The AFL now looks highly unlikely to expand its eight-team national women's competition until at least 2019 in a move which has placed it at odds with a number of losing bidder clubs who believe they have been misled.
Geelong and St Kilda, both granted provisional licences for 2018, told Fairfax Media they were working on the initial assumption that having narrowly missed fielding foundation women's teams they would be given that opportunity in year two of AFL Women's.
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Both expressed fears their developing women's ranks would be preyed upon by the national licence holders before they were handed the opportunity to join the AFLW competition.
However AFLW boss Simon Lethlean confirmed the prevailing view was that the competition should be consolidated over two seasons with the fixture unlikely to expand beyond seven home-and-away rounds in 2018 and the game focused upon developing the growth of female talent over 2017 and 2018.
"We're not aware of that," said Geelong chief executive Brian Cook.
"Having committed to creating a women's team we've invested heavily in terms of both staff and development. We've done so at a significant cost and we'd be hoping to get a return on that investment in 2018.
"The AFL gave us the strong impression we could come in the following year. The wording used by the AFL was that we'd receive a provisional licence for 2018. We had a registration and testing day one month ago at Deakin University where we had 150 players and now we have a squad of 35 training for our VFL side at Simonds (stadium).
"One of the issues in all of this is that the sides not in the AFLW are open to having talent poached by the national sides. The longer we are asked to wait the bigger the chance of our players being picked up by other clubs increases.
![Daisy Pearce (far right) with fellow players and potential future stars at the launch of the league.](/web/20161211004820im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/j/h/1/n/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gt80tn.png/1481271148024.jpg)
"We'd hope that they (the AFL) stays true to their word."
Losing bidders Richmond and West Coast had also hoped to field teams next season along with the Saints whose CEO Matt Finnis said his club had been given the strong impression it would be given a second chance in 2018.
"Having been told we'd just missed out," said Finnis, "we've taken the running on it and we're making sure we're prepared for a 2018 entry.
"We've enlisted the support of AFL Victoria in helping us to put in place some of the building blocks to get there."
The Saints have created partnerships with Seaford and St Kilda City women's teams and will host the AFL Victoria Southern Women's Academy at the Linen House Centre.
Finnis said he shared Geelong's concerns that his club had no hold over the women's talent it was developing and that any delays to expanding the competition would only further boost the established sides.
North Melbourne boss Carl Dilena added that the Kangaroos, another losing bidder, now believed the AFLW competition was unlikely to expand until 2019.
"We were disappointed but we get the principle," said Dilena. "Our expectation was that having just missed out we would have a chance to gain a licence the following year. Now we understand the AFL wants to bed down the competition building around the talent pool."
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