SKIP TO MAIN CONTENT

AFL Women's games headed to prime time

Up to half a dozen AFL Women's games could be played in prime Friday night slots next year to keep building interest in the competition.

2 min read

Published

Source: AAP


Skip to article content

More AFL Women's games are set to be played in prime time slots in the hopes of building on the competition's strong start.

The AFL, on Friday, will release fixtures for the second season of the women's competition, which is again expected to run across eight weeks, including the grand final, through February and March.

This year's inaugural season included several double-headers played either before or after AFL pre-season games.

But AFL broadcasting manager Travis Auld has confirmed that every AFLW game next year will be played as a stand-alone fixture, with the league keen to provide oxygen for the fledgling competition.

The league has largely kept the prime Friday night slots free for the women's games to be played in front of the biggest audience possible.

News that makes sense

Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Just one AFL pre-season game is scheduled for a Friday night, with Sydney facing cross-town rivals Greater Western Sydney on March 9.

That opens space for up to six Friday night AFLW games ahead of the grand final, which was played on a Saturday afternoon.

"What's important is that we provide the AFLW with enough clean air throughout the fixture," Auld said on Thursday.

"We were overwhelmed with the level of support we received (last year), both in terms of the TV audience but also then the attendance on the day.

"And in some cases they're different crowds, so we decided this year to keep the two separate and run them as two stand-alone competitions."

The league last month unveiled an ambitious plan to expand the AFLW to 14 teams by 2020.

North Melbourne and Geelong will lead the charge in 2019, with Richmond, West Coast, St Kilda and Gold Coast to follow in 2020.


Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Stream now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world