield coach could be the AFLW senior coach. While there could be obvious benefits of a restructure where some staff work across the men’s and women’s programs — knowledge sharing from the men’s game has the potential to make our game stronger — to suggest AFLW roles be added to existing men’s positions benefits no one. Accepting an AFLW job requires more time than what’s written in contracts, not to mention our game is very different. Issues might also arise with COVID-19 safety measures as we don’t know how long the strict AFL protocols will be in place. I know some staff working across both programs had to choose one over the other when they were first introduced.

Let’s also not forget AFLW is still in its infancy and it’s critical restructure decisions aren’t detrimental to the league’s development. We’ve come so far, surely we don’t want changes to set us back five or even 10 years.

As the saying goes: “The grass is greener where you water it” (actually, I stole that from the cafe downstairs) but it’s true not only of AFLW but the growth of women’s football at all levels.

Since the inaugural season in 2017 we’ve seen playing and training standards improve and that must continue so we can keep growing the game. We’re still laying the foundations of our competition, whereas the AFL has been built over decades and has the capacity to rebound strongly. We don’t have the same luxury.

The argument always comes back to money and how AFLW contributes financially given there is free entry to games. It’s hard to put a dollar value on cultural change and people no longer being shut out of the game they love. I’d argue that’s priceless.

But if you want to talk dollars and cents, Collingwood president Eddie McGuire said of AFLW in March: “It has absolutely made football so much money in the last three years. Seriously, you would not know how much money it has helped.

“It’s going to be an absolute revolution for our game — it’s the next stage.

“Women are not being carried along by the AFL. Quite the opposite. They are propelling this game to new heights.”

Everyone involved in AFLW will adapt to change, but for the future of women’s football we can’t afford to cut too deep.

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Originally published as Darcy Vescio explains how shutdown has hit women’s footballers, why AFLW can’t be cut too deep