It's been a big week in art ... with Jim Pavlidis

It was an opening night to remember.

AFLW coaches must try to make game attractive

Coaches of AFLW sides must take some responsibility to ensure the game remains attractive, says Western Bulldogs coach Paul Groves.

Daughters of the West get off to flying start

Having shed the tag of the AFL's "lovable losers" four months ago at the MCG, the Western Bulldogs keep winning.

New Roo Hrovat impresses in North hitout

Former Western Bulldog Nathan Hrovat has made an instant impression with North Melbourne, booting four goals in the Kangaroos' intra-club clash on Saturday.

Olympian stars as Crows thrash the Giants

​Dual Olympic basketballer Erin Phillips played a starring role in Adelaide's 36-point trouncing of Greater Western Sydney in Saturday's women's AFL game.

AFLW: Blues, Magpies clash a ratings winner

The inaugural match of the AFLW league between Carlton and Collingwood on Friday night was an attendance and broadcast-ratings success but the league insists there are no immediate plans for expansion.

Live AFLW: Bulldogs v Freo

The Bulldogs open their AFLW account at home against Fremantle.

Pies 'outworked' in loss to Blues

Collingwood defender and women's football operations manager Meg Hutchins says the Magpies were "outworked" by Carlton in Friday night's historic AFLW clash at Ikon Park.

Live AFLW: Crows v Giants

The historic opening round continues as the Crows meet the Giants in Adelaide.

'Eddie Everywhere' missing from Collingwood's historic AFLW debut

It looks like 'Eddie Everywhere' McGuire can't be everywhere - or at least not when it comes to women's footy.

AFL X: League chiefs look to stage exhibition match

While AFLW has dominated the recent headlines, there is another revolution league bosses continue to work on - AFL X.

Blues enjoy spoils on history-making AFLW night

Carlton's goal-kicking star Darcy Vescio is confident the Blues - and the wider AFLW - will have the depth to cover injuries after a "rough" start to the inaugural season.

AFLW: From frisbee to footy, Demons' multi-sport stars ready to rock

When it comes to making the leap to the football field in the fledging AFLW league, it's easy to see how a background in basketball, netball, American football and soccer could help.

Condell Crew underpins Giants' women

All 15 of the Giants' interstate recruits are living in the same duplex in Condell Park.

AFL forced to reassess women's venues

The AFL will consider moving another Collingwood women's home game to Ikon Park after the stunning success of Friday night's AFLW opener.

AFLW Live Scores: Carlton v Collingwood

• Live

It's an historic night for Australian football. We're about to see the first game of the new AFLW competition, featuring two heavyweights of the old VFL - Carlton and Collingwood.

The best moments of an unforgettable night

The Blues' ball movement was considerably slicker than that of the Pies.

AFLW: Crowds flood in, Blues take the honours

It was a memorable opening night for the AFL Women's competition, with the crowd catching everyone by surprise.

Hurley hurts ankle in Essendon's intra-club match

Essendon defender Michael Hurley was a casualty of Friday's intra-club hit out but the Bombers insist he will miss little training.

Anderson defies Giant odds to become a Crow

Six months ago, Canberra's Heather Anderson was told she could never play football again.

AFL apologises to crowd locked out of Princes Park for historic women's match

The AFL has apologised to more than one thousand disappointed fans locked out of Princes Park for the historic first game of the new AFLW competition.

Burning questions for the season ahead

With the pre-season series less than a fortnight away, Jon Pierik and Daniel Cherny cast their eyes over the big questions in footy for 2017.

AFL heading into uncharted territory of serious industrial dispute

It must be a source of great concern to Gillon McLachlan that. in a season in which he is leading the best women footballers across the country onto their field of dreams, he is simultaneously taking the AFL competition into the uncharted territory of a serious industrial dispute.

Canberra United stars go from rivals to teammates

Ellie Brush and Jenna McCormick will put their AFL rivalry on hold to join forces for Canberra United's W-League title bid.

How the world's biggest LED system will light up Perth Stadium

15,000 LEDs walk into a stadium, and 60,000 spectators light up.

AFLW: Bulldogs ready to chase an early bite

As Western Bulldogs president Peter Gordon said at the launch of the Dogs' AFLW season, this is the week when "aspirations" get realised.

AFLW: It's game on as Blues, Pies ready for historic clash

The moment has finally arrived, with the AFLW league to spring to life on Friday night when Carlton and Collingwood clash at Ikon Park from 7.45pm.

AFL acts on Etihad safety concerns

The patch of artificial turf at Etihad Stadium blamed for an ankle injury to Geelong forward Daniel Menzel in a game last year is set to go as the AFL acts on concerns from its players' union.

Giants star admits he was tempted to move home to Perth

Rory Lobb has revealed how close he was to moving back to Perth before re-signing with the GWS Giants.

Listen: Outer Sanctum podcast on AFLW

The Age has partnered with the Outer Sanctum podcast for the historic AFL Women's season.

Giants recruit the ultimate player-manager

GWS Giants back pocket Alex Saundry is the Jerry Maguire of the AFL Women's competition.

Leigh Matthews quits as football director of Brisbane Lions

AFL legend Leigh Matthews has quit his role as Brisbane Lions' football director, saying he doesn't have time for the job due to his media commitments.

Pendlebury would sit down to make a stand

In a week in which boxer Anthony Mundine has vowed to sit during the playing of the Australian national anthem, Collingwood captain Scott Pendlebury says AFL players would also consider sitting as a form of protest.

Giants look to have won the battle for Riverina

• EXCLUSIVE

Greater Western Sydney have scored another victory against the AFL and now look certain to retain their contentious Riverina academy zone and, specifically, Albury.

Who got Lade? Port did

Brendon Lade is returning to Port Adelaide after seven years as an assistant coach at AFL rivals Richmond.

Dogs won't be hoodoo gurus

The Western Bulldogs won't look back at their painful history of preliminary final losses in the lead up to their Saturday night clash with GWS Giants.

Hogan departure won't be 'catastrophic': Schwarz

Melbourne great David Schwarz says the potential defection of Jesse Hogan would not be "as catastrophic" now as it would have been last year.

Football romance, or the road to the future?

There’s two very contrasting narratives developing heading into the penultimate weekend of the AFL season. And sentimentally, they’re at opposite ends of the spectrum.

Chris Judd: It's time to deny the top four clubs access to free agents

The thing that AFL fans love about the game is risk and the unknown outcome accompanying it: the risk players take when they commit to a physical contest, when they launch three deep in a pack to stand on someone's shoulders in a marking contest, when they have a shot from the boundary. All are weekly features on highlights reels.