# 2022 AFL Women's season 6

2022 AFL Women's season 6 was the sixth season of the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition, the highest-level senior women's Australian rules football competition in Australia. The season featured 14 clubs and ran from 7 January to 9 April, comprising a ten-round home-and-away season followed by a three-week finals series featuring the top six clubs. It was the first of two seasons to take place in the 2022 calendar year, with the competition's seventh season held from August to November.
Adelaide won the premiership, defeating Melbourne by 13 points in the 2022 AFL Women's season 6 Grand Final; it was Adelaide's third AFL Women's premiership. Adelaide also won the minor premiership by finishing atop the home-and-away ladder with a 9–1 win–loss record. Brisbane's Emily Bates won the AFL Women's best and fairest award as the league's best and fairest player, and Adelaide's Ashleigh Woodland won the AFL Women's leading goalkicker award as the league's leading goalkicker.

## Format

The season was formatted mostly the same as the previous season, with each of the fourteen clubs ranked on a single ladder and the top six teams qualifying for the three-week, single-elimination finals series. The only change was extension of the home-and-away season by an additional round, allowing each team to play 10 matches. The season was originally planned to start in December 2021, but in August 2021 it was decided to delay this to January 2022 in the hope of minimising COVID-19 pandemic interruptions. This was the last season to be contested by 14 teams, with the four remaining AFL clubs (Essendon, Hawthorn, Port Adelaide and Sydney) joining the AFLW competition in 2023.

## Impact of COVID-19 pandemic

The 2022 season was played during the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the start of the season, the roll-out of Australia's original two-dose vaccination program was almost complete with more than 90% uptake. Across all states except for Western Australia, most social and interstate travel restrictions which had been in place through the latter half of 2021 had been lifted; cases of the virus, particularly the omicron variant which became dominant in December 2021, were widespread in the community for the first time in the pandemic; and confirmed cases and their close contacts were still required to test and isolate, although for shorter periods than earlier in the pandemic. In contrast, Western Australia opened the season with very few virus cases in its community, and with its state borders closed to the rest of Australia, with a planned full reopening date of 5 February 2022 which was later changed to a restricted reopening, with the full reopening indefinitely delayed.
The main impacts of the pandemic to the AFLW season were:
* The league implemented a Vaccination Policy requiring all players and football department staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19; equivalent requirements were implemented by some state governments.
* Fremantle and West Coast, following a Round 1 Western Derby in Fremantle, travelled to Victoria and were based there until the Western Australian borders had their restricted opening. Late season matches were brought forward into this window to try to minimize the impact of the border restrictions, while the league received permission for teams to travel into Western Australia for matches after the opening.
* A match Rescheduling Policy was put in place to allow for a match to be rescheduled, redrawn or cancelled if one of its clubs was unable to field at least 21 players – including at least 16 from its primary list with five train-on players – due to absences from the team.

## Home-and-away season

All starting times are local time. Source: Australian Football

### Round 1

| | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | | |
| Friday, 7 January (7:15 pm) | St Kilda 3.5 (23) | def. by | Richmond 10.1 (61) | Skybus Stadium (crowd: 3,324) | Report |
| Saturday, 8 January (5:10 pm) | North Melbourne 4.2 (26) | def. | Geelong 2.6 (18) | Arden Street Oval (crowd: 1,872) | Report |
| Saturday, 8 January (7:00 pm) | Western Bulldogs 3.4 (22) | def. by | Melbourne 6.10 (46) | Victoria University Whitten Oval (crowd: 2,571) | Report |
| Saturday, 8 January (5:50 pm) | Fremantle 6.7 (43) | def. | West Coast 2.3 (15) | Fremantle Oval (crowd: 5,533) | Report |
| Sunday, 9 January (1:40 pm) | Adelaide 6.3 (39) | def. | Brisbane Lions 1.3 (9) | Flinders University Stadium (crowd: 1,805) | Report |
| Sunday, 9 January (4:10 pm) | Carlton 3.7 (25) | def. by | Collingwood 6.8 (44) | Ikon Park (crowd: 3,511) | Report |
| Sunday, 9 January (5:10 pm) | Gold Coast 3.3 (21) | def. by | Greater Western Sydney 5.6 (36) | Great Barrier Reef Arena (crowd: 1,535) | Report |

