AFLW expansion completes the gesture of inclusion, now the AFL needs to take one more step

As AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan put it, the AFLW competition is now "whole". It's yet another chapter in the remarkable growth that has taken place in AFLW's short history, after it launched in 2017, three years earlier than was initially planned. As Sam Lane wrote in her book ROAR, the inauguration of an AFL women's competition was "the AFL's single most profound act of inclusion in a 121-year history." Erin Phillips has been one of the AFLW's marquee players for the Crows, but could she switch sides for the first-ever women's Showdown? AFLW faces uphill battle to retain elite talent Such golden opportunities to market the game are increasingly important at a time when invaluable exposure has been heaped upon the code's rivals such as soccer.