AFLW 2021 Rd 1: Carlton vs Collingwood at Ikon on Thursday

[ElwoodBlues1]

Many who live in societies where alternative sports are available to the boring global 1-Nil soccer games often vote with our feet to some alternativeI think you've missed the point, my commentary was not about the spectacle as a sport, it was about it's ability to compete for dollars and survival against elite male sport to achieve a parity.

Playing the same game as the men, using the same tactics, is surely a dead end because the girls won't even achieve parity with the efforts of teenage boys! So how can a sport survive in a professional sphere to achieve wage and career parity when it's effectively 3rd or 4th tier at best? As a sporting spectacle they are not even on parity with boys U15s!

So I maintain it needs a style and optic all of it's own.

People will try to paint me as an AFLW troll for writing the above commentary, particularly those who think the game should be the same for all genders and ages, which it isn't anyway already. I've been a booster for AFLW from the start, but it's clear to me it cannot be the same game as men.

I'm not sure playing a dumbed down game will help the AFLW improve the standard, I dont follow the AFLW so am no expert but I watched last night and you have a couple of players on each team capable of playing at a decent standard, a few in the might improve phase and then some who have real limitations.
Prespakis and Lambert stood out as players who need to be playing under the same conditions as the men and to make them play a T20 version would be detrimental to them and the game. Its a case of being patient and waiting till more girls can play at the standard of the two I mentioned which means better coaching, more resources and attracting more players .