Pearce blasts ‘gimmicky’ AFLW short season

THE AFLW risks becoming a gimmick by keeping the season the same length despite adding two more teams, Melbourne captain Daisy Pearce says.

Pearce says reported plans for the next AFLW season are creating angst among players.

Two clubs, Geelong and North Melbourne, will be added to make the AFLW a 10- team competition next year.

Clubs will reportedly play six games each before two weeks of finals. Last season had seven games before a sole grand final.

“It doesn’t sit well with me or a lot of the players,” Pearce told SEN radio yesterday.

“I get there is a commercial reality that they want to keep this competition within the … eight-week timeslot. (But) I thought when those two new teams came in … we are going to get a legitimate competition here, play everyone once and head into a final series.

“It seems not to be the case … in reality, this is a gimmicky tournament.”

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan said more finals would be introduced next sea- son. “We want to introduce a semi-final, a prelim final … and I know that the female players want that,” McLachlan told 3AW yesterday.

“In an ideal world, Daisy is saying everyone would play each other once and I understand that.

“But … everyone is working through (it) to try and get to the right outcome.”