### Round 2

| | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 2 | | |
| Friday, 14 January (7:10 pm) | Richmond 6.2 (38) | def. by | Melbourne 8.6 (54) | Swinburne Centre (crowd: 1,517) | Report |
| Saturday, 15 January (3:10 pm) | Collingwood 6.5 (41) | def. | St Kilda 2.2 (14) | Victoria Park (crowd: 2,546) | Report |
| Saturday, 15 January (7:10 pm) | Geelong 2.5 (17) | def. by | Carlton 4.7 (31) | GMHBA Stadium (crowd: 2,144) | Report |
| Sunday, 16 January (12:40 pm) | West Coast 5.3 (33) | def. by | Gold Coast 7.4 (46) | Victoria University Whitten Oval (crowd: 587) (Moved from Mineral Resources Park) | Report |
| Sunday, 16 January (2:40 pm) | Adelaide 5.7 (37) | def. | North Melbourne 3.6 (24) | Norwood Oval (crowd: 2,010) | Report |
| Sunday, 16 January (5:10 pm) | Fremantle 7.10 (52) | def. | Greater Western Sydney 2.8 (20) | Victoria University Whitten Oval (crowd: 667) (Moved from Fremantle Oval) | Report |
| | Bye Brisbane Lions, Western Bulldogs | Bye Brisbane Lions, Western Bulldogs | Bye Brisbane Lions, Western Bulldogs | | |
| Western Bulldogs were scheduled to play Geelong, and Brisbane Lions were scheduled to play Carlton, but neither clubs could field a team due to COVID-19 absences. The schedule was altered on 13 January under the Rescheduling Policy, with Geelong redrawn to host Carlton, and the Bulldogs redrawn to play the Lions in a match which will be scheduled for a later date. ||||||

### Round 3

| | Round 3 | Round 3 | Round 3 | | |
| Friday, 21 January (7:10 pm) | Geelong 3.6 (24) | def. by | Collingwood 5.5 (35) | GMHBA Stadium (crowd: 2,265) | Report |
| Saturday, 22 January (12:40 pm) | West Coast 1.3 (9) | def. by | Adelaide 6.6 (42) | Swinburne Centre (crowd: 323) (Moved from Mineral Resources Park) | Report |
| Saturday, 22 January (3:10 pm) | Melbourne 9.10 (64) | def. | St Kilda 3.5 (23) | Casey Fields (crowd: 1,217) | Report |
| Saturday, 22 January (5:10 pm) | Richmond 7.5 (47) | def. by | Fremantle 11.11 (77) | Swinburne Centre (crowd: 1,078) | Report |
| Sunday, 23 January (1:10 pm) | North Melbourne 7.12 (54) | def. | Greater Western Sydney 4.3 (27) | Arden Street Oval (crowd: 1,157) | Report |
| Tuesday, 25 January (6:10 pm) | Brisbane Lions 9.9 (63) | def. | Carlton 4.4 (28) | Metricon Stadium (crowd: 814) | Report |
| | Bye Gold Coast, Western Bulldogs | Bye Gold Coast, Western Bulldogs | Bye Gold Coast, Western Bulldogs | | |
| Two fixtures were cancelled; Gold Coast vs. Brisbane Lions and Western Bulldogs vs. Carlton, and the matches were re-arranged. The league scheduled Brisbane vs. Carlton for 25 January and Gold Coast vs. Western Bulldogs for 22 February. ||||||

