The Grand Final has sold out already, the W Awards turned up some exciting results, and boy Richmond’s suddenly looking extra youthful…

In this final episode for the year, Bree and Fi lay out a huge week of news, review the preliminary finals, and preview what is set to become a stormy final-final.

Breeza has curated her Top 5 Stories of The Year to wrap up the AFLW season – including Game of the Year (for some)! In the newest of news, we hear beautiful things that long-serving Swans coach John Longmire has to say following a bombshell announcement.

And the show highlight? An engaging interview with a Roos superfan, community footballer and whole-hearted adorer of women’s footy: Rosie Carter. Picking a team from the ambiguous mass of vertical stripes jostling on a little black and white telly, admiring the hugest hunk of spunk ever to play behind a handlebar moustache, the satisfaction of watching your footy team thrive at the same time as your home country kicks butt on a second screen at the bowls club, connecting with pioneering community teams, and playing the game you love in a local club alongside your partner… footy life can be so full and joyous, as Rosie exemplifies in the classic spirit of Chicks Talking Footy.

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Our busy and important Bree makes a long-awaited return to the show. Tonight, she

Bec, Fi and you get to learn the meanings behind all the jargon swirling around

There are freshly announced dates for next year’s AFLW season. The league

Meanwhile, the finals are stoking passions and we’re tad concerned about the heat.

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These are exciting times in football news and speculation. Just ask our very own “footy empath”, Bec Dahl, and resident poetry aficionado, Fiona Newton!

Adelaide people love a Thursday night! (But who wants a Saturday night game?) The 2024 AFLW All-Australian Squad is coming! (And how about the redheads!) North Melbourne’s home turf is going to engulf Perth and Bunbury! Uh, but Hawks games in Dingley…?

The AFLW finals are underway!

The Roos’ mental resilience is robust these days, but don’t underestimate the power of one Crow single-handedly trying to win the game. The Hawks and Lions, who crashed a wedding, inspire whispered confessions in the studio. Things got so rough it’s broken the fourth wall. Our podcaster’s other notes are an inscrutable scrawl. Blame it on the excitement! Blame it on the bad influence of the AFLW in their experimental phase! Rest assured and listen on – the Dockers and Bombers and Port and Richmond got up to noteworthy things in this elimination round too!

Now as the season comes to a close, so too do some playing careers. In honour of the retirees, this episode features encore interviews with legends Jess Del Pos and Rhi Watt.

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Special guest Kel Rowe joins your regularly scheduled Fi as the AFLW season rockets toward finals.

Although women haven’t been making the weekly footy news much – “We’re better behaved” – this episode there’s a big announcement hot off the press!

Fi and Kel devote much of the show to a meticulous review of the Indigenous Round. A contender for Mark of the Year broke out of a sweaty, scrappy game in Gimuy Cairns. The round also saw a rare bench infringement, quirky shifts of mathematical possibility, and Lions befriending the wind. The inaugural Dreamtime Game in Garramilla Darwin prompted some creative ways to keep cool, while the Tiwi Bombers and Darwin Buffaloes put on a stunning curtain raiser. Enjoy the rich meanings behind some of the equally stunning team guernseys and the AFLW Indigenous ball, from players and designers themselves.

In this week’s feature interview, the courageous Tamara Smith reveals how the Hawks have been managing their bodies and mental load. It’s a story of passion and mutual support. But of course Fi also grills Tamara on the complex issues of double headers and seriously what is hokball actually, though…?

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The tenor of the footy week has moved from pride through shame and back again. Bec and Fi contemplate the impacts of homophobia against Kate Dempsey and of the GWS men’s ‘Troubled Couples’ post-season fiasco. Still, they share the excitement around the first AFL Indigenous All-Stars side in a decade, and spotlight this year’s AFLW Indigenous Round.

We hear from several commentators on the state of this season. But what of the round? Round 8 featured a derby-derby-showdown, one very disruptive burst drainpipe, and got us thinking… is it time to question The Daisy Effect? Or maybe not?

Then catch up with Rhi Watt, who took an interesting path to football. Rhi delves into the camaraderie of the ACL, fixture psychology, and her team’s immersion in culture for the Indigenous Round. You can hear how the Dees have remained relaxed about their Hawks game.

