Aflw - 2025

[BiteNibbleChomp]

Great win 41-21. After seeing what Melbourne did to the saints yesterday, last week wasn't a debacle. Plenty of growth in the team and this will to wonders for their confidence. Big challenge against the hawks next week.

I went to the game at Casey on Saturday, found myself wanting Melbourne to win it, which was a strange experience given what that club has put me through over the last few years. But I cheered them on the basis that if Melbourne won, it would mean round 1 was us getting beat by a good team, whereas if the Saints won, then we'd look a lot worse.
But I reckon the side that really came out of that game looking bad was Adelaide - if those Saints are the same team that beat them last week, on top of losing both their practice games... if they hadn't beaten Geelong there'd be a lot of unpleasant questions being asked about now.

Shame we have to wait until Round 10 for Melbourne to face Sydney, and then the Lions the next week - those will be very interesting games!

- BNC

[BiteNibbleChomp]

I don't hold a grudge

I do, and I wasn't even following W when they left us

- BNC

[Hotdog60]

Hyett to remain at the helm


The Western Bulldogs are pleased to announce that AFLW head coach Tam Hyett will remain at the helm until at least the end of the 2027 NAB AFLW Season.

Hyett joined the Bulldogs in February 2024, marking the start of a new AFLW chapter.

Coaching a refreshed and relatively inexperienced Bulldogs side, Hyett oversaw four wins in her first season to finish 12th on the ladder.

Despite significant injuries, her side’s strong finish was powered by a clear gameplan and individual player development.

Bulldogs President Kylie Watson-Wheeler said the club was thrilled to extend Hyett’s tenure given what she has already achieved in the role.

“As we looked to reset our W program we needed someone who could unite and inspire a program that had undergone significant change in recent years,” Watson-Wheeler said.

“Tam’s vision for how our team should compete has clearly resonated with the playing group and we’re already seeing that translate into positive results on field.

“We’re excited by the progress to date and have high hopes about where Tam can take this group.”

Hyett said she was excited by the opportunity and grateful for the trust placed in her.

“I’m really excited and really happy that the board and powers that be have shown confidence to extend me for another couple of years,” she said.

“We have a really exciting group so I look forward to seeing not only what we can continue to achieve this year, but in years to come as well.

“I’ve been really lucky to have some really good people around me that have assisted me in my own growth. I think that’s the exciting thing, not just for me but for our coaching group as well, that we can grow with the playing group.

“We’ve only just scratched the surface, so I can’t wait to see what we can achieve in the next two years.”

Bulldogs CEO Ameet Bains said the impact Hyett has made since arriving at the Kennel was undeniable.

“Under her guidance and coaching, our AFLW team has made great progress while retaining a fierce hunger to get better and develop further,” Bains said.

“Clearly Tam has earned the trust of our players and coaches and formed strong bonds across the entire organisation which is testament to her excellent character and leadership.”

The Bulldogs kicked off their 2025 campaign by honouring the pioneers and trailblazers who paved the way for AFLW, before enjoying a 21-point win over Richmond last weekend.

LINK

[ledge]

Hyett to remain at the helm


The Western Bulldogs are pleased to announce that AFLW head coach Tam Hyett will remain at the helm until at least the end of the 2027 NAB AFLW Season.

Hyett joined the Bulldogs in February 2024, marking the start of a new AFLW chapter.

Coaching a refreshed and relatively inexperienced Bulldogs side, Hyett oversaw four wins in her first season to finish 12th on the ladder.

Despite significant injuries, her side’s strong finish was powered by a clear gameplan and individual player development.

Bulldogs President Kylie Watson-Wheeler said the club was thrilled to extend Hyett’s tenure given what she has already achieved in the role.

“As we looked to reset our W program we needed someone who could unite and inspire a program that had undergone significant change in recent years,” Watson-Wheeler said.

“Tam’s vision for how our team should compete has clearly resonated with the playing group and we’re already seeing that translate into positive results on field.

