2020 AFL Women's season

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2020 AFL Women's season
2020 AFLW Season Logo.png
Overview
Date7 February – 22 March 2020
Teams14
Premiers Not awarded
Best and fairest Maddy Prespakis (Carlton)
15 votes
Leading goalkicker Caitlin Greiser (St Kilda)
10 goals
Attendance
Matches played46
Total attendance205,050 (4,458 per match)
Highest35,185 (round 2, West Coast v Fremantle)
  2019
2021  

The 2020 AFL Women's season was the fourth season of the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition, the highest-level senior women's Australian rules football competition in Australia. The season featured 14 clubs and ran from 7 February to 22 March; it was intended to comprise an eight-round home-and-away season followed by a three-week finals series featuring the top three clubs from each conference, however the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March saw the season curtailed and finally abandoned without a premiership being awarded. Australian Football League (AFL) clubs Gold Coast, Richmond, St Kilda and West Coast featured for the first time in 2020.

Contents

Carlton's Maddy Prespakis won the AFL Women's best and fairest award as the league's best and fairest player, and St Kilda's Caitlin Greiser won the AFL Women's leading goalkicker award as the league's leading goalkicker.

Background

New teams

Four new teams, Gold Coast, Richmond, St Kilda and West Coast, joined the competition, bringing the total number of teams to fourteen. This followed on from the inclusion of Geelong and North Melbourne in the previous season. [1]

Expansion of AFL Women's
ClubEntry in 2017Entry in 2019/20Entry in 2022 (S7)
Placed
bid
Granted
entry
Placed
bid
Granted entryPlaced
bid
Granted
entry
20192020
Adelaide YesYes
Brisbane YesYes
Carlton YesYes
Collingwood YesYes
Essendon NoYesNoNoYesYes
Fremantle YesYes
Geelong YesNoYesYes
Gold Coast NoYesNoYes
Greater Western Sydney YesYes
Hawthorn NoYesNoNoYesYes
Melbourne YesYes
North Melbourne YesNoYesYes
Port Adelaide NoNoYesYes
Richmond YesNoYesNoYes
St Kilda YesNoYesNoYes
Sydney NoNoYesYes
West Coast YesNoYesNoYes
Western Bulldogs YesYes

Collective bargaining agreement

Prior to the season commencing a collective bargaining agreement failed to pass the player's association, with only 70% agreeing, falling short of the required 75% threshold. One of the demands of the dissenters was to have a longer season, so that all the teams could play each other once. [2] The players later voted with a vote of 98% to agree to a revised agreement, which steadily increased the number of matches to be played over three years. [3]

Conference system

The conference system utilised in the previous season was retained for this season, though it was expanded to cater for the additional teams. 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. The placing of the teams was determined by the AFL with competitiveness, list assessments and the previous season's results in mind. [4]

Impact of 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic

The 2020 season was disrupted and then brought to an early end by the COVID-19 pandemic, which was formally declared a pandemic on 11 March 2020, prior to Round 6. The pandemic had the following effects on the season:

Home-and-away season

The originally scheduled eight-round fixture and make-up of the conferences was released on 29 October 2019. [8]

Round 1

Round 1
Friday, 7 February (7:45 pm) Richmond 2.2 (14)def. by Carlton 6.12 (48) Ikon Park (crowd: 15,337) Report
Saturday, 8 February (1:10 pm) Greater Western Sydney 1.3 (9)def. Gold Coast 1.2 (8) Blacktown ISP Oval (crowd: 1,540) Report
Saturday, 8 February (3:10 pm) Melbourne 3.4 (22)def. North Melbourne 3.2 (20) Casey Fields (crowd: 3,500) Report
Saturday, 8 February (5:10 pm) Brisbane 5.4 (34)def. Adelaide 3.3 (21) Hickey Park (crowd: 3,002) Report
Sunday, 9 February (1:10 pm) Collingwood 5.8 (38)def. West Coast 1.5 (11) Victoria Park (crowd: 6,100) Report
Sunday, 9 February (3:10 pm) St Kilda 2.2 (14)def. by Western Bulldogs 6.3 (39) RSEA Park (crowd: 8,000) Report
Sunday, 9 February (5:10 pm) Fremantle 6.8 (44)def. Geelong 4.4 (28) Fremantle Oval (crowd: 5,509) Report
  • The match between Greater Western Sydney and Gold Coast, which was played in torrential rain, was the lowest scoring match in AFL history, in either the men's or women's competition, with the two teams scoring a combined score of only 2.5 (17). GWS's score of 1.3 (9) was the lowest winning score in history. [10]

