Women's national league set to be launched next year

It's almost 160 years since the first Australian Rules football club was formed, but women will take a significant step forward in the male-dominated sport when a female national league starts next year.

Women have long been involved in Aussie Rules - a dynamic game similar to Ireland's Gaelic football - with half of the sport's fan base made up of females.

Yet the deeply traditional AFL, where two singlet-clad teams of 18 handle and kick a rugby-shaped ball on large, oval fields, has usually focused on men's teams.