The AFL Women’s competition returns to the Seven Network this week for its 10th season, with Carlton taking on Collingwood in the opening match on Thursday, 14 August, live and free on Seven, 7mate and 7plus Sport.
The 2025 season features 18 teams, 12 home-and-away rounds and four weeks of finals, culminating in the AFLW Grand Final on Saturday, 29 November. Seven will deliver expanded coverage, introducing enhanced slow-motion cameras, drone footage, on-boundary player interviews and ball chip technology for the first time in an AFLW broadcast.
Legendary broadcaster Bruce McAvaney will host the season opener at IKON Park. AFL Hall of Famer Erin Phillips returns to commentary alongside newcomer Jack Heverin and a line-up including Jason Bennett, Nigel Carmody, Natalie Edwards, Melissa Hickey, Abbey Holmes, Akec Makur Chuot, Kate McCarthy, Alister Nicholson, Sarah Olle, Jo Wotton and current North Melbourne AFLW player Libby Birch. 7NEWS sport reporters Theo Doropoulos and Kate Massey also join coverage.
Across Round One, Nick Riewoldt, Matthew Richardson and Cameron Ling will provide special comments, while Phillips features in Unfiltered with Hamish McLachlan on Wednesday night at 9.30pm following The Front Bar.
Round One broadcast highlights
• Thursday, 14 August: Carlton v Collingwood, live from 7.00pm AEST; West Coast Eagles v Gold Coast SUNS, live from 9.10pm AEST.
• Friday, 15 August: Sydney Swans v Richmond, live from 5.00pm AEST (NSW only).
• Saturday, 16 August: GWS GIANTS v Essendon, live from 5.30pm AEST (NSW only); Western Bulldogs v Melbourne, live from 7.30pm AEST.
• Sunday, 17 August: Brisbane Lions v Hawthorn, live from 12.30pm AEST; St Kilda v Adelaide Crows, live from 1.30pm AEST (SA only); Port Adelaide v Fremantle, live from 3.30pm AEST (SA) / 2.00pm AEST (WA).
Talking W returns
Seven’s weekly AFLW talk show, Talking W, returns on Tuesday nights on 7plus Sport, hosted by McCarthy and AFL Media’s Riley Beveridge. The program will provide analysis, match breakdowns and news from around the league, with encore episodes airing Wednesday mornings.
Seven’s Head of AFL and Sport Innovation, Gary O’Keeffe, said the network aimed to deliver “the most comprehensive and entertaining coverage of the AFLW to date”, while McCarthy predicted the season would be “even bigger than the past nine” with standout performances expected from North Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and emerging stars such as Ash Centra and Havana Harris.