Saturday's All-Star Women's AFL Match Smashed 2016's Footy Ratings

With the lads taking the weekend off ahead of the coming AFL finals, the ladies took the field for the women’s All-Stars game.

And Australia paid attention. The Saturday night skirmish between Melbourne Demons and Western Bulldogs drew 746,000 viewers nationally, reaching a peak of 1.05 million viewers.

As the Age reports, it’s the highest ratings for any Saturday night AFL game this season.

In Melbourne, it was the largest overall average audience of any 2016 game, with 387,000 viewers. (Consider the previous best – St. Kilda’s Round 14 clash with Geelong – which managed 347,000 pairs of eyeballs.)

, #AFLWomensGame @melbournefc @taylaharriss kicks long at goal. @superfooty #journeyto2017 pic.twitter.com/FAvMRsXKIE

— Michael Klein (@kleinyheraldsun) September 3, 2016

The Western Bulldogs triumphed over Melbourne with a 39-point victory, 90-51

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Six of the Bulldogs' goals came came from forward – and future Collingwood champ – Moana Hope, whose performance on Saturday has made her an instant household name.

These ratings – and the enthusiasm over the quality of football on display - have vindicated the AFL’s plans to launch a women’s league in 2017, where eight teams will compete over two months in early 2017.

The AFL is planning to air two games per week for their inaugural season.

We’d say, “be sure to tune in,” but it seems like most are already planning to do so.

Photo: Twitter / @AFL.