The AFL Women's competition, known as AFLW, is Australia's national women's Australian rules football league. It launched in February 2017 with just 8 clubs and has since expanded to 18 teams, mirroring the men's AFL competition almost exactly. For anyone new to the game, or new to its women's version, the structure and rules have a few quirks worth knowing about.
How AFLW is structured
AFLW runs an annual home-and-away season followed by a finals series. Each of the 18 clubs plays 11 home-and-away matches before the top eight advance to finals. The finals format closely mirrors the system used in the men's competition: a double-chance structure across three rounds, with the grand final determining the premiership winner.
All 18 clubs in AFLW are directly affiliated with their men's AFL counterparts. That means clubs like the Adelaide Crows, Collingwood Magpies, Brisbane Lions, and Richmond Tigers field women's teams that wear the same colours and share the same administrative structures. AFLW is run by the Australian Football League directly, not as a separate entity, which gives it full access to the AFL's broadcast deals, venues, and marketing resources.
Season length has grown considerably. The inaugural season in 2017 ran just 7 rounds. By 2026, AFLW plays a full 11-round home-and-away season, a sign of how the competition has matured as a professional product.
How the game itself differs from men's AFL
AFLW plays under the same basic rules as men's AFL. Six points for a goal, one for a behind, 18 players per side on the field, four 20-minute quarters. The clearance, marking, and tackling laws are identical.
There are two practical differences. Historically, AFLW used a slightly smaller ball, though the league moved to a standard-sized ball from the 2022 season onwards. Quarters are 20 minutes of time-on, slightly shorter than the men's game. Every other rule, including the protected zone rule and the interchange system, applies in exactly the same way.
One area where AFLW genuinely differs is physicality. Players are not smaller by much, but the game is often praised for a distinct style: contested, hard-running, and high-scoring in patches. Several AFL coaches have noted that AFLW contests teach a kind of physical courage that's worth watching on its own terms.
How the draft and list management work
AFLW clubs build their lists through an annual national draft. Players must nominate for the draft, and clubs select in reverse ladder order, meaning the lowest-ranked club from the previous season picks first. Draft picks can be traded between clubs, and this trade market has grown significantly since the early days of the competition.
Each AFLW list is capped at 30 players. That's smaller than a men's AFL list, which can hold up to 44 players. Salary cap rules also apply, though the dollar figures remain considerably lower than the men's game. The AFLPA (AFL Players Association) covers AFLW players and has pushed for significant pay rises with each new collective bargaining agreement.
The AFLW also runs a rookie list system. Clubs can hold players on a rookie list at a lower wage before upgrading them to senior contracts. It's a pathway similar to what exists in the men's competition, and understanding it is key to following off-season roster moves. If you want to understand how the draft fits into the broader AFL system, the article on what is the AFL draft and how does it work gives helpful context on the broader mechanics.
Pay and professionalism
When AFLW began in 2017, players were paid around $8,000 to $10,000 for the season. As of 2026, minimum contracted wages sit above $40,000, with top-tier players earning six-figure contracts. That shift has been one of the most significant changes in Australian sport over the past decade.
Full professionalism has been a stated goal of the AFL for AFLW players. The league moved to aligned training and game schedules with the men's competition to help with venue and staff sharing, but AFLW players still have separate preseasons. Several clubs now provide AFLW players with the same access to facilities, dietitians, and sports psychologists as their men's counterparts.
The wage gap between the men's and women's competitions remains large. A men's AFL minimum contract in 2026 sits above $100,000, and top players earn well over a million dollars. AFLW advocates have been clear that full pay parity is a long-term goal rather than something achieved yet.
Viewership and growth
AFLW grand finals now regularly draw over 50,000 fans to stadiums, and broadcast audiences have grown steadily. The 2023 grand final between Carlton and Brisbane drew a peak TV audience of around 1.1 million viewers. Free-to-air coverage on Channel 7 and streaming through AFL Live have been central to building that audience.
Crowd attendance at home-and-away matches varies widely, from a few thousand at suburban grounds to 30,000-plus at MCG showcase games. The AFL has invested in scheduling marquee AFLW matches as curtain-raisers or double-headers with men's games, which has boosted exposure significantly.
Why AFLW matters beyond the game
AFLW has created a professional pathway for female athletes who previously had no elite domestic competition to aspire to. Before 2017, talented female footballers had limited options: state leagues with minimal pay, or switching to a different sport entirely. AFLW changed that. It now operates a talent pathway through school-age competitions and the AFL Academy, which includes a women's stream designed to identify and develop players from their mid-teens.
The league isn't without its challenges. Fixture congestion, venue availability, and the continued pay gap all remain genuine issues. But nine years into its existence, AFLW has established itself as a permanent and growing part of the Australian sporting calendar, not a sideshow.