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.

For the 2021 season of the Australian Football League, see 2021 AFL season.

2021 AFL Women's season
Teams14
Matches played4
Attendance13,066 (3,267 per match)
Highest attendance6,712 (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

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
ColourSymbolResult
Green+Win
Red-Loss
BlueN/ADraw

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
Updated to match(es) played on 7 February 2021. Source: Womens.AFL
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
1Brisbane 4281xxxxxxx
2North Melbourne 4182xxxxxxx
3Adelaide 4383xxxxxxx
4Melbourne 4584xxxxxxx
5Fremantle 4485xxxxxxx
6Collingwood 4686xxxxxxx
7Western Bulldogs 0847xxxxxxx
8St Kilda 4748xxxxxxx
9Carlton 0909xxxxxxx
10West Coast 012010xxxxxxx
11Greater Western Sydney 011011xxxxxxx
12Richmond 013012xxxxxxx
13Gold Coast 010013xxxxxxx
14Geelong 014014xxxxxxx

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
Club Coach Captain(s) Vice-captain(s) Leadership group Ref
Adelaide Matthew Clarke Chelsea Randall Sarah Allan, ​Angela Foley, ​Eloise Jones [7]
Brisbane Craig Starcevich Emma Zielke Breanna Koenen Emily Bates, ​Shannon Campbell, ​Kate Lutkins [8]
Carlton Daniel Harford Kerryn Harrington, Katie Loynes Alison Downie, ​Nicola Stevens, ​Darcy Vescio [9]
Collingwood Stephen Symonds Steph Chiocci, Brianna Davey Sharni Layton [10]
Fremantle Trent Cooper Kara Antonio Ebony Antonio, ​Kiara Bowers, ​Hayley Miller, ​Gabby O'Sullivan [11]
Geelong Paul Hood Meg McDonald Jordan Ivey Renee Garing, ​Madeline Keryk, ​Nina Morrison, ​Aasta O'Connor [12]
Gold Coast David Lake Hannah Dunn, Sam Virgo Sarah Perkins, ​Jade Pregelj, ​Jamie Stanton [13]
Greater Western Sydney Alan McConnell Alicia Eva Jessica Dal Pos, ​Pepa Randall, ​Cora Staunton, ​Britt Tully [14]
Melbourne Mick Stinear Daisy Pearce Karen Paxman Libby Birch, ​Maddison Gay, ​Tyla Hanks, ​Kate Hore, ​Sarah Lampard, ​Lily Mithen [15]
North Melbourne Darren Crocker Emma Kearney Jasmine Garner, ​Emma King, ​Ashleigh Riddell [16]
Richmond Ryan Ferguson Katie Brennan Sarah Hosking Christina Bernardi, ​Harriet Cordner, ​Sabrina Frederick, ​Phoebe Monahan, ​Alana Woodward [17]
St Kilda Peta Searle Cat Phillips, Hannah Priest, Kate Shierlaw, Rhiannon Watt Tilly Lucas-Rodd, Kate McCarthy [18]
West Coast Daniel Pratt Emma Swanson Dana Hooker Courtney Guard, ​Alicia Janz, ​Parris Laurie [19]
Western Bulldogs Nathan Burke Ellie Blackburn Brooke Lochland Ashleigh Guest, ​Bailey Hunt, ​Isabel Huntington, ​Kirsty Lamb, ​Bonnie Toogood [20]

References
  1. "AFLW 2021 season: Conferences out, $10 tickets, start date revealed". womens.afl. 10 December 2020.
  2. "Footy returns in January as full 2021 AFLW fixture revealed". Fox Sports. 11 December 2020.
  3. "AFLW scraps controversial conference system, introduces ticketed matches for 2021 season". ABC News. 10 December 2020.
  4. 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.
  5. Black, Sarah (5 February 2021). "It's on: Dockers and Eagles match to go ahead in R2". AFL Women's. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  6. "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.
  7. "AFLW: Randall named as Adelaide's first standalone women's captain". Adelaide. Telstra Media. 18 January 2021.
  8. "Zielke to captain AFLW side once again". Brisbane Lions. Telstra Media. 4 December 2020.
  9. "Vescio added to AFLW leadership group". Carlton. Telstra Media. 21 January 2021.
  10. "Davey, Chiocci named Magpies AFLW skippers". Seven News. 2 December 2020.
  11. "Freo captaincy 'the best job in the world'". Fremantle. Telstra Media. 13 November 2020.
  12. "Meghan McDonald Named Geelong AFLW Captain". Geelong. Telstra Media. 23 December 2020.
  13. "SUNS Finalise 2021 AFLW Leadership Group". Gold Coast Suns. Telstra Media. 18 January 2021.
  14. "Eva Continues to Lead". Greater Western Sydney Giants. Telstra Media. 7 January 2021.
  15. Nobes, Caitlin (15 January 2021). "Pearce, Paxman to continue in new-look AFLW leadership group". Melbourne. Telstra Media.
  16. "AFLW: Leadership group finalised". North Melbourne. Telstra Media. 15 January 2021.
  17. "AFLW Tigers announce leadership group". Richmond. Telstra Media. 19 January 2021.
  18. "AFLW Saints name four co-captains for 2021". St Kilda. Telstra Media. 20 January 2021.
  19. Woodcock, Mitchell (19 November 2020). "Emma Swanson to captain West Coast Eagles AFLW team for a second-consecutive season". The West Australian.
  20. "Blackburn to continue as captain". Western Bulldogs. Telstra Media. 15 January 2021.
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