### Round 4

| | Round 4 | Round 4 | Round 4 | | |
| Thursday, 27 January (5:40 pm) | Collingwood 1.1 (7) | def. by | Fremantle 5.8 (38) | Victoria Park (crowd: 1,257) | Report |
| Friday, 28 January (5:10 pm) | Greater Western Sydney 7.1 (43) | def. | Western Bulldogs 2.10 (22) | Henson Park (crowd: 2,683) | Report |
| Saturday, 29 January (2:40 pm) | Adelaide 4.11 (35) | def. | Melbourne 3.3 (21) | Norwood Oval (crowd: 2,405) | Report |
| Saturday, 29 January (4:10 pm) | Brisbane Lions 3.9 (27) | def. | Geelong 4.1 (25) | Maroochydore Multi Sports Complex (crowd: 1,832) | Report |
| Sunday, 30 January (3:10 pm) | Carlton 3.3 (21) | def. by | North Melbourne 7.9 (51) | Ikon Park (crowd: 2,329) | Report |
| Sunday, 30 January (4:10 pm) | Gold Coast 5.9 (39) | def. | Richmond 5.4 (34) | Metricon Stadium (crowd: 1,329) | Report |
| | Bye St Kilda, West Coast | Bye St Kilda, West Coast | Bye St Kilda, West Coast | | |
| | Additional Match | Additional Match | Additional Match | | |
| Tuesday, 1 February (7:10 pm) | Western Bulldogs 2.7 (19) | def. by | Fremantle 3.7 (25) | Victoria University Whitten Oval (crowd: 913) | Report |
| Two matches were brought forward from rounds six and ten respectively in response to Western Australia's ongoing border closures; these matches have been marketed as "additional matches" rather than belonging to their original rounds. Most matches in this round had their timeslots changed in order to accommodate these additional matches. Due to COVID cases in West Coast's playing squad, their game was later returned to its previous round 6 fixture. ||||||

### Round 5

| | Round 5 | Round 5 | Round 5 | | |
| Friday, 4 February (7:10 pm) | Geelong 4.3 (27) | def. | West Coast 3.6 (24) | GMHBA Stadium (crowd: 1,938) | Report |
| Saturday, 5 February (4:10 pm) | Brisbane Lions 5.5 (35) | def. | Collingwood 1.5 (11) | Maroochydore Multi Sports Complex (crowd: 1,667) | Report |
| Saturday, 5 February (7:10 pm) | Melbourne 5.8 (38) | def. | Gold Coast 4.2 (26) | Casey Fields (crowd: 1,124) | Report |
| Sunday, 6 February (1:10 pm) | Western Bulldogs 4.6 (30) | def. | Richmond 1.7 (13) | Victoria University Whitten Oval (crowd: 2,159) | Report |
| Sunday, 6 February (3:10 pm) | Carlton 1.6 (12) | def. by | Adelaide 7.9 (51) | Ikon Park (crowd: 1,403) | Report |
| Sunday, 6 February (5:10 pm) | North Melbourne 3.8 (26) | def. | Fremantle 2.4 (16) | North Hobart Oval (crowd: 1,261) | Report |
| Tuesday, 8 February (5:10 pm) | St Kilda 2.8 (20) | def. by | West Coast 2.10 (22) | Wilson Storage Trevor Barker Beach Oval (crowd: 665) | Report |
| | Bye Greater Western Sydney | Bye Greater Western Sydney | Bye Greater Western Sydney | | |
| The match between Greater Western Sydney and St Kilda was postponed due to COVID protocols, and St Kilda played a make-up game against West Coast. ||||||

### Round 6

| | Round 6 | Round 6 | Round 6 | | |
| Friday, 11 February (6:10 pm) | Gold Coast 7.7 (49) | def. | Geelong 6.2 (38) | Metricon Stadium (crowd: 683) | Report |
| Saturday, 12 February (2:10 pm) | Richmond 2.6 (18) | def. by | North Melbourne 5.7 (37) | Swinburne Centre (crowd: 1,093) | Report |
| Saturday, 12 February (4:10 pm) | Melbourne 6.8 (44) | def. | Greater Western Sydney 1.1 (7) | Casey Fields (crowd: 787) | Report |
| Saturday, 12 February (3:10 pm) | Fremantle 7.9 (51) | def. | Carlton 1.3 (9) | Fremantle Oval (crowd: 2,524) | Report |
| Sunday, 13 February (1:10 pm) | St Kilda 4.2 (26) | def. by | Brisbane Lions 3.13 (31) | Wilson Storage Trevor Barker Beach Oval (crowd: 1,010) | Report |
| Sunday, 13 February (12:10 pm) | West Coast 3.4 (22) | def. by | Collingwood 7.4 (46) | Mineral Resources Park (crowd: 1,295) (Moved from Victoria Park) | Report |
| Sunday, 13 February (4:40 pm) | Adelaide 7.6 (48) | def. by | Western Bulldogs 8.1 (49) | Norwood Oval (crowd: 2,181) | Report |
| Due to the AFL receiving exemptions for Victorian teams to enter Western Australia, West Coast and Fremantle were cleared to host matches and several changes were made to the fixture as a result. ||||||