“We’re excited by the progress to date and have high hopes about where Tam can take this group.”

Hyett said she was excited by the opportunity and grateful for the trust placed in her.

“I’m really excited and really happy that the board and powers that be have shown confidence to extend me for another couple of years,” she said.

“We have a really exciting group so I look forward to seeing not only what we can continue to achieve this year, but in years to come as well.

“I’ve been really lucky to have some really good people around me that have assisted me in my own growth. I think that’s the exciting thing, not just for me but for our coaching group as well, that we can grow with the playing group.

“We’ve only just scratched the surface, so I can’t wait to see what we can achieve in the next two years.”

Bulldogs CEO Ameet Bains said the impact Hyett has made since arriving at the Kennel was undeniable.

“Under her guidance and coaching, our AFLW team has made great progress while retaining a fierce hunger to get better and develop further,” Bains said.

“Clearly Tam has earned the trust of our players and coaches and formed strong bonds across the entire organisation which is testament to her excellent character and leadership.”

The Bulldogs kicked off their 2025 campaign by honouring the pioneers and trailblazers who paved the way for AFLW, before enjoying a 21-point win over Richmond last weekend.

LINK

That’s huge after just two games and one being a belting , she must be extremely impressive

[1eyedog]

She's had very little time to do anything yet have to back her in.

[Hotdog60]

League blocked trades that didn't benefit expansion clubs claims former AFLW coach


Former Western Bulldogs AFLW coach Nathan Burke says the league played a heavy hand in blocking trades and getting star players to move to expansion clubs, contributing to the current competitive imbalance in the competition.

This year, round two of the AFLW had four of the nine games decided by 70 points or more.

Burke, who played 323 AFL games for St Kilda before coaching the Bulldogs from 2020 to 2023, said many clubs had to try and continue to develop through the 2019, 2020 and 2022 expansions with "one hand behind their back", in large part due to the AFLW's tiered payment system.

This was while the AFL would offer extra incentives to big-name players to leave for expansion clubs, such as additional services agreements, which include payments for promotional and marketing services.

"Every single trade had to go through the AFL, and they would say no and they'd regularly knock us back and say, 'Sorry, that's too advantageous for you and not for another team, so you can't do it,'" Burke told ABC Sport.

"We had numerous trades that we wanted to do, and the other team agreed to it. Both teams were happy with it, and the AFL were the final arbiter of any trades, and said, 'No, in our opinion, that other club is not benefiting enough, it's not going to help the league. So, you can't do that trade'.

"I can guarantee you that I lost players who were contacted by the AFL to say, 'Hey, we think it would be a good idea if you went to this club, this is an expansion club. We've got ambassador roles floating around and we can chuck you one of those if you're keen to go to this club.'"

The Western Bulldogs were one of eight foundation AFLW teams in 2017 and won the premiership the following season, but were subsequently raided by expansion clubs over the next four years.

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In total, the Bulldogs lost 13 key players to rival clubs during the competition's three expansions, including big names such as Monique Conti, Katie Brennan, Emma Kearney, Jenna Bruton, Kim Rennie, Libby Birch, Brooke Lochland, Bonnie Toogood and Daria Bannister.

Brisbane was another heavily hit team, losing 16 players to new clubs in a little over 12 months through the first two expansions.

Burke said the current payment system, where payment is standardised across all 18 teams through a four-tiered system, made it hard to keep star players.

Two players in each club sit in tier one, then six in each of tiers two and three, and 16 in tier four.

"If you've got a player on tier three who thinks they're a tier two, well, you've got to wait for somebody to leave or vacate that spot, or demote somebody … and then players leave," Burke said.

"If you've got two [players on] tier one, you can't get another one because there's no room. But if you just had a salary cap, maybe you can juggle those three players where they all get just a little bit less [money], but we can have all three of them into our team."

Tier 1 players earn $109,760, tier 2 $89,559, tier 3 $76,091, and tier 4 $67,337 for the 2025 season.



Ahead of the season, AFL executive general manager of football operations Laura Kane said the league would be open to introducing a salary cap.

