THROUGHOUT an AFLW season, there are plenty of opportunities to learn.
Sometimes they are immediate lessons that can be taken into the next week, and others require work over the off-season on which to capitalise. So what was your club's biggest lesson of the 2025 NAB AFLW season?
The competition gap is closing
For such a long time, Adelaide has sat near the top of the League's ladder. An AFLW-best three flags, and a host of stars across every line, 2025 was the first time since 2020 that the Crows didn't reach at least a preliminary final.
It seemed like writing was on the wall in round one when they fell to St Kilda by 22 points, and from there they had to scrap and fight to even reach finals – something that has been a given since that very first season back in 2017.
"I just don't think they were fit. For round one they looked slow, I just remember watching that game being like, 'they look really slow against a side like St Kilda'. And yes, we know St Kilda ended up playing a bit better throughout the year … but Adelaide just did not look like the side that we know they are," Kaitlyn Ferber said on the W Download podcast.
Fighting the Roos juggernaut
The Lions adapted their game over the off-season to better compete with the best sides in 2025 – that was a lesson learned in their 2024 Grand Final loss to the Roos. It took some time to bed it down, but once the Lions got on a roll, they became terribly difficult to stop. That was, until the Grand Final.
Unfortunately, it just didn't stack up on the biggest of days, again. So while it's not back to the drawing board, there is some work to be done around the club's capacity to reliably stick to a plan, and stay calm when things aren't going its way.
"(Brisbane) should have been up to par with them, and they weren't … I think they panicked against North Melbourne. It just looked messy and I think that was their biggest lesson," Ferber said.
Finals experience
The Blues sensationally gathered momentum through the season, and that momentum took them all the way to a preliminary final – their first since 2019. For a playing list that has largely arrived in the aftermath of Carlton's proceeding downturn in form, this year's finals jaunt was its first chance at tasting do-or-die footy.
"Just a generic lesson, I think just (that) you know what it's like to play an elimination final. I think there's so much pressure attached to that, more so than playing a qualifying final is the first final … and they were completely dominant from go to woe against the Eagles," Sarah Black said.
"So the conditions played in their favour, but they really set the tone there. Totally punctured Hawthorn, it was like they took all the air out of them, they popped the bubble… and they didn't disgrace themselves in the preliminary final against Brisbane. Brisbane are hardened, the most successful finals side we have seen over 10 seasons and Carlton didn't drop their heads."
Player availability is everything
In its two seasons under Sam Wright, Collingwood has not had its best 21 available at any one time due to a spate of injuries. Former captain Brianna Davey has played five games in two years, No.1 draft pick Ash Centra missed the last month of footy in 2025, and a host of other players missed chunks of footy in that time.
It has meant that implicating the new Collingwood system has been slowed because there hasn't been a consistency at the selection table.
"Injury is partially luck, but another part is your strength and conditioning department, which they have had a chance in personnel there, and then the third part of that for me is who you're recruiting. Being more specific about recruiting players that don't have extensive injury histories when you don't have a great track record of getting players back from injury," Gemma Bastiani said.
The depth isn't up to scratch
It was Essendon's poorest finish since joining the AFLW back in 2022 S7, and it came as a combination of a downturn in form from senior players, and challenging injuries all season.
Two ACL injuries on the eve of round one, ruling out Emily Gough and Amelia Radford, Bess Keaney's pregnancy, and 2024 All-Australian Maddi Gay's knee injury in a practice match exposed the bottom end of the Bombers' list faster than it was ready. Over the off-season, the limited capabilities of that bottom end has been identified, with five players delisted.
"I just don't think there's depth in this list. The youth is exciting, but the moment those senior players had a down year, and let's be fair, outside of Georgia Nanscawen I don't think any of their senior players had a better year than last year, they were totally exposed," Bastiani said.
Minimise reliance on contested ball
It was a lesson that could be seen learned from in-season. With adjustments to the interpretation of holding the ball, and therefore the decrease in stoppages across the season, Fremantle was forced to change on the run.
"I think they began to address their reliance on contested ball, the holding the ball decision and the tinkering of that interpretation not by surprise, but it affected their game a lot," Black said.
"They weren't able to make (games) into a contested scrap fest, it's often their strength with (Kiara) Bowers and (Aisling) McCarthy in there as well. They had to adjust mid-year, and they did so."
While the Dockers still showcased a strong contested possession game in the back half of the season, it was in the uncontested possessions that they started to break even, or even win later in the year.
