By '20, Australian Football League Women’s will expand to 14 clubs, with Geelong and North Melbourne "given the green light to join an expanded league" in '19, according to Greg Denham of THE AUSTRALIAN. The current eight-team competition "will swell to 10" in '19, with St. Kilda, Gold Coast, West Coast and Richmond given AFL Commission approval to join a year later. Hawthorn and Essendon "were not successful in their bids to join, but will be able to apply" to make AFLW a 16-club competition from '21. From '20, four states will be represented, with multiple clubs in Queensland, Western Australia and Victoria. Tasmania will be represented by North Melbourne "in a joint venture where the Tasmanian government will fund most of their operation." AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan said, "As we know, eight clubs put in submissions for a license, and it has been a challenging, and I believe a very thorough process to get to today’s announcement." The "highly successful inaugural eight-week season that began in February this year far exceeded AFL expectations," with 5.6 million TV viewers and attendances across the seven rounds and the grand final reaching 195,000 (THE AUSTRALIAN, 9/28). The AAP reported McLachlan confirmed that "there were no plans to make supporters pay to attend games" in '18. He said that he expected the quality of play to increase "with a deeper talent pool for teams to select from." McLachlan: "I think you'll find ... with the injection of talent and with another preseason under the women's belts, the standard will increase" (AAP, 9/27).
THE CLINCHER: In Melbourne, Russell Gould reported North Melbourne "is expected to form a partnership with the Tasmanian government to play games on the Apple Isle" from '19. McLachlan said that Geelong’s regional reach got it "over the line ahead of the other bidders." He said, "Both of their submissions were outstanding. They have a VFLW [Victorian Football League Women's] team and a pathway through the club. They had a very clear plan and a lot of things bolted down. I think the real clincher was that they have regional presence." North Melbourne CEO Carl Dilena said that the announcement was a "landmark day" for the club which will also boast a standalone reserves team in the VFL from next season. He added, "We left no stone unturned in our quest to convince the decision makers at the AFL that we were not only ready for an AFLW team, but most deserving of one" (HERALD SUN, 9/27).
LASHING OUT: In Melbourne, Scott Spits reported the two clubs that missed out -- Hawthorn and Essendon -- "lashed out about the lack of clarity on further expansion of top level women's footy" beyond '20. Essendon and Hawthorn "responded angrily to their exclusion." Hawthorn CEO Tracey Gaudry said, "Hawthorn presented an incredibly strong case to the AFL that highlighted the club's solid talent pathways, financial strength and ability to contribute to the growth of the game. With the largest number of female members in the league and the experience of building a VFLW team from the ground up, we demonstrated our ability to create an AFLW team that could hit the ground running." Essendon CEO Xavier Campbell said that the club was "extremely disappointed" not to get a license for '19 or '20. Campbell: "The club believes it presented a compelling case focusing on growing women's football in two important geographic regions of Australia." Richmond said that it was ready for a license, "but accepted the AFL's decision to limit the growth to just two new teams" in '19. Richmond President Peggy O'Neal said, "They've obviously made their decision that they wanted to go with two teams and expand from there. That's sort of logical. We don't see it as being held back. We were ready to go. This will just give us more time to make some very solid plans." The West Coast Eagles, however, were "bitterly disappointed" with the decision to delay the club's entry and "not have a second Western Australian women's team for another three years" (THE AGE, 9/27).
