AFLW players will start pre-season training without a fixture in place but the league’s boss maintains the schedule is on its way.
Women’s clubs and players have been frustrated by the delay in releasing the fixture for the 10th season of the competition.
The men’s schedule is often released weeks after the previous season has ended, and sometimes more than four months before the start of the next campaign.
The semi-professional nature of AFLW means players need more notice to ask for time off from work and study.
The only game locked into the calendar is the season-opener between Carlton and Collingwood, to take place at Ikon Park on August 14.
“One of the key things about the fixture announcement is this is the first of the fixture announcements,” said Payne when confirming the Blues-Magpies clash.
“We intend to complete the fixture work by the end of this month and release that so the players and the clubs will know what’s happening.
“The work that we’re doing is to make sure that we’re optimising that crossover between the men’s and women’s competitions.”
Collingwood star Ruby Schleicher, who works in a presenting role for Fox Footy, was empathetic towards players who don’t have such flexible schedules.
“I’m very fortunate with my work that footy comes first, and they’re very understanding of that, so I’m able to move things around,” Schleicher said.
“Obviously the earliest we can get it (the fixture) is ideal, but at the same time, we prepare the same way we’re going to prepare for anyone.
“It doesn’t sort of change the system that we want to play as a football club.”
The AFLW are hoping the Carlton-Collingwood season opener will bring back memories of a famous night in 2017 when the Ikon Park stands were full to watch the league’s first match.
