Earlier start - Good (less wait!)

No compression - Good (though the girls handled it well)

12 rounds - Good (could do better!)

https://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/1694256/2025-aflw-season-timing-confirmed

Pretty happy with this. The league is slowly clawing its way to a somewhat legitimate fixture.

Once it gets to around 80% of teams played (14/17), the impact of which teams played or not will reduce, and it becomes more like the men's where fairness is certainly compromised (e.g., by who teams play when or who they play twice) but not completely skewed like it is in AFLW now. And with more games, losing a couple because of a tougher fixture shouldn't impact ladder position so much; teams that deserve to be there will be more likely to make it. Of course, it might still take several years to get there, and we'll complain about the fixture even then!

Still, it's funny/frustrating to look back at what an absurd ride of too-fast expansion it's been.

H&A season	% of teams played	League size
2017	100%	8 teams
2018	100%	8 teams
2019*	78%	10 teams
2020**	62%	14 teams
2021	69%	14 teams
2022A	77%	14 teams
2022B	59%	18 teams
2023	59%	18 teams
2024	65%	18 teams
2025	71%	18 teams
* Conference system (we were robbed!)
** Planned fixture but not fulfilled