There's a baffling issue facing AFLW games, one that you might not predict would be a problem.

With very few exceptions, the games are free and not ticketed — and this might be driving fans away.

This fact is often a surprise to those who haven't attended a women's football match in the past.

In the lead-up to the first clash of the season between Richmond v Carlton, I fielded several queries about how to buy tickets for the game. This included one from two Americans wanting to get their fix of Australian Rules Football, and others from social media users who had never attended a football match or had only attended men's games.

The concept of not purchasing tickets was so foreign, they assumed the game was sold out when they couldn't find tickets online.

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You can see why they thought so. In the lead-up to the opening game of AFLW season four, all talk centred on the likelihood of a "lockout".

The lockout, for those new to AFLW, entered the vernacular after the launch of the national women's competition in 2017, when more than 25,000 packed out Ikon Park for the inaugural game between Carlton and Collingwood and the AFL was forced to literally shut the gates.

Ahead of Friday's game, head of women's football Nicole Livingstone said they were planning for a capacity crowd and even had contingency plans for those who missed out — a screen to be set up on the northern lawn.

This year, it was expected that the presence of the Tiger Army — with more than 100,000 members for the men's game — would all but guarantee a heaving crowd.

The eventual crowd of 15,337 — while not a number to be sneezed at — was 10,000 short of capacity and far below expectations.

You could make the argument that it shows dwindling interest in the women's competition.

But crowds were impressive across the rest of the round, most notably culminating in a lockout on Sunday for the clash between St Kilda and the Western Bulldogs at RSEA Park (better known as the Saints' spiritual home, Moorabbin).

Why might crowds have stayed away on opening night, but showed up in healthier numbers in the suburbs?

What do you mean I can't buy tickets?

Speaking to fans on Friday night, I was also told that many who had wanted to attend had stayed at home to watch the match on TV, because they could not, or did not want to, line up from 6:00pm or earlier to be assured entry.

This was the case especially for those making the long trek from regional and rural locations, those with disabilities and older people.

Further fuelling fan anxiety, the Carlton Football Club had been texting its members in advance of Friday's game, advising them to arrive early given the expectation of a "big crowd".

Many were left wondering why the game could not have been ticketed — even without a cost.

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By contrast, the Moorabbin clash — despite marking the return of football to St Kilda's spiritual home — was never hyped as a lockout, perhaps explaining why there was not the same fear of fans missing out.

Defining the value of women's sport

The lack of ticketing poses another problem for AFLW. Since its inception — with a couple of notable exceptions — women's games have been free to attend.

The AFL has consistently justified this by arguing that a new competition needs "time", "clean air" (so-called space in the yearly sporting calendar) and assistance to grow its supporter base.

After Friday night's game, Livingstone was asked on the ABC's The Outer Sanctum if the AFL had considered ticketing big games such as the opener to "alleviate [fan] anxiety" about being assured entry — with Lucy Race pointing out that fans might not show up for an anticipated "lockout" in such cases.

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Livingstone said all aspects of AFLW ticketing were under consideration, but that the AFL wanted to give the four new clubs who had entered the competition in 2020 the "same opportunity as those foundation clubs to build an audience without a price barrier".

What exactly does it mean to assume that price is a barrier to attendance? What does that say about women's sport? Implicit in the AFL's refusal to charge patrons entry to AFLW games is the assumption that those who attend would be unwilling to do so if they were charged for entry.

In reality, fans regularly complain to anyone who will listen about their inability to contribute financially to the game. This includes security guards on the boundary line, journalists, players and fellow fans.

The most passionate contribute by way of player sponsorships and club memberships — including "foundation" memberships that cost hundreds of dollars despite games being free.

Such fans usually explain that they are looking for a way to reinvest the money back into women's football — particularly against the backdrop of players becoming more vocal about the difficulties of the work/life balance they precariously manage as semi-professionals.

Not charging entry for games also provides ammunition for the league's detractors, so that any successful or large crowd inevitably comes with the retort that entry is free.

Focusing on crowd numbers becomes a bigger problem if 15,000 reads as a lack of support for AFLW, as opposed to a logistical, self-fulfilling prophecy about the value and lure of women's sport.