The momentum continues to build towards the AFL Women's league 2017 kick-off.  In less than 24 hours most of the players for the league's inaugural season will have been allocated to clubs via tomorrow's draft to be held in Melbourne.

And for the first time (in men's and women's drafts) there is the possibility that there will be internationals that have learnt and played the game in their own country up for grabs. 

The AFL tell us there have been around 1300 players register for the draft, and although they have not issued that list, they have confirmed that Kim Hemenway (USA), Katie Klatt (USA) and Kendra Heil (Canada) have all nominated.  They have also confirmed that  Aimee Legault (Canada) has unfortunately not nominated despite speculation that she would.

It is also expected there may be a number of Australian based Irish players such as Gill Behan, who plays for the UTS Shamrocks in Sydney, that may be drafted.

NAB is the inaugural sponsor of the new AFL Women’s League.

Andrew Thorburn, NAB CEO, and Gillon McLachlan, AFL CEO, today announced the partnership with the AFL Women’s League, as well as confirming NAB’s continued support of Auskick and the AFL player pathway program for a further six years.

Mr Thorburn said he was excited to be building on the bank’s 14-year partnership with the AFL and proud to be supporting both men’s and women’s football.

The Darwin-based NTFL competition got under way today in Northern Territory capital. Amid the actual football, the year 2016 is now recognised as the year that a game was played in the Northern Territory. The first match for premiership points was between Wanderers and Waratah in 2017, and they will play their centenary match in Round 15 next year. But both teams made a centenary statement today.

To kick off the new season, Round One presented four hard fought matches. It was a round of upsets, close shaves and huge excitement – great qualities to continue the celebration of 100 years of footy in the Northern Territory.

In an era of national drafts, free agents, ground rationalisation, Total Player Payments and salary caps, the question is often asked as to whether some clubs are better off than others – if the league is now operating with a cycle of sorts where all teams will get their chance.

Often the measurement of that question is premierships. It is the ultimate prize and a fair starting point. But on that great day it is debatable whether any of those mechanisms mentioned actually make the difference. Or is it fairer to measure grand final appearances – the two teams that fight all the way through to the final 100 minutes of a season.

One question here is what would be a fair length of a cycle?

Whilst he didn’t defeat eventual winner, Geelong’s Patrick Dangerfield, Mason Cox, Collingwood’s American recruit, created his own history on Brownlow Medal night. With his single vote this year, Cox became the first American player to poll a vote in the prestigious award.

Cox polled his vote in Collingwood’s Round 8 clash against the Brisbane Lions. His individual performance of 9 possessions, 3 marks, 11 hit-outs, 4 goals and 2 behinds for the day clearly caught the attention of the match umpires as they awarded him one vote for his efforts.

The following is an article from the staff writers at www.afl.com.au introducing the new logo for the AFL Women’s national competition.

THE Logo for the AFL Women's competition features a stylised 'W', with iconic goalposts and a goalsquare.

The logo, developed in consultation with the AFL women's advisory group, was released in Melbourne on Monday morning.

 

The AFL said the 'W' logo paid tribute to the heritage of the AFL logo, with the posts and goalsquare presented in a "contemporary, energetic, and youthful manner".

AFLNT [on Wednesday] released the TIO NTFL Premier League fixture and gate prices for the 2016/17 TIO NTFL Season, which will kick off on Saturday October 8.

AFLNT Chief Executive Officer Michael Solomon and AFLNT Football Operations Manager Joel Bowden released the fixture today, confirming matches are likely to be played away from TIO Stadium for the first two rounds due to the ground undergoing surface work.

The TIO NTFL Premier League will again be played across an 18-round format with all clubs to play five home matches throughout the season.

 

In the lead up to the new NTFL season due to kick off next month, the Tiwi Bombers have announced sweeping changes at coaching and board level to ensure that the Bombers can rise again. After a successful start in the NTFL competition from their inception for the 2006/7 season, and culminating in the 2009/10 premiership, the club has fallen away a little in recent seasons. The new 2016/17 season promises to deliver the club back into the higher echelons of the NTFL competition.

 

 

The Tiwi Bombers Football Club is pleased to announce the appointment of new board members and a Senior Coach ahead of the 2016/17 TIO NTFL season.

The AFL today launched AFL Women’s as the official name of the new national women’s league. In a step closer to the inaugural 2017 season, the new name, AFL Women’s, was launched in a collaboration with Instagram.

AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan, said the new name AFL Women’s, was developed in consultation with past and present players and the Women’s Football Advisory Group.

Just at the moment all I want is a set of footy cards. Not those big, burly blokes that usually grace the cards. I want a set of women’s league cards. They probably already exist, but I imagine that there will be more of them made featuring more players and available in more places when the national women’s league gets underway next year.

In the past I have found that cards have been a great giveaway for kids. They help to generate excitement as kids are maybe lucky enough to stumble across a card of their hero.

After last night’s match at the Whitten Oval, where the Western Bulldogs downed the Melbourne Demons in an historic first victory, the footy world was rewarded with a collection of “marquee” players, young guns of the future and old hands steadying the ships. That these players were our most elite women showed just how far the game of Australian Rules football had come in recent times and was a vision through a crystal ball of what will come.