The list gap is significant
Three Cats were picked in the All-Australian squad in 2025 – Mikayla Bowen, Aishling Moloney and Georgie Prespakis – while Prespakis was included in the final team, but the gap between Geelong's stars and the list's bottom third in 2025 was simply too great.
This has been a lesson learned, with the Cats delisting four players on top of the four who opted to retire, signalling a turnover of nearly a third of the list heading into its first season under new coach Mick Stinear in 2026.
"They have these stars, they have Moloney, they have (Jackie) Parry, they have Georgie Prespakis, they have Nina Morrison. They've got these great players, it's just those younger players they need to develop a little bit more," Ferber said.
Understanding where they're at
It was Gold Coast's first season under Rhyce Shaw, and with a bottom-of-the-ladder finish, there were plenty of low points and opportunities to learn. There were some real injury concerns, but there was a sense of the club starting from scratch in 2025.
The Suns conceded an AFLW record 64.3 points per game, exposing their inability to contain opposition sides, and game up triple-figure scores in back-to-back weeks.
"It was a realisation of where they're at … This isn't going to be a short-term fix for Rhyce Shaw and newly appointed head of footy Erin Phillips. This is going to have to be a five-year plan at least, and they're aware of that. Mark Evans, their CEO, and co. presented their long-term strategy to the AFLW and their big for an assistance package, and they've got a few extra list spots now up their sleeve off the back of that," Black said.
How to play without a star
Alyce Parker was gearing up for a big season. Fitter than ever, that increased athleticism was on show in round one against Essendon where she gathered 15 disposals and five clearances before being felled by injury. The star lasted all of 42 per cent of round one, and the Giants were forced to adapt without her steering the ship.
Captain Bec Beeson was a reliable onballer, Goldsworthy's expected increasing forward minutes were scrapped in favour of the midfield, Srhoj's strength was handy at the contest, and small forward Brodee Mowbray became a pinch-hitter late in the season.
"They do have what it takes, they've got great players, they've got (Zarlie) Goldsworthy, they've got (Kaitlyn) Srhoj, Cambridge McCormick has had and incredible year, defender in the All-Australian (team) as well," Ferber said. "They did have to learn how to not rely on those players that are just always there and can get them across the line."
Still a work in progress
The Hawks have reached the top four in back-to-back seasons, in significantly different ways. In 2024 it was with fast, attacking, slingshot footy, and in 2025 it was from grinding the opposition down in gritty performances. Despite those top-four finishes, the Hawks are still yet to win a final.
They simply haven't been able to break through to become a genuinely challenging team in the moments that matter which means there is still work to be done.
"They're still a work in progress which is not what we expected to say at the start of the pre-season about Hawthorn. We thought this would be a stabilisation and a step forward in their development. Maybe they just learned a bit more about themselves to be honest, they game plan when too far the other way, or maybe it was an execution (issue) or lack thereof. Something wasn't right," Black said.
There's substance to the style
The style of footy Melbourne has become known for in the last few seasons has been an attractive, entertaining one. Taking the game on, clean skills, quick movement, high scoring. But at times it has been too easily dismantled by the best teams.
This year, even though the Demons did fail to beat North Melbourne at the pointy end, they were the team that got closest to the invincibles, proving that there is substance to the style of footy they are playing.
"They play in a really nice, attractive way, Melbourne, but when they need to be tough around the contest they can be. And this is something that I hope they can take into next year when it goes to closing the gap on the best of the best. They won't be happy with how they played Brisbane on two occasions, but hopefully the lessons they learned from North Melbourne, they can apply then against Brisbane," Black said.
Developing the future
For a long time North Melbourne has had a stable first-choice 21. There have been tweaks here and there – Libby Birch's addition from Melbourne in 2024 and Eilish Sheerin's inclusion from Richmond for 2025 are obvious examples – but generally the Roos have a side that they stick to.
That has made it exceptionally tough for younger players to get a go, exemplified by both of the club's 2023 draft picks Ella Slocombe and Georgia Stubs being traded in December with hopes of greater opportunity. But throughout the year, five new Roos – including Slocombe – got their first chance to don the royal blue and white.
"Blooding new players was necessary. There was a lot of concern over the last two years about, 'yeah, North is brilliant right now, but what happens when they hit that cliff and six or seven of their players retire and there's nothing else coming through underneath?' But we saw Blaithin Bogue, obviously, come in, was an All-Australian, kicked more than 20 goals for the season. Amy Gavin Mangan, she was in and out of the team, but when she came in she still had a massive impact. Tessa Boyd unfortunately missed the Grand Final but she was fantastic all season… there was much more of a desire to bring a few more players in," Bastiani said.
