THE AFL season might be done and dusted, but the footy keeps on rolling in AFLW. It’s widely been considered the best season of AFLW yet, with multiple records broken and breakout seasons from both draftees and veterans.
If you’ve been living under an AFL finals-shaped rock over the last couple of weeks, you might have missed some of it.
So not to worry, here are the biggest moments of the AFLW season so far, to get you up to speed for the rest of the year.
THE CENTRA BOUNCE
It was the bounce that stopped the nation. And no, we’re not talking about the League’s decision to remove the centre bounce in the AFL competition next year. We’re talking about the Centra bounce.
When the season kicked off in round one, all eyes were Collingwood’s No.1 draft pick Ash Centra, who quickly put on a show before the game even started.
During a pre-game warm up before the season opener, Centra was captured on broadcast cleanly and nonchalantly bouncing the ball between her legs like a basketballer, sparking a movement for girls and boys everywhere to try and replicate.
Even fellow Magpie Nick Daicos and Hawthorn men’s coach Sam Mitchell gave it a go. But you can’t outdo the doer.
CAN ANYONE STOP NORTH MELBOURNE?
It’s the juggernaut that shows no signs of slowing down, with North Melbourne far and away the best team in the competition this year. With a winning streak extending to 19 games ahead of round eight, the Roos are looking to take down a V/AFL record 72 years strong as they vie to surpass Geelong’s men’s team’s record of 23 consecutive wins. With five matches left in the home and away season, the North women are on track to make it their own before finals even starts. Their record extends to 21 games undefeated thanks to a draw last season, and the reigning premiers are showing no signs of a flag hangover.
RECORD, GET YOUR FOOTY RECORD
‘Record-breaking’ is likely to be the most used term this year after a dramatic first few weeks to the AFLW competition. In the last seven rounds alone, multiple records have been chased, equalled, broken and then broken again. Back in round two, Sydney’s Chloe Molloy equalled the record for most goals in a match just two games back from an ACL injury, whilst North Melbourne’s Jas Garner got close in the same round with six. In that same match, Garner’s teammate Ash Riddell even equalled the disposal record (but more on that later!). In round three, Port Adelaide kicked the highest ever AFLW score with 108 points, but that title was held by the Power for just 22 hours, with North Melbourne scoring 114 points the next day. Not the type to do things by halves, the Roos also broke the record for the highest margin that day with their 100-point win over Fremantle.
ST KILDA’S THREE-QUARTER-TIME COMEBACK 2.0
We all saw the Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera game. The 46-point comeback. The goal after the siren. It’s the type of legacy game you’d be blessed to witness once in a blue moon. But for St Kilda, this type of game is apparently a regular part of their season, with the club’s AFLW side quickly following suit with their own comeback match in round seven of the AFLW season. 27 points down at three-quarter-time, it looked like the game was going the way of Port Adelaide, until six unanswered goals in the final term – three from superstar forward Jesse Wardlaw – the Saints came back for an 11-point victory. Let it be known, no lead is safe when the Saints are around.
ASH RIDDELL’S DISPOSAL DOMINANCE
The ‘two teams, one club’ theme seems to be pretty prevalent this year, with a moment of symmetry coming out of Arden St too. A week after North Melbourne AFL midfielder Harry Sheezel equalled the AFL disposal record with his 54 touches, AFLW star Ash Riddell did the same in the women’s comp. Notching up 43 disposals in the Roos’ 72-point win over Port Adelaide in round two, it was a magic moment for North Melbourne and footy fans alike. But it didn’t stop there. In round six, Riddell officially made that record her own, finishing her game with 44 disposals in the Roos’ 53-point win over Carlton. She makes it look easy.
THE RISING STAR RACE IS ON
We were told they’d be the ‘future’ of the AFLW, but there’s no need for us to wait, they’re the now. This year’s battle for the Telstra AFLW Rising Star award is hotter than ever, as we bear witness to the magic of last year’s ‘superdraft’. Bursting onto the scene with the coolest name in sporting history, Zippy Fish made her debut with 26 touches and followed it up with 27 in round two, earning herself a Rising Star nom in the process. West Coast’s Lucia Painter kicked three-goals in her round one debut, whilst Ash Centra has more than just a flashy bounce in her repertoire, averaging 13 disposals, seven contested possessions and 3.1 score involvements in her first year. Add Carlton’s exciting young guns Sophie McKay and Poppy Scholz (sister of last year’s Rising Star winner Matilda), as well as Gold Coast’s Havana Harris angling for a goal of the year nomination with her crafty majors out of stoppage, it’s clear, the kids are alright.
HAWKS COACH GOES BANG
There’s nothing footy fans love more than when a coach isn’t afraid to get vocal about a rule change, and it’s no different in the AFLW. In the wake of the stricter interpretation of the holding the ball rule in AFLW this year, Hawthorn coach Daniel Webster has been outspoken with his critique. Following the Hawks eight-point win over Carlton, in which half of the 42 free kicks that were paid were for holding the ball, Webster said “some of those decisions were way too hot“. Despite the Hawks’ ripping season that has them sitting 7-1, Webster doubled down on the W Show last week, saying the stricter interpretation was a “gross overreaction” to concerns about ball movement and stoppages.
THE FIRST (AND SECOND) TO 100
For the first time in AFLW history, a player reached the 100-game milestone. Scratch that, two did, at exactly the same time. Adelaide’s Ebony Marinoff and Brisbane’s Ally Anderson have not missed a game since their respective debuts in round one of the first AFLW season back in 2017, with both stars bringing up the ton on the same day in 2025. Make no mistake, they’ve been 100 of the most quality games we’ve seen in the AFLW. In their careers, both stars have won an AFLW best and fairest award, club best and fairest, multiple All-Australian blazers and each have a couple of flags to boot.
THE DEES ARE BACK – BUT DID THEY EVER REALLY LEAVE?
They may have missed finals last year, but the Demons are back with a vengeance. Despite suffering their fair share of injuries this year, their depth has been on display as they currently sit second on the ladder. With a 6-1 start and a percentage of 294.2 heading into round eight, they’re predicted to be the team to take it to North Melbourne in the finals. Tayla Harris has made a triumphant return from last year’s shoulder injury, with a season average of 12.6 disposals, 1.6 goals and 60 per cent goal accuracy, she’s in career best form. Oh, and those records we were discussing earlier? There’s another on the horizon, with skipper Kate Hore the first to chase down the 100 career goals milestone. Sitting at 95 goals heading into round right and with an average of two goals per game, she’s on track to reaching it within the next few weeks.
KIARA BOWERS: FOUR TIME ALL-AUSTRALIAN. AFLW BEST & FAIREST. SUPERMUM.
It was a simple photo taken post-game, but it meant so much more. After Fremantle’s 48-point win over Essendon in round six, Docker’s midfielder Kiara Bowers posted a beautiful photo on Instagram of her breastfeeding her one-year-old son, Luca. A gorgeous moment between a mother and child, add the fact that the superstar had just completed a 23-disposal, 21-tackle game just moments before, the picture has quickly become iconic.
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