- North Melbourne and Port Adelaide played in brutal conditions
- Broadcaster calls on AFLW to make big change
- She says the players “deserve better” from the league
AFLW broadcaster Kelli Underwood says players “deserve better” from the AFL and has called for a realignment of the women’s competition with the men’s season.
Underwood said playing in poor conditions on exposed home fields had contributed to the injuries, low scores and poor fans that have plagued the league in its ninth season.
Last week’s total scores were down 13 percent in the sixth round, 2023, after scoring had been on an upward trend during the competition’s early seasons.
Underwood said it was clear the weather and ground quality were having the biggest impact on scoring and overall interest in the competition and highlighted the success of the NRLW and WBBL qualifications.
He said players were leading a “behind the scenes” effort to pressure the AFL to hold doubleheaders with men’s games at better venues during traditional football months.
“I think as time goes on, it will become more and more apparent that October and November are not the right time,” Underwood said.
AFLW presenter Kelli Underwood has called on football bosses to make a change to the women’s competition.
North Melbourne and Port Adelaide played in brutal conditions at a completely exposed Whitten Oval in September in a match attended by just 943 people. Image: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images
Underwood said “players deserve better than some of the suburban fields” AFLW teams typically play on.
‘The players deserve better than some of these suburban fields in the wind and rain.
‘Casey Fields in Cranbourne (Melbourne’s homeland) is the windiest place you’ve ever been. The conditions are always challenging and that’s what I think probably contributes to these scores.”
Underwood said the AFL needed to “show some urgency” to improve its product as other codes accelerated the pace of growth of the women’s game.
“I think they need to do it, because I honestly think they’re falling so far behind football after the World Cup last year, and the NRLW and what they’ve done with State of Origin,” he said.
“I think it was excellent, it was a masterstroke to play it on Thursday night, in good stadiums.
“It was a ratings bonanza – people will watch women’s sport if it’s high quality… I feel like the AFL is falling behind cricket too.”
Hawthorn won a thrilling 79-61 clash against Geelong at GMHBA Stadium in near-perfect conditions, which Underwood said showed how the game could be more common if it were played on the AFL’s best fields. Image: Kelly Defina/Getty Images
Underwood said there was a reason the week five penalty shootout between Geelong and Hawthorn at GMHBA Stadium had returned the highest combined score for a game this season at 140 points.
‘There was no wind, it was a calm night, under lights on a good deck. “Those teams aren’t even in the top three and yet you can see the kind of skills that were on display,” he said.
‘I think it’s time to rethink it. There’s nothing wrong with the AFL saying, ‘look, we experimented in January-February, it didn’t work, we experimented in October-November.’
“There is a real push behind the scenes from players to play doubleheaders and have the opportunity to play on the best courses in Australia.
“I think it will be a better product if they play games on Marvel and MCG.”
Underwood has joined Herald Sun journalist Lauren Wood as host of a new AFLW Sunday show on Fox, which will detail the weekend’s games and include interviews and light-hearted segments with star players.