Round 2

Round 2
Friday, 14 February (7:40 pm) Western Bulldogs 2.0 (12)def. by Melbourne 4.8 (32) VU Whitten Oval (crowd: 3,133) Report
Saturday, 15 February (3:10 pm) North Melbourne 6.1 (37)def. Greater Western Sydney 2.7 (19) UTAS Stadium (crowd: 2,102) Report
Saturday, 15 February (5:10 pm) Gold Coast 5.3 (33)def. Richmond 2.10 (22) Metricon Stadium (crowd: 7,071) Report
Saturday, 15 February (7:10 pm) West Coast 2.3 (15)def. by Fremantle 9.6 (60) Optus Stadium (crowd: 35,185) Report
Sunday, 16 February (1:10 pm) Geelong 3.2 (20)def. by Brisbane 6.3 (39) GMHBA Stadium (crowd: 5,567) Report
Sunday, 16 February (3:10 pm) Carlton 3.6 (24)def. by Collingwood 6.3 (39) Ikon Park (crowd: 7,529) Report
Sunday, 16 February (5:10 pm) Adelaide 6.4 (40)def. St Kilda 4.3 (27) Richmond Oval (crowd: 6,433) Report

Round 3

Round 3
Friday, 21 February (7:10 pm) St Kilda 3.1 (19)def. Melbourne 1.8 (14) RSEA Park (crowd: 4,012) Report
Saturday, 22 February (3:10 pm) Western Bulldogs 4.6 (30)def. by Carlton 8.3 (51) VU Whitten Oval (crowd: 8,259) Report
Saturday, 22 February (5:10 pm) Gold Coast 4.4 (28)drew with Brisbane 4.4 (28) Metricon Stadium (crowd: 4,223) Report
Saturday, 22 February (7:10 pm) Fremantle 5.3 (33)def. Collingwood 4.6 (30) Fremantle Oval (crowd: 5,636) Report
Sunday, 23 February (1:10 pm) Greater Western Sydney 6.6 (42)def. West Coast 2.2 (14) Blacktown ISP Oval (crowd: 1,980) Report
Sunday, 23 February (3:10 pm) Richmond 2.8 (20)def. by North Melbourne 12.4 (76) Ikon Park (crowd: 3,697) Report
Sunday, 23 February (5:10 pm) Geelong 6.2 (38)def. by Adelaide 8.1 (49) GMHBA Stadium (crowd: 3,195) Report

Round 4

Round 4
Friday, 28 February (5:40 pm) Collingwood 4.2 (26)def. by Melbourne 7.4 (46) Marvel Stadium (crowd: 21,528) Report
Saturday, 29 February (3:10 pm) Richmond 7.3 (45)def. by Geelong 10.7 (67) Queen Elizabeth Oval (crowd: 4,906) Report
Saturday, 29 February (5:10 pm) North Melbourne 6.11 (47)def. Gold Coast 5.4 (34) Arden Street Oval (crowd: 3,280) Report
Saturday, 29 February (7:10 pm) West Coast 4.6 (30)def. Western Bulldogs 3.8 (26) Leederville Oval (crowd: 2,455) Report
Sunday, 1 March (1:10 pm) Adelaide 4.4 (28)def. by Carlton 5.6 (36) Richmond Oval (crowd: 7,281) Report
Sunday, 1 March (3:10 pm) St Kilda 3.5 (23)def. by Fremantle 3.6 (24) RSEA Park (crowd: 3,870) Report
Sunday, 1 March (5:10 pm) Brisbane 7.9 (51)def. Greater Western Sydney 3.5 (23) Hickey Park (crowd: 3,297) Report

