WAFL Women's
{{short description|Australian rules football league}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Use Australian English|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox sports league
| title = WAFL Women's
| current_season = 2025 WAFL Women's season
| last_season =
| upcoming_season =
| logo =
| pixels =
| caption =
| Formerly =
| sport = Australian rules football
| founded = 2018
| inaugural = 2019
| teams = 9
| country = Australia
| venue =
| champion = {{WAFLW|Cla}} (2nd premiership)
| most_champs = {{WAFLW|PT}}, {{WAFLW|EF}}, {{WAFLW|Cla}} (2 premierships)
| qualification =
| website = [http://www.wafl.com.au wafl.com.au]
| owner = WAFC, WAWFL (until 2021)
| TV = Seven Network (Grand Final only)
| sponsor = Optus
}}
WAFL Women's (WAFLW) is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The WAFLW is the premier women's football competition in Western Australia and is contested by eight teams, all of whom are owned and operated by clubs in the men's West Australian Football League (WAFL).
The league was established in 2018 by the West Australian Football Commission (WAFC) and West Australian Women's Football League (WAWFL), the latter having been the governing body and league for women's football in the state from 1987 to 2018.{{cite web|url=http://www.wawfl.com.au/wawfl-hq/about|title=About us|work=West Australian Women's Football League}} The competition has been singularly overseen by the WAFC after the WAWFL was dissolved in 2021.
The league runs from March to August, usually running partially concurrently with the AFL Women's (AFLW). It is the second primary women's football competition for West Australian footballers underneath the semi-professional national competition, and one of the three elite leagues in women's Australian rules football (the AFLW, SANFLW and WAFLW).
Clubs
Five of the ten WAFL clubs fielded teams in the inaugural 2019 WAFLW season: Claremont, East Fremantle, Peel Thunder, Subiaco and Swan Districts.
South Fremantle joined the league the following year,{{cite web|url=http://www.wafootball.com.au/news/18950/south-fremantle-to-enter-2020-optus-waflw-competition|title=South Fremantle to enter 2020 Optus WAFLW competition|work=West Australian Football Commission|date=29 June 2020}} with West Perth joining the league in 2022.{{cite web|url=https://thewest.com.au/sport/waflw/west-perth-league-debut-rivalries-and-finals-headline-waflw-fixture-release--c-5404801|title=West Perth league debut, rivalries and finals headline WAFLW fixture release|work=The West Australian|date=23 January 2022|author=Eliza Reilly|url-access=subscription}} East Perth joined the league in 2023.[https://www.eastperthfc.com.au/news/22910/a-royal-reception-for-new-waflw-side-in-2023 A royal reception for East Perth women's team in 2023] Perth became the final WAFL club to enter the league in 2025.{{cite web|url=https://wafootball.com.au/news/25538/perth-to-join-waflw-in-2025|title=Perth to join WAFLW in 2025|work=wafootball.com|date=9 August 2024}}
Neither of the state's two AFL teams (Fremantle and West Coast) field teams in the league: Fremantle was an AFLW foundation club in 2017, while West Coast entered the AFLW in 2019 after playing scratch matches in 2017–2018.
| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center; width:100%; font-size:90%"
! Club ! Nickname ! {{Tooltip|Home venue|Primary venue for home games}} ! {{Tooltip|Est.|Year of establishment of the original WAFL club}} ! First WAFLW ! data-sort-type="number" | WAFLW ! data-sort-type="number" | WAFLW ! Most |
| style="text-align:left" | Claremont
| style="text-align:left" | Tigers | style="text-align:left" | Claremont Oval | 1906 | 2019 | 6 | 2 | 2024 |
|---|
| style="text-align:left" | East Fremantle
| style="text-align:left" | Sharks | style="text-align:left" | East Fremantle Oval | 1898 | 2019 | 6 | 2 | 2023 |
| style="text-align:left" | East Perth
| style="text-align:left" | Royals | style="text-align:left" | Leederville Oval | 1902 | 2023 | 2 | — | — |
| style="text-align:left" | Peel
| style="text-align:left" | Thunder | style="text-align:left" | Rushton Park | 1996 | 2019 | 6 | 2 | 2021 |
| style="text-align:left" | Perth
| style="text-align:left" | Demons | style="text-align:left" | Lathlain Park | 1899 | 2025 | 0 | — | — |
| style="text-align:left" | South Fremantle
| style="text-align:left" | Bulldogs | style="text-align:left" | Fremantle Oval | 1900 | 2020 | 5 | — | — |
| style="text-align:left" | Subiaco
| style="text-align:left" | Lions | style="text-align:left" | Leederville Oval | 1896 | 2019 | 6 | — | — |
| style="text-align:left" | Swan Districts
| style="text-align:left" | Swans | style="text-align:left" | Bassendean Oval | 1932 | 2019 | 6 | — | — |
| style="text-align:left" | West Perth
| style="text-align:left" | Falcons | style="text-align:left" | Arena Joondalup | 1891 | 2022 | 3 | — | — |
| class="sortbottom" |
Honours
=Premiers=
{{main|List of WAFL Women's premiers}}
- 2019: {{WAFLW|EF}}
- 2020: {{WAFLW|PT}}
- 2021: {{WAFLW|PT}}
- 2022: {{WAFLW|Cla}}
- 2023: {{WAFLW|EF}}
- 2024: {{WAFLW|Cla}}
=Dhara Kerr Award=
{{main|Dhara Kerr Award}}
- 2019: Hayley Miller & Danika Pisconeri
- 2020: Danika Pisconeri
- 2021: Ella Smith
- 2022: Sharon Wong
- 2023: Jayme Harken
- 2024: Jayme Harken
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|https://www.wafl.com.au/|WAFL and WAFLW official website}}
{{WAFL Women's}}
{{Aussie Rules in Western Australia}}
{{Women's Australian rules football}}
{{AFL Women's}}
{{West Australian Football League}}
Category:Women's Australian rules football leagues in Australia
Category:2019 establishments in Australia