WOMEN and the AFL

Through a series of individual profiles this book celebrates women who are connected to the AFL: the women who have mothered champion players; the women who have married them; the women who have sacrificed their own free time, unpaid, to work in clubs at board level, many for more than a decade. The women who paved the way for others in their wake, by being among the first to hold senior positions in the AFL; the women who umpire; who tape and massage; and women like me who are quite simply, fans.

This is not a political or overtly feminist book; rather it’s a collection of diverse and entertaining individual stories, with AFL as the common bond.

The women featured in my book are:

Jill Lindsay AFL Ground