With the inaugural AFL women’s national competition starting tonight when Carlton takes on Collingwood, there’s no better time than now to look at the key ways in which the game’s newest league will be run differently.

Several rules which were given exposure during the AFL women’s all-stars match in September last year, will be adopted.

Sides will take to the field with just 16 players on the ground at once.

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It has been suggested that the move has been made as a way to help break up the play and allow for more attacking and free-flowing football.

Yet the total number of players on each team will remain the same, with clubs having access to six bench spots.

The main reason for the extended bench is to better accommodate players as they attempt to cope with the heat that comes with an earlier season.

Whereas the men’s game brought in an interchange cap in a bid to achieve that purpose, the women’s game will instead go without one.

At the start of 2015, then Carlton coach Mick Malthouse had revealed he believes matches should be shortened so they would be better suited for modern society.

The men’s game has so far ignored such arguments, paving the way for the women’s league to be the first to provide a quicker match.



Instead of the usual 20 minutes plus time-on, quarters will run for 15 minutes and time-on.

Additionally, AFLW will have a size four football at the centre of the action, as opposed to a size five football used in men’s football, or a 4.5 size ball which has been previously used at women’s state-level.

While the rest of the game conforms to the standard rules, the match review panel will contrast between the two competitions in several ways too.

Contact from a reported offence will be deemed as either body or high/groin/chest.

Female players will not be punished with fines for offences.

This decision was arrived at in response with the smaller annual pay packets available for the players in mind. The minimum wage has been agreed upon at $8500, up from the AFL’s original offer of $5000.

Furthermore, players will be suspended for one match if they are reported and reprimanded for the same type of action within a season.