DOUBLE-HEADERS are back on the AFLW agenda, as clubs submit their fixture requests for the 2026 NAB AFLW season.
It's understood clubs were actively encouraged by the AFL to include double-headers in pitches due last week, whether that be women’s-men’s (or vice versa), consecutive women’s games at the same ground on the one day, or a men’s-women's away trip, sharing the costs of travel.
Clubs are of the belief the AFL is likely to only dip its toe into the double-header water with only a handful of games scheduled, rather than completely fill the two-week overlap period.
Long a somewhat thorny issue in women's football, the early years saw teams adverse to the concept, not wanting to be seen as a curtain-raiser to the men.
Opinions have softened somewhat in the intervening years, with double-headers seen as a way of fostering a one-club mentality (e.g. Hawthorn's men's and women's side playing at the same ground on the same day, even if it's against separate opponents).
Crucially, they also pave the way for access to tier-one stadiums, with the AFL being clear in its messaging that it wants to sell out smaller venues before moving to larger ones.
As it stands, the only publicly announced concerts at Marvel Stadium are the Foo Fighters in mid-November, and Harry Styles later that month, meaning that theoretically, the AFL-owned stadium is free until October.
The AFLW season will run from the week beginning 10 August, with a 12-round home-and-away block, followed by four weeks of finals. The Grand Final will be the weekend of November 28.
As was the case last year, there will be two weekends of overlap of the men's (rounds 23 and 24) and women's (rounds one and two) seasons, as well as the newly introduced finals wildcard round, which will see two men's matches played during round three of the women's.
There is a view among some that the few double-headers on offer in this trial period should be awarded to the top-performing sides, to ensure the best of women's football is on show on the biggest stages, with a greater number of eyeballs than normal.
Some sticking points around double-headers include the gap between games needed to "turn around" stadiums (shuffle teams in and out, warm-ups, cool-downs, sponsor hoardings in rooms, benches and on the ground, changing over equipment in coach's boxes and on benches) and ticketing, given the significant difference in cost between attending the two competitions. The cost of operating and staffing a stadium for a longer period of time is also a factor.
In other fixture news, Fremantle is aiming to move its home games from the heavily used Fremantle Oval to its training venue, Victor George Kailis (pronounced Kay-liss), which has had new female-friendly home-and-away changerooms built in the last 12 months.
Despite prospective resurfacing work at Victoria Park, Collingwood will play its home games there and is keen to continue building on its successful Pride Game, with early afternoon games preferred.
Adelaide is eager to host a double-header at Adelaide Oval, confident it will attract a large crowd to the AFLW game, given its history of healthy attendances for the occasional women's matches in the past. Port Adelaide will host this year's Showdown, with the two clubs alternating AFLW rights each year.
North Melbourne has requested to once again play two games in Tasmania as part of its commercial relationship with the state, which dates back to the club's AFLW entry in 2019, and is due to expire in 2027 before the entry of the Devils.
