2021 AFL Women's season
The 2021 AFL Women's season is the fifth season of the elite women's Australian rules football competition. Fourteen teams are competing in the league, the same number as the previous season, all of which are associated with existing Australian Football League (AFL) clubs.
2021 AFL Women's season | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Teams | 14 |
Matches played | 4 |
Attendance | 13,066 (3,267 per match) |
Highest attendance | 6,712 (Round 1, Carlton vs. Collingwood) |
The season commenced on 28 January and will conclude with the Grand Final on 18 or 19 April.[1][2]
Format
The previous two AFLW seasons were formatted with the assistance of conferences, which split the league's clubs into two ranking tables. The AFL elected to remove the conferences for the 2021 season and revert to a single ladder. Under the terms of the existing contractual bargaining agreement between the players and the AFL, teams will play nine regular season matches, before a three-week finals series for the top six teams occurs.[3] Owing to the fact clubs will not get the opportunity to play all of their opponents once, the AFL placed the teams together in a single 2020 ladder and then broke them up into brackets to attempt a fair fixture for the 2021 season.[1]
The season was played during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the season began, Australia had largely settled into a paradigm of most states maintaining zero COVID-19 cases outside of their international travel quarantine systems; this allowed football games to be played in front of crowds, usually with reduced capacity, and unhindered interstate travel was permitted without quarantine. However, the different state governments often responded quickly to small numbers or even single virus cases being discovered in the community; this meant border restrictions or quarantine periods were at times re-introduced at short notice, impacting interstate travel for games; and, in some cases, that city- or state-wide lockdowns could be imposed within the impacted states,[4] precluding football activities altogether. The season's original nine-round fixture was discarded due to such restrictions after only one week, in favour of a floating fixture released around any restrictions in place at the time.
Premiership season
- All starting times are local times.
Round 1
Round 1 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Thursday, 28 January (7:15 pm) | Carlton 4.3 (27) | def. by | Collingwood 5.3 (33) | Ikon Park (crowd: 6,712) | Report |
Friday, 29 January (7:10 pm) | St Kilda 8.3 (51) | def. | Western Bulldogs 6.6 (42) | RSEA Park (crowd: 2,523) | Report |
Saturday, 30 January (2:10 pm) | Gold Coast 5.5 (35) | def. by | Melbourne 9.2 (56) | Metricon Stadium (crowd: 1,902) | Report |
Saturday, 30 January (2:10 pm) | West Coast 2.6 (18) | def. by | Adelaide 8.8 (56) | Mineral Resources Park (crowd: 1,929) | Report |
Sunday, 31 January (12:10 pm) | Geelong 1.3 (9) | def. by | North Melbourne 11.5 (71) | GMHBA Stadium (crowd: 3,701) | Report |
Sunday, 31 January (2:10 pm) | Richmond 1.6 (12) | def. by | Brisbane 5.11 (41) | Swinburne Centre (crowd: 988) | Report |
Sunday, 31 January (1:10 pm) | Fremantle 8.10 (58) | def. | Greater Western Sydney 4.4 (28) | Fremantle Oval (crowd: 3,195) | Report |
Round 2
Round 2 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Friday, 5 February (7:45 pm) | Western Bulldogs 6.6 (42) | def. | Carlton 5.6 (36) | VU Whitten Oval (crowd: 3,479) | Report |
Saturday, 6 February (3:10 pm) | Collingwood 6.9 (45) | def. | Geelong 2.4 (16) | Victoria Park (crowd: 2,938) | Report |
