AFLW shouldn’t be fair game for trolls

THE AFLW competition faced some fierce criticism after its opening week of matches.

Social media trolls took aim at the poor standard of play and the low scoring, most notably the GWS Giants and Gold Coast game, which ended with the Giants winning 1.3 (9) to 1.2 (8).

“If THAT is the standard for paying players and games being shown on TV then when are Div 3 U15 games going to be (televised)?” was an example of a negative online post.

The AFL and other leading sporting celebrities have done their best to condemn the trolls this week, and the national media have also done their best to defend the women.

But did they help create the problem in the first place?

AFLW is surrounded by such hype and marketed so heavily that it creates a false impression for the viewing audience.

The players are labelled stars or even superstars, the competition is sold as elite, so when the reality of a game hits, it falls well short of expectations.

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That’s not the fault of the players, who are pioneers of the sport, but right now they are the ones copping abuse from the armchair critics.

I’m all for the AFLW and think it is a fantastic addition to our sporting landscape, but it needs to be kept real. It needs to be sold and marketed for what it is, not something that it isn’t — yet.

This is a fledgling league with many players who have only just taken up the game.

One player in Geelong was a good netballer in the local footy league two years ago and decided to give footy a crack. She is now part of the Cats’ AFLW leadership team after playing for one year.

Can you imagine that ever happening in the men’s game? It just wouldn’t because male players in the AFL are developed through juniors, tested through elite camps before they even get on an AFL list.

And then it is only the really elite that earn an AFL game in their first season — the majority spend a couple of years developing at VFL, SANFL or WAFL level.

You just can’t compare the skill level of that male to a female who first picked up a Sherrin a year or so ago.

The development of AFLW will take time. Perhaps a generation.

Some great things are now happening at lower levels to develop girls from a young age. The fundamental skills are being learned, the nuances of the game are being understood and elite pathways are being mapped out in the same way as they are for the boys.

The pathways for Aussie rules are now set as they have long been for women’s sports such as basketball, tennis or netball, where we have genuine sporting superstars performing at an international standard.

But again, it will take time for that football talent to come through.

In the meantime, fans should learn to be patient and see AFLW for what it is — a competition in its infancy.

And perhaps the national media needs to keep it all in perspective, too.

While the AFLW commands lots of attention, there are plenty of other elite professional women’s sports that would love a larger slice of the coverage.