AFLW 2026 AFLW Season

[TigermanM2]

Happy New Year to all.

Your club's biggest lesson from 2025​

What have clubs learned about themselves - and others - ahead of the 2026 season
By staff writers
Jan 5, 2026

A reset was necessary

It was a poor season from Richmond, to say the least. A 16th-placed finish, with just two wins under the belt, made fans and pundits alike ask the question of what was going on at the Tigers.

The club acknowledged the downward ebb by instigating an internal review into the program, with head of footy Kate Sheahan and coach Ryan Ferguson

Ryan Ferguson

Age

44

Ht

195cm

Wt

93kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

8.6

2star

K

4.3

2star

HB

4.2

3star

M

3.2

3star

T

1.0

3star

No current season stats available

D

4.8

1star

K

2.2

1star

HB

2.6

3star

M

1.4

2star

T

0.8

3star

both moved on as part of that process.

"Biggest lesson is one that they've already learned by acknowledging that they're going to have a review, is that they need a complete retool. It's not working, what they've been doing. It may turn out in years to come that this is the best thing that's ever happened to Richmond's AFLW program, that it's an acknowledgement of finishing eighth, ninth, 10th is not sustainable, and they weren't going to get any higher than that with the players they had on the table, with the gameplan they had, and with the fitness of the list," Black said.

 

[toenail63]

Happy New Year to all.

The club acknowledged the downward ebb by instigating an internal review into the program, with head of footy Kate Sheahan and coach Ryan Ferguson both moved on as part of that process.

"Biggest lesson is one that they've already learned by acknowledging that they're going to have a review, is that they need a complete retool. It's not working, what they've been doing. It may turn out in years to come that this is the best thing that's ever happened to Richmond's AFLW program, that it's an acknowledgement of finishing eighth, ninth, 10th is not sustainable, and they weren't going to get any higher than that with the players they had on the table, with the gameplan they had, and with the fitness of the list," Black said.

Happy New Year back

Thankfully we did jump on it as it wouldn't have got any easier for a number of reasons, Tassie Devils coming in. Older players not getting any younger starved of success, and losing relevance in the women's footy landscape are all tempered because of the club taking this action now. We have clear air in this clean sweep and rebuild that will bring positive change for our women team on field, off field, and in the list build this year and next. We'll welcome in a new era, a new coach and new footy boss, and in 2026 I look forward to see the signs that we have turned the tide and a have a plan that will bring this team future success.

 

[TigermanM2]

Happy New Year back

Thankfully we did jump on it as it wouldn't have got any easier for a number of reasons, Tassie Devils coming in. Older players not getting any younger starved of success, and losing relevance in the women's footy landscape are all tempered because of the club taking this action now. We have clear air in this clean sweep and rebuild that will bring positive change for our women team on field, off field, and in the list build this year and next. We'll welcome in a new era, a new coach and new footy boss, and in 2026 I look forward to see the signs that we have turned the tide and a have a plan that will bring this team future success.

It's going to be interesting to see what we do regarding the role overseeing our AFLW program. We made Kate Sheahan redundant so legally we can't just simply replace her or it will not be viewed as a genuine redundancy.

Normally in a redundancy situation the role is either totally eliminated or absorbed by other roles already within the organisation.