Saturday, 6 February (5:10 pm) | Melbourne 7.2 (44) | def. | Richmond 2.4 (16) | Casey Fields (crowd: 2,581) | Report |
Sunday, 7 February (1:10 pm) | North Melbourne 5.6 (36) | def. | St Kilda 1.4 (10) | Arden Street Oval (crowd: 1,997) | Report |
Sunday, 7 February (2:10 pm) | Brisbane 10.5 (65) | def. | Gold Coast 0.2 (2) | Hickey Park (crowd: 2,101) | Report |
Sunday, 7 February (5:10 pm) | Greater Western Sydney 2.3 (15) | def. by | Adelaide 9.8 (62) | Blacktown International Sportspark (crowd: 0) | Report |
Sunday, 7 February (4:15 pm) | Fremantle 2.11 (23) | def. | West Coast 2.2 (14) | Fremantle Oval (crowd: 0) | Report |
|
Win/Loss table
Colour | Symbol | Result |
---|---|---|
Green | + | Win |
Red | - | Loss |
Blue | N/A | Draw |
Bold – Home game
Opponent for round listed above margin
This table can be sorted by margin, winners are represented in the first half of each column, and losers are represented in the second half of each column once sorted
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | SF | PF | GF | Ladder |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adelaide | WCE 38 |
GWS 47 |
WB |
Col |
Fre |
BL |
Car |
Ric |
GWS |
||||
Brisbane Lions | Ric 29 |
GC 63 |
GWS |
Mel |
GCS |
Ade |
Fre |
Col |
WCE |
||||
Carlton | Col 6 |
WB 6 |
GCS |
NM |
Mel |
WCE |
Ade |
Gee |
Fre |
||||
Collingwood | Car 6 |
Gee 29 |
WCE |
Ade |
Gee |
StK |
GWS |
BL |
Mel |
||||
Fremantle | GWS 30 |
WCE 9 |
NM |
WCE |
Ade |
Gee |
BL |
GCS |
Car |
||||
Geelong | NM 62 |
Col 29 |
Ric |
GWS |
Col |
Fre |
StK |
Car |
WB |
||||
Gold Coast | Mel 21 |
BL 63 |
Car |
StK |
BL |
GWS |
Ric |
Fre |
NM |
||||
Greater Western Sydney | Fre 30 |
Ade 47 |
BL |
Gee |
WB |
GCS |
Col |
StK |
Ade |
||||
Melbourne | GCS 21 |
Ric 28 |
StK |
BL |
Car |
Ric |
NM |
WB |
Col |
||||
North Melbourne | Gee 62 |
StK 26 |
Fre |
Car |
Ric |
WB |
Mel |
WCE |
GCS |
||||
Richmond | BL 29 |
Mel 28 |
Gee |
WB |
NM |
Mel |
GCS |
Ade |
StK |
||||
St Kilda | WB 9 |
NM 26 |
Mel |
GCS |
WCE |
Col |
Gee |
GWS |
Ric |
||||
Western Bulldogs | StK 9 |
Car 6 |
Ade |
Ric |
GWS |
NM |
WCE |
Mel |
Gee |
||||
West Coast | Ade 38 |
Fre 9 |
Col |
Fre |
StK |
Car |
WB |
NM |
BL |
Ladder
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | D | PF | PA | PP | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Brisbane | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 106 | 14 | 757.1 | 8 | Finals series |
2 | North Melbourne | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 107 | 19 | 563.2 | 8 | |
3 | Adelaide | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 118 | 33 | 357.6 | 8 | |
4 | Melbourne | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 51 | 196.1 | 8 | |
5 | Fremantle | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 81 | 42 | 192.9 | 8 | |
6 | Collingwood | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 78 | 43 | 181.4 | 8 | |
7 | Western Bulldogs | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 84 | 87 | 96.6 | 4 | |
8 | St Kilda | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 61 | 78 | 78.2 | 4 | |
9 | Carlton | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 63 | 75 | 84.0 | 0 | |
10 | West Coast | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 32 | 79 | 40.5 | 0 | |
11 | Greater Western Sydney | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 43 | 120 | 35.8 | 0 | |
12 | Richmond | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 28 | 85 | 32.9 | 0 | |
13 | Gold Coast | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 37 | 121 | 30.6 | 0 | |
14 | Geelong | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 116 | 21.6 | 0 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for.
