2024 AFL Women's season

The 2024 AFL Women's season was the ninth season of the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition, the highest-level senior women's Australian rules football competition in Australia. The season featured 18 clubs and ran from 30 August to 30 November, comprising an eleven-match home-and-away season over ten weeks, followed by a four-week finals series featuring the top eight clubs.

won the premiership, defeating by 30 points in the 2024 AFL Women's Grand Final. North Melbourne won the minor premiership by finishing atop the home-and-away ladder with a 10–0–1 win–loss–draw record and, by winning its three finals, recorded an undefeated season for the first time in the competition's history. 's Ebony Marinoff won the AFL Women's best and fairest award as the league's best and fairest player, while 's Aishling Moloney and Brisbane's Taylor Smith tied for the AFL Women's leading goalkicker award as the league's leading goalkickers.

Background

In February 2024, Australian Football League (AFL) executive general manager Laura Kane announced that pre-season training for the 2024 season would commence on 3 June, and that the season would begin during the last weekend of August, coinciding with the AFL's pre-finals bye weekend, as had been the case the previous two seasons. In February, an eleven-match home-and-away season was confirmed, an increase from ten matches in 2023, along with four weeks of finals. Although players were on twelve-month contracts for the first time, the announcement came earlier than in previous seasons following requests from players to allow sufficient notice to plan living and work arrangements. Clubs had offered voluntary training during the off-season, with some allowing select players to play in state league competitions for additional exposure.

The 2024 season fixture was released in May, with the eleven-match home-and-away season scheduled over ten weeks. The compressed period of the season took place during weeks 4 to 7, with each club playing two matches in one of the four weeks; consequently, the fixture was divided by weeks rather than rounds, and matches were played on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays during the compressed period to align with school holidays across Australia and focus on increased attendance and television viewership. Leading into the season, reigning grand finalists and were heavily favoured to at least make the grand final again in 2024, with experts from Code Sports and ESPN predicting that one of the two clubs would win the premiership and 17 of the 18 club captains tipping either North Melbourne or Brisbane as the club most likely to reach the grand final outside of their own.

Coach appointments New coach Club Date of appointment Previous coach Daisy Pearce 11 December 2023 Michael Prior Sam Wright 22 December 2023 Stephen Symonds Daniel Webster 5 February 2024 Bec Goddard Tamara Hyett 16 February 2024 Nathan Burke

Club leadership Club Coach Leadership group Captain(s) Vice-captain(s) Other leader(s) Matthew Clarke Sarah Allan, Ebony Marinoff Jessica Allan, Najwa Allen, Anne Hatchard, Eloise Jones Craig Starcevich Breanna Koenen Nat Grider Ally Anderson, Sophie Conway, Belle Dawes, Cathy Svarc Mathew Buck Kerryn Peterson Mimi Hill, Abbie McKay Sam Wright Brianna Davey Jordyn Allen, Brittany Bonnici, Ruby Schleicher Lauren Butler, Mikala Cann, Sabrina Frederick Natalie Wood Steph Cain, Bonnie Toogood Sophie Alexander, Maddi Gay, Bess Keaney Lisa Webb Angelique Stannett Hayley Miller, Laura Pugh, Aine Tighe Ashleigh Brazill, Emma O'Driscoll Daniel Lowther Meg McDonald Nina Morrison, Becky Webster Mikayla Bowen, Chantel Emonson, Amy McDonald Cameron Joyce Tara Bohanna Jacqui Dupuy Georgia Clayden, Charlie Rowbottom, Claudia Whitfort Cameron Bernasconi Rebecca Beeson Katherine Smith Tarni Evans, Alyce Parker Daniel Webster Emily Bates Eliza West Jasmine Fleming, Tilly Lucas-Rodd, Jenna Richardson Mick Stinear Kate Hore Tyla Hanks Sarah Lampard, Paxy Paxman Darren Crocker Emma Kearney Jasmine Garner Libby Birch, Bella Eddey, Jasmine Ferguson, Ash Riddell, Kate Shierlaw Lauren Arnell Janelle Cuthbertson Justine Mules-Robinson Ange Foley, Ashleigh Saint Ryan Ferguson Katie Brennan Tessa Lavey, Gabby Seymour Monique Conti, Sarah Hosking Nick Dal Santo Hannah Priest Bianca Jakobsson Georgia Patrikios, Tyanna Smith, Serene Watson Scott Gowans Lucy McEvoy, Chloe Molloy Daisy Pearce Emma Swanson Bella Lewis, Charlie Thomas Jess Hosking, Matilda Sergeant Tamara Hyett Deanna Berry Elle Bennetts, Ellie Blackburn, Jess Fitzgerald, Isabella Grant, Isabelle Pritchard

