Richmond Tigers Women

Australia

Founded

2019

Arena

Punt Road Oval

The Richmond Football Club fields a team in the premier national league for women, the AFL Women's competition. The club entered the league in 2020. For two seasons in 2018 and 2019, the club also fielded a team in the state-league level VFL Women's competition. The program, including development pathways, is presently overseen by the women's football operations manager, Kate Sheahan. History Richmond has a thin history with women's football, with the club connected to just two women's matches in the 20th century. The first occurred in 1923, with a team dubbed the "Tigresses" playing off against the club's junior men's team (Cubs) as a fundraiser for a VFL team's interstate trip. As was the case with women versus men charity matches in that era, the men's team competed in the match in full fancy dress attire and were hobbled at the knees. In what was a non-serious affair the women's side (9.14 (68)) defeated the Cubs side (0.1 (1)). In August 1933, however, an all women's match was held between teams representing the suburbs of Richmond and Carlton in a charity match. While the Carlton team was associated with the club itself, Richmond did not pair with the side that played under its moniker. The match, played at Carlton's home ground, Princes Park, drew an estimated crowd of 10,000 and raised funds as part of a VFL bye-week carnival for the Royal Melbourne Hospital. AFL Women's team In 2016, Richmond was among 13 AFL clubs to bid for licenses to compete in the soon to be formed AFL Women's competition. The club was one of five to miss out, instead being awarded provisional licenses guaranteeing access in later expansions. The following year they would again bid, this time winning the right to entry into the competition's fourth season, to be held in 2020. The club's first player signing came in the April 2019 expansion signing period, securing former Western Bulldogs captain Katie Brennan, who would go on to captain the club in its first season in the league.

Adelaide Crows Women

Australia

Founded

2016

Arena

Norwood Oval

The Adelaide AFLW team is the club's women's team in the AFL Women's league. A founding member of the AFLW, the football club launched a bid to enter a team in the 2017 AFL Women's season in April 2016. The bid was constructed in partnership with AFL Northern Territory, with the club to share resources and facilities between its Adelaide base and AFLNT's Darwin location. The bid became a success in June of that year when the league announced they had been awarded one of eight inaugural licences. Under inaugural coach Bec Goddard, the team won the first ever AFLW premiership in 2017. The season was also a highlight for individual success, with co-captain Erin Phillips winning the league most valuable player and best on ground in the grand final. Missing the finals in 2018, Goddard quit as coach and was replaced by Matthew Clarke for the 2019 season. Winning six out of the seven home-and-away games, the club returned to finals and won its second premiership with a 45-point win against Carlton. Erin Phillips repeated her individual success by winning the league MVP for the second time and the grand final best on ground despite leaving the ground injured in the third quarter. It was announced in August 2019 that the partnership between Adelaide and AFLNT would not continue. During the COVID-19-interrupted 2020 season, the Crows slumped to only two wins and failed to reach the finals. The club quickly rose back up the following year and won seven of nine home-and-away matches, and they claimed the minor premiership for the 2021 season before going down to Brisbane by 18 points in the 2021 grand final. Adelaide bounced back the next year to win the 2022 AFL Women's season 6 Grand Final by 13 points, earning their third premiership, the most of any club in the league. In 2022, AFL rivals Port Adelaide were introduced into the women's competition. The two teams met in the first-ever AFLW Showdown on the 30th of September. The occasion drew in a crowd of 20,652 at Adelaide Oval, which was the highest attendance for any game in 2022 season 7. Following their historic back-to-back premierships, Adelaide had consecutive preliminary final exits in season 7 and 2023, with loses to eventual runners-up Brisbane and North Melbourne respectively. Despite this, Adelaide finished 1st in the 2023 home-and-away season, becoming the first team to achieve this on four occasions.