### Round 7

| | Round 7 | Round 7 | Round 7 | | |
| Thursday, 17 February (6:40 pm) | Gold Coast 2.4 (16) | def. by | Brisbane Lions 12.13 (85) | Metricon Stadium (crowd: 1,105) | Report |
| Friday, 18 February (7:10 pm) | Western Bulldogs 3.10 (28) | def. | Geelong 2.4 (16) | Victoria University Whitten Oval (crowd: 1,530) | Report |
| Saturday, 19 February (3:10 pm) | Greater Western Sydney 0.5 (5) | def. by | Adelaide 5.15 (45) | Henson Park (crowd: 1,955) | Report |
| Saturday, 19 February (5:10 pm) | Carlton 7.6 (48) | def. | St Kilda 0.2 (2) | Ikon Park (crowd: 1,642) | Report |
| Saturday, 19 February (4:10 pm) | West Coast 7.3 (45) | def. by | Richmond 10.8 (68) | Mineral Resources Park (crowd: 878) | Report |
| Sunday, 20 February (3:10 pm) | North Melbourne 6.2 (38) | def. | Collingwood 2.3 (15) | North Hobart Oval (crowd: 869) | Report |
| Monday, 21 February (6:10 pm) | Brisbane Lions 4.8 (32) | def. by | Melbourne 5.5 (35) | Metricon Stadium (crowd: 790) | Report |
| Tuesday, 22 February (6:10 pm) | Gold Coast 6.5 (41) | drew with | Western Bulldogs 6.5 (41) | Metricon Stadium (crowd: 629) | Report |
| | Bye Fremantle | Bye Fremantle | Bye Fremantle | | |
| Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, matches were added to this round, and some of the matches of the round were rescheduled. ||||||

### Round 8

| | Round 8 | Round 8 | Round 8 | | |
| Wednesday, 23 February (5:40 pm) | Greater Western Sydney 6.5 (41) | def. | St Kilda 5.9 (39) | Blacktown ISP Oval (crowd: 427) | Report |
| Saturday, 26 February (12:10 pm) | Fremantle 2.4 (16) | def. by | Adelaide 3.7 (25) | Fremantle Oval (crowd: 2,419) | Report |
| Saturday, 26 February (5:10 pm) | Richmond 1.4 (10) | def. by | Geelong 5.3 (33) | Swinburne Centre (crowd: 1,521) | Report |
| Saturday, 26 February (7:10 pm) | Melbourne 4.3 (27) | def. | North Melbourne 2.5 (17) | Casey Fields (crowd: 1,408) | Report |
| Sunday, 27 February (1:10 pm) | St Kilda 5.4 (34) | def. | Gold Coast 4.7 (31) | Wilson Storage Trevor Barker Beach Oval (crowd: 841) | Report |
| Sunday, 27 February (3:10 pm) | Collingwood 10.6 (66) | def. | Western Bulldogs 6.5 (41) | Victoria Park (crowd: 2,796) | Report |
| Sunday, 27 February (2:10 pm) | West Coast 4.0 (24) | def. by | Brisbane Lions 15.8 (98) | Mineral Resources Park (crowd: 730) | Report |
| Sunday, 27 February (7:10 pm) | Greater Western Sydney 5.3 (33) | def. by | Carlton 7.9 (51) | Manuka Oval (crowd: 1,839) | Report |
| Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, matches were added to this round, and some of the matches of the round were rescheduled. Katherine Smith became the first player to kick a goal after the siren to win an AFLW match, resulting in Greater Western Sydney's two-point victory against St Kilda. The Brisbane Lions's score of 15.8 (98) and winning margin of 74 points both set new records as the highest in the history of the competition. Darcy Vescio of Carlton became the first player to kick 50 career goals in the league. ||||||

