Talk:List of AFL Women's minor premiers

"Officially recognised"
Like 2019 and 2020, there is no official source that I know of which recognises the 2017 or 2018 minor premiers—not on the official AFLW Awards page, not in the AFL's annual reports, not even casually mentioned in articles on the AFL/W websites (unlike 2021).

If there is an official source which recognises the 2017 and 2018 minor premiers, then—given the semantics in which this article has evidently become mired—it obviously needs to be provided in order to resolve what is a contentious issue.

If an official source can't be provided: there are a few solutions, but including '17 and '18 while excluding '19 and '20 obviously wouldn't be a logical one. PabloWarhola (talk) 13:37, 29 March 2021 (UTC)


 * With no official source forthcoming, the three main logical solutions appear to be:
 * Remove Brisbane 2017 and Bulldogs 2018 from the list.
 * Remove the page altogether, given the "official" awarding of a minor premiership in 2021 is also still questionable at this point—it's not like the men's competition in which the AFL makes a point of awarding the McClelland Trophy to the minor premier each year.
 * Or, my preference, simply have the list reflect what is "obvious" which is Adelaide 2019 and Fremantle 2020 as minor premiers. The process to recognise the minor premier in conference-based seasons is hardly less obvious than other years, after all: the team that finished the H&A season with the most premiership points (followed by best %, etc.). Home ground advantage for the 2019 grand final was decided this way, as was the draft order for the remaining four non-eliminated teams in 2020, which are obvious indicators of the AFL's view on the best-performed H&A team in each of those years.
 * PabloWarhola (talk) 04:42, 6 April 2021 (UTC)


 * Global-Cityzen and 4TheWynne: Both of you have expressly referred to the concept of an "official" AFLW minor premier, so it would be rather imperative to explore your interpretation of this matter. PabloWarhola (talk) 13:24, 8 April 2021 (UTC)

, so you're calling it a "contentious issue" simply because of one revert by me and the fact that you disagree the current stance? The minor premiership is not less of an award in the AFLW just because it doesn't come with silverware, so that's a non-argument. Here are a few sources for you that mention minor premiers/premiership in 2017 and 2018:

2017
 * https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/womens-afl/live-aflw-round-7-adelaide-crows-v-collingwood-carlton-v-brisbane-lions-live-scores-updates-video/news-story/d31ec04c13ed9f46efb65cbecb686d11
 * https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-20/aflw-grand-final-venue-choice-causes-a-commotion/8369172
 * https://www.themorningbulletin.com.au/news/afl-boss-reveals-plans-for-womens-decider/3147495/

2018
 * https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-24/aflw-grand-final-western-bulldogs-beat-brisbane-lions/9583314
 * https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/aflw-minor-premiers-will-not-get-home-ground-advantage-in-grand-final-20180312-p4z415.html
 * https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/mar/23/aflw-grand-final-2018-lions-out-to-capitalise-on-brennan-absence

And here's another source which explains why your preferred option just cannot work:


 * https://thewomensgame.com/news/breaking-aflw-cancelled-in-response-to-coronavirus-pandemic-539659

Solutions were reached for grand final hosting, draft order, etc. (using the logic you're presenting and ignoring the inequities of the draw/fairness of the conferences) in those two years because they had to be reached, whereas this is different. 4TheWynne  (talk  •  contribs)  09:45, 9 April 2021 (UTC)
 * 4TheWynne, the point about the McClelland Trophy is not to do with its corporeal state, rather that it is at least mentioned in various forms of official AFL media (website, annual report, AFL Record, etc.) whereas this has not been the case for the AFLW Minor Premiership before 2021. Claiming the minor premierships of '17 and '18 to be "official", even though the official sources evidently abjured the term in those instances, is the contentious issue.


 * The articles you've provided for 2017 and 2018 aren't from an official source, nor do they quote an AFL official using the term "minor premier", and thus they are no more credible than these sources which state Adelaide as the minor premiers for 2019:
 * https://www.afc.com.au/news/245973/aflw-records-broken-as-crows-storm-into-finals
 * https://www.sportingnews.com/au/australian-rules-football/news/aflw-2019-boss-nicole-livingstone-adelaide-crows-v-carlton-blues-grand-final-scehdule-north-melbourne-brisbane-clash/19scqgcf55xfz1ddx4frrwyqbl PabloWarhola (talk) 13:36, 9 April 2021 (UTC)

AFLW statement, 10 April 2021
As once again reiterated in this recent AFLW statement (an official release from AFL House itself, rather than an article by a journalist whose views do not necessarily reflect those of the league), note the league's avoidance of the term "minor premier" when the "highest-ranking team" is mentioned.

This is consistent with every prior indication given by the AFL regarding a women's minor premier. It is not an official award. At least, it has not yet been recognised as such.

Therefore, any mention of an "official" minor premier should be removed from the page (until an official source materialises). To date, there have been five unofficial minor premierships and that is what the article should communicate, if in fact the article must exist at all. PabloWarhola (talk) 18:55, 11 April 2021 (UTC)