Need more levers to pull
For so long Port Adelaide has been a reasonably straight forward prospect – it wants to win the contest, send the ball long, and maintain territory through contested possession from there. Throughout 2025, however, the Power realised that they needed to become more nuanced.
Still playing with their contested ball roots, Port Adelaide added a sense of control amidst the chaos as the season evolved.
"We've established throughout the season that they have started to add layers to their game. It probably came a little bit too late … With Port Adelaide it felt more like repairs on the run and so I think with an off season, being able to add a little bit more nuance to their game style, they will be better for it," Bastiani said. "And we did start to see it, the fact that they were able to do it in the way that they did by adding it through the season I think is a real positive… they need to continue to stick with that."
A reset was necessary
It was a poor season from Richmond, to say the least. A 16th-placed finish, with just two wins under the belt, made fans and pundits alike ask the question of what was going on at the Tigers.
The club acknowledged the downward ebb by instigating an internal review into the program, with head of footy Kate Sheahan and coach Ryan Ferguson both moved on as part of that process.
"Biggest lesson is one that they've already learned by acknowledging that they're going to have a review, is that they need a complete retool. It's not working, what they've been doing. It may turn out in years to come that this is the best thing that's ever happened to Richmond's AFLW program, that it's an acknowledgement of finishing eighth, ninth, 10th is not sustainable, and they weren't going to get any higher than that with the players they had on the table, with the gameplan they had, and with the fitness of the list," Black said.
Belief isn't enough
In its seventh season of AFLW, St Kilda finally broke through for a finals appearance. It, unfortunately, resulted in a 44-point elimination final loss to Adelaide, and it was a full stop on the side's limp to the end of the year.
The injury-riddled Saints struggled to make the most of that finals berth simply due to not having enough of their best players available on its biggest day yet. It was evidence that no matter how much the Saints believed in what they were capable of, there needs to be more than belief underpinning that form.
"They need to get their list fit in order to be more of a contender next year," Ferber said. "But I think they really need to work on transitioning from their defensive 50. We know their defensive line is fantastic … but just managing to get it back inside 50, they seem to really struggle with that."
The defence doesn't stack up
A stunning first month of the season, in which the Swans landed four wins and averaged 68.3 points per game was quickly punctured by a month of ugly losses, where it conceded an average of 55.3 points. The gap between Sydney's best and worst footy in 2025 was significant.
Notably, if the Swans weren't doing the attacking, they were very, very vulnerable back the other way.
"We all know that they're great in attack, we've all seen it, but their ability to defend and defend transition as well when it started to move up into the opposition's attacking side, they didn't know what they were doing most of the time," Ferber said. "You'd watch those games, and you almost want to yell at the person to get on their player, because (there were) just so many uncontested marks that they were just letting happen."
Learn to play in the wet
In West Coast's most successful season of AFLW yet, which included a maiden finals appearance, its highest ever score, and biggest ever win, its low points came with wet weather.
There was plenty of hope that the Eagles entered the eighth Western Derby that they might get a win for the first time. They were in strong form, coming off two big final quarter comebacks. But in torrential rain, they fell by seven points. Then, heading to Melbourne to face Carlton in an elimination final, the rain fell again, as did the Eagles, this time by 41 points.
"Arguably two of their most important games this year, the Western Derby and their elimination final, were played in the wet, and their control completely fell apart. In those games, they didn't really fire a shot, they were their two lowest scored of the season – 16 and 19. They need to learn to add a layer to cope with those sorts of conditions, because we get a lot of it in W and you can't just be a dry weather team," Bastiani said.
Back themselves in
Early in the season the Western Bulldogs seemed buttoned up, playing uptight footy and focused heavily on trying to stop what the opposition was throwing out there. But once they threw off the shackles and realised they needed to back in their own game, things changed very quickly.
A late season surge came too late for a genuine finals tilt, but it enraptured fans and signalled exactly what this young group has the potential to become. It just needs to come with the confidence of their own game, rather than in the shadows of what others are doing to them.
"They need to be allowed to go into games with the mindset that they're going to play their style of football. They're not going into games with the mindset of purely negating what the opposition is doing, because we saw at the start of the season, when they were going in with the mindset of 'What am I doing to stop the oppo?' they were losing by 15 points, it wasn't a horrible loss, but they weren't playing their way… Their intent is everything for me," Bastiani said.