### Round 9

| | Round 9 | Round 9 | Round 9 | | |
| Saturday, 5 March (3:10 pm) | St Kilda 2.6 (18) | def. | Geelong 0.9 (9) | RSEA Park (crowd: 947) | Report |
| Saturday, 5 March (5:10 pm) | Greater Western Sydney 6.2 (38) | def. by | Richmond 7.4 (46) | GIANTS Stadium (crowd: 613) (Moved from Blacktown ISP Oval) | Report |
| Saturday, 5 March (4:00 pm) | Fremantle 3.1 (19) | def. by | Melbourne 16.11 (107) | Optus Stadium (crowd: 2,717) (Moved from Fremantle Oval) | Report |
| Saturday, 5 March (6:40 pm) | West Coast 1.2 (8) | def. by | Western Bulldogs 10.8 (68) | Optus Stadium (crowd: 3,164) (Moved from Mineral Resources Park) | Report |
| Sunday, 6 March (1:10 pm) | Brisbane Lions 7.8 (50) | def. | North Melbourne 2.2 (14) | Victoria University Whitten Oval (crowd: 695) (Moved from Maroochydore Multi Sports Complex) | Report |
| Sunday, 6 March (2:40 pm) | Adelaide 4.6 (30) | def. | Collingwood 4.4 (28) | Norwood Oval (crowd: 2,572) | Report |
| Sunday, 6 March (5:10 pm) | Carlton 7.4 (46) | def. | Gold Coast 2.4 (16) | Ikon Park (crowd: 1,052) | Report |
| Melbourne's score of 16.11 (107) and winning margin of 88 points both set new records as the highest in the history of the competition, breaking the records set just one round before. ||||||

### Round 10

| | Round 10 | Round 10 | Round 10 | | |
| Friday, 11 March (6:10 pm) | Geelong 5.5 (35) | def. by | Greater Western Sydney 8.5 (53) | GMHBA Stadium (crowd: 1,603) | Report |
| Saturday, 12 March (3:10 pm) | Collingwood 6.11 (47) | def. | Richmond 1.3 (9) | Victoria Park (crowd: 2,221) | Report |
| Saturday, 12 March (5:10 pm) | North Melbourne 9.5 (59) | def. | West Coast 3.2 (20) | Arden Street Oval (crowd: 1,032) | Report |
| Saturday, 12 March (7:10 pm) | Melbourne 5.4 (34) | def. | Carlton 5.3 (33) | Casey Fields (crowd: 1,309) | Report |
| Sunday, 13 March (1:10 pm) | St Kilda 2.2 (14) | def. by | Adelaide 7.11 (53) | RSEA Park (crowd: 1,174) | Report |
| Sunday, 13 March (3:10 pm) | Western Bulldogs 5.4 (34) | def. by | Brisbane Lions 10.6 (66) | Mars Stadium (crowd: 1,526) | Report |
| Sunday, 13 March (2:10 pm) | Fremantle 7.4 (46) | def. | Gold Coast 0.9 (9) | Fremantle Oval (crowd: 544) | Report |
| The original fixture, released in December 2021 had Collingwood playing Gold Coast; Richmond playing Brisbane Lions; and Western Bulldogs playing Fremantle. ||||||

