The 2023 AFLW home-and-away season will remain a 10-round fixture and no games will be played at big stadiums, despite players demanding a longer season and for marquee games to be played at larger venues.
The AFL released the fixture for season eight on Monday afternoon, less than 50 days out from the opening game on September 1. The release followed an agreement between players and the sporting body on season length amid collective bargaining agreement negotiations with the player’s union.
The two largest stadiums that will be used to host women’s matches, GMHBA Stadium and Heritage Bank Stadium, have capacities under 40,000 and 27,000 (the Geelong stadium is under construction).
Katie Brennan of Richmond celebrates a goal.Credit: Getty
The players pushed for a 12-round competition plus finals, but agreed to 10 weeks to get the season under way. This is despite a long-term demand to see the competition reach at least 17 home-and-away rounds, where each team plays each other at least once.
The opening game will be between reigning premiers Melbourne and Collingwood at Ikon Park, a step away from the traditional Collingwood-Carlton opener. The Demons will unveil their 2022 premiership flag in round one.
That round will also include the Showdown at Norwood Oval, the Sydney derby – to be held at North Sydney Oval for the first time – rivals Hawthorn and Essendon at Kinetic Stadium in Frankston and the western derby between West Coast and Fremantle at Fremantle Oval.
Get the full AFLW season eight fixture
There will be a “festival of footy” in round five during the AFL men’s grand final week, which will include Melbourne and Geelong’s first game against each other. That game will be played at GMHBA Stadium on the Thursday evening, and Essendon and Collingwood at the Magpies’ training ground AIA Centre on Saturday morning.
AFLW boss Nicole Livingstone said she was grateful players and clubs had continued to prepare for the season while discussions with the AFLPA were ongoing.
“The size and scale of the AFLW competition has grown significantly since its inception – we have all 18 clubs represented, 540 players and have increased the number of matches played by 241 per cent over the history of the competition,” said Livingstone.
“This season is set to be better than ever and we are looking forward to seeing exiting and competitive games with the skill level of our athletes continuing to be showcased and celebrated by all.”
The fixture includes Indigenous round, across in rounds seven and eight, and Pride round in round 10.
One notable absence from the venue list is AFL-owned Marvel Stadium. A crowd of 12,092 was in attendance for Essendon and Hawthorn’s inaugural clash there last season.
The game was moved to Marvel after being originally scheduled for ETU Stadium in Port Melbourne, which has a capacity of 6000 and sold out within minutes. Both head coaches publicly pushed for the game to be held at a larger venue so as many fans as possible could attend.
The Women’s Big Bash League’s fixture for 2023, released last Thursday, features standalone regular season matches at the MCG, SCG and Adelaide Oval for the first time, including a double header at Sydney’s iconic cricket stadium.
The BBL’s Alistair Dobson said the “natural progression of the league is to have the best players in the world playing in the best cricket venues in the world”.
A slew of venues used for AFLW last season, including Henson Park, Box Hill City Oval and the Swinburne Centre, were deemed below a suitable standard in quality of facilities by players in a survey conducted by the AFL Players’ Association.
In the Insights and Impact report, which had a minimum completion rate by all players of 70 per cent, 12 venues were rated between “good” and “very good”, including GMHBA Stadium, RSEA Park and Alberton Oval – all of which feature in the fixture.
Brisbane Lions premiership player and star defender Shannon Campbell said last month overall the standard of grounds was mostly good for AFLW players, but there were a few which were substandard, which made it hard to perform at their maximum.
“The CBA negotiations between the AFLPA and AFL remain ongoing. Progress has been made in recent weeks, however, there is still much work to be done before a proposed deal can be considered by players.”
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