Pre-season All starting times are local time. Source: afl.com.au

Overview

The season began on 30 August with a match between and , and concluded on 30 November with the 2024 AFL Women's Grand Final. All matches throughout the season were broadcast live on the Seven Network, Fox Footy and Kayo. Sydney was awarded the right to host the opening match of the season after averaging the highest home crowds during the 2023 home-and-away season with 4,637, more than 2,000 over the league average; the match marked the first time the season opener was held outside of Victoria. The Dreamtime match between and , to take place during Indigenous Round in week 9, will be played in Darwin for the first time, while Sydney hosted Richmond in the competition's first match in Coffs Harbour in week 3; the season was the first to not feature a Hampson–Hardeman Cup between and the . The season marked an AFLW record for female senior coaches with five, including new coaches Tamara Hyett (Western Bulldogs) and Daisy Pearce ().

In August, the AFL announced that a new "smart footy" ball-tracking technology would be introduced for the upcoming season at all venues, in which a chip is embedded in the football and tracked by sensors around the field; the system, which had been trialled for 18 months (including at Victorian Football League (VFL) and VFL Women's (VFLW) level), would be used to assist with reviewing scores, including alerting officials when the football crosses the goal line, hits the goal post or is touched mid-shot. After the technology was successfully used twice in week 1, marking the first use of a score review system in the AFLW, AFL general manager of footy operations Josh Mahoney said that the league would work towards implementing graphics in television broadcasts and at venues to give fans an insight into the review process, similar to the replays used for score reviews in the AFL.

Home-and-away season All starting times are local time. Source: afl.com.au

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

Week 9

Week 10

Ladder

Progression by round For readability purposes, weeks 4 to 7 are split into each club's five matches, with no fixed ladder positions being given for the first four matches of this period due to the spread of matches.

Team W1 W2 W3 Weeks 4–7 W8 W9 W10 1 2 3 4 5 14 18 22 26 12 16 20 24 12 16 20 24 16 16 20 20 12 16 20 20 4 4 8 12 12 16 16 20 4 8 12 16 4 4 8 12 6 6 6 10 12 12 12 16 0 4 8 8 12 12 16 16 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 6 6 6 6 2 2 2 2 0 0 4 4

Source: Australian Football

Home match attendance The following table includes all home match attendance figures from the home-and-away season.

Team Hosted Total Highest Lowest Average 2023 2024 Change 5 14,308 3,275 2,311 4,073 2,862 6 20,636 6,102 2,168 2,912 3,439 5 9,871 2,655 1,320 2,677 1,974 6 13,178 3,283 1,325 2,470 2,196 6 19,357 4,407 1,460 2,954 3,226 5 11,132 2,669 1,633 2,405 2,226 5 13,665 3,838 2,033 3,489 2,733 5 8,169 2,160 1,319 1,460 1,634 5 6,844 2,003 938 1,478 1,369 5 12.150 2,794 2,106 2,400 2,430 5 8,701 2,026 1,264 3,240 1,740 6 10,923 3,019 753 2,016 1,821 6 18,076 5,194 1,706 2,373 3,013 6 10,629 2,455 997 2,041 1,772 5 8,621 3,073 1,427 2,293 1,724 6 21,680 5,530 2,279 4,637 3,613 6 16,542 6,047 1,765 1,192 2,757 5 33,415 23,085 1,545 2,425 6,683 Total/overall 99 263,162 23,085 753 2,585 2,658 73

Source: Australian Football

Finals series

All starting times are local time. Source: afl.com.au

Finals week 1

Finals week 2

Finals week 3

Grand final

Win–loss table For readability purposes, weeks 4 to 7 are split into each club's five matches. Home matches are in bold and opponents are listed above the margins.

