AFLW star backs league's growth in face of huge losses
The AFL has reportedly told clubs the women's competition is losing $50 million a year as it approaches its 10th season, which starts next month.
League officials have made improving on-field performances the top priority for the AFLW, which is also facing declining crowds and television audiences.
AFLW players are pushing for an expanded season, in which every team plays each of its opponents once, by 2031.
But a review by league officials has reportedly showed that would come at a $200 million loss.
Hore, a seven-year AFLW veteran, urged league officials and sponsors to have faith in the competition, which she believes is growing its on-field product each year.
"I'm super confident that the AFLW is an amazing competition already and we're only 10 seasons in, so I think we just need to keep investing, both as players and then more broadly as well, into the game," Hore said.
"I compare myself as a player in my first season in 2018 and if I was that same player now I certainly wouldn't be getting a game.
"The standard and the investment from players is only growing, and the competition's only going to keep growing as the investment comes."
Hore, a three-time All-Australian and premiership player in 2022, said the continuing influx of young players who have developed through talent pathways will lift the AFLW's standard.
"The skill levels are going to continue to grow and I've really seen that in our new girls and our draftees this year," she said.
"They've been playing the game since they were five years old.
"I compare it to myself, I played from five until 10 (years of age) and then didn't play for 10 years.
"It's a pretty long time where I didn't get to develop my skills.
"These girls are coming through the pathways now ... it makes me really, really excited for the future."
Hore on Wednesday helped Melbourne launch a new sponsorship with Swedish automotive manufacturer Polestar, who will partner with the Demons' women's team this season.
"This partnership just shows that there's so many businesses and organisations that really want to help grow the game and support us girls," Hore said.
"It's an investment really and the competition's growing. We're celebrating our 10th season but only nine years in, so the competition is going to continue to grow.
"Sponsorships like this show that there's real investment from organisations and businesses out there, which we really love."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
8 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Weary Popyrin suffers agonising defeat in Cincinnati
After three-and-a-half hours in sweltering Ohio heat Alexei Popyrin just ran out of gas in an epic Cincinnati Open third round tie with ninth seed Andrey Rublev. Popyrin lost 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (5-7) 5-7 after a see-saw encounter that could easily have gone the other way. The Australian, himself ranked 19, will have the consolation of a very good workout ahead of the US Open, and may appreciate some rest after such a draining encounter. However, his chances of a top 16 ranking and better seeding slot in New York appear to be gone. When Rublev's passing shot beat him to seal victory with the Russian's first match point Popyrin looked very weary, then smiled ruefully as he dragged himself to the net to give his opponent a hug. The pair had slugged it out for three tight sets, interrupted in the last by a lengthy rain break. First up on Court 3, in front of a decent crowd mainly supporting Rublev, Popyrin's opening serve was broken from 40-0 up, but he broke back immediately, helped by a brace of double-faults by the Russian. The first set thereafter went with serve to the tiebreak. After four mini-breaks in that Popyrin served an ace at 5-5 then Rublev, facing set point, double-faulted. The second set went with serve to the tiebreak, albeit Popyrin had to save three break points while forcing none. After double-faulting at 4-5 in the breaker he broke for 5-5, only for Rublev to sweep the next two points and the tiebreak. The pair had been playing for more than two hours at this stage, in 32C heat. There followed an epic 28-point service game in which Popyrin forced but failed to take four break points. The match had begun shortly after 11am local time, in fierce sunshine, but for some time humidity had been rising and clouds building. Suddenly, with the third set poised at 2-1 to Rublev, and 30-30 on Popyrin's serve, a cloudburst flooded the court and sent players and spectators rushing for cover. Popyrin immediately went a break point down when they resumed just under an hour later, but saved it before serving out with two aces. The match then went with serve until, at 30-30 and 5-6 down, the Australian had to step away from his serve due to a ringing mobile phone. It may have made no difference but his subsequent serves weren't quite there and Rublev pounced. The Russian now meets Argentina's Francisco Comensana who beat Reilly Opelka 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 7-5. Adam Walton is also in third round action, against Jiri Lehecka, the 22nd-seeded Czech. The winner will meet No.5 seed Ben Shelton or Roberto Bautista Agut in the last 16. Elsewhere on Tuesday three-time grand slam semifinalist Grigor Dimitrov has withdrawn from the US Open, a little more than a month after he tore a chest muscle and had to quit playing against Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon. Alejandro Tabilo gets his spot in the men's singles, which starts on August 24.