Ladder progression
- Numbers highlighted in green indicates the team finished the round inside the top 3.
- Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the team finished in first place for that round.
- Numbers highlighted in red indicates the team finished in last place for that round.
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Brisbane | 42 | 81 | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
2 | North Melbourne | 41 | 82 | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
3 | Adelaide | 43 | 83 | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
4 | Melbourne | 45 | 84 | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
5 | Fremantle | 44 | 85 | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
6 | Collingwood | 46 | 86 | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
7 | Western Bulldogs | 08 | 47 | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
8 | St Kilda | 47 | 48 | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
9 | Carlton | 09 | 09 | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
10 | West Coast | 012 | 010 | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
11 | Greater Western Sydney | 011 | 011 | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
12 | Richmond | 013 | 012 | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
13 | Gold Coast | 010 | 013 | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
14 | Geelong | 014 | 014 | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
Finals series
Elimination finals
Elimination finals | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 4 April (2:10 pm) | Third | vs. | Sixth | TBC | |
Saturday, 4 April (4:10 pm) | Fourth | vs. | Fifth | TBC | |
Preliminary finals
Preliminary finals | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 10 April (2:10 pm) | First | vs. | Winner EF1 | TBC | |
Saturday, 10 April (4:10 pm) | Second | vs. | Winner EF2 | TBC | |
Grand Final
Grand Final | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
TBC, 18/19 April (12:30 pm) | Winner PF1 | vs. | Winner PF2 | TBC | |
Club leadership
References
- "AFLW 2021 season: Conferences out, $10 tickets, start date revealed". womens.afl. 10 December 2020.
- "Footy returns in January as full 2021 AFLW fixture revealed". Fox Sports. 11 December 2020.
- "AFLW scraps controversial conference system, introduces ticketed matches for 2021 season". ABC News. 10 December 2020.
- Tim Richards (8 February 2021). "Australia state border closures: Closing due to a single case feels like 'security theatre'". Traveller.com.au. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- Black, Sarah (5 February 2021). "It's on: Dockers and Eagles match to go ahead in R2". AFL Women's. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
- "Brisbane Lions hold Gold Coast Suns to lowest score in AFLW history, North Melbourne beat St Kilda to stay unbeaten". ABC News. 7 February 2020.
- "AFLW: Randall named as Adelaide's first standalone women's captain". Adelaide. Telstra Media. 18 January 2021.
- "Zielke to captain AFLW side once again". Brisbane Lions. Telstra Media. 4 December 2020.
- "Vescio added to AFLW leadership group". Carlton. Telstra Media. 21 January 2021.
- "Davey, Chiocci named Magpies AFLW skippers". Seven News. 2 December 2020.
- "Freo captaincy 'the best job in the world'". Fremantle. Telstra Media. 13 November 2020.
- "Meghan McDonald Named Geelong AFLW Captain". Geelong. Telstra Media. 23 December 2020.
- "SUNS Finalise 2021 AFLW Leadership Group". Gold Coast Suns. Telstra Media. 18 January 2021.
- "Eva Continues to Lead". Greater Western Sydney Giants. Telstra Media. 7 January 2021.
- Nobes, Caitlin (15 January 2021). "Pearce, Paxman to continue in new-look AFLW leadership group". Melbourne. Telstra Media.
- "AFLW: Leadership group finalised". North Melbourne. Telstra Media. 15 January 2021.
- "AFLW Tigers announce leadership group". Richmond. Telstra Media. 19 January 2021.
- "AFLW Saints name four co-captains for 2021". St Kilda. Telstra Media. 20 January 2021.
- Woodcock, Mitchell (19 November 2020). "Emma Swanson to captain West Coast Eagles AFLW team for a second-consecutive season". The West Australian.
- "Blackburn to continue as captain". Western Bulldogs. Telstra Media. 15 January 2021.