WHENEVER I think of girls or women playing football, it takes me back to where I grew up in Beddows street, Burwood, playing street football.
Marg Stapleton was, for many years, the best player. She also had a wicked grubber in cricket which, I suspect, stemmed from her softball days. I am convinced she would have been an outstanding footballer, but in those days, there was no avenue for a female footballer to show her talent.
In fact, the role of females in our game in the 1960s was confined to being a supporter or, at best, being on a social committee at the local football club.
If you go way back, there are records of an exhibition match being staged just after World War 1 in Melbourne, where it attracted a large crowd and interest.
Another charity match for women was organised in 1944 in Perth, but beyond these, there were only occasional matches held for women over the years and women’s football remained unorganised from a competition point of view.
That was until 1981, when four teams established the Victorian Women’s Football League (VWFL).
Fast forward to 2011, where this week we honour Women’s Round in the AFL.
A chance to celebrate and recognise the significant contribution women have made to the game at all levels and in all roles.
The growth of female involvement over the past ten years has been phenomenal, for the variety of roles women now play in our game. Their influence can be seen through the following statistics.
In 2010 there were just over 73,000 female footballers from Auskick, school, youth girls and women’s competitions. Youth girls, in particular, have undergone significant growth with a 60% increase in 2010 and will continue to grow in 2011 with 18 new competitions.
In 2010, 42% of AFL’s National TV audience were women, 35% of AFL and AFL club members were women and 35% of local club volunteers were women while there were 1500 accredited female coaches and 700 female umpires.
The AFL Commission now has two female representatives in Sam Mostyn and Linda Dessau, as well as 15 women members of AFL club boards.
There is no doubt that women have a passion for AFL like never before in the game’s history. And this passion has also been on display in Adelaide this week where the AFL Women’s National Championships have been taking place.
It is the first time that the Nationals have been truly national with Tasmania entering for the first time, meaning all states and territories will be represented across two divisions. It is a great opportunity for the nation’s most talented players to represent their state or territory.
In Division One, the Victorians will be trying to make it four Championships in a row while Western Australia will be attempting to finally end Victorian dominance after losing the last three Grand Finals. Queensland and South Australia are the other Division One teams.
In Division Two New South Wales, ACT, Northern Territory and Tasmania will square off against each other.
Both Grand Finals will take place on Saturday at Glenelg and then all teams will then be recognised at a half time parade at the Adelaide-West Coast match at AAMI Stadium.
The best player medal from the carnival will also be presented and it is named in honour of Victoria’s Debbie Lee. Debbie has an outstanding playing record, having represented Victoria on 15 occasions, five times as captain and five times an All Australian.
Other strong AFL connections between AFL men’s and women’s football exists through the participation of Hayley Davey (NT), Lauren Motlop (NT) and Melissa Douglas (Vic), who are sisters of Aaron and Alwyn, Daniel and Richard respectively.
For those of you lucky enough to attend any of the games, it is a great opportunity to see how well the game can be played by our elite women.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs
Pictured is Cate Stanton from NSW Youth Girls and Sophie O'Dea from ACT Youth Girls at last year's Under 15s Interstate Challenge held in Canberra.
Last Modified on 09/06/2011 22:47