As the AFLW fights for attention and battles with low crowds, AFL football boss Laura Kane has batted away criticism of the league's scheduling.
The league has crammed fixtures into week nights, with teams playing multiple games a week - a task especially difficult with 30-player lists.
It has also meant players who suffer concussions or injuries miss more games in an already-short season.
Collingwood superstar captain Brianna Davey will miss two games, instead of one, due to being required to sit out 12 days after suffering a concussion.
The move to include mid-week fixtures was ostensibly to take advantage of school holidays, but it hasn't captured the crowds.
North Melbourne beat Port Adelaide in front of a season-low crowd of 943 at Whitten Oval on Friday evening, prompting Kangaroos coach Darren Crocker to query the decision to play the game there at 5pm.
But Kane backed the fixture crunch, which will include four games being back-to-back this Friday.
“The compression has been really interesting," Kane said.
"I have personally loved watching football every single night, it feels like something like 27 of 32 nights or days there's AFLW footy on.
"I’ve loved the Tuesday night games, tuning in on the couch or going out if the games are local to me. We’re really pleased with the game, and we know that there is so much growth ahead of us.
"I think there's a movement in women's sport that everyone's excited about, and that's something that we will continue to work on, push and get more people, more eyeballs.
"Growth is our next frontier. I love AFLW and I know it will continue to grow."
Double headers have been floated as an option.
The Western Bulldogs' round-two match was moved from a standalone fixture at Whitten Oval to a curtain raiser for the Dogs' AFL elimination final at the MCG.
“I mean, 23,000 people were in the stadium when the AFLW game was going on," Kane said.
"They might have been in functions, they might have been in their seats, but they're all watching it, so it's a really good thing for the game.
"I know the Bulldogs and the Port Adelaide girls absolutely loved it. I don't think the Port Adelaide girls believed their CEO when he said 'you're playing on the MCG'.
"That's something that we will always look at. It just has to be right. It has to be right for the comp, it has to be right for the teams, and it has to be right for the week.
"But those opportunities are ones we don't want to miss.”
