For the first time ever, the AFLW grand final will make its way onto prime-time television, with the league announcing that the decider will now be a Saturday night spectacle rather than a sleepy Sunday afternoon watch. .
With North Melbourne, Hawthorn, Brisbane, Adelaide, Fremantle, Port Adelaide, Richmond, and Essendon all to contest the finals, the location of the match is still undetermined, but regardless, the allotted time of 7:45pm instantly brings more eyes and exposure to the biggest game on the AFLW calendar.
With the growth of women in sport being the main focus not only within the AFL but all codes, it is surprising that the AFL has taken its time to secure this opportunity to build a spectacle around their female athletes. Although the men’s game may be a Saturday afternoon match, the game is already so entrenched in Australian culture that to become a standalone feature, women’s football needs its own theatrics and atmosphere. AFL Footy boss Laura Kane summed it up perfectly, stating, “Here we have an opportunity to do things differently; we don’t have the same history (as the men’s competition); we have a different proposition and a different product; we think that we can do things to mix it up a little bit.”
In a week that has been huge for women in sport, highlighted by trainer Sheila Laxon claiming her second Melbourne Cup and jockey Jamie Kah stealing the Victorian Derby, the AFL’s move highlights the place our female athletes have in the modern world.