## Ladder

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | D | PF | PA | PP | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Adelaide (P) | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 405 | 187 | 216.6 | 36 | Finals series |
| 2 | Melbourne | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 470 | 252 | 186.5 | 36 | Finals series |
| 3 | Brisbane | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 496 | 252 | 196.8 | 32 | Finals series |
| 4 | North Melbourne | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 346 | 249 | 139.0 | 28 | Finals series |
| 5 | Fremantle | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 383 | 284 | 134.9 | 28 | Finals series |
| 6 | Collingwood | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 340 | 276 | 123.2 | 24 | Finals series |
| 7 | Western Bulldogs | 10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 354 | 372 | 95.2 | 18 | |
| 8 | Carlton | 10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 304 | 362 | 84.0 | 16 | |
| 9 | Greater Western Sydney | 10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 303 | 409 | 74.1 | 16 | |
| 10 | Gold Coast | 10 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 294 | 431 | 68.2 | 14 | |
| 11 | Richmond | 10 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 344 | 423 | 81.3 | 12 | |
| 12 | Geelong | 10 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 242 | 301 | 80.4 | 8 | |
| 13 | St Kilda | 10 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 213 | 401 | 53.1 | 8 | |
| 14 | West Coast | 10 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 222 | 517 | 42.9 | 4 | |

## Finals series

| Qualifying finals | Qualifying finals | Qualifying finals | Preliminary finals | Preliminary finals | Preliminary finals | Grand Final | Grand Final |
| | | | 1 | Adelaide | 6.4 (40) | | |
| 4 | North Melbourne | 4.7 (31) | 5 | Fremantle | 4.2 (26) | | |
| 5 | Fremantle | 11.3 (69) | | | | Adelaide | 4.5 (29) |
| | | | | | | Melbourne | 2.4 (16) |
| | | | 2 | Melbourne | 5.3 (33) | | |
| 3 | Brisbane Lions | 10.10 (70) | 3 | Brisbane Lions | 4.5 (29) | | |
| 6 | Collingwood | 3.2 (20) | | | | | |

### Qualifying finals

| | Qualifying finals | Qualifying finals | Qualifying finals | | |
| QF2: Saturday, 19 March (2:10 pm) | North Melbourne 4.7 (31) | def. by | Fremantle 11.3 (69) | Arden Street Oval (crowd: 1,274) | Report |
| QF1: Sunday, 27 March (12:05 pm) | Brisbane Lions 10.10 (70) | def. | Collingwood 3.2 (20) | Gabba (crowd: 2,675) | Report |
| The Brisbane Lions vs. Collingwood match was postponed eight days, as Collingwood fell below the minimum number of players needed to field a side due to a COVID-19 outbreak within the playing group. This caused the preliminary finals and grand final to each be pushed back one week. ||||||

### Preliminary finals

| | Preliminary finals | Preliminary finals | Preliminary finals | | |
| PF2: Saturday, 2 April (12:40pm) | Melbourne 5.3 (33) | def. | Brisbane Lions 4.5 (29) | MCG (crowd: 6,436) | Report |
| PF1: Saturday, 2 April (2:10pm) | Adelaide 6.4 (40) | def. | Fremantle 4.2 (26) | Adelaide Oval (crowd: 5,452) | Report |

### Grand final

| | Grand Final | Grand Final | Grand Final | | |
| Saturday, 9 April (12:00 pm) | Adelaide 4.5 (29) | def. | Melbourne 2.4 (16) | Adelaide Oval (crowd: 16,712) | Report |

## Awards
### League awards

* The league best and fairest was awarded to Emily Bates of the Brisbane Lions, who polled 21 votes.
* The leading goalkicker was awarded to Ashleigh Woodland of Adelaide, who kicked 19 goals during the home and away season.
* The Rising Star was awarded to Mimi Hill of Carlton.
* The best on ground medal in the AFL Women's Grand Final was won by Anne Hatchard of Adelaide.
* The goal of the year was awarded to Ebony Antonio of Fremantle.
* The mark of the year was awarded to Tahlia Randall of North Melbourne.
* AFLW Players Association awards:
** The most valuable player was awarded to Emily Bates of the Brisbane Lions.
** The most courageous player was awarded to Kirsty Lamb of the Western Bulldogs.
** The best captain was awarded to Daisy Pearce of Melbourne.
** The best first year player was awarded to Charlie Rowbottom of Gold Coast.
* The AFLW Coaches Association awards:
** The champion player of the year was awarded to Emily Bates of the Brisbane Lions.
** The senior coach of the year was awarded to Mick Stinear of Melbourne.
* Emma Kearney was named captain of the All-Australian team. Nine of the fourteen clubs had at least one representative in the 21-woman team.
* The minor premiership was won by Adelaide.
* The wooden spoon was "won" by West Coast.

