Three years, tops.

And that's with a lot more than a single marketing dollar spent.

3 years what?

If you think it folds in 3 years, your delusional.

1.  The AFLW already gets more in marketing than the W-league.  I think just Collingwood gets more in marketing for its womens team than the W-league
2. This is generating huge media for the AFL in its quiet period.  Buying this much press would cost a mint, on that basis alone AFLW is cost effective.
3. The AFL have publicly gone all in on this, far more so than the FFA has for the W-league.  
4. If the AFL has to keep tickets free to keep the fans coming, they will do it in a heartbeat.  Short season, only 8 teams, it wouldn't add up to real money anyway.
5.  Their stated objective is to drive female participation, they have specifically said, it isn't supposed to return a profit.  Club participation by women is going through the roof, so objective is being met.

You seriously think the most cashed up sport in Australia, with an even richer media deal yet to even kick in, is going to publicly walk away from womens sport after what it has said over the past 2 years?  
Not if it was losing millions a year.

Pay rates will go up, and it will go to 10 teams in 3 years.
Then after another couple of years, pay rates go up again, and it goes to 12 teams.
Take that to the bank, and it is going to put huge pressure on the FFA and the W-league.

On top of that, it's already generating big sponsorship dollars.

This ain't going away in a hurry people.

Yeah nah, stop right there. The reason for this is that Eddie McGuire went on a radio programme and thought it would be funny to joke about drowning a female journalist to death. The sponsors wanted to pull their funding from the club because the didn't want to be associated with bogan domestic violent culture. In response they decided to maintain the sponsorship of the club but the funding was diverted to womens programmes. Hey presto, women's team has a massive sponsoship deal. The AFL is king of spin and the fans fall for it hook line and sinker.

Going off one of the blokes at work who watched it the standard was absolutely putrid.

See how long people keep tuning it to see something that's the equivalent of high school kids.

Geez so much of our supporters of the game pumping up womens AFL, pathetic.

 I think Adam Peacock suggested there is a type of 'sport's nepotism' attached to certain codes through the media. It just is the reality and gives certain sports a higher profile. However, longer term sustained support and an initial commercial presence are two very different things. I think the AFL are aware of the hard road ahead and have the financial and commercial support to see out the long term. If women's football feels a little shunted by the media imagine how the netball and basketball feel, they have always supported the women's game and get next to no commercial support. It is what it is. A-league and W-league just need to focus on themselves and keep improving the conditions for all players.

Dumb question, but I thought I heard around the traps that they modified the rules for the women's game? One change I remember hearing was that they only have 16 players on the field, not 18? Can anyone confirm if this is the case or not?

True. Less congestion around the contest was the thought process

He was joking

This so much. 

The other thing is the w-league is a stepping stone to the matildas and asian cups and world cup and also to the u.s and euro leagues.

The w-league just needs to keep stepping up year in year out and the ffa or more likely the general football public need to fight for better conditions, stadiums, referees for the women and all football competitions. 

This is more likely going to hurt netball and womens cricket the most, they are being promoted and spending big bucks and its getting hidden away, sure the w-league is also hidden away but we're also not spending anything like other codes.

Didn't the W-league do a deal with WMLS where teams swap players ie Adelaide had some America players and a Brasiian who played in America come out & join for the season?

Actually I couldn't care how big the crowds are, as far as I'm concerned spectators can watch any sport as long as they enjoy it. The way the media carry on though is annoying. It's almost as if women's AFL has discovered how to turn lead into gold, a bit of reality would be nice, like if you want to represent your country in the Olympics or World cups - forget AFL as its only played in some states of our country.

meh

Like i said before most of the women had a go at legends (lingerie) football before having a go at this

This wont last

Many of them played wnbl, some netball etc, it will last purely because the AFL is behind it..these girls are getting coverage for the first time in their careers.

Eh interest will die, wait till the mens AFL start and WAFL interest will slowly die. The reason interest will also die is because the quality is too low, mainly because they haven't really played the sport most of them. It is just a publicity stunt, not a self sustainable adventure.

Ding Ding Ding - Eddie didn't even rock up. Went to watch the Mundine fight instead. Embarrassing

The grand final is played the same weekend as round 1 of AFL, so it's not going to affect the competition, everyone knows the standard is low, but people don't care, it's suburban footy that's well promoted, they will turn up.

Eddie was hosting the Mundine fight and couldn't go, he agreed to it before the AFLW fixtures came out.

It's been 1 game. Let's check back in at the end of the season to see if they are still pulling 25k.

They got 9k in Adelaide, so no doubt will be fapping themselves stupid (per capita) for that until the real stuff with the boys is back. 

There are a lot of people saying exactly that who are not joking, so its was kind of hard to tell.

They will not be, except the GF, this will not make it a failure.

If by most you mean about 5, then yes, most tried LFL

Lots of guys watched it purely so they could tell people it was putrid, so take it with a grain of salt.  Skills were lower and the clanger rate a lot higher than mens AFL, but it was in no way the equivalent of high school football.  

They got just over 10k at whiten oval for the Bulldogs game which is basically a full house. I don't think anyone is expecting crowds of 25k, they are talking of moving the Collingwood v Melbourne game next week from Olympic park to princess park because the capacity won't be enough at OP. But they will be smart and keep lesser games at smaller venues.

What's clearly been evident is that it works as a tv package, it doesn't matter what the standard is like, people get drawn into sporting events that are played at venues that are full. They have hit a home run here.

The putrid skills haven't surprised me, what has surprised me is that these girls are fearless, they don't play for free kicks and they tackle ferociously, it's like watching those rainy mud filled games from the 80s, throw in the suburban grounds and you have a winner.

Is it true all tickets were free?

Why not? Wall to wall gushing PR coverage (at least in Victoria) 

Nothing but praise from all corners - talk already of moving the GF to the MCG. At least a 15k average (depending on ground capacity) would seem more than achievable at season's end

They even have pyro (just).

https://considerthesauce.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/bulldogs17.jpg

Coll vs Carlton there were a reported 10,000 that were free.

yes, they were and are all free for this season, with the exception of doubleheaders with JLT series matches. And even those are free if you are a current club or afl member with games access.