Round 5

Round 5
Friday, 6 March (7:10 pm) Gold Coast 2.6 (18)def. by Geelong 5.8 (38) Great Barrier Reef Arena (crowd: 2,788) Report
Saturday, 7 March (3:10 pm) North Melbourne 9.9 (63)def. Adelaide 3.3 (21) North Hobart Oval (crowd: 2,843) Report
Saturday, 7 March (5:10 pm) Greater Western Sydney 7.14 (56)def. Richmond 1.5 (11) Robertson Oval (crowd: 3,377) Report
Saturday, 7 March (7:10 pm) Carlton 8.2 (50)def. St Kilda 4.5 (29) Ikon Park (crowd: 3,871) Report
Sunday, 8 March (1:10 pm) Collingwood 8.5 (53)def. Western Bulldogs 3.3 (21) Morwell Recreation Reserve (crowd: 1,992) Report
Sunday, 8 March (3:10 pm) Melbourne 10.6 (66)def. West Coast 1.1 (7) Casey Fields (crowd: 1,800) Report
Sunday, 8 March (5:10 pm) Fremantle 7.8 (50)def. Brisbane 4.8 (32) Fremantle Oval (crowd: 4,446) Report

Round 6

Round 6
Friday, 13 March (7:10 pm) Geelong 3.2 (20)def. by North Melbourne 10.6 (66) GMHBA Stadium (crowd: No attendance recorded) Report
Saturday, 14 March (3:10 pm) Brisbane 2.2 (14)def. by Collingwood 5.13 (43) Hickey Park (crowd: 0) Report
Saturday, 14 March (5:10 pm) St Kilda 6.6 (42)def. Richmond 0.3 (3) RSEA Park (crowd: 0) Report
Saturday, 14 March (7:40 pm) Melbourne 3.6 (24)def. by Carlton 6.4 (40) TIO Traeger Park (crowd: 0) Report
Sunday, 15 March (1:10 pm) Western Bulldogs 8.3 (51)def. by Fremantle 10.6 (66) VU Whitten Oval (crowd: 0) Report
Sunday, 15 March (3:10 pm) Adelaide 3.3 (21)def. by Greater Western Sydney 4.2 (26) Richmond Oval (crowd: 0) Report
Sunday, 15 March (5:10 pm) West Coast 1.2 (8)def. by Gold Coast 5.3 (33) Mineral Resources Park (crowd: 0) Report
  • Richmond's score of 0.3 (3) was, at the time, the lowest in AFL Women's history. [12]
  • Round 6 matches were played without spectators, with the exception of the Friday night GeelongNorth Melbourne match – which was open to be public, but did not have its attendance officially recorded.

Ladders

Progression by round

Finals series

 
Semi finalsPreliminary finalsGrand final
 
          
 
March 21, Ikon Park
 
 
North Melbourne 5.4 (34)
 
28–29 March
 
Collingwood 5.2 (32)
 
North Melbourne Cancelled
 
March 22, Ikon Park
 
Carlton Cancelled
 
Carlton 6.8 (44)
 
4–5 April
 
Brisbane 2.3 (15)
 
N/A Cancelled
 
March 21, Fremantle Oval
 
N/A Cancelled
 
Fremantle 12.8 (80)
 
28–29 March
 
Gold Coast 1.4 (10)
 
Fremantle Cancelled
 
March 21, Giants Stadium
 
Melbourne Cancelled
 
Greater Western Sydney 3.8 (26)
 
 
Melbourne 4.5 (29)
 