### Best and fairests

| Club | Award name | Player(s) |
| Adelaide | Club Champion | Anne Hatchard |
| Brisbane Lions | Best and fairest | Emily Bates |
| Carlton | Best and fairest | Madison Prespakis |
| Collingwood | Best and fairest | Jaimee Lambert |
| Fremantle | Fairest and best | Hayley Miller |
| Geelong | Best and fairest | Amy McDonald |
| Gold Coast | Club Champion | Alison Drennan |
| Greater Western Sydney | Gabrielle Trainor Medal | Alyce Parker |
| Melbourne | Best and fairest | Daisy Pearce |
| North Melbourne | Best and fairest | Ashleigh Riddell |
| Richmond | Best and fairest | Monique Conti |
| St Kilda | Best and fairest | Bianca Jakobsson |
| West Coast | Club Champion | Emma Swanson |
| Western Bulldogs | Best and fairest | Ellie Blackburn & Kirsty Lamb |

### Leading goalkickers

* Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the player led the season's goal kicking tally at the end of that round.
* Numbers underlined indicates the player did not play in that round.
| Rank | Player | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Total |
| 1 | Ashleigh Woodland | Adelaide | 4$_4$ | 4$_8$ | 2$_{10}$ | 0$_{10}$ | 0$_{10}$ | 0$_{10}$ | 0$_{10}$ | 2$_{12}$ | 2$_{14}$ | 2$_{14}$ | 1$_{15}$ | 1$_{15}$ | 2$_{17}$ | 2$_{19}$ | 19 |
| 2 | Tayla Harris | Melbourne | 1$_1$ | 2$_3$ | 3$_6$ | 1$_7$ | 1$_7$ | 2$_9$ | 2$_9$ | 2$_{11}$ | 2$_{13}$ | 2$_{13}$ | 2$_{15}$ | 2$_{15}$ | 3$_{18}$ | 0$_{18}$ | 18 |
| 2 | Cora Staunton | Greater Western Sydney | 2$_2$ | 2$_4$ | 1$_5$ | 1$_6$ | 1$_6$ | 0$_6$ | 0$_6$ | 0$_6$ | 0$_6$ | 0$_6$ | 3$_9$ | 2$_{11}$ | 3$_{14}$ | 4$_{18}$ | 18 |
| 4 | Katie Brennan | Richmond | 2$_2$ | 2$_4$ | 1$_5$ | 2$_7$ | 2$_7$ | 1$_8$ | 1$_8$ | 1$_9$ | 2$_{11}$ | 2$_{11}$ | 1$_{12}$ | 1$_{12}$ | 2$_{14}$ | 0$_{14}$ | 14 |
| 5 | Tara Bohanna | Gold Coast | 1$_1$ | 3$_4$ | 0$_4$ | 2$_6$ | 2$_6$ | 0$_6$ | 0$_6$ | 1$_7$ | 0$_7$ | 2$_9$ | 3$_{12}$ | 3$_{12}$ | 1$_{13}$ | 0$_{13}$ | 13 |
| 5 | Daisy Pearce | Melbourne | 0$_0$ | 1$_1$ | 1$_2$ | 2$_4$ | 2$_4$ | 1$_5$ | 1$_5$ | 1$_6$ | 0$_6$ | 0$_6$ | 0$_6$ | 0$_6$ | 5$_{11}$ | 2$_{13}$ | 13 |
| 7 | Kate Hore | Melbourne | 2$_2$ | 2$_4$ | 1$_5$ | 0$_5$ | 0$_5$ | 0$_5$ | 0$_5$ | 2$_7$ | 0$_7$ | 0$_7$ | 1$_8$ | 1$_8$ | 3$_{11}$ | 0$_{11}$ | 11 |
| 8 | Greta Bodey | Brisbane Lions | 1$_1$ | 0$_1$ | 2$_3$ | 0$_3$ | 0$_3$ | 1$_4$ | 1$_4$ | 1$_5$ | 0$_5$ | 1$_6$ | 2$_8$ | 2$_8$ | 0$_8$ | 2$_{10}$ | 10 |
| 8 | Sophie Conway | Brisbane Lions | 0$_0$ | 0$_0$ | 0$_0$ | 0$_0$ | 0$_0$ | 0$_0$ | 0$_0$ | 1$_1$ | 1$_2$ | 1$_3$ | 3$_6$ | 3$_6$ | 2$_8$ | 2$_{10}$ | 10 |
| 8 | Jasmine Garner | North Melbourne | 0$_0$ | 1$_1$ | 1$_2$ | 0$_2$ | 0$_2$ | 0$_2$ | 0$_2$ | 0$_3$ | 3$_6$ | 3$_6$ | 1$_7$ | 1$_7$ | 1$_8$ | 2$_{10}$ | 10 |
| 8 | Phoebe McWilliams | Geelong | 1$_1$ | 1$_2$ | 0$_2$ | 0$_2$ | 0$_2$ | 2$_4$ | 2$_4$ | 2$_6$ | 1$_7$ | 1$_7$ | 2$_9$ | 2$_9$ | 0$_9$ | 1$_{10}$ | 10 |
| 8 | Bonnie Toogood | Western Bulldogs | 1$_1$ | 0$_1$ | 0$_1$ | 0$_1$ | 1$_2$ | 1$_3$ | 1$_3$ | 2$_5$ | 2$_7$ | 0$_7$ | 0$_7$ | 0$_7$ | 2$_9$ | 1$_{10}$ | 10 |
Source:

