Season uncertainty 'challenging' for AFLW community

The 2026 men's AFL season is still being contested and we already know when next year's grand final is set to be.Compare that to the AFLW, where this season's decider was announced just before the start of round three, 13 weeks before the date.Key dates for the men's season are announced well in advance, with possible season start dates, Gather Round weekend and the grand final for next year already known to fans.This gives clubs and players heading on their off-season breaks clarity when planning for personnel to return to the club. One benefit of this is being able to time pre-season training in order to be in peak condition when the season begins in March.Former AFLW player and senior coach Lauren Arnell says more certainty would allow clubs to plan their pre-season to get the best performance out of the playing group."It's challenging when you don't have absolute security on that because one week more or less in your preseason has a significant impact on all planning, not just high performance, but on what you can educate as a footy program as well," Arnell told ABC Sport.More certainty around the fixture would allow teams to optimise their pre-season training. (Getty Images: Albert Perez)The AFLW grand final will be played on November 27, after a 12-round home and away season.The AFLW grand-final announcement came at half time of the men's Wildcard final between Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs, which the league said was a deliberate decision to get more coverage of the announcement.Despite this, the broadcast on Foxtel/Kayo did not mention the announcement in the half-time break.Men's players have 196 days from the key dates announcement to March 17, the earliest proposed date for the 2027 season to begin, and 395 days until next year's season decider. At the time of writing there are still 23 days until the 2026 grand final.In a statement from the AFL accompanying the release, CEO Andrew Dillon highlighted the need for fans and clubs to be informed ahead of time."We're really pleased to be able to provide fans and clubs with this clarity well ahead of the 2027 season," Dillon said.The AFL announced the women's fixture on May 21 of this year, giving clubs 80 days' notice, less than half the time their male counterparts have to prepare for the season.Many AFLW players are still working full-time jobs outside their football careers and Arnell says more certainty would benefit them as well."There are still players in the competition working day jobs, and so those players letting their employers know has become more and more challenging," she said.Rebecca Miller, who plays for the Richmond Tigers AFLW side, says an earlier fixture would also allow the league more time to promote the competition to fans."There's been times we've gone to community camps early in preseason or we've done appearances at a men's game early in the season and people are like, 'When are you playing?' And you're like, 'I don't know. I don't have a draw' so you just feel a bit silly in that regard," Miller told ABC Sport.The last three AFLW grand finals have been sold out at Princes Park. (Getty: Josh Chadwick/AFL Photos)Most AFL fans will know that the men's grand final is typically held in the last week of September and occasionally, like in 2027, in the first weekend of October. The AFLW grand final is yet to have that level of certainty, having been held in March, April, November and December across nine editions."It probably just goes back to that preparation; if we know the grand final, when and where it is before the season starts, again that marketing and promotion piece can really ramp up and make sure that our centrepiece is well attended and well watched and get the attendance they deserve," Miller said.Conversely, the NRL announced its 2026 men's and women's fixtures on November 14, 2025, which gave NRLW clubs 230 days to prepare for their season to launch and allowed fans time to plan which games they want to attend the following season."They [the NRL] have the draw out for the men's and the women's team so at Christmas I can talk to my family about which games they're gonna go to and plan for it months in advance," Miller said, "to be able to go into the Christmas period and know your draw and be able to set yourself as a player but also as a fan and a member".Richmond Tigers fans in Darwin celebrating a comeback win in their round three Dreamtime match against Essendon. (Getty: Celina Whan)NRLW matches this year have had an average attendance of 4,915 after seven rounds. Round three of AFLW had an average crowd of 4,806 fans, which includes five double-headers with men's matches. If you count only standalone matches the average attendance is 2,293 for matches that provided a crowd number.Miller believes that more notice would not just allow more time for promotion, it could also give players more motivation during a long preseason."It's so exciting and it just makes it all real. You circle a few games in particular from an individual point of view because you like playing that opposition or you have some beef against that opposition," she said."Your family and your friends can decide 'I want to come down to this game, come to that game' so it just makes it all real in your mind and you know why you're training, you know what you're training for".Arnell believes the announcement of key dates is important but the next steps should come around fixturing."I think a priority for AFLW needs to be that all teams play each other once and then you start to land on where your season begins in a calendar and where your grand final sits," she said.