"We have a soft cap, we introduced a national draft last year, and we don't currently have a salary cap, so we've got some levers that are available to us when we're ready to introduce them," Kane told ABC Sport.

Former AFLW All-Australian turned expert commentator Kate McCarthy started with inaugural club Brisbane but moved to St Kilda in 2020.

She said the Saints gave her reassurance that if she wanted to move, the trade would happen.

"They could basically take anyone they wanted, if they wanted to offer them something — ie Chloe Molloy going from Collingwood [to Sydney], Collingwood get no compensation for it. Look at where Collingwood are on the ladder [last year they finished 18th with just one win]," McCarthy said.

"Look at where other teams that have lost multiple players have been on the ladder. North Melbourne were very, very tactical in their initial list build. So all of the praise has to go to them, with the way that they've done that and the way that they've maintained their culture.

"But I feel for teams that haven't been able to keep their core group together. The Western Bulldogs, they've been absolutely raided and haven't been able to recover from it."

McCarthy said that with less player movement, as there would be no more expansions until Tasmania came in, the fix would have to come through drafting.

Last year, the AFLW moved to a fully national draft for the first time, transitioning away from the state-based model.

"The other positive for this is how quickly we think draftees can change this competition, because they can," McCarthy said, referencing the draft talent coming through.

"So if you are a team that's towards the bottom and you get some really good draft picks, I feel like it could turn things around very, very quickly."

The AFL have been contacted for comment.

LINK

[BiteNibbleChomp]

That’s huge after just two games and one being a belting , she must be extremely impressive

I would guess it was decided earlier than the last couple of days, and the win last week just provided a good opportunity to put the announcement out.

And she's more than earned it for last year alone. What she started with was a list that had just lost a third of its players, including several of its biggest names and much of its experience, had just got one spoon and was almost unanimously predicted to be set for another. Four wins in those circumstances is a testament to her ability to bring this team together both on and off field.
As for this year? We've beaten the reigning premiers (and the most dominant team the comp has ever seen), and tied with a finals hopeful in pre-season, and had a solid win against another good side in Richmond. A loss to Melbourne - a side that is currently sitting on a percentage of 500 and flogged both its pre-season opponents - is hardly a discredit to her.

Couldn't be happier with the announcement

- BNC

[josie]

Detailed article. It’s good Burke has shared this with public. What a farcical organisation the AFL is. Our women’s team suffered the most from expansion and from the article it looks like we tried very hard to counter the AFL influenced exodus of top players and were actively stopped by AFL with our efforts to bring players in. Our support seems to have dropped off a fair bit and surely that’s linked to our being largely non competitive, seemingly largely through no fault of our own.

[The Underdog]

Absolutely fierce start from the girls against the Hawks. One thing this team won’t be this year is wooden spooners.

[Prince Imperial]

I'm standing on centre wing and our tackling was sensational that quarter.

[josie]

Absolutely fierce start from the girls against the Hawks. One thing this team won’t be this year is wooden spooners.

Yeah, if they keep this up they’ll be a fun team to watch. I love Wilcox, what a tenacious gun she is. And Griggs is a tackle machine.

[Prince Imperial]

3 tall forwards not working. I was surprised they played McKee tonight. We need more pace and pressure down there. Tilley-Rodd is dominating in defence.
.

[The Underdog]

So much to like, but our kicking was absolutely atrocious

[BiteNibbleChomp]

That's two weeks in a row I've gone to a game and watched Hawthorn flood the defence and reduce the game to an ugly scrap where two goals makes a winning score. Now, serves me right for going to Frankston last week, but I seem to remember that when we tried that last year we got reamed in the media for it. But it's Hawthorn, so of course we won't hear anything about it .

Great effort by our girls, but that's a game I hope I forget real quickly.

- BNC

[Hotdog60]

Too much kicking down the line and we needed to spread their defense a bit more, but you can't fault the effort the whole team was fierce at the contest, and you could see there were some very tired players out there.