## Coach changes

| Club | Outgoing coach | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Incoming coach | Date of appointment |
| Greater Western Sydney | Alan McConnell | Resigned | 25 March 2022 | Cameron Bernasconi | 12 April 2022 |

## Club leadership

| Club | Coach | Captain(s) | Vice-captain(s) | Leadership group |
| Adelaide | Matthew Clarke | Chelsea Randall | | Sarah Allan, Eloise Jones, Stevie-Lee Thompson |
| Brisbane Lions | Craig Starcevich | Breanna Koenen | Emily Bates | Ally Anderson, Shannon Campbell, Sophie Conway, Nat Grider, Kate Lutkins, Cathy Svarc |
| Carlton | Daniel Harford | Kerryn Harrington | Elise O'Dea, Darcy Vescio | |
| Collingwood | Stephen Symonds | Steph Chiocci, Brianna Davey | Brittany Bonnici, Stacey Livingstone, Ruby Schleicher | |
| Fremantle | Trent Cooper | Hayley Miller | Kiara Bowers, Angelique Stannett | Stephanie Cain, Gabby O'Sullivan |
| Geelong | Daniel Lowther | Meg McDonald | Nina Morrison | Julia Crockett-Grills, Chantel Emonson, Madeline Keryk, Georgie Rankin |
| Gold Coast | Cameron Joyce | Hannah Dunn | Bess Keaney | Jamie Stanton, Serene Watson |
| Greater Western Sydney | Alan McConnell | Alicia Eva | Nicola Barr, Chloe Dalton, Alyce Parker, Pepa Randall, Cora Staunton | |
| Melbourne | Mick Stinear | Daisy Pearce | Karen Paxman | Libby Birch, Maddison Gay, Tyla Hanks, Kate Hore, Sarah Lampard, Lily Mithen, Lauren Pearce |
| North Melbourne | Darren Crocker | Emma Kearney | Emma King | Nicole Bresnehan, Jasmine Garner, Danielle Hardiman, Ashleigh Riddell |
| Richmond | Ryan Ferguson | Katie Brennan | Harriet Cordner, Sarah Hosking | |
| St Kilda | Nick Dal Santo | Hannah Priest | Kate Shierlaw, Rhiannon Watt | Bianca Jakobsson, Tilly Lucas-Rodd |
| West Coast | Michael Prior | Emma Swanson | Dana Hooker | Parris Laurie, Aisling McCarthy |
| Western Bulldogs | Nathan Burke | Ellie Blackburn | Brooke Lochland | Ashleigh Guest, Bailey Hunt, Isabel Huntington, Kirsty Lamb, Bonnie Toogood |