AFL head of women’s football Nicole Livingstone says the League’s latest initiative to generate higher scores in the AFLW are only guidelines and not strict rule changes.
Debate has raged today over the AFL’s decision to ward AFLW coaches away from implementing defensive tactics, implementing a zonal system that will be put in place for the second round of the second season of AFLW this weekend and beyond.
The new system will see umpires not allowed to commence play after goals unless five players from each side are standing within the 50 metre arcs, restricting sides to be able to send extra players back to protect leads.
A protected zone has also been implemented around other stoppages to combat congestion around the ball.
Livingstone says that these new initiative changes do not devalue the competition’s history as they aren’t strict rule changes.
“We’re not changing the rules. We’re really clear on this, that we are not putting any rules in place. It is a spirit of the game initiative,” she told SEN’s Time On with Sam McClure.
“It is an initiative that is taking place to try and get the girls to structure a bit more. We want to make sure it is a good style of play as well.
“We just want to give them a bit of assistance through guidance. They’re not rules. At the end of the day it is coaches instructing the girls.
“The experience that they need is actually a little bit more of a free flowing form of the game rather than one that is congested... we need them to have on-the-job-experience. We just want them to have a little bit of form and structure to allow them to get that football knowledge up.
“What we want to do is to try, in a developing league with girls that are still developing their skills, give them some space that they can try showcase AFLW.”
Speaking further on the discussion the League had with the AFLW coaches yesterday, Livingstone says that such talks will not be the last time the AFL and AFLW clubs consult each other on how the game is played.
“It was very much a collaborative, unified discussion about what we saw in the first round…really working together to try and make this the best possible competition for AFLW and a great opportunity for the girls to showcase women’s football,” she said.
“There is an agreeance with each and every one of the coaches that it would be great to give the girls a chance to showcase their skills, to move the ball and stop the repeated stoppages and the kick-to-kick that is essentially happening.
“It won’t be the last time that we pick up the phone and speak to the clubs and coaches, because we are all united in making this a sustainable league and one that we have fanatical support from all areas of the community.”
Livingstone also urged fans to not compare women’s football to the men’s game, believing it should be looked at as its own game.
“There is no doubting the competitiveness of the AFLW. The players are going in as hard as they possibly can,” she said.
“Just start to think about it as women’s football as we try to find the best style of football to showcase for the AFLW.
“I think we can get to the point where it is a sustainable league for the girls.”
Listen to Nicole Livingstone chatting with Sam McClure on SEN's Time On below: