WAFL Women's
WAFL Women's (WAFLW) is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The WAFLW is the premier women's football competition in Western Australia, and from 2023 is contested by eight teams owned and operated by clubs in the men's West Australian Football League (WAFL).
| Most recent season or competition: 2023 WAFL Women's season | |
| Sport | Australian rules football |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2018 |
| Inaugural season | 2019 |
| Owner(s) | WAFC, WAWFL (until 2021) |
| No. of teams | 8 |
| Country | Australia |
| Most recent champion(s) | East Fremantle (2nd premiership) |
| Most titles | Peel Thunder, East Fremantle (2 premierships) |
| TV partner(s) | Seven Network (Grand Final only) |
| Sponsor(s) | Optus |
| Official website | wafl.com.au |
The league was established in 2018 by the West Australian Football Commission and West Australian Women's Football League, the latter having been the governing body and league for women's football in the state from 1987 to 2018,[1] and has been run by the WAFC after the WAWFL was dissolved in 2021.
The league runs from February to August, and ran partially concurrently with the AFL Women's (AFLW) until Season 7 of the AFLW. It is also the second primary women's football competition for West Australian footballers underneath the semi-professional national competition, and one of the three elite leagues in women's Australian rules football (the AFLW, SANFLW and WAFLW).
Clubs
Five of the ten WAFL clubs fielded teams in the inaugural 2019 WAFLW season: Claremont, East Fremantle, Peel Thunder, Subiaco and Swan Districts.
South Fremantle joined the league the following year,[2] with West Perth joining the league in 2022.[3] East Perth joined the league in 2023.[4]
Neither of the state's two AFL teams (Fremantle and West Coast) field teams in the league: Fremantle was an AFLW foundation club in 2017, while West Coast entered the AFLW in 2019 after playing scratch matches in 2017–2018.
| Club | Nickname | Home venue | Est. | First WAFLW season |
WAFLW seasons |
WAFLW premierships |
Most recent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claremont | Tigers | Claremont Oval | 1906 | 2019 | 5 | 1 | 2022 |
| East Fremantle | Sharks | East Fremantle Oval | 1898 | 2019 | 5 | 2 | 2023 |
| East Perth | Royals | Leederville Oval | 1902 | 2023 | 1 | — | — |
| Peel | Thunder | Rushton Park | 1996 | 2019 | 5 | 2 | 2021 |
| South Fremantle | Bulldogs | Fremantle Oval | 1900 | 2020 | 4 | — | — |
| Subiaco | Lions | Leederville Oval | 1896 | 2019 | 5 | — | — |
| Swan Districts | Swans | Bassendean Oval | 1932 | 2019 | 5 | — | — |
| West Perth | Falcons | Arena Joondalup | 1891 | 2022 | 2 | — | — |
Future expansion
Perth intend to join the WAFLW in 2026,[5] after the club's long-running financial and administrative problems and an exodus of players and officials saw their women's team go into recess at the end of 2018.
South Western Football League officials have also called for the WAFLW to admit an SWFL composite team to the league.[6]
Honours
Premiers
- 2020: Peel Thunder
- 2021: Peel Thunder
- 2022: Claremont
- 2023: East Fremantle
Dhara Kerr Award
- 2020: Danika Pisconeri
- 2021: Ella Smith
- 2022: Sharon Wong
- 2023: Jayme Harken
References
- "About us". West Australian Women's Football League.
- "South Fremantle to enter 2020 Optus WAFLW competition". West Australian Football Commission. 29 June 2020.
- Eliza Reilly (23 January 2022). "West Perth league debut, rivalries and finals headline WAFLW fixture release". The West Australian.
- A royal reception for East Perth women's team in 2023
- Perth FC announce pathway in women's football
- Strong calls for SWFL women's team to join WAFLW