"Hello and welcome to Optus Stadium, what is a beautiful afternoon here in Perth for a game of football. The first season of the league began in February 2017 with 8 teams, expanded to 10 teams in the 2019 season, and expanded to 14 teams in the 2020 season. The Optus Stadium turf will be a cricket outfield during the Big Bash League which precedes the derby.The grand final will be held during round five of the AFL season, with the competition expanding to eight home-and-away games before a three-week finals series.
The 2020 AFLW captains. Seven teams were placed in each of the two conferences, with teams playing all their intra-conference rivals once and two cross-over matches against teams from the other conference, resulting in an 8-round home and away season. ","AFLW: Five-person leadership group announced","Loynes and Harrington to replace Davey as Carlton opt for co-captains","Chiocci to lead Pies for a fourth season","Hayley Miller voted into Fremantle's AFLW leadership group for 2020","2020 AFLW Geelong Cats: Melissa Hickey named captain, Meg McDonald vice-captain for Geelong","Farrugia Calls Time as Eva Takes Over Captaincy","Three New Faces in AFLW Leadership Group","Katie Brennan becomes Richmond's inaugural AFLW captain","St Kilda names Cat Phillips, Kate Shierlaw and Rhiannon Watt as inaugural AFLW captains","Midfielder Emma Swanson appointed inaugural captain of West Coast Eagles AFLW team",https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2020_AFL_Women%27s_season&oldid=978689420,Sports events curtailed and voided due to the COVID-19 pandemic,Use Australian English from December 2016,All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English,Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
Fourteen teams competed in the league, four more than the previous season, all of which were associated with existing Australian Football League clubs.
"Round 2 of the 2020 NAB AFLW season culminates here in WA at this historic RAC Derby." Picture: Michael Willson Source: Getty Images Those players still competing and playing will not be able to attend the event. Picture: AFL Photos THE AFL has informed AFL club presidents and CEOs that the AFL Commission ratified a recommendation by the football operations department for no change to the current AFLW CBA, and that the 2021 season should commence in February, with a nine-week home and away season, before a three-week finals series. Metricon Stadium remains a chance to host finals, while Optus Stadium appears destined to have just one match at best.The Eagles are currently fourth on the ladder and would only host a Perth-based final in week one if they dropped to 5th or 6th, or rose to 1st or 2nd.Both scenarios remain possible given the congested nature of the table with four rounds to play.“If West Coast qualify we’d like them to play a home final in Perth,” McLachlan continued.“In week one maybe the bye helps us with that. You get the best chance for the best players to be playing and to be fit, running on top of the ground and playing the best football,” McLachlan said.“It’s exacerbated when you’ve been compressed and been doing the heavy lifting that our clubs have been doing.“It also helps us and gives us to get the best construct for finals and get the most integrity and get the breaks right.
The inaugural women’s western derby at Optus Stadium this summer will receive national free-to-air television exposure, with a chance for the AFLW crowd record to be eclipsed.While men’s derby clashes have long been restricted to pay-TV audiences around the nation, the historic match between the Fremantle and West Coast AFLW outfits will be telecast live around Australia by Channel 7.The round two game will be played at 4.10pm on Saturday, February 15. Sunday might work better for a few reasons.”.Aside from a select few who have elected to go home for various reasons, all AFL players are currently in South Australia or Queensland.Part of the Queensland Government‘s pitch for the Grand Final included hosting the Brownlow Medal, AFL fixtures boss Travis Auld confirmed on Wednesday.On the pre-finals bye, McLachlan maintained “integrity” was the primary motivator behind giving clubs a week off.“The primary reason is for the integrity of the game – to have players playing and in the best shape – and there are some side benefits as well,” he said as golfers hit their approach shots onto a green behind him at Palm Meadows.The AFL canvassed the views of 12 clubs in contention for finals on the extra bye, and all but two voted for a week‘s rest.“Their logic is consistent with why we’ve always had it. There will be red carpet, food and drinks, but the attendance list will be strictly capped depending on club success.Teams which are still playing won‘t be permitted to be in the room, while clubs which have been knocked out – and therefore are no longer in hubs – will be invited.AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan addressed the media from The Mercure Hotel in Queensland on Wednesday afternoon, forecasting a “hybrid” Brownlow Medal night.Some players will dial in via Zoom, while others will be at the venue.The league will spend the next 48 hours finalising details around football’s night of nights. The players are likely to have to contend with not only the hot weather, but a rock-hard playing surface. Hopefully that will help Western Australians for the first week.”.The makeup of finals will definitely see games played at Adelaide Oval – which is the backup Grand Final venue – and the Gabba. The reigning premiers are Adelaide.
The exact timing remains to be seen, though McLachlan’s hints on Wednesday suggested it’s more likely to be at the start of Grand Final week than during the bye before finals.“We have a partnership here (with the Queensland government) and I think we will announce that in the next couple of days without trying to be too cute with it,” McLachlan said.“It will be a hybrid event.
Those who have come out of hubs because they aren’t competing on the field anymore can attend.”.If the Brownlow Medal is in the week between the home and away season and finals, 10 clubs would have players who could attend, while eight would be attending via Zoom.But a Grand Final week event would see just two clubs unable to attend, which has not been unusual in years where West Coast, Sydney, Fremantle and Adelaide have been preparing for the Big Dance.Lachie Neale is the raging hot favourite to take home Charlie for the first time with the bookmakers, followed by Christian Petracca, Travis Boak, Dustin Martin and Jack Steele.“I’ll give you a bit of a scoop,” McLachlan said on,“I reckon it’ll be Sunday or Monday of Grand Final week. Possibly even more concerning are the dwindling crowds as attendance drops to record lows in 2020.