Mayo star Sarah Rowe has enjoyed two successful seasons with Collingwood. AAP/PA Images
irish down under
AFLW survives crisis with league set to return unchanged for 2021 season
18 Irish players were on the books in 2020 – though there looks to be a clash ahead between pre-season in Australia and the inter-county football championships.
THE AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL League Women’s [AFLW], which 18 Irish players were involved in last season, is set to return unchanged in 2021.
The league survives the Covid-19 crisis relatively unscathed with the green light given for a February 2021 start for the competition’s fifth season.
In a meeting yesterday, it was confirmed that no change would be made to the current collective bargaining agreement while player pay is planned to increase as expected before the pandemic.
The 2021 season will consist of a nine-week home and away season, followed up by a three-week final series. The 2020 season was cut short amidst the coronavirus crisis despite efforts to curtail the campaign, though the men’s league went ahead.
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“It is the Commission’s view that it is critical at this juncture to provide clarity to the AFLW clubs and players by demonstrating our ongoing commitment to women’s football,” AFL chief Gillon McLachlan said.
The AFL Commission today determined that the NAB @aflwomens Competition should return in February as a 9-round home and away season plus three weeks of finals 👏https://t.co/2Bz3x4VcRV
With the sign and trade period approaching, the Irish contingent will draw huge attention especially given the potential overlap with the inter-county calendar here.
The TG4 All-Ireland championships look to be slated in from mid-October to December, which is expected to clash with the AFLW pre-season period. Tough decisions may need to be made, though delayed arrivals to Australia could also be explored.
Similar decisions look imminent in Mayo as manager Peter Leahy recently said his players will have to decide whether to commit fully to the Green and Red set-up or to AFLW going forward.
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AFLW survives crisis with league set to return unchanged for 2021 season
THE AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL League Women’s [AFLW], which 18 Irish players were involved in last season, is set to return unchanged in 2021.
The league survives the Covid-19 crisis relatively unscathed with the green light given for a February 2021 start for the competition’s fifth season.
In a meeting yesterday, it was confirmed that no change would be made to the current collective bargaining agreement while player pay is planned to increase as expected before the pandemic.
The 2021 season will consist of a nine-week home and away season, followed up by a three-week final series. The 2020 season was cut short amidst the coronavirus crisis despite efforts to curtail the campaign, though the men’s league went ahead.
“It is the Commission’s view that it is critical at this juncture to provide clarity to the AFLW clubs and players by demonstrating our ongoing commitment to women’s football,” AFL chief Gillon McLachlan said.
With the sign and trade period approaching, the Irish contingent will draw huge attention especially given the potential overlap with the inter-county calendar here.
The TG4 All-Ireland championships look to be slated in from mid-October to December, which is expected to clash with the AFLW pre-season period. Tough decisions may need to be made, though delayed arrivals to Australia could also be explored.
Similar decisions look imminent in Mayo as manager Peter Leahy recently said his players will have to decide whether to commit fully to the Green and Red set-up or to AFLW going forward.
In one piece of list news affecting Irish players, Galway star Mairéad Seoighe has departed North Melbourne ahead of the 2021 season.
The 18 Irishwomen who were on AFLW lists for 2020 are as follows:
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