THE LEAGUE is open to introducing an AFLW Gather Round in the coming years, while it is also considering State of Origin and International Rules series games, as part of measures to increase the exposure of women's football.
The competition's new general manager of AFLW, Emma Moore, began in her role last month and is already in discussions around a series of long-term trials that could put an additional spotlight on the League's best players.
A potential Gather Round, which would see every club based in the same location for a round of football, will be part of discussions around where the AFLW calendar will ultimately be placed going forward.
The AFLW season currently runs from August until November, though it has been trialled in a number of spots since its inception, with Moore telling AFL.com.au that her first priority will be to find a concrete date for the campaign going forward.
"We're working on that right now," Moore said.
"One of the things that I will absolutely say and I think everyone here is already bored with hearing me say, is that I want reliability built into it. I want us to be able to plan and to talk about things.
"I want us to know when something is going to happen, I want players to have that certainty, I want clubs to have that certainty and I want the media to have that certainty so we can all plan together.
"Where the calendar ends up will be then a fixed point and that's what we'll stick to. That would be something that I want to achieve in the first five months of being here, is that we agree going forward what that looks like.
"We obviously also have the season expanding in the future, so that is part of that consideration. What does it look like when Tasmania enters? What does it look like when we hit those CBA targets? How do we expand the game and what would that look like in a calendar?
"This year, we're looking at testing free-to-air on Tuesday and Wednesday slots during the football season in conjunction with the school holidays. I think that will be a really interesting one to test, particularly when we're talking about broadcast."
As part of the discussions around when the AFLW season will run, the League is considering a Gather Round weekend to be permanently built into the competition's calendar moving forward.
The AFL introduced Gather Round into its men's calendar in 2023, enjoying significant success throughout its first two years and signing a deal with the South Australian government to ensure it remains in the state until at least 2026.
"Absolutely. I've got everything on the radar that’s around increasing exposure, so absolutely," Moore said of the potential of an AFLW Gather Round in the future.
"I think that yes, it increases exposure. But it's also about what does it do for the season as a whole? We've got to increase exposure, but I don't want it to be a short-term or a one-off. It's got to be how does it fit into an entire season structure and planning, so we can have the most noise continuing the whole time."
The AFLW will also consider whether it brings back State of Origin football, International Rules series games, or even an All-Star weekend as part of its plans to grow women's football across the country.
"I think there is (room for a State of Origin or International Rules game)," Moore said.
"They're all the things we're working on right now. We've certainly been having those conversations."
