The 2021 AFLW season is only a few weeks away and will enter uncharted territory given the lack of a winner in 2020 and the remaining COVID-19 restrictions.
Here’s 10 questions that will form the backbone of how the season unfolds.
1. Can anyone stop North Melbourne’s midfield?
To win the flag this year, you’re going to have to go through this North Melbourne midfield unit.
The dominance of quartet Jasmine Garner, Emma Kearney, Ash Riddell and Jenna Bruton was so complete across the Kangaroos’ five 2020 wins that all four finished in the top 12 of the AFL Coaches Association votes. They also have All-Australian calibre ruck Emma King at their disposal as well.
North Melbourne's top AFLCA votes in their wins this year:
— Nic Negrepontis (@NicNegrepontis) March 20, 2020
Rd2: Garner, Bruton, Kearney
Rd3: Riddell, Garner, Kearney
Rd4: Garner, Kearney, Riddell
Rd5: Garner, Bruton, Kearney, Riddell
Rd6: Garner, Bruton Kearney, Riddell#AFLW #AFLWFinals
The Kangaroos have a steady defensive group and a dynamic forward line lacking a dominant target. It’s their midfield that separates them from the pack and where fellow premiership threats need to match them.
2. How big an impact does Elise O’Dea have on Carlton?
Carlton trading for veteran Demon Elise O’Dea was a crafty move in the on-ball arm’s race.
The Blues relied heavily on League B&F winner Maddy Prespakis in 2020, with captain Katie Loynes and first-year midfielder Grace Egan also carrying a heavy load.
The introduction of O’Dea gives Carlton another contested bull on the inside to feed skilful outside runners like Darcy Vescio, Georgia Gee and Lauren Brazzale.
O’Dea took a step back in 2020 for Melbourne, averaging 14 disposals, down from an average of 18 across the first three seasons, and was down in inside 50 and tackle numbers as well.
Carlton has a rock-solid backline and a dangerous forward line to build around. If O’Dea plays her best footy in 2021, the Blues are a genuine premiership contender.
3. Do the Crows have a third premiership in them?
Erin Phillips and Chelsea Randall are back and are at full strength. With Phillips now 35 and two years removed from a torn ACL, the question will be whether this is her final season at AFLW level.
Phillips has been the defining player of the league’s first era, but Randall’s contribution cannot be underestimated as arguably the best defender in the competition.
With both essentially on the shelf last year, as well as a number of other injury issues, the Crows struggled and missed the expanded finals series.
However, it would be folly to think going into 2021 that they are anything other than premiership contenders if at full strength.
The question will be whether the Crows have the emerging talent to go with their two-time premiership veterans and whether they can keep pace with the emerging teams.
4. Can Fremantle run the table again?
Fremantle finished 2020 with a 7-0 record, blowing out Gold Coast in their finals match-up.
2020 will obviously go down as a missed opportunity for them, given the premiership race would have gone through Fremantle Oval.
The Dockers didn’t get the chance to play Carlton, North Melbourne or Melbourne in that 7-0 run and were also helped by a fixture that saw them playing mostly in Perth.
Without the conference system and with the Derby now among their home games, the question will be whether Fremantle can once again go toe to toe with the top teams.
The return of key midfielder Stephanie Cain from injury will certainly be handy in that regard.
5. Which expansion team makes the biggest leap?
St Kilda, Gold Coast, West Coast and Richmond entered the competition last year. It’s fair to say two hit the ground running and two did not.
The Suns were a fast-paced and attacking team from the jump, competitive in most games and did enough to sneak into the expanded finals.
With another year under their belts to adjust to AFLW level, they should be one of the competition’s rising sides.
St Kilda is in a similar boat to the Suns, but feel a little more advanced with a dominant key forward in Caitlin Greiser and the additions of Jade Van Dyk and Bianca Jakobsson in the trade period set to bolster their backline.
Expect the Saints under coach Peta Searle to be among the teams in the finals mix in year two.
