HAPPY New Year AFLW fans.
With a new year comes a new AFLW season, and 2025 plans to be the biggest yet.
This year we celebrate the 10th edition of AFLW, and although the year has just begun, we already know a lot about what to expect.
Fans will witness the longest ever season, an earlier start, an exciting crop of next generation stars, a huge milestone, club favourites in new colours and some of the competition's best players returning from injury.
Let's take a look at what we know about the 10th season of AFLW.
Longest season yet
AFLW general manager Emma Moore announced in November that the 2025 season will comprise 12 home and away rounds in 12 weeks, followed by four weeks of finals.
As the competition continues to grow, the extra round will make it the longest season to date.
Following feedback from clubs, the compressed fixture has been scrapped, meaning the season will be played over 16 weeks.
"What I will confirm is that there'll be no compression," Moore said on AFL.com.au's Credit to the Girls podcast.
"That was a really worthwhile thing to investigate and understand what we could do and there were some good learnings out of that, but there were also some really clear learnings about a desire to not repeat that kind of approach again."
Earlier season start
In order to cater for the extra round and the removal of the compressed fixture, season 10 will begin two weeks earlier than in previous years.
Moore has confirmed that week one of this year's competition will begin on August 11, coinciding with round 23 of the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season.
The Grand Final will remain on the last Saturday of November, which this year falls on Saturday, November 29.
Clubs will begin their pre-seasons in the week beginning Monday, May 19, giving teams nearly three months to prepare for the first round.
First to 100
We will very likely witness the first players to reach the incredible milestone of 100 games in 2025.
There are five players currently sitting in the 90s while Hawthorn's Emily Bates sits on 88 games and could also reach the milestone should she feature in all 12 regular season games in 2025.
It will be great to witness one of these players make history when they become the first player to notch up 100 games.
Old faces in new colours
Twenty-six players found new homes in last year's sign and trade period, including some club favourites who will be wearing new colours in 2025.
Premiership Crow Najwa Allen will wear the brown and gold of Hawthorn for the first time.