Semi finals

Semi finals
Saturday, March 21 (12:40 pm) North Melbourne 5.4 (34)def. Collingwood 5.2 (32) Ikon Park (crowd: 0)
Saturday, March 21 (2:40 pm) Greater Western Sydney 3.8 (26)def. by Melbourne 4.5 (29) Giants Stadium (crowd: 0)
Saturday, March 21 (1:40 pm) Fremantle 12.8 (80)def. Gold Coast 1.4 (10) Fremantle Oval (crowd: 0)
Sunday, March 22 (1:10 pm) Carlton 6.8 (44)def. Brisbane 2.3 (15) Ikon Park (crowd: 0)

Win–loss table

+WinQualified for finals
LossXBye
DrawEliminated
Team12345678SFPFGFLadder
Adelaide BL
13
StK
13
Geel
11
Carl
8
NM
42
GWS
5
GCSRichXXXA6
Brisbane Lions Adel
13
Geel
19
GCS
0
GWS
28
Frem
18
Coll
29
RichNMCarl
29
XXA3
Carlton Rich
34
Coll
15
WB
21
Adel
8
StK
21
Melb
16
WCEFremBL
29
NMXB2
Collingwood WCE
27
Carl
15
Frem
3
Melb
20
WB
32
BL
29
StKGeelNM
2
XXB4
Fremantle Geel
16
WCE
45
Coll
3
StK
1
BL
18
WB
15
Melb
Carl
GCS
70
MelbXB1
Geelong Frem
16
BL
19
Adel
11
Rich
22
GCS
20
NM
46
GWSCollXXXA5
Gold Coast GWS
1
Rich
11
BL
0
NM
13
Geel
20
WCE
25
AdelMelbFrem
70
XXA4
Greater Western Sydney GCS
1
NM
18
WCE
28
BL
28
Rich
45
Adel
5
GeelWBMelb
3
XXA2
Melbourne NM
2
WB
20
StK
5
Coll
20
WCE
59
Carl
16
FremGCSGWS
3
FremXB3
North Melbourne Melb
2
GWS
18
Rich
56
GCS
13
Adel
42
Geel
46
WBBLColl
2
CarlXA1
Richmond Carl
34
GCS
11
NM
56
Geel
22
GWS
45
StK
39
BLAdelXXXA7
St Kilda WB
25
Adel
13
Melb
5
Frem
1
Carl
21
Rich
39
CollWCEXXXB5
West Coast Coll
27
Frem
45
GWS
28
WB
4
Melb
59
GCS
25
CarlStKXXXB7
Western Bulldogs StK
25
Melb
20
Carl
21
WCE
4
Coll
32
Frem
15
NMGWSXXXB6

Awards

League awards

Best and fairests

ClubAward namePlayerRef.
Adelaide Club Champion Anne Hatchard
Brisbane Best and fairest Emily Bates
Carlton Best and fairest Maddy Prespakis
Collingwood Best and fairest Jaimee Lambert
Fremantle Fairest and best Kiara Bowers
Geelong Best and fairest Olivia Purcell
Gold Coast Best and fairest Jamie Stanton
Greater Western Sydney Gabrielle Trainor Medal Alyce Parker
Melbourne Best and fairest Shelley Scott
North Melbourne Best and fairest Jasmine Garner
Richmond Best and fairest Monique Conti
St Kilda Best and fairest Rosie Dillon
Caitlin Greiser
Georgia Patrikios
Olivia Vesely
Western Bulldogs Susan Alberti Award Isabel Huntington
West Coast Best and fairest Dana Hooker

AFLW leading goalkicker

Source [20]

Coach changes

ClubOutgoing coachManner of departureDate of vacancyIncoming coachDate of appointment
West Coast Inaugural coach Luke Dwyer [21] 13 December 2018
Gold Coast Inaugural coach David Lake [22] 5 March 2019
St Kilda Inaugural coach Peta Searle [23] 17 April 2019
Richmond Inaugural coach Tom Hunter [24] 19 June 2019
Richmond Tom Hunter End of contract [25] 15 May 2020 Ryan Ferguson [26] 6 November 2020
North Melbourne Scott Gowans End of contract [27] 4 June 2020 Darren Crocker [27] 4 June 2020
West Coast Luke Dwyer Resigned [28] 25 September 2020 Daniel Pratt [29] 12 January 2021

