Do you enjoy AFLW

[aussierulesrules]

That would be misogynistic, sexist and probably something else...

Yes, it would be truth!

 

[Tigerlaird]

Richmond Fan here - I enjoy it and watch it when I can. Been to one game live at Punt Rd.

Also enjoy VFLW & SANFLW

 

[stmookeyj]

I will state from the outset that I do have a slight bias in that I have an involvement in grass roots women's footy with the whistle. That standard certainly has improved over the years and numbers have grown to see locally a Youth Girls (Under 15s) comp actually start last year which won't have been dreamt of beyond perhaps AFLX exhibitions 3 years ago. I always have maintained that without the rise in female participation that the total participant numbers would be stagnant at best and perhaps fudged at the younger levels to make them look like rising at worst.

I do agree that a lot of the expansion is politically motivated and is now almost the ONLY way to guarantee funding for clubs to improve facilities across the board, from the elite right down to youth girls. Equality and fairness seem to be buzzwords that almost are compulsory in anything to improve life, much less at football clubs. It's debatable whether this is for better or worse and that is another argument for another thread.

In terms of game style, the issues I have are the following

• Coaching and strategy, especially in the early years, was too geared towards men's tactics and defence. Even now there is more of an emphasis on defensive structure in general play and especially at stoppage time as opposed to giving players a chance to showcase attacking skills, which if allowed to flourish would have been more beneficial to the league if only for aesthetics which attract casuals.
• 16 a side sucks, especially on full grounds. So many times clearing kicks from defence are so easily intercepted, partially because of the defensive emphasis, but more so because in the men's game at the very least there would normally be someone there to provide a contest to at least move and spread the congestion rather than concentrate it inside 50-70 at either end. On top of that....
• 5 on the bench is even worse, I know after year one they dropped it from 6 because they weren't getting game time yet player 5 is probably getting as much game time as the deleted 6th interchange player. Personally I'd cut it to 3 players particularly with roster sizes so low
• suggestions of a shorter field has merit, some of the bigger scores I'm sure have been on smaller oval sizes. But again it means very little if the tactics from the coaches continue to emphasize too heavily on the defensive side.

I also agree with the point someone raised about marketing the wrong players. It's OK to be wowed by someone who may have done an astonishing feat once to raise national interest. The problem is it's probably their only notable feat. I'm sure some have seen the NAB little legends ads incorporate women's players in recent years, but how many can be named and what have they done in their careers?

I suppose too that with the financial arguments I could argue that without the league....

• Would NAB still be associated with the game?
• Would Chemist Warehouse be invested as much knowing they have the NBL to fall back on?
• How many sponsors for individual club women's programs would be in the sport at the elite men's level at all, much less at a level near what they pay for AFLW?
• Rather than questioning the women's motives for some sort of financial equality (they certainly are worth more than what they were getting paid but probably not worth being paid to the extent where they wish to be in a few years time, knowing they'll be employed for essentially half a year unless they have an off field job within the club), should we be questioning if men's players in the main actually getting paid more than they should?

In terms of interest, I wouldn't mind going to a game but scheduling and the tyranny of distance hasn't allowed me to go. I've probably consumed less of it over the years in terms of watching, sometimes clashing with other commitments at local footy or marathon preparation, and watched fewer neutral games (the commentary standard hasn't helped but that's generally an across the sporting realm issue more than AFLW specific). I also hope they NEVER play a season extending beyond September again, fans do suffer from footy fatigue after all and as we've seen with ground availability issues for the big games ending the season in September would solve that problem in the very least (I'd personally schedule it so the GF is played on Men's Grand Final Eve, at night wherever it's being hosted). But I still have maintained buying memberships to the Dogs (love the bucket hat) and have treated those who chose to leave the women's program with the same treatment across socials as the men do (as in unfollow and even block in some cases). The club and the league will have my support going forward but as I've seen at local level, it will take time and patience (which in a nation full of Veruca Salt's is not easy) to keep everything going.

 

[Alesana]

It's good for women to have another outlet of sport they encouraged to play.
I think I watched a few times in first season and a bit, but totally lost interest after honeymoon period. Part of that is I do not feel attached to the players like I do with our traditional men's team because the women can be with one team for a few seasons and with another team a few years later so feel no real club feel at this time, Maybe that will change in decades to come. But as a spectator sport it just not working for me as too scrappy and takes them so much effort to kick goals it just not a winner for me. Maybe a smaller football should be made for them because the football ground size is not going to really change.
I'm far more likely to watch women's sport in terms of tennis or MMA or athletics than football.

They do use a smaller ball. AFLW uses size 4, AFL uses size 5 (full size)

 

[Mighty Eagles]

It's a no from me

 

[Angak]

I want women's football to do well and give opportunity to heaps of girls that want to play the game.

But for me the women's form of the game is not enjoyable to watch.

Women's soccer and even rugby league is a much better product.

 

[Hamingja]

The standard will improve now there is a pathway and it will attract better athletes.

The inherent issue that it has is that it is always going to be over coached.

