Alexia Hamilton and Paige Sheppard have both been banned for two games by the AFL after being found guilty of possessing an illegal drug.
The pair was charged by NSW Police in December, when the Swans had finished their AFLW season, after being found in possession of an illicit substance while outside a hotel in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
Both players were given conditional release orders, similar to good behaviour bonds, by Waverley Local Court in January. No conviction was recorded.
National Australia Bank executive Emma Moore has been appointed the new general manager of AFLW, reporting to AFL general manager of football Laura Kane. Emma will start on her new role on July 1.
The AFL announced this afternoon that the Bulldogs-Power AFLW clash would now be played at the MCG at 4.30pm AEST, before the men’s elimination final between Bulldogs and Hawthorn.
Good signs early from the Sydney Swans as they look to build on a season that saw them win a final twelve months after failing to even win a match in their inaugural season, though Collingwood did have their chances only for inaccuracy to hurt them.
Might only be early days but I think the Eagles could potentially be one of the most improved teams this season, while the Giants could also emerge as a bolter after several years in the wilderness, only making the finals in the COVID-interrupted 2020 season when the H&A season was suddenly terminated about halfway through.
Dillon said while starting the W competition in late August during a week without men’s football has been a proven success, the expansion to a 12-game season would require an earlier start date.
Hawthorn defeated Richmond by 23 points at Punt Road Oval this afternoon. The home side kicked the first goal of the quarter to take the lead, before the Hawks kicked the next four goals to seal the result.
The win means Hawthorn finish second on the AFLW ladder and claim the McClelland Trophy as the best performing team across AFL and AFLW regular seasons this year, and a $1 million bonus from the league.
North Melbourne’s victory over Gold Coast on Saturday means the Kangaroos became just the second team in AFLW history to finish a home and away season unbeaten, joining Brisbane in 2017.
With 12 games in 12 weeks, it appears the condensed fixture will not return in 2025, but footy could still be played during the week with the women’s season likely to overlap with the men’s home and away season.
The 2024 All-Australian Squad was announced earlier today.
The AFLW All-Australian panel has confirmed the squad of 42 players in contention for the All-Australian team, with Jasmine Garner and Ebony Marinoff in contention for a possible seventh All-Australian team.
McClelland Trophy winners Hawthorn led all clubs with six nominations, followed by the Adelaide Crows, reigning premiers the Brisbane Lions and minor premiers North Melbourne with five nominations each.
21 players will be vying for their maiden All-Australian blazer and 12 players will be looking to be awarded back-to-back All-Australian honours.
“We’re currently working through [whether the AFLW season will start mid-AFL season] at the moment and we’re pretty close [to making an announcement].”
With the men’s fixture featuring Thursday night games in 23 of the 25 rounds, AFL matches will be spread across Thursday to Sunday most weeks rather than just Friday to Sunday, meaning the matches will be slightly more spread out, leaving gaps that could theoretically be filled by AFLW matches.
However the League has not yet ruled out fixturing AFLW matches during the week while the men play on weekends.
Take one look at the collapse of the WBBL attendance wise now it’s been backed into October-November - rather than being centred around the school holidays and being a family event. Some of the weekend matches do okay, but then half of those take place as neutral venue matches in the name of cost control and minimising travel for the players.
No one is taking their family to a Tuesday night game in mid-August, and it will get drowned out on TV by panel shows talking about the race to the men’s finals series. The worst of both.