Club leadership

ClubCoachCaptain(s)Vice-captain(s)Leadership groupRef
Adelaide Matthew Clarke Erin Phillips, Chelsea Randall Courtney Cramey, Ange Foley Sarah Allan, Jess Foley, Marijana Rajcic [30] [31]
Brisbane Craig Starcevich Emma Zielke Sharni Webb Emily Bates, Breanna Koenen, Kate Lutkins [32]
Carlton Daniel Harford Kerryn Harrington, Katie Loynes Alison Downie, Sarah Hosking, Nicola Stevens [33]
Collingwood Stephen Symonds Steph Chiocci Ash Brazill, Brianna Davey [34]
Fremantle Trent Cooper Kara Antonio Ebony Antonio, Kiara Bowers, Hayley Miller, Gabby O'Sullivan [35]
Geelong Paul Hood Melissa Hickey Meg McDonald Renee Garing, Jordan Ivey, Aasta O'Connor [36]
Gold Coast David Lake Leah Kaslar, Sam Virgo Tiarna Ernst, Sally Riley, Jamie Stanton [37]
Greater Western Sydney Alan McConnell Alicia Eva Jessica Dal Pos, Pepa Randall, Cora Staunton, Britt Tully [38] [39]
Melbourne Mick Stinear Daisy Pearce Karen Paxman [40]
North Melbourne Scott Gowans Emma Kearney Jasmine Garner Emma King, Brittany Gibson [41]
Richmond Tom Hunter Katie Brennan Christina Bernardi Phoebe Monahan, Lauren Tesoriero [42]
St Kilda Peta Searle Cat Phillips, Kate Shierlaw, Rhiannon Watt [43]
West Coast Luke Dwyer Emma Swanson Dana Hooker Maddy Collier, Courtney Guard, Alicia Janz [44]
Western Bulldogs Nathan Burke Ellie Blackburn Brooke Lochland Isabel Huntington, Kirsty Lamb, Hannah Scott, Lauren Spark [45]