Clubs set their mens VFL team up to have the same system as the AFL. VFL is chronic to watch for the most part as a lot of the players aren't good or experienced enough to execute the AFL game plans.

AFLW is never going to get to even VFL standard but it is going to have the same coaches trying to implement the same plans with players that aren't good enough to do so which means it will always be an awful spectacle.

 

[danster168]

the skills are horrendous.

 

[foxdog50]

It's still a No for me.... Watched 10 minutes of it and that was enough for me

 

[Fat Nyfe]

I like to watch my team while acknowledging the product is not as good and I’m not quite as invested as the men’s team.

So “it’s ok” for me also I expect it to get better long term (like 5-10 years after the kids that grew up watching it are playing it)

 

[Flags_In_The_Bag]

Hate is so much.

 

[rapidfire7]

No, and the AFL have created an enormous problem by creating a financially unviable competition with players screaming to be paid hundreds of thousands of dollars.

What could possibly go wrong?

 

[M Malice]

Still a no for me, way too many teams, the overall standard is atrocious albeit from very limited viewing.

 

[Angak]

Sports that tend to focus more on the technical abilities of its athletes are far more conducive to female sports.

Whilst sports like tennis or soccer require a level of physical exertion, they're primarily technical sports.

AFL is primarily a physical sport. What people love about the game is the tackling, marking & one on one contests. These aspects of the game are hard to replicate in the female version of the game.

 

[juss]

Sports that tend to focus more on the technical abilities of its athletes are far more conducive to female sports.

Whilst sports like tennis or soccer require a level of physical exertion, they're primarily technical sports.

AFL is primarily a physical sport. What people love about the game is the tackling, marking & one on one contests. These aspects of the game are hard to replicate in the female version of the game.

Interesting point, I can happily watch female Tennis and Soccer and really enjoy them and their quality, as while I know they'd be beaten by the men in an equal contest, the quality of the sport is still at the elite level to watch.

I just don't feel that with AFLW, to me the standard doesn't represent an elite sport and maybe it is due to the more physical nature of it making it look really amateurish at times.

 

[Erakor]

Yes, but I wont pretend that I'm as invested as much as the male league. Only been to one female game.

I wasn't into initially, but once Richmond got a team ( which coincident with me doing a sports injury so I had plenty of couch/TV time) I did start to care and look forward to games.

I also like the the more 'local' feel to it all, going to each team's local ground etc. The atmosphere at the game is also less insane ( which is good and bad).

I also love the game, so having 50 % of the population more access to the game and to enhance the culture around the game is great.

 

[gungho]

I watched a quarter of aflw football on the weekend and the ball went out of bounds 20 times (out on the full 8) and was balled up about 15-20 times. There really wasn’t much free flowing element to the game at all.
Teams wining by scoring 3 or 4 goals is not conducive to attracting (and then keeping) an audience.
Someone posted above about how it shouldn’t follow the men’s trend of having defensive structures and I totally agree.
The men can get away with it when 10/12 goals are scored, not so much when each team scores a few goals a game.
I am not sure how to police this though..

 

[i am a logo]

Never watched a game in my life

 

[Tandy]

It's ok. Not great to watch. Glad it exists and the standard is improving year on year. Although the 1st year players skills are so much better than what they were a few years ago it's still fairly ugly football as we know the game to be. Not all go in hard enough and alot just ball watch with no idea like it's u14s. Even though every year the players are in uproar over pay id say they are lucky to be in what they're on. It's the professional level but it's not really is it. Looking forward to seeing it grow into the future and do hope they can earn as much as possible and deserve the wage. I struggle to see how they can ever turn a profit and doubt whether they ever will.

 

[uranium_death]

I went to the AFLW Grand Final at Princes Park
The tackling was pretty good, but because the game is so scrappy and disposal is so poor, the game is quite scrummy

Some of the girls have some genuine football talent and can mark, jump and kick very, very well. The issue is that too many are general sportspeople rather than footballers. The league itself lacks talent across the board. This will change in the next decade as young girls raised with the game and coached properly (with a pathway to a top level) come through

The game was not great quality, but there are a few snippets in there to suggest that the league has a future. No, it will never compete with the men's game, but that isn't why it exists.

My mindset has changed a lot regarding the comp. I cannot see myself ever being an active fan, but I think it's great for young girls

 

[Xtreme]

Still not a great spectacle.
Needs MORE adjusting of rules and even shortening of the playing area to coincide with the "eventual" skill improvements.

 

[M Malice]

The amount of teams was expanded way too fast, they should have consolidated it to 8 teams for a decade or more. The talent is spread way too thin.

1 team in Qld, NSW, SA, WA and 4 in Vic would of been the way to go for an extended period, moot point though, too late to wind it back now.

IMO the overall standard is atrocious albeit I watched zero of it this year after being a spasmodic viewer previously.

 

[TheUnicorn]

It's come a long way in very little time.

 

[TheEscapeClub]

Womens rugby league is just as bad, women playing full contact ball sports just isn’t entertaining.

Women's rugby league is easily my pick of the bunch for watching women's football codes.

Watch this season's final between Newcastle and Gold Coast.