The Brisbane Lions have taken out their second AFLW premiership with an impressive victory over North Melbourne, but the venue choice for the decider continues to divide opinion.
The Kangaroos were the Cinderella story after upsetting Melbourne and Adelaide – the top two teams on the ladder – to reach their first grand final.
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North started well but the Lions ran over the top of them at Princes Park in Melbourne, earning a 7.2 (44) to 4.3 (27) victory in front of 12,616 fans, adding to their 2021 flag in a record fifth grand final.
But that crowd number presented one of the biggest talking points on the final day of the eighth season of the women’s competition.
The AFLW has used a variety of grounds for its grand finals, with a record 53,034 people cramming Adelaide Oval to see the Crows triumph in 2019.
The same South Australian ground brought crowds over 22,000 and 16,000 for two other deciders, while Carrara Stadium on the Gold Coast cracked 15,000 in the inaugural grand final in 2017.
So the decision to use Princes Park in 2023 – which sold out in around two hours – led to some fierce debate.
ABC commentator Kelli Underwood got the discussion underway on grand final day with a spirited chat with departing AFLW general manager Nicole Livingstone.
“You’ve elected to go for Princes Park, which has a capacity of 13,500 and you’ve sold out in two hours,” Underwood said on ABC Offsiders.
“So there are people that are going to miss out on today.
“(The AFL) own Marvel Stadium … you could easily put it there, you elect not to have the MCG, you’re sending the message to young girls who are coming up ‘come and play our game, but you can’t play at these iconic venues’.”
Livingstone, who is stepping down after six years in the role, had a considered response.
“Yeah but I think heartland venues and the connection to community as you’re building something new, and in particular WBBL and the AFLW, are relatively new products in the marketplace,” she said.
“I feel and I think the AFL as well with the strategy that we’ve had, the smaller venue and packing that out, is creating a great atmosphere.
“It’s also creating a fear of missing out as well. So people are desperate to get there, so desperate, so much that maybe they watch it on TV as well.
“We’re trying to raise the visibility of women’s sport as well.
“So great atmosphere for the players, but also a very good opportunity to show that we can pack out 13,800.
“But right now, as we’re trying to bring a new audience to AFLW, the smaller heartland venues are better.”
Asked if girls would have to wait “another 10 years” to feature in bigger venues, Livingstone replied: “Until you get the crowd to match the venue.
“So Adelaide Oval is 55,000 and we have had 53,500 before Covid and I think people have actually changed the way they consume sport.
“Maybe not AFL or men’s sport, but certainly women’s sport continues to need to build its audience and we have committed to that.”
There were some strong responses on social media, with many slamming the move as a “cop out”.
“Women’s sport is the single biggest growth genre in global entertainment and the AFL is piss farting around with it – do a deal for a boutique 30,000 seat stadium say at the Showgrounds – build it and they will come,” was one comment on X, formerly Twitter.
“What an absolutely ridiculous cop-out. The AFLW Grand Final has packed out Adelaide Oval multiple times. Downsizing to such a small venue is a blatant disrespect to the players and Livingstone just can’t admit that she has made the wrong decision,” wrote another.
While some lamented missing out on tickets, another observer noted there were “plenty of empty seats at Princes Park today. Perfect sized ground for the AFLW Finals right now”.
In terms of the action on the pitch, North copped a heavy blow shortly after the opening bounce when influential half-forward Jenna Bruton hurt her Achilles and was forced to miss the rest of the game.
“This is devastating, disastrous for the Kangaroos,” Underwood said on Fox Footy.
In a physical contest, Brisbane’s Taylor Smith took a heavy hit backing into a pack in the first quarter that had former AFL player and AFLW coach Daniel Harford thinking back to an infamous moment from the 1989 men’s grand final between Hawthorn and Geelong.
“Straight to Ablett, DiPierdomenico in the 1989 grand final for me,” he said on Fox Footy.
“That is punctured lung waiting to happen, unbelievable courage from Taylor.
“She knew she was going to get whacked in that spot, right into that rib cage, that’s not feeling nice.”
The Roos kicked the only goal of the opening term and led by a point at halftime.
The Queenslanders took over from there, however, booting fives goals to two in the second half, with Lions skipper Bre Koenen taking the medal for best on ground.
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