AFLW news 2024, exclusive fixture criticism, bosses accused of hiding by Georgie Parker and Sarah Burt podcast

The AFL has been accused of going to ground and refusing to shed light on a bizarre AFLW fixture that has drawn swarms of criticism in recent weeks.

Critics are accusing head office of abandoning the women's game and doing a disservice to players, fans, and club staff with the decision to condense the 2024 fixture.

Rounds four to seven featured games played on Tuesday and Wednesday nights - with Monday the only day of the week left without a game - as administrators attempted to cram the season into a shorter period of time.

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But it resulted in some teams playing four games in the space of two weeks and led to what many have labelled the worst quality game in AFLW history.

Essendon beat the Bulldogs 3.8 (26) to 0.3 (3) last Friday as coaches were left desperately trying to minimise injury and exhaustion to their players as a result of the bewildering schedule.

Alice Edmonds of the Bulldogs is assisted off the field by medical staff. AFL Photos via Getty Images

Former AFLW player Georgie Parker says "faceless losers" who continually criticise the game on social media are not worth listening to, but the AFL should be sitting up and taking notice of prominent, respected voices who are calling out issues.

Parker says the AFL's insistence on giving all 18 clubs an AFLW team too soon was the league's first major mistake, and the problems have snowballed from there.

"I feel as though everything the AFL has done with the W has been reactive, from quite literally the get-go. They didn't plan on being a league until 2020 and were like 'oh, cricket is already starting to do stuff, let's put it in early'," Parker said on Nine's AFLW Weekly podcast.

"So from the get-go they have been chasing their tail and chasing other sports in trying to be the No.1, they want to be No.1 in everything they do. So they've gone 'every club gets a team' without having the right basics underneath it - they don't have the right grassroots system, they don't have the right funding for coaches, they don't have the right technology, the right broadcasting situation.

"They've been chasing their tail and trying to be the No.1, and in doing so because they haven't done it properly, they are not the No.1.

"The AFL want to win everything. Rugby league is doing it better than them, cricket is doing it better than them, and the A-League are coming through as well.

"They seem to not be doing it right, and it's this boys' club mentality and this second thought for the women that is really getting in the way."

Podcast host Sarah Burt revealed the people in charge of AFLW have essentially gone into hiding amid the criticism.

The Nine podcast has repeatedly asked the AFL and AFLW to put a representative on the show in an effort to enlighten listeners about their decisions, but the leagues have refused.

"It would appear that this is the first time the AFL are being exposed to people being critical of the AFLW competition," Burt said.

"If we want equality eventually, and growth, we need to be critical and we need to have people holding decision makers to account.

"During the men's grand final week our producer reached out (to the AFL) and they came back and said 'yep absolutely, we will look at it'... the proceeding three weeks we have asked for someone and have still not been given someone.

"We are not alone in this. I've spoken to four other prominent AFLW journalists who have also been rejected from having a spokesperson (interviewed) - it doesn't have to be (AFLW boss) Emma Moore, it doesn't have to be (AFL footy boss) Laura Kane - any spokesperson that can speak on the topics that we are interested in.

"Why would you guard things so closely, when at the moment it's at the point misinformation is being spread?

Georgia Garnett of the Giants looks dejected after a loss. AFL Photos via Getty Images

"People are just guessing at what's happening because the AFL isn't giving the information. We need the facts out there."

Moore was appointed the AFLW's general manager in April.

Parker believes Moore has only ever spoken on the official AFL website's podcast, and claims she was not pressed on burning issues like an outside media outlet would do.

"I have a problem when they say we're really happy with how this is running, when not a single stakeholder is," Parker told AFLW Weekly.

"I can't imagine anyone is happy with this.

"They claim to be this big entity but they can't handle the criticism, and they're obviously not proud of their product because if they were they would back it."

The AFLW season is being played over 10 rounds and finishes in November.

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