On Saturday night in front of an enthusiastic Whitten Oval crowd, the Western Bulldogs unfurled their 2018 premiership flag to rapturous applause. Earlier that afternoon, Collingwood had returned to their spiritual home at Victoria Park, the grandstands full of old fans and new alike. They were moments that speak to the history the AFLW is building but also to the passionate community that exists around the competition.

They were also moments that stood in stark contrast to the video released by Channel 7, the AFLW’s broadcast partner, on Wednesday this week. In the video, Channel 7 lined up AFLW captains including Melissa Hickey, Ellie Blackburn and Steph Chiocci to respond to the commenters that could otherwise, and accurately, be termed trolls.

The video was swiftly removed by Channel 7 and the AFL’s official response revealed it was not authorised by them and that it did not reflect their message, one they say is about inclusiveness.

On the ABC’s Outer Sanctum on Saturday morning, Bridie O’Donnell, the director of the Victorian government’s office for women in sport and recreation, spoke about the impact of social media on players, but also about how empowered the captains may have felt to decline to participate.

It’s a valid point. How much opportunity did the players have to consider the purpose and worthiness of participating? And furthermore, were they encouraged by Channel 7 to participate against their best interests? If, as it appears, the video was filmed at the season launch, it pre-empted much of the season’s vitriol, and that itself speaks to some concerning motivations from the broadcaster.

At the launch of the inaugural season in 2017, AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan called the AFLW a “revolution”. He noted that the women who took to the field in season one carried an extraordinary weight on their shoulders and asked that “we give them the time and space to grow into the elite footballers that we know they can be”.

“We are here for [the] long haul and let’s back our players in,” McLachlan said. And yet, one wonders how much the AFL is living up to its own request.

Collingwood play Melbourne at Victoria Park over the weekend. Photograph: Michael Willson/AFL Media/Getty Images

The players continue to back themselves in and deliver. The second round of the season began at Drummoyne Oval on Friday night with a spirited and contested match between North Melbourne and the Giants in what can best be described as trying conditions: an electrical storm delaying the start time by nearly an hour followed by a blackout just before half-time. Still, the likes of Emma Kearney, Jess Dal Pos, Emma King and Rebecca Beeson stood up, delivering some brilliant wet weather footy.

Carlton, Collingwood and the Bulldogs returned to suburban grounds that hold much meaning for fans, tapping into the nostalgia that spins around footy. And Adelaide and Carlton delivered possibly the match of the round on Sunday afternoon at Princes Park with goals a plenty and some fast, skilful and contested footy. Four goals from Adelaide’s Stevie-Lee Thompson helped deliver the Crows the four points but it was far from a walkover with Maddy Prespakis, Kerryn Harrington and Brianna Davey helping lift the Blues from their lacklustre beginning to the season.

Those invested in the AFLW off field are also backing the players in. With 30% of AFLW fans new to football, they continue to come out in their droves to support the competition. Just over 7,000 walked through the gates at Victoria Park and nearly 9,000 packed into Whitten Oval to see the Dogs’ triumph over the Cats. And, despite near apocalyptic conditions in Sydney, nearly 1,500 fans stuck around to see North beat the Giants.

Debates about the merits or otherwise of the video aside, it does speak to a broader problem – one the AFL seems reluctant to deal with. A cursory glance at the comments and replies under social media posts and articles about the AFLW, and in fact of many women’s sports, reveals a barrage of often hateful, hurtful and sexist comments.

As the conversation around mental health and player welfare gets ever louder, rightly so, the laissez faire approach taken to the moderation of their social media by the AFL is increasingly untenable. This issue is not going away. And the AFL must take an active role in dealing with it to ensure the safety of the players.

The responsibility of responding to the “haters” does not rest on the shoulders of the players. The only responsibility the players have is to continue to deliver the kind of tough and contested football that has so engaged fans of the AFLW. North Melbourne’s Jess Duffin’s run down of Cora Staunton. Bulldog Deanna Berry’s clever and opportunistic run into an open goal. The dominance of Karen Paxman and Elise O’Dea in the Melbourne midfield. This is what we can ask of the players and it’s exactly what they continue to deliver in the third season of the competition.