Perth Now
8 minutes ago
- Perth Now
AI training pilot to upskill more than 30,000 teachers
More than 30,000 teachers could be trained in the use of artificial intelligence technology as part of a year-long trial spearheaded by US tech giant Microsoft and Australia's Future Skills Organisation. The firms will announce the pilot program in Canberra on Wednesday in collaboration with 13 industry and education partners, and in a move designed to promote wider adoption of AI technology. The plan to boost Australia's AI use comes a day after the Productivity Commission recommended schools deploy the technology for both teachers and students, and after it named AI adoption as one of its priorities for the year. Artificial intelligence technology is also expected to be a major focus at the federal government's Economic Reform Roundtable next week. The Future Skills Organisation's pilot program, called Skills Accelerator AI, is designed to reach more than 30,000 vocational education and training staff, as well as the students they teach. Equipping educators with AI tools and teaching them how to use them would be vital to boosting productivity and creating new industries, Future Skills Organisation chief executive Patrick Kidd said. "We did some research across the finance, tech and business sectors and found that more than 60 per cent of people are using AI but less than 30 per cent have been trained in it," he told AAP. "(AI is) happening, it's here, now we need to make sure that we're starting to put some shape around it so that we're doing it responsibly, safely and effectively." The training program will include access to a wide range of AI tools, he said, as well as mentors and examples of effective AI use from industry partners. Groups involved in the program include TAFE in Queensland and South Australia, the Swinburne University of Technology, the Commonwealth Bank, Business NSW, and the National AI Centre. Targeting teachers in the first phase of the pilot would help to spread AI education widely, Microsoft Asia small and medium enterprise corporate vice-president Rachel Bondi said, and to encourage its responsible use. "(AI is) reshaping every job and we have to make the training available to all roles and all jobs and not just in certain sectors that may have received that type of training before," she said. "We're hoping that this collaboration of everybody coming together is really going to pave a way for a national approach." Federal Skills and Training Minister Andrew Giles said he hoped the partnership would help to create "practical, scalable training" for Australian workers. In a report issued before the government's economic roundtable, the Productivity Commission recommended state and territory governments train teachers in the use of AI technology and that schools use the tools to assist students and teachers. AI technology is expected to be a major focus at the three-day event in Canberra after the Tech Council predicted it could add $115 billion a year to Australia's economy by 2030.
ABC News
8 minutes ago
- ABC News
Just a week out from a parliamentary deadline, both Labor and Greens sticking to their guns
During every AFL trade week, there are a couple of deals that go down to the wire. One club boss insists their player is so skilled that there's no way they'll be traded, at least unless they get a bounty of draft picks or some good players in exchange. The other club boss says they value the player but can't pay the king's ransom being demanded. Occasionally, the gulf between the teams is so great that no deal can be struck. Other times, one club caves and pays too much, or accepts below-market value for their prized player. But mostly, after weeks of posturing and chest beating, both clubs agree to meet somewhere in the middle, usually right before the trade deadline. Tasmanian politics is in its own trade week era — and at the moment, the protracted negotiations are between Labor and the Greens. Labor needs the Greens to agree to their motion of no-confidence in Premier Jeremy Rockliff's government, and provide confidence in a Labor minority government. In return, the Greens want Labor to throw some policy concessions their way. Maybe start with matching the Liberals' ban on greyhound racing and go from there. So far, there has been the same amount of bluster you'd expect from AFL trade week. Labor insists it won't do a deal with the Greens, it won't compromise on its values and doesn't expect those it is negotiating with to do so either. But if it forms government, it will consider each idea for policy change on its merits, through a "sensible policy framework". Labor has mostly opted for the "greater good" argument — that the mostly progressive crossbench would be better off under a Labor Party that independents and Greens share some core values with, such as integrity, fixing the budget, health and housing. It's asking whether the crossbench really wants to leave the Liberals, and new Treasurer Eric Abetz, in charge of the state's finances. Especially when it could have Labor and its would-be treasurer, respected independent MLC Ruth Forrest. And whether the Greens really want to trust a premier that it voted no-confidence in just two months ago. The Greens so far have told Labor Leader Dean Winter to buzz off, and to come back when he's serious. Greens Leader Rosalie Woodruff drew a big line in the sand on Tuesday. Unless Labor offers up more than it is at the moment, she said the Greens cannot support Mr Winter as premier. Dr Woodruff reeled off a range of policies she would like movement on: ditching the proposed Macquarie Point AFL stadium, stronger environmental laws, and increasing the royalties paid by the salmon and mining industries to repair the budget. And in a classic trade-week manoeuvre, she pointed out Labor's weakened bargaining hand — that the guy doing the negotiating failed to win a quota in his own right in the seat of Franklin, while his party suffered a 3.1 per cent swing against it. And that while Labor doesn't need every individual crossbencher on board, it cannot form government without the Greens. The Greens also have the benefit of time. They can reject Mr Winter's bid for power now, tell their supporters they've extracted a greyhound racing ban from a Liberal party that just a month ago was telling the industry how valued it was, and will consider a further no-confidence motion in Mr Rockliff if he doesn't do what he has promised or makes decisions that outrage them. They know Labor are likely to come back and want to form government if they're unsuccessful this time. But if the Greens vote for Mr Winter to become premier now, they know it will lead to a partnership that will be awfully hard to end. The Greens see they're giving Mr Winter a blank cheque to govern if they side with him this time. And Dr Woodruff continues to argue the party will not do that without claiming some prized assets in return. We're fairly and squarely in the chest-beating part of trade week. A week out from deadline, both parties are sticking to their guns. But which end scenario will play out on Tuesday when parliament resumes? Will the Greens and Labor remain so far apart that neither bends — and Mr Rockliff remains premier? Will Labor concede enough that the deal becomes palatable to the Greens? Or will the Greens decide that when push comes to shove, they would prefer the Labor Party in charge over Mr Rockliff? After all, Dr Woodruff used her election night speech to point out the Greens have much more in common with Labor than the Liberals. With five days until deadline day, there's still plenty to play out. And while the Greens have displayed a willingness to return to the negotiating table, Dr Woodruff put plenty of caveats on her lack of support, starting every sentence with a "for now", or "at this stage". The scene is set for a tense and highly anticipated return of the state parliament. And despite all the bluster, every possible scenario remains on the table.
