Players line up ahead of the qualifying final between Melbourne and Adelaide on November 4, 2022. Picture: AFL Photos/Getty Images

THE AFL is seriously considering the prospect of a first ever night Grand Final for this season’s NAB AFLW decider.

While a final decision is yet to be made, it’s understood the League has recently been canvassing clubs and key stakeholders around the potential of the 2024 NAB AFLW Grand Final being hosted under lights in a primetime position for the first time.

While a date of November 30 has been locked in, the venue for the Grand Final remains unknown, given AFLW rules dictate it is hosted by the highest-ranked qualifier, though clubs have become aware it is now a possibility the season's showpiece event will be played at night regardless of where it’s held.

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It would likely also mean the finals campaign features a series of Friday-Saturday finals across semi-final and preliminary final weekend to ensure adequate breaks ahead of a potential Saturday night Grand Final, similar to what occurs in the men’s competition.

The potential of a night Grand Final comes as the League continues to assess the AFLW’s position on the calendar, with the AFL also considering an earlier start time for its 2025 campaign.

The possibility of the season starting earlier would enable more crossover in fixtures with the men’s competition, as well as a shorter turnaround between their respective Grand Finals.

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The AFL has been flexible in the timing of its AFLW Grand Finals across the competition’s short eight-season history, with four so far held on a Saturday and three – including the last two – being hosted on a Sunday.

Last year’s decider between North Melbourne and Brisbane was held at Ikon Park on a Sunday at 2.30pm AEDT, the latest start time across the AFLW’s history so far but still in the traditional afternoon timeslot.

The AFL has explored the potential of a twilight or night Grand Final for its men’s competition, but has only experimented with hosting its showpiece event under lights during Covid-19 interrupted campaigns in 2020 and 2021.

The 2020 Grand Final, hosted in Queensland, was played at night while the 2021 decider in Western Australia was played in a twilight position at 5.15pm local time.