The devastating loophole the AFL must immediately close

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Under their current CBA, AFLW players are entitled to 12 months of paid parental leave, starting six weeks before their due date. Great. So they should be. But there is a loophole.

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Imagine celebrating the birth of your first child. You’re in your first few months of motherhood, juggling all the emotional ups and downs. You’re still recovering physically. Plus, you’ve barely slept since the baby’s arrival.

It lands like a brutal sledgehammer at the most fragile time, and it has happened twice in the AFLW.

First, to former Carlton captain Kerryn Peterson. Then Fremantle fan favourite Ebony Antonio.

When Gold Coast delisted Georgia Clayden, they decided to do it before she had her baby. Clayden – who played 44 consecutive games for the Suns and has been on the inactive list this season while pregnant – is due to give birth in a fortnight. She will do so without a job.

Under the current collective bargaining agreement, AFLW players are entitled to 12 months of paid parental leave, starting six weeks before their due date. Great. So they should be.

Players whose contracts expire during pregnancy or parental leave have no right to a new contract. This is what allowed Carlton, Fremantle and Gold Coast to delist Peterson, Antonio and Clayden.

Add to that loophole a grey area: while the league’s policy states replacement players are allowed during a player’s pregnancy, it’s not so clear when it comes to allowing top-up players on a list, for a new mother who is still on leave.

Peterson, a three-time All-Australian defender and then captain of the club, announced her pregnancy to Carlton at the start of last year. She was celebrated, and hoped to play on – or at least be given the chance to make that decision.

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