MID-WEEK footy is upon us, with NAB AFLW games played every night except Mondays for the next month.

The only women's footy-free spot in the six-days-a-week extravaganza is on AFL Grand Final day on September 28.

What's expected over the next few weeks?

So what is mid-week footy?

Teams will have a period of playing off five and four-day breaks, condensing an 11-round season into the space of 10 weeks.

They have been placed in loose fixture groups to in an attempt to ensure they are facing sides off similar breaks.

With 11 games per club dictated by the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the AFL has opted for the compressed period in order to maintain the existing window of round one in the men's pre-finals bye weekend without extending the length of the season.

The season is unable to be pushed any further into December, given the trade period and Telstra AFLW Draft need to occur. Clubs and players alike prefer to have certainty on their 2025 plans before the new year, particularly if moves interstate are needed, given work and study obligations.

With the AFLW Grand Final to be played on November 30, the trade period will run December 5-11, with the draft to be held on the 16th. Throw in the remainder of that week to wrap up the year's work, and we've hit the Christmas break.

The aim of mid-week games is to be aligned with school holidays in respective states, which is the case for this week's game in Brisbane, but not so in Melbourne.

Why are teams hosting games at not-home venues?

There's been a number of fixture tweaks to "traditional" home grounds, and it's all to do with broadcast lighting.

Only a handful of AFLW grounds in Victoria – including Mission Whitten Oval, Ikon Park, Kinetic Stadium in Frankston and GMHBA Stadium in Geelong– have suitably strong floodlights to host night games to a broadcast-able quality.

It's why St Kilda will travel down to the very bottom of its region in Frankston to host a game, despite the popularity of its RSEA Park games in Moorabbin. No word yet if the famous Ferris wheel is also making the trip down.

What travel will be involved?

Most non-Victorian clubs (with the exception of Brisbane and Adelaide) will spend around a week in Melbourne, logging two games in that window.

West Coast is nearly through its travel block already, sticking around in Melbourne over the weekend after last week's Thursday night game ahead of their next game on Tuesday night.

Both the Lions and Hawthorn have rough trots, with trips to Western Australia pencilled in amidst their compressed periods.

How are the clubs handling it?

For Darren Crocker and North Melbourne, all the planning for mid-week footy was done months ago.

"We haven't spoken about it, other than the fact our pre-season – and not just our pre-season, but our off-season and I've said it before – how diligent everyone was to complete their programs away from the club and have a mental freshen up, but continue to tick over physically," Crocker said.

"I think the teams that have actually got that pre-season right, will come into the condensed fixture and it should hold them in good stead. I feel like we are one of those teams. We're getting a few players back who have been injured, so that hopefully gives us a strong squad to pick from throughout that period of time."

Squad depth will be key during the period, with players in the twilight of their careers, those in their first and second years, and the injury-prone likely to be rotated in and out of the side.

We've already seen a number of players almost pre-emptively managed over the first three weeks of the season, including Jess Dal Pos, Ally Morphett and Kristie-Lee Weston-Turner.

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Brisbane leader Craig Starcevich said there was a balancing act involved in rotation and still fielding a competitive side, while Western Bulldogs coach Tam Hyett has a much younger squad to manage.

"We've got Brisbane on Wednesday, then the following week, Collingwood (on Sunday). We're lucky we're in a position where our squad is relatively healthy. No doubt we'll use a lot of that," Hyett said.

"I think with a young group, we want to make sure we're looking after them as well. We want them to have long careers. There will be a few changes in the next couple of weeks, just to manage players, but I think everyone's in the same boat."

West Coast coach Daisy Pearce is already in the midst of her side's compressed fixture, with re-jigging the traditional training week key to success.

"If anything, it's about modifying your training load. The game replaces a main session, so recovery becomes a priority – like it always is – and maybe not get as much training in during the week, just have to be sharp and use the game as a good education tool," Pearce said.

"It presents a challenge in organising the week, and staffing it up for the whole week, bringing the whole club over, but the investment from the club has been awesome. It's a great opportunity to spend time together. Usually in a busy week of training, things like connection and other education pieces might get squeezed out, but spending so much time together will give us a chance to do that."

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Second-last on the ladder, winless Collingwood only have 23 fit primary-listed players to choose from ahead of Tuesday night, but it's not quelling the enthusiasm of new coach Sam Wright and his quest for improvement.

"We're first (alongside West Coast) to go under the condensed fixture and we can't wait. Any chance you get to come out and have another crack at nailing your system, should be really exciting," he said.

Does a provision exist if injuries hit hard and teams can't field a side?

Each club has access to 10 train-on players, who are often former AFLW players and sourced from state league teams.

If a club falls below the threshold of 24 available players (a team of 21 and three emergencies), train-on players can be elevated to fill in the gaps. When 24 is once again reached, the train-on player cannot be selected.

Collingwood is already playing ex-Demon Jordi Ivey as a top-up player, able to field her ahead of its three primary-listed emergencies due to a team balance allowance built into the replacement rule.

Why do people keep using the word 'weeks', rather than 'rounds'?

Given teams will play 11 rounds across a 10-week period this season, meaning they’ll play multiple games within one week, we're working in weekly intervals rather than rounds.

Weeks will end on a Sunday night, and start with the first game following the Monday break, whether that's on a Tuesday, Thursday or Friday.

In terms of the usual round awards, there will be weekly Telstra Rising Star nominations on a Monday, with players adjudged on a single game of football if they happen to play twice within a week.

The weekly nominations for the NAB AFLW Goal of the Year and Virgin Australia AFLW Mark of the Year will also be released on a Monday.

During the mid-week footy period, reports from the Match Review Officer will be announced within 24 hours of the game, rather than at the end of the weekend, and provisions have been made for Tribunal slots to ensure players will know the verdict before their next match.

All the logistical details are explained in this article from a few months ago.