BEEN caught up in the exciting end to the AFL men's season, and forgotten the NAB AFLW competition kicks off on Thursday?
Or maybe your team has joined the AFLW for the very first time and you need to brush up on all things W?
Womens.afl has you covered with a cheat sheet ahead of Thursday night's season opener between Carlton and Collingwood at Ikon Park.
What's new?
All 18 clubs will take part in an AFLW season for the first time, with Essendon, Hawthorn, Port Adelaide and Sydney rounding out the competition.
Squads have remained at 30, meaning an additional 120 players have joined the competition in the past few months.
It'll also be the second season in one year for the AFLW competition, for the first time moving to a late August-early September season start.
How is the season structured? How does the fixture work?
Once again, it'll be a 10-round home and away season, but the 18-team competition will mean the finals has expanded to a top eight and four-week period (see below).
Eighteen teams don't go into 10 rounds, and the AFL has previously said it has attempted to balance the fixture to provide an equal spread of opponents over the three months.
What are the AFLW-specific rules I need to know?
If you're a new AFLW fan or just need a refresher, there are a few unique aspects to the AFLW:
- A last-touch rule is employed between the arcs when the ball has clearly come off a single player, and is signalled by the boundary umpire with a lasso motion
- If the ball is contested out of play (at any point of the ground), the throw-in is taken 10m in from the boundary line in an attempt to minimise the number of secondary stoppages
- Teams play with 16 a side, and five on the interchange bench – teams line up in a 5-6-5 formation at centre bounces. There is no interchange cap
- Quarters run for 15 minutes, with time-on only called in the final two minutes of each term
- A size four footy is used instead of a size five, and the ball is consequently thrown up in the middle, rather than bounced
Who's moved clubs?
It was arguably the busiest off-season in the AFLW's short history, but most of the big names actually stayed put despite lucrative offers from expansion clubs.
The biggest player of the lot, Erin Phillips, switched to her family's club of Port Adelaide, while Maddy Prespakis made the move to her childhood favourite Essendon.
A number of Carlton players have moved on, including Lauren Brazzale (Collingwood), Grace Egan (Richmond), Georgia Gee (Essendon), Courtney Jones (Gold Coast), Nicola Stevens (St Kilda) and Charlotte Wilson (Melbourne).
Former Geelong spearhead Phoebe McWilliams has joined the Blues, while Niamh (Adelaide) and Grace Kelly (St Kilda) have left West Coast.
GWS will have a new ruck outfit following the departures of Erin McKinnon (St Kilda) and Ally Morphett (Sydney), while the loss of Gemma Houghton (Port Adelaide) and Steph Cain (Essendon) will hurt Fremantle.
Sarah Perkins has returned to Victoria to play with Hawthorn, fellow forwards Izzy Huntington (GWS) and Bonnie Toogood (Essendon) have left the Kennel, while Port Adelaide landed a quintet of players – Kate Surman, Hannah Dunn, Cheyenne Hammond, Britt Perry and Jacqui Yorston – from Gold Coast.
A trio of Roos in Kaitlyn Ashmore, Jess Duffin and Aileen Gilroy have crossed town to line up with Hawthorn, joining former Saint Tilly Lucas-Rodd.
Which teams are expected to dominate?
Unsurprisingly, last season's frontrunners are expecting to again lead the way in season seven, with reigning premier Adelaide, runner-up Melbourne and 2021 winner Brisbane virtually untouched by expansion.
Of the next tier, North Melbourne should get quite a few wins on the board, Freo and Collingwood may find the going a little tougher after expansion and injuries hit, while Richmond is looking lively after some strong practice match results.
What about the players who are doing year 12?
The change in season timing means a number of players will make their debut while still 17 (turning 18 by December 31) and still at high school.
Each player has their own program depending on how they wish to tackle the end of their schooling – some are focused on working towards their ATAR, others are completing year 12 on a pass/fail basis, while another group again are moving down the trade route.
Players have been training on a part-time basis, and if clubs wish to select a player for matches, it has to be in consultation with the player, their parent/guardian and the AFL's player engagement manager.
Who are some of the new faces to watch?
The No.1 pick in the recent NAB AFLW Draft was held by Sydney, who drafted Western Jets tall midfielder Montana Ham.
Jasmine Fleming looked a step above in Hawthorn's practice match against Richmond, while Essendon forward Paige Scott has plenty of X-factor in attack.
Port Adelaide open-age signing Abbey Dowrick was a star West Australian junior midfielder, while Ella Roberts has been the talk of Western Australia for a few years, finding herself at West Coast.
What about finals?
A four-week finals series will be employed for the first time, with the top six extended to a top eight.
It will run the same way as the AFL men's finals series, with the top four sides earning a second chance and the losers playing the winners of the elimination finals.