At the Indigenous Round media launch, Fi enjoyed a chat with Kalinda Howarth. Kalinda expands on the celebration of Indigenous players and culture, the centrality of healing, creating safe cultural space, and watching the Magpie’s new game system coming to fruition. Bec and Fi cast an eye at the need for support structures to increase Indigenous inclusion in the league, before they preview the matches ahead.

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We’re dedicating a whole show to this week’s AFLW Pride Round. We take a look at the unique relationships between Pride supporter groups, clubs and players. Pioneers of the comp express the full depth of what Pride means to them. And we discover some of the stories behind this year’s stunning Pride guernseys…

Noah Gemmell of Bulldog Pride delves into the Bulldogs’ rich history in Pride Games and the AFLW. Find out how to get involved in Friday night’s Bulldogs v Essendon game – anything from an accessible community “casual stroll” to the ground, to forming part of the guard of honour!

Nell Morris-Dalton from Collingwood Football Club shares the energy of Pride Round, how Collingwood keeps its designs topical, and the joy and beauty of AFLW… as well as a personal message to all the Collingwood fans!

Finally, Carlton’s Gab Pound talks about breaking into footy during the glory days of VFLW and how women’s football has been shifting club culture. Following in the tradition of Carlton Respects, there is education to go with the visibility at Carlton, too!

Happy Pride Round, everybody!

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Join Bec, Sasha and Fi for the 2024 Chicks Talking Footy Post Grand Final Show. It’s full of footy news, AFLW Round 5… and of course the men’s Grand Final.

A new Eagles coach has prompted trade requests and Bec’s got a beef with clubs ratcheting up the exit pain.

We’re in the middle of Rounds 5, 6 and 7 of the AFLW – with games progressing as we speak. Sasha’s ready to pen a strongly worded letter over these condensed rounds. Meanwhile, the new smart ball has succumbed to human error, and the Chicks celebrate two former players who are excelling at commentary and coaching.

Then we turn to Grand Final Day. The gang talk musical entertainment, choreography and staging; crêpe paper and catering; and even the actual game!

Relive the big day with two special guests:

Nat’s followed the Lions ever since he was in prep, during the Fitzroy era. Rowena began barracking for Brisbane back when they were Bears. These superfans bring vibrant perspectives on celebrations across two very different cities.

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It’s the Chicks Talking Footy AFL Grand Final Spectacular!

Bec, Bree and honorary chick Dave review all the news, nominate their tips for everything from Katy Perry bangers to the footy food spread, and pit Crows against Cats in a big grand finals quiz.

Brownlow highlights, morning tribunals, the AFL preliminaries, and AFLW Round Four and A Bit… they cover the lot.

Finally – here’s a bit of bonus night-game trivia for all you podcast listeners:

Electrically lit football goes back to at least 1879, at the MCG.

(Source: David Havyatt, ‘History of Electricity Reform in Australia’, in On the Grid, edited by Guillaume Roger, Monash University Publishing 2022).

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There has been so much going on in this week of footy!

The 2024 AFL finals are in full swing, with some thrilling matchups set for this weekend.

Fi and Sasha discuss the mid-week fixture for AFLW and what bearing this has on injuries. Injury is rife this season and we want to know why.

Everybody is talking about the exchange between Hinkley and Ginnivan, the fine and the fall out.

And we look at the winners of Round 3 in the AFLW…

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Crack open the air-beers and storm up your teacups – it’s time to unravel the mysteries of hokball!

Meanwhile, is Bailey Smith leaving the Bulldogs to start spruiking the chicks’ new cologne? Have GWS been dissing Sydney-Sydney’s baking skills? Was Isaac Heeney really robbed of flippin’ Mark of the Year?

Then hear from Patty Kinnersley – CEO of Our Watch and Vice President of the Carlton Football Club – about this weekend’s Carlton Respects game. Patty and Fi discuss online harassment and the ways Carlton strives to prevent gendered violence, by offering young people a different story.

And there have been packed out games in the AFLW! But what happened to the Doggies’ pizzazz? How have systemic issues already thwarted some of the league’s best players within only two rounds? Fi, Rachael and Sasha pick it all apart, and Chloe Molloy talks us through her extraordinary leadership in the face of some gut-wrenching news.

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