As we head into the 2024/25 TIO NTFL Women’s Premier League season, the NTFL is rolling out a new set of by-laws designed to lift the competition’s intensity and ensure a fair, dynamic environment for all teams over the coming seasons.
These updates are set to boost the excitement of the league, promote fairness, and deliver an engaging experience for players and fans alike.
NTFL Competition Lead Gavin May said, “The introduction of these new by-laws for the 2024/25 TIO NTFL Women’s Premier League marks a significant step in enhancing the balance and competitiveness of the competition.
By adjusting match times, player point allocations, and fly-in player limits, we’re aiming to level the playing field and ensure a thrilling season for every team.
We’re eager to see how these changes will shape the league and contribute to a more exciting and equitable competition over the next few seasons.”
Here’s a rundown of the key changes for the Women’s Premier League Competition:
Match Times:
- Quarters during home-and-away season matches will now be 18 minutes with no time-on.
- Finals will remain at 15-minute quarters plus time-on.
Introduction of Player Points:
- Each team can now allocate a maximum of 30 player points per match, using the same points table as the Men’s Premier League competition, where points are assigned based on players’ previous clubs.
New By-Law specific to Women’s competition player points:
- As calculated by the NTFL, the top 5 performing teams from the past three seasons can only field one 4-point player per match.
- Teams that sit outside of the top 5 teams, can include multiple 4-point players if they stay within the 30-player point limit per match.
- A player qualifies as a 4-point player if they played for another NTFL club the previous season.
- Players who switch clubs for the 2024/25 TIO NTFL season and played 5 x WPL matches in 2023/24 for their previous club will be classified as 4-point players.
- For extensive breakdown of Competition By-Laws relating to player points see here
Example: Top 5 Team Restriction
For a top 5 ranked team, only one 4-point player can be fielded per match. For instance, Denise, a key player who played 5 x matches for a competing NTFL club last season, can only be included in the lineup if the team adheres to the one 4-point player rule.
The Top 5 teams are identified based on last 3 years of performance, this will be reassessed leading into each NTFL season.
Example: Other Teams’ Flexibility
Providing that the team does not exceed the allocated 30-player point limit, lower-ranked teams do not face the same restriction and can include multiple 4-point players.
For example, Linda, Jill, and Monica—each a 4-point player who have transferred from a competing NTFL club —can all be selected in the lineup.
Fly-in Player Cap:
- Teams can have up to 5 fly-in players per week and a total of 10 fly-in players on a club’s list for the entire season.
- A fly-in player is defined similarly to the Men’s Competition.