West Coast will simply be hoping to be competitive in 2021 after an incredibly tough first season. They finished with a percentage in the 30s and kicked 11 goals for the season – less than Fremantle’s Sabreena Duffy managed in her seven games alone.
As for the Tigers…
6. Where does Richmond’s first win come from?
The Tigers in 2020: Went 0-6, with a percentage of 35, fired their head coach and opted out of the VFLW competition.
Let’s just say 2021 is an important year for them.
We’ve seen teams rise from the bottom of the ladder to finals before. Carlton did it in 2019 and Collingwood in 2020, but the Tigers have a lot to work out between now and the end of January.
They traded for Collingwood key forward Sarah D’Arcy – how does she fit in with a team that already has Sabrina Frederick, Katie Brennan, Christina Bernardi and Courtney Wakefield?
Sarah Hosking is a great addition from Carlton, as is Sarah Dargan from the Magpies and Harriet Cordner should add some stability to their backline. Number one overall pick Ellie McKenzie also comes in with high expectations through the midfield.
Can the Tigers give their fans something to get behind in 2021? Let’s hope they’re at least competitive.
7. Where does Collingwood’s improvement come from?
The Magpies went from dead last to finals in 2020, with the likes of Sharni Layton, Brittany Bonnici, Sarah Rowe, Jordan Membrey, Stacey Livingstone and more having career best years.
Couple that with Jaimee Lambert confirming her status as one of the best midfielders in the competition, Chloe Molloy’s return from injury and the signing of Brianna Davey from Carlton and you had a team ready to make a leap.
Going into 2021, they’ve lost Sarah’s D’Arcy and Dargan to Richmond, as well as Katie Lynch, Eliza Hynes and Emma Grant.
The question for the Pies will be whether their list has another internal leap in it to take them from the fringe of finals to genuine premiership contenders. The return of Ash Brazill from a torn ACL will be key to their hopes.
8. Will Melbourne’s rebuild see them drop down the ladder?
Melbourne went into last year’s trade period with a very clear and publicly communicated plan to trade out veterans to increase their draft capital and reset their list before the further expansion of the competition.
They did just that, trading out Elise O’Dea, Harriet Cordner, Bianca Jakobsson, Maddy Guerin, Aliesha Newman, Katherine Smith and their own picks for essentially selections five, 15, 17, 35 and 49.
The Demons still have a decent team on paper and a lot of talent at their disposal, but have lost a fair chunk of their depth and need these rookies to have an immediate impact to keep them in the finals hunt.
They were one of the four teams remaining when 2020 was called off, but expectations will be somewhat lower in 2021 for Melbourne.
9. Can a player average 2 goals per game and if so who?
Only one player in AFLW history has averaged two goals per game across a season and that was Carlton’s Darcy Vescio back in 2017.
The nature of the competition, shorter quarters and lower scoring, makes it tough for an individual player to dominate on the scoreboard, but can a player reach 18 goals in 2021 to hit the milestone?
The clear candidate for this is Carlton’s Tayla Harris. She was the only player to kick a goal in every game last year and if the Blues make another leap, it’s hard to see her not getting multiple opportunities per game.
Fremantle’s Gemma Houghton and Sabreena Duffy had 14 and 21 shots at goal respectively last year and are capable.
St Kilda’s Caitlin Greiser had the highest goals per game average in 2020 at 1.7, kicking 10 across six games and is another that could break the 2.0 barrier.
and, because we have to…
10. Will we see a completed AFLW season or will COVID derail it again?
The short answer is yes we will.
The long answer is that the AFL, after making the sudden call to cancel the 2020 AFLW season before proceeding to jump through every imaginable hoop to complete the men’s season, must honour the entire 2021 AFLW season, no matter how difficult it gets.
Border restrictions in New South Wales and the jumpy Western Australia will cause headaches and hubs will prove complicated given players are not full-time athletes and, mostly, not paid a liveable wage.
However, they may be necessary at stages if/when COVID outbreaks occur.
How the league navigates the complexities of the season will be watched closely, given how quickly they folded last year.