NTFA to change route of expansion, solidify role in Tasmania's AFLW future

It's a sign of progress not lost on director of women's football Louise Millwood, who has bold ambitions for the future.

Having upped the total of clubs to 13 across the two divisions this year, the association won its first-ever women's all-stars game when they despatched North-West in June and had developed multiple players who were part of the Tasmania Devils' girls side that qualified for finals.

But following the announcement of the representative coaches for next season, Millwood's attention has turned to something greater than regional pride: Tasmania's inclusion into the VFLW and AFLW.

With both teams expected to follow a similar timeline to the men, Millwood said the NTFA have a vital role to play to ensure its sustainability.

"It's really important that we have a tiered structure so that we can have a very competitive top tier and a participation-based middle tier and that our players can flow between them if necessary," she said.

Millwood said by having distinctions between each level of competition, women's participation and enjoyment of football will only grow.

"We've evolved from having one division to two and we've got to really build on that, we've been working very closely with the AFL talent coaches Jodie Clifford and Deb Reynolds and we fit them into our planning, because eventually we're going to have a VFLW team, and we want the girls to be fit and ready," she said.

With the number of teams having increased rapidly, the NTFA intends to put a lid on it for the time being, instead focusing on allowing clubs to "settle" and make sure their numbers are healthy.

"I think our biggest challenge is managing all our players, we're in a position now where we've got teams that have got not quite enough for two teams," she said.

"So we're hoping to sustain those numbers - having too many is a good thing - we want to think about the competition in two and three years and five years' time, making sure it's sustainable."

Following Deloraine's decision to not get promoted to the premier division and the association's to not relegate Launceston, the league will stay with six teams, while division one will field eight.