AFLW Rd 1: Carlton vs Collingwood at Ikon Park

[Navy Maven]

I wonder if the AFL took the ALFW seriously enough when planning. Some humble thoughts.

1. Free entry spanks of fear that there will be little interest. Many knew it would be popular. There should be a gold coin donation as entry, which goes to a reputable breast cancer research organisation/domestic violence support organisation. A magnificent opportunity to do some real good re women's issues, missed. But it's not too late. There is a dynamic opportunity here for the league to buddy up with women's issues organisations and for the players to become mentors etc. AFL marketing dept must be one of the most unimaginative and impotent in modern business.

2. Last touch free kick (boundary line) worked a treat, eh! : They just don't get it, do they. The differences between male and female physiology is well said by others. But the AFL failed to take this into account. To speed up the game and get more scoring you only need to factor in the different body structures... so, tackling modifications to better suit women - for a start, no shirt-fronts, breasts don't do well with repeated blows. Like the head and genitals, harsh contact to the boozies should be penalised.

3. Get tougher on incorrect disposal. The number of free kicks that didn't happen in all 3 games was embarrassing. This should also apply in the men's competition. Look at replays of games a couple of decades ago or longer, if you were caught with the aggot whether you had prior opportunity or not, you were penalised. This will speed up both games. Once you take possesion, you'd better dispose of it by foot or handball... or else.

4. Absolutely the skills will improve in time. But it'll take some time as more funding goes to girls (up to 12 years) and teens and more teams and leagues are established.

5. Ball size is still not right. Confidence for the women / teens / girls will come when they can have more control over the ball in their hands - this will also improve skills (obviously).

I agree with the gold coin donation, but not that it should go to a charity. That's kind of insulting actually. Do you think the men would play for unders and let the proceeds of their efforts be given away?  We should certainly be charging a gold coin donation, but put that money back into the development of the women. The key issue with this competition is that the women aren't full time professional sports people. They only train twice a week and still work full time jobs. The only way this competition improves is if they are able to dedicate the same amount of time to perfecting their game as the men do.

Also, tackling shouldn't be modified, breasts are more resilient than you think lol.