The Brisbane Lions have taken out their second AFLW premiership with a formidable victory over North Melbourne, however the venue selection for the decider continues to divide opinion.
The Kangaroos have been the Cinderella story after upsetting Melbourne and Adelaide – the highest two groups on the ladder – to succeed in their first grand closing.
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North began effectively however the Lions ran excessive of them at Princes Park in Melbourne, incomes a 7.2 (44) to 4.3 (27) victory in entrance of 12,616 followers, including to their 2021 flag in a report fifth grand closing.
However that crowd quantity introduced one of many largest speaking factors on the ultimate day of the eighth season of the ladies’s competitors.
The AFLW has used quite a lot of grounds for its grand finals, with a report 53,034 individuals cramming Adelaide Oval to see the Crows triumph in 2019.
The identical South Australian floor introduced crowds over 22,000 and 16,000 for 2 different deciders, whereas Carrara Stadium on the Gold Coast cracked 15,000 within the inaugural grand closing in 2017.
So the choice to make use of Princes Park in 2023 – which offered out in round two hours – led to some fierce debate.
ABC commentator Kelli Underwood received the dialogue underway on grand closing day with a spirited chat with departing AFLW basic supervisor Nicole Livingstone.
“You’ve elected to go for Princes Park, which has a capability of 13,500 and also you’ve offered out in two hours,” Underwood mentioned on ABC Offsiders.
“So there are individuals which might be going to overlook out on right now.
“(The AFL) personal Marvel Stadium … you might simply put it there, you have chose to not have the MCG, you’re sending the message to younger ladies who’re developing ‘come and play our recreation, however you’ll be able to’t play at these iconic venues’.”
Livingstone, who’s stepping down after six years within the position, had a thought of response.
“Yeah however I believe heartland venues and the connection to group as you’re constructing one thing new, and specifically WBBL and the AFLW, are comparatively new merchandise within the market,” she mentioned.
“I really feel and I believe the AFL as effectively with the technique that we’ve had, the smaller venue and packing that out, is creating an awesome ambiance.
“It’s additionally making a worry of lacking out as effectively. So individuals are determined to get there, so determined, a lot that perhaps they watch it on TV as effectively.
“We’re attempting to lift the visibility of ladies’s sport as effectively.
“So nice ambiance for the gamers, but in addition an excellent alternative to point out that we will pack out 13,800.
“However proper now, as we’re attempting to deliver a brand new viewers to AFLW, the smaller heartland venues are higher.”
Requested if ladies must wait “one other 10 years” to function in larger venues, Livingstone replied: “Till you get the gang to match the venue.
“So Adelaide Oval is 55,000 and now we have had 53,500 earlier than Covid and I believe individuals have truly modified the best way they devour sport.
“Possibly not AFL or males’s sport, however definitely girls’s sport continues to want to construct its viewers and now we have dedicated to that.”
There have been some robust responses on social media, with many slamming the transfer as a “cop out”.
“Girls’s sport is the one largest development style in international leisure and the AFL is piss farting round with it – do a deal for a boutique 30,000 seat stadium say on the Showgrounds – construct it and they’ll come,” was one touch upon X, previously Twitter.
“What a fully ridiculous cop-out. The AFLW Grand Last has packed out Adelaide Oval a number of occasions. Downsizing to such a small venue is a blatant disrespect to the gamers and Livingstone simply can’t admit that she has made the flawed resolution,” wrote one other.
Whereas some lamented lacking out on tickets, one other observer famous there have been “loads of empty seats at Princes Park right now. Excellent sized floor for the AFLW Finals proper now”.
When it comes to the motion on the pitch, North copped a heavy blow shortly after the opening bounce when influential half-forward Jenna Bruton damage her Achilles and was compelled to overlook the remainder of the sport.
“That is devastating, disastrous for the Kangaroos,” Underwood mentioned on Fox Footy.
In a bodily contest, Brisbane’s Taylor Smith took a heavy hit backing right into a pack within the first quarter that had former AFL participant and AFLW coach Daniel Harford pondering again to an notorious second from the 1989 males’s grand closing between Hawthorn and Geelong.
“Straight to Ablett, DiPierdomenico within the 1989 grand closing for me,” he mentioned on Fox Footy.
“That’s punctured lung ready to occur, unbelievable braveness from Taylor.
“She knew she was going to get whacked in that spot, proper into that rib cage, that’s not feeling good.”
The Roos kicked the one objective of the opening time period and led by a degree at halftime.
The Queenslanders took over from there, nevertheless, booting fives objectives to 2 within the second half, with Lions skipper Bre Koenen taking the medal for finest on floor.