On the eve of the second edition of AFL Women's, the respective team captains copped the usual grilling by the league's official website, positing hopes and predictions for the season ahead.

One by one, all eight skippers spoke of the leaps forward the league would take in 2018 — more preparation means better fitness, better fitness means better skills, better skills means more tactical nuance and understanding.

The logic stacks up, and yet it still feels a little like a sales pitch. AFLW's first season was such a monumental success, such a breakout smash hit, it's only natural to be apprehensive about the sequel.

In many ways, it's a more important year than last. Even within the first season, gigantic crowds and fevered excitement dissipated somewhat as the season drew on.

The Crows were premiers in the inaugural season, but the field is expected to be even closer this time. ( AAP: Dan Peled )

Of course, this is not an unusual occurrence and is probably even completely expected of any league in any sport. The concern, though, is that the trend continues on a broader scale, that the momentum is unsustainable.

To its credit, the AFLW has made clear moves to avoid such a slip.

Scheduling a repeat of the Collingwood-Carlton season opener at Princes Park is a terrific decision, as those unforgettable, World Series Cricket-esque scenes set up the inaugural season, and may well do the same on the second go around.

Taking Fremantle's match against Collingwood to Perth Stadium was a bold move, and one that has already payed off with excellent ticket sales and hopes for a record crowd for the round two match.

Then there are the rule changes, most notably the last-disposal out of bounds rule that should open the game up a little, and allow the players a chance to showcase their skills and running ability, free of the congestion that was overbearing at times in 2017.

The crowd at the opening game of last season sparked a revolution in women's footy. ( AAP: Joe Castro )

The head honchos certainly aren't sleeping on the AFLW, and are aware of their ability to aid and assist the product as it strives to take even bigger strides forward this year.

But at the end of the day, there's only so much they can do. It will be the players, coaches and teams who determine AFLW's success in 2018 and beyond.

Those who used the excuse of below-AFL standard skills as a reason to deride and avoid the women's league last season did a disservice only to themselves, but given how widely the players have now been spreading the message of an improvement in the game's finer points, it's not unfair to now expect it.

Nobody is asking for miracles — not when perhaps the greatest thing about AFLW in 2017 was the terrifying ferocity with which these women attacked the ball and each other — but the promise of an increased standard has been made.

We need our heroes from last year — the likes of Vescio, Phillips, Davey, Marinoff, Harris — to prove they have another level to get to, and we need new stars — Brennan, Huntington, Molloy — to emerge and put more posters on the bedroom walls.

The physicality of the matches caught many off guard, but got plenty hooked on the league. ( AAP: Dan Peled )

As time goes on rivalries will form, with Collingwood and Carlton a natural fit, or perhaps Carlton and Brisbane as the Tayla Harris trade continues to turn salty. We need those narratives, something more substantial than the feel-good factor which by its nature can only be temporary.

And, eventually, we're going to have to start paying for it. It will come as a great test of AFLW's standing in the national sporting landscape if the crowds can be maintained, or even grown upon, without the lure of a free ticket.

The AFL should make that leap sooner rather than later, and with confidence. It underestimated the public's appetite for this league once before, it need not do it again.

While it's true the reaction to the AFLW's debut season was disproportionate, and bordered on disrespectful to the many trailblazing female athletes, teams and leagues that had come before it, this competition holds a unique spot in Australian sport and has a rare opportunity to force change beyond its own oval field.

Australian rules is our country's national, indigenous football code, a fact that both helped accelerate the rise of AFLW and gave it the chance to put women's sport right in the spotlight.

In many ways, that part of the job is done. Now it's time for AFLW 2.0 to take the next step, and become the sort of elite, entertaining, inclusive and completely professional league it has the potential to be.