See also

References

  1. "AFLW: Tasmania-North Melbourne and Geelong win licenses to field teams in 2019". ABC News. 27 September 2017.
  2. "AFLW season up in air after bargaining agreement fails to pass player vote". The Guardian. Australian Associated Press. 6 October 2019. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  3. "Landslide 'yes' vote ensures 2020 AFLW season will go ahead". AFL Women's. 28 October 2019.
  4. "2020 fixture and conferences revealed". AFL Women's. 29 October 2019.
  5. Jourdan Canil (13 March 2020). "Coronavirus crisis: What we know, what we don't". Australian Football League. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  6. 1 2 Sarah Black (18 March 2020). "Straight to finals: AFLW season cut short due to coronavirus". Australian Football League. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  7. Canil, Jourdan (22 March 2020). "No premiership in 2020: AFLW season ends immediately". Womens.AFL.com.au . Telstra Media.
  8. 1 2 "2020 Fixtures". AFL Women's. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  9. "Richmond AFLW home games moved to Ikon Park". www.richmondfc.com.au. 5 January 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  10. Hope, Shayne (9 February 2020). "AFLW's great expansion dilemma laid bare as new teams for 2020 go winless and sit last after Round 1". Fox Sports Australia. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  11. McNicol, Adam (9 January 2020). "AFLW: Match against Melbourne moved to Marvel Stadium before bushfire fundraiser". Collingwood . Telstra Media . Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  12. Black, Sarah (14 March 2020). "Saints hold Tigers to lowest ever AFLW score, claim second win". AFL Women's. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  13. "Young Blue caps incredible rise with top gong". AFL Women’s. 28 April 2020.
  14. "Star Dog bounces back from injuries to claim Rising Star award". AFL Women’s. 28 April 2020.
  15. 1 2 "Mark and Goal of the year revealed". AFL Women’s. 26 April 2020.
  16. 1 2 3 4 "AFLPA award winners revealed: MVP, best captain, more". AFL Women's. 20 April 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  17. "AFLW coaches' champion player". AFL Coaches Association. 24 April 2020. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  18. "AFLW All-Australian team for 2020 revealed: 12 clubs represented as two stars make history". Fox Sports Australia. 27 April 2020.
  19. "Best and fairest wrap-up: Who won your club's awards?". AFL Women's. 1 May 2020. Archived from the original on 13 September 2020.
  20. "AFL - Every Goalkicker". australianfootball.com.
  21. Black, Sarah (13 December 2018). "AFLW: Eagles development coach to lead new team". Australian Football League . Telstra.
  22. "David Lake appointed inaugural GC SUNS AFLW Coach". Gold Coast . Telstra. 5 March 2019.
  23. Ramsey, Michael (17 April 2019). "Saints appoint Peta Searle as AFLW coach". The Age .
  24. Black, Sarah (19 June 2019). "The hunt is over: Tigers name inaugural coach". AFL Women's . Telstra.
  25. "Tom Hunter to depart Richmond". Richmond . Telstra. 15 May 2020.
  26. "Ryan Ferguson appointed AFLW coach". Richmond . Telstra. 6 November 2020.
  27. 1 2 "AFLW: Gowans to depart". North Melbourne . Telstra. 4 June 2020.
  28. Quartermaine, Braden (25 September 2020). "West Coast Eagles women's coach Luke Dwyer steps down after one season amid COVID-19 carnage". The West Australian .
  29. Townsend, John (12 January 2021). "Daniel Pratt confirmed for dual West Coast Eagles coaching roles at WAFL and AFLW level". The West Australian .
  30. "AFLW: 2020 co-captains locked in". Adelaide . Telstra Media. 6 January 2020.
  31. "AFLW: Five-person leadership group announced". Adelaide . Telstra Media. 28 January 2020.
  32. Fielding, Josie (18 December 2019). "Emma Zielke returns as Captain". Brisbane Lions . Telstra Media.
  33. "Loynes and Harrington to replace Davey as Carlton opt for co-captains". The Age . 12 December 2019.
  34. "Chiocci to lead Pies for a fourth season". Collingwood . Telstra Media. 10 December 2019.
  35. Raynor, Bonnie (18 December 2019). "Hayley Miller voted into Fremantle's AFLW leadership group for 2020". The West Australian .
  36. Young, Lachie. "2020 AFLW Geelong Cats: Melissa Hickey named captain, Meg McDonald vice-captain for Geelong". Geelong Advertiser . Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  37. "Your inaugural AFLW Captains". Gold Coast Suns . Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  38. "Farrugia Calls Time as Eva Takes Over Captaincy". Greater Western Sydney Giants . Telstra Media. 24 November 2019.
  39. "Three New Faces in AFLW Leadership Group". Greater Western Sydney Giants . Telstra Media. 17 January 2020.
  40. Nobes, Caitlin (20 January 2020). "Pearce to lead Demons in 2020". Melbourne . Telstra Media.
  41. "AFLW: Kearney to lead again". North Melbourne . Telstra Media. 25 November 2019.
  42. "Katie Brennan becomes Richmond's inaugural AFLW captain". Richmond . Telstra Media. 15 January 2020.
  43. Wood, Lauren (14 January 2020). "St Kilda names Cat Phillips, Kate Shierlaw and Rhiannon Watt as inaugural AFLW captains". Herald Sun .
  44. "Midfielder Emma Swanson appointed inaugural captain of West Coast Eagles AFLW team". The Sunday Times . 12 December 2019.
  45. "Blackburn named AFLW captain". Western Bulldogs . Telstra Media. 24 January 2020.