Friday night’s match between Carlton and Richmond exposed the chasm between an inaugural AFLW team and one that had just joined the fold.

Two points to half time wasn’t the result the Tigers would’ve hoped for, nor the league that had scheduled the biggest club in the land to open the fourth instalment of the women’s league.

Things didn’t get better on Saturday, when GWS and the Gold Coast Suns – another expansion side – played in awful conditions, with 90-150mm rain forecast in Sydney. The weather was so inclement the Sydney derby was postponed in the A-League, while the Big Bash final was contracted to just 12 overs per side.

LIVE stream every match of the 2020 NAB AFLW Season LIVE & On-Demand on KAYO. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >

Round 18

The AFLW went ahead – only lightning halts footy – and produced the lowest scoring match in the fledgling league’s history, with the Giants (1.3.9) defeating the Suns (1.2.8).

The conditions in Blacktown didn’t make for pretty footy. Source: Getty Images

Immediately, there was widespread criticism of the match. Some valid and thoughtful – suggestions to play on smaller grounds to assist in higher scores, for example – while some was just crude and, unfortunately, expected.

Let’s get something straight: the AFLW must accept criticism. But not all criticism is acceptable.

In the case of the Suns, they should be commended for cracking in and creating a contest that was up for grabs until the whistle was blown.

Indeed, the match was so tight that Giants’ skipper Alicia Eva wasn’t sure her side was on the right side of the scoreboard when the siren sounded.

Conditions were horrendous I know but this is a problem for the AFLW. The game and skills will improve over coming years but can’t help but think the league’s expansion has been rushed without the depth of talent to support it #AFLW pic.twitter.com/V1ckE04As1 — Caty Price (@caty_price) February 8, 2020

9-8? Love it. Brilliant contest by two teams having a genuine crack. Was on the edge of my seat the whole time. That’s what sport is all about. If you don’t love that you don’t love sport. #AFLW4 — Brandon Jack (@brandonjack33) February 8, 2020

There’s a huge pack of insecure men on social media who will always hate #AFLW. If it’s not the “poor skills”, the “soccer scores” or the “ground is too big” it’ll be something else. There’ll always be something else. On and on forever. And yet, the league keeps growing. Love it. — Sean Carney (@sidekickofdowie) February 8, 2020

I don’t relate to the AFLW hate whatsoever - it can all get in the bin - but comparing anything in 1881 to 2020 is ludicrous. https://t.co/UK0p7gLy5V — Marc McGowan (@ByMarcMcGowan) February 8, 2020

The question must be posed: which match was better?

The one on Friday night where the gap between the two teams was so extreme it created a one-sided affair? Or the one on Saturday that was exceptionally low scoring but an arm wrestle?

Perhaps the answer is somewhere in between. And we saw two great matches between four teams on Saturday that already have AFLW experience under their belts.

Melbourne (3.4.22) defeated North Melbourne (3.2.20) in Daisy Pearce’s comeback game, while Brisbane (5.4.34) knocked off last year’s premiers Adelaide (3.3.21).

The Lions were surprise winners. Source: AAP

On Sunday, St Kilda and West Coast will run out for the first time in what will be better conditions than the Suns’ girls were granted.

But their opposition – Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs, respectively – have three more seasons under their belts. A betting person would expect that experience to play a huge role in how the games play out.

You only need to look at how GWS and Gold Coast started off in the AFL to get some kind of idea of the pitfalls that come with expansion – and that’s with boys who’ve grown up playing the game with the best facilities and coaches.

Olympic gold medallist Kim Brennan told Offsiders that while she supported the AFL’s rapid expansion of the AFLW, she was unsure whether the season was long enough to give the athletes the best chance of improving.

“AFL is obviously not the first sport to have gone through women’s expansion, to really encourage women to get out there,” Brennan said.

“I think you have to be aggressive in expansion to increase opportunities and stimulate that supply and demand issue.

“In that aspect I think it’s right. My question mark would be whether eight games is enough to actually improve the amount of match experience and the quality of the players to really drive up the standard of play in line with the accelerated expansion.”

Brennan, a 16-time national rowing champion, makes a fair point.

Familiarity breeds success, and with only eight home and away matches there’s barely time to form synergy with new teammates.

What’s more, each loss is a serious dagger.

After falling short by just two points against Melbourne, North Melbourne coach Scott Gowans was already defining next weekend’s match against GWS as make or break.

“That’s crazy,” Brennan said.

More matches would make for better footy in the long term.

But there are other complications, including the part to play when it comes to the AFL’s broadcast partners, and the seemingly thinning crowds.

Super mum, Daisy Pearce. Source: AAP



Clearly, many aspects of AFLW could be better.

But it’s also important to celebrate the little wins along the way.

Witnessing a mum of twins returning to play after just one season out of the game was pretty special. So, too, was a Lions side – that didn’t kick a goal in a pre-season match – defeating the powerhouse Crows.

Meanwhile, Anne Hatchard breaking the record for most disposals in a match was just another sign of progress.

We may have a better feel for everything after watching the last three matches of Round One, and making all of our assessments then.