Tara Murray
Essendon will play four games at Windy Hill in the upcoming AFLW season, with elite level football returning to the ground for the first time in more than 32 years.
The AFLW fixture was released on Monday, with a 10 week regular season before a four week finals series.
The season will kick off in the first week of September with the Bombers playing Hawthorn in round one.
Round two marks the return to Windy Hill, with Essendon hosting St Kilda on September 10.
The Bombers will also play at Windy Hill in round four against Fremantle, round eight against West Coast and round nine against Carlton.
Essendon chief executive Craig Vozzo said returning to Windy Hill will create new memories for Essendon to embrace and celebrate.
“We are delighted with today’s announcement and thank the AFL for their support in this process,” he said.
“Windy Hill is such a huge part of our club’s history, and this is an exciting new chapter returning to our heartland to play AFLW football.
“We want Essendon to have a strong presence in the suburb of our origin and provide greater benefits and access for the community for future generations.
Essendon AFLW coach Natalie Wood expressed delight in creating a home-ground for the Bombers in our second year.
“We’re excited that all roads will lead to Windy Hill for our AFLW team this season,” she said.
“We have been working on developing our craft and system, and look forward to the season ahead and continuing our growth following our inaugural season.”
AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan said it was important to reach an agreement with the Players’ Association and not delay the fixture any further to provide certainty to players, clubs and fans.
“We thank the AFLPA, led by Paul Marsh and their delegates for their commitment and our aim now is to make 2023 the best season yet, while we collaborate on the sustainable growth of the competition, both in number of games, attendances and overall engagement.
“The AFL is incredibly proud of the growth in women’s football in the past seven years and remain committed to growing the competition in a sustainable way as we continue to invest heavily in driving attendance and viewership this season.”
Marsh said the players are deeply committed to the growth of the AFLW competition as partners in the game.
“It is with this objective at the forefront that player leaders have signed-off on the AFL’s release of a 10-game home and away fixture for 2023.
“This agreement has formed part of our CBA negotiations with the AFL and comes with a commitment from the AFL for growth in AFLW games from 2024 and beyond.
“Players believe the release of the fixture will provide fans and clubs with the certainty needed to deliver a successful and exciting 2023 season of AFLW.”