Team Home-and-away season Finals series W1 W2 W3 Weeks 4–7 W8 W9 W10 F1 F2 F3 GF 1 2 3 4 5 PA+14 FRE+33 HAW+26 ESS+33 BRI−2 STK+4 MEL−2 GWS+64 COL+43 NM−8 GEE+4 4(8–3–0) NM−7 FRE+37 BRI−18 NM−44 MEL+18 COL+52 WB+47 WC+45 ADE+2 CAR+55 GC+16 GEE−10 SYD+68 STK+27 3(9–2–0) HAW+6 X ADE+18 NM−30 HAW−38 GC+1 GEE+24 RIC−33 NM−69 PA−35 BRI−55 FRE+4 WB−33 COL+4 ESS−36 14(4–7–0) SYD−15 HAW−47 BRI−52 WC−17 WB−42 GC+3 RIC−36 PA−8 ADE−43 CAR−4 MEL−47 18(1–10–0) FRE−43 WC+16 STK−8 ADE−33 MEL+65 SYD+3 GC+9 WB+23 NM−51 RIC0 CAR+36 8(6–4–1) FRE−10 ESS+43 ADE−33 PA+8 MEL+6 STK+11 GEE+18 HAW−9 CAR−4 WC+23 GWS+30 WB+14 5(8–3–0) ESS+10 ADE−37 MEL−2 NM0 CAR−24 GC+69 HAW−18 FRE−18 SYD+3 RIC−7 BRI+10 WC+33 ADE−4 10(4–6–1) STK−54 CAR−1 GWS0 GEE−69 COL−3 HAW−13 ESS−9 BRI−16 SYD+4 PA−34 NM−63 17(1–9–1) WB+63 RIC−11 GC0 SYD−3 WC−24 MEL−16 STK−34 ADE−64 HAW−37 FRE−30 PA−1 16(1–9–1) CAR+38 COL+47 ADE−26 STK+57 GEE+18 GC+13 FRE+9 WC+66 GWS+37 MEL+6 RIC+23 2(10–1–0) BRI−6 PA−1 GEE+2 BRI−18 NM−50 FRE−6 ESS−65 GWS+16 ADE+2 STK+14 RIC+13 HAW−6 COL+47 9(6–5–0) BRI+44 GEE0 MEL+50 PA+36 CAR+69 RIC+12 WB+55 SYD+60 ESS+51 ADE+8 GC+63 1(10–0–1) ADE+7 X PA+57 BRI+30 ADE−14 WB+40 FRE−8 NM−36 RIC−21 CAR+35 WC+13 COL+8 STK+15 GC+34 GWS+1 6(7–4–0) RIC+24 HAW+1 NM−57 WC−1 GWS+11 SYD+46 CAR+33 PA+21 NM−12 COL+36 GEE+7 MEL−13 ESS0 HAW−23 7(6–4–1) PA−24 GC+54 SYD+16 ESS+8 HAW−57 FRE−11 ADE−4 GWS+34 MEL−14 PA−15 WB−1 BRI−27 11(4–7–0) COL+15 STK−16 RIC−46 GWS+3 WB−7 ESS−3 GEE−3 NM−60 GC−4 BRI−68 WC+46 15(3–8–0) RIC+1 ESS−16 WB+11 COL+17 BRI−45 GWS+24 PA−13 HAW−66 FRE−23 GEE−33 SYD−46 13(4–7–0) GWS−63 PA−40 WC−11 BRI−47 COL+42 SYD+7 NM−55 ESS−23 CAR+33 STK+1 FRE−14 12(4–7–0)

Source: Australian Football

Season notes The became the first team to be held goalless three times in an AFLW season. became the first team to go through an AFLW season undefeated. They had a record score differential of 315.4% and conceded an average of just 19 points per game.https://www.afl.com.au/news/1263215

Coach departures Outgoing coach Club Manner of departure Date of departure Caretaker coach Incoming coach Date of appointment Cameron Joyce Dismissed with two years remaining on contract 2 December 2024 — Rhyce Shaw 21 January 2025

Awards

Major awards

The AFL Women's best and fairest was awarded to co-captain Ebony Marinoff. The AFLPA AFLW most valuable player was awarded to Adelaide co-captain Ebony Marinoff; Marinoff was also voted as best captain, while teammate Chelsea Randall was voted as most courageous player and 's Shineah Goody was voted as best first-year player. The AFLCA AFLW champion player of the year was awarded to Adelaide co-captain Ebony Marinoff; coach Darren Crocker was voted as coach of the year. The AFL Women's Grand Final best-on-ground medal was awarded to North Melbourne's Jasmine Garner. The AFL Women's All-Australian team was announced on 25 November; North Melbourne's Jasmine Garner was named captain and Adelaide co-captain Ebony Marinoff was named vice-captain. The AFL Women's leading goalkicker was awarded to 's Aishling Moloney and 's Taylor Smith. The AFL Women's Rising Star was awarded to Port Adelaide's Matilda Scholz. The Goal of the Year was awarded to Adelaide's Hannah Munyard. The Mark of the Year was awarded to Port Adelaide's Matilda Scholz.

Leading goalkickers For readability purposes, weeks 4 to 7 are split into each club's five matches.

2024 AFL Women's season

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