HAPPY New Year AFLW fans.
With a new year comes a new AFLW season, and 2025 plans to be the biggest yet.
This year we celebrate the 10th edition of AFLW, and although the year has just begun, we already know a lot about what to expect.
Fans will witness the longest ever season, an earlier start, an exciting crop of next generation stars, a huge milestone, club favourites in new colours and some of the competition's best players returning from injury.
Let's take a look at what we know about the 10th season of AFLW.
Longest season yet
AFLW general manager Emma Moore announced in November that the 2025 season will comprise 12 home and away rounds in 12 weeks, followed by four weeks of finals.
As the competition continues to grow, the extra round will make it the longest season to date.
Following feedback from clubs, the compressed fixture has been scrapped, meaning the season will be played over 16 weeks.
"What I will confirm is that there'll be no compression," Moore said on AFL.com.au's Credit to the Girls podcast.
"That was a really worthwhile thing to investigate and understand what we could do and there were some good learnings out of that, but there were also some really clear learnings about a desire to not repeat that kind of approach again."
Earlier season start
In order to cater for the extra round and the removal of the compressed fixture, season 10 will begin two weeks earlier than in previous years.
Moore has confirmed that week one of this year's competition will begin on August 11, coinciding with round 23 of the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season.
The Grand Final will remain on the last Saturday of November, which this year falls on Saturday, November 29.
Clubs will begin their pre-seasons in the week beginning Monday, May 19, giving teams nearly three months to prepare for the first round.
Next Gen stars
It's impossible to not be excited about the next generation of players coming through the ranks.
Melbourne added three new players to its AFLW list, welcoming club Molly O’Hehir (No.3), Maggie Mahony (No.21) and Amelia Dethridge (No.63) during the 2024 Telstra Draft.
O’Hehir was one of the most impressive players in her draft class, with speed, aerial strength and competitiveness all at elite levels.
Mahony is a strong inside-mid drafted from the Oakleigh Chargers who boasts clean skills and power at the contest.
Dethridge is a supremely talented athlete across multiple sports with a long list of junior accolades in hockey, cross-country, swimming and netball.
Stars return
The 2025 season will hopefully see the return of some of the game's biggest stars who missed all or large parts of last season.
It's no secret that Melbourne saw its fair share of injuries in 2024, meaning it's set to see the return of some exciting talent this year.
Olivia Purcell returned in the back end of last season after suffering fractures to her face, but with a full pre-season under her belt, there's no stopping what the powerful midfielder can achieve this year.
Tayla Harris (shoulder), Jacinta Hose (knee) and Grace Beasley (knee) will all be working through their rehab schedules over the off-season, with the hope of some AFLW opportunities in 2025.
