EXCLUSIVE: AFLW list sizes called into question after 'cruel' decision to axe injured players

AFLW list sizes have been called into question after the Western Bulldogs delisted two players sidelined by ACL injuries.

On Monday, the club announced that Keely Coyne, Elizabeth Snell, Aurora Smith and Jorja Borg had not had their contracts renewed for next season.

While Snell and Smith played limited games this season, Borg and Coyne had their 2024 campaigns crippled by knee ligament ruptures.

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Reflecting on the Bulldogs' list changes on Nine's AFLW Weekly podcast, hosts Sarah Burt and Georgie Parker said the "stiff" departures expose a deeper issue in the league.

Borg, 25, was picked up by the Bulldogs via this year's draft after she was named the club's VFL club champion in 2023.

The ruck featured in every game until she suffered a season-ending ACL injury in the Bulldogs' round-five win over the Swans.

After putting together such a strong start to the season, Burt believes it was harsh of the Bulldogs to delist Borg.

"I do feel as though it's quite cruel to delist her when she is recovering," Burt told AFLW Weekly.

"She immediately became a mainstay but ruptured her ACL in their fifth game — that's more than half the season when you look at the AFLW.

"We have discussed a lot this season that the Doggies need to have to a real clearout of their list, so I totally understand their side [of the story] but I still think that particularly for someone like Jorga Borg, that [decision] is unfair."

Coyne's is a similar story having also ruptured her ACL in 2023.

The teenage midfielder did not take the field at all this season as she continued her recovery.

Coyne was tipped to return in the middle of the season but was not named after her injury timeline was extended - not because the club didn't want her to.

"It almost feels as if they have kept her on and then got rid of her as soon as they could and that feels a bit mean," Burt said.

Both Burt and former Magpies player Parker did not mean to slight the Bulldogs — with their decisions valid from a list point of view.

Instead, Parker placed the blame on inadequate AFLW list sizes, claiming the league's squads are not big enough to handle multiple long-term injuries.

This was demonstrated by a record number of top-up players being utilised this season.

"The list sizes are too small," Parker said.

"This has been a problem for many clubs over the year where they are having to use these extra players as they haven't had enough players that are available and fit.

"A 30-person squad isn't big enough. It's just not big enough, particularly with the chances of [a female athlete] doing their ACL being higher.

"In a list of 30, you can't have three players who are inactive for next year. You can't have those players clogging up cash with their spots."

While the Bulldogs have pledged to support Borg in her rehabilitation next year, Parker argued there is no buffer available for female players sidelined long-term.

"We get told all the time, 'Don't compare it to the men' but what would happen in the men's [competition] is that they have a bit of a safety net," she said.

"They'd go, 'All right we can't keep you on the main list but we're going to put you on the rookie list or the inactive list.

"So they have somewhere [where] they can be paid to do their rehab.

"There needs to be some sort of net bellow because there isn't at the moment, and when you're one of these fringe players and you get injured ... suddenly you don't get a chance to be able to prove yourself."

Despite Parker acknowledging the AFL's reasoning for opting to keep list sizes steady, she could not help but consider players such as Borg and Coyne as "collateral damage".

"I understand that the AFL doesn't want to make list sizes bigger because that is an enormous cost, and not only will it impact list sizes but it comes with a soft cap cost as well in terms of staffing for those," she said.

"So, it's a really big cost, but again, if the AFL wants to expand the game, it has to be expanded properly and this has been our issue.

"We haven't felt there has been much foresight in a whole lot of these [issues]."