BETTER skills, fast-paced action and strong contests.

That's what fans both new and old can expect from the 2024 NAB AFLW season.

The competition is expected to reach new heights, with practice matches giving fans a small glimpse of what to expect.

It’s a small sample size, but the pre-season games have highlighted an increase in the speed of the game, more efficient ball movement through improved skills, and how the athleticism of our players has gone to a new level.

An attacking style of footy has been evident with coaches identifying the need to score more and break down teams' defences. 

This season is poised to be the best one yet, and there are a few reasons why.

WELL-PLANNED PRE-SEASONS

Throughout the off-season, clubs worked closely with their playing groups to ensure they were the best prepared come pre-season. The off-season is long for AFLW athletes, stretching 6 months and can be a challenge for clubs to strike the right balance of allowing players time away from the game and developing their lists. Teams like Carlton and Hawthorn played a large proportion of their players throughout the VFLW competition, further embedding their team’s game plans and creating far greater synergy. Meanwhile teams like West Coast elected to complete more informal training sessions as a whole squad, as they aim to narrow the gap between the top teams.

INCREASED PROFESSIONALISM

The professionalism of our athletes, coaches and staff has significantly improved. The recently agreed collect bargaining agreement (CBA), has enabled clubs to work with their players to schedule more training sessions throughout the day rather than at night. My Kangas moved to all day sessions this season and from my perspective, I’ve seen an increased standard of training, with players coming in fresh rather than tired from a day’s work. It’s also allowed time for players to recover better and have more access to coaches so they can work on their fundamentals and overall, the work-life balance of our players is far better than in previous seasons.

NEW TECHNOLOGY

The AFL’s introduction of the new score assist is a welcome addition to our competition. This will be the first time we’ve had a score review system in place. To have an impressive innovation like this being introduced to the W competition will not only help umpires make more accurate decisions but the data from the ball tracking may also be used by clubs to assist with skill execution by looking at the spin rates and flight time of different kicks.

AN EVEN PLAYING FIELD

Lastly, this will be the most even competition since the beginning. We often speak about the big four teams – Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne and North Melbourne – but that gap is closing. Geelong has certainly earned the right to be up there with those mentioned, after narrowly missing out on a Grand Final spot last season and after some strong practice match performances, several other clubs are looking to elevate their status in the competition, notably Richmond, Essendon, Hawthorn, Sydney, Gold Coast and Fremantle. With no expansion over the last couple of seasons, it’s allowed clubs to solidify their lists and entrench their game style which will give teams far greater consistency. 

And with so much young talent coming through, there’ll be plenty of new stars and old ones to get excited about!

Emma Kearney is an eight-time All-Australian and long-serving captain of North Melbourne.

Catch Emma in action when the Kangaroos take on Brisbane in the Grand Final re-match on Sunday, September 1 at 3.05pm AEST. Tickets available now