The AFLW will hope to prove it is not a competition at the crossroads as it attempts to build sorely-needed momentum heading into its ninth season.
Growing from 10 to 11 regular-season rounds plus finals this year, the 18-team competition is due to expand to 12 regular-season rounds by 2025.
But expansion to 14 rounds, according to a five-year collective bargaining agreement, will be dependent on achieving an average attendance of 6000 fans and average broadcast viewers of 100,000.
There were 234,525 fans across 90 regular-season AFLW games last season (average: 2606) while the regular-season average viewership was 54,969, according to the AFL's annual report.
The AFL made a gaffe with its fixturing when they scheduled the Western Bulldogs' men's elimination final with Hawthorn for next Friday night - just over two hours after the AFLW team play their first home game at Whitten Oval.
That made attending both matches near impossible, and the AFL are considering switching the AFLW match to the MCG to form what would become a double-header with the men's team.
If that doesn't happen, it would be a huge hit to the Bulldogs' hopes of attracting a decent crowd for their first AFLW home match of the season.
Brisbane Lions coach Craig Starcevich is supportive of more double headers being implemented to help boost attendances for AFLW matches.
"We haven't really explored the double header too much. We had one here at the Gabba in 2021 and it was a great night," Starcevich said.
"If we were able to play a game at the Gabba and 15, 20 thousand Brisbane Lions supporters see us who haven't seen us before and say, 'You know what, I'm going to Springers (Brighton Homes Arena in Springfield) the next time they play' - if that happens, that's a nice outcome."
The league will hope excitement around the quality of the league, with talented young players coming through in waves, a closing gap in quality and lists generally more settled, will help drive attendance and interest.
"We've obviously settled with 18 teams now, so there's been a little less player movement the last couple of years," Melbourne captain Kate Hore told AAP.
"The draft is getting a little bit more settled. I think it definitely is evening out, which is a good thing for the competition".
The competition kicks off on Friday night, when Sydney host Collingwood at North Sydney Oval, before West Coast take on Richmond at Mineral Resources Park.
The headline act comes on Sunday when Brisbane host North Melbourne in a grand final rematch at Brighton Homes Arena.
The Lions beat the Kangaroos at Princes Park in last season's decider - but skipper Emma Kearney is adamant that defeat doesn't still burn fresh.
"It's such a long break between seasons, so you move on pretty quickly, and you have to," Kearney told AAP.
"But no doubt, I think the most important thing for us is we've got the utmost belief in our ability to match it with the best teams in the competition.
"I reckon at the back of our minds, going into last season, we probably didn't have that belief.
"So that's probably the major difference. No doubt, we're hungry, we're motivated to try to go all the way, but at the end of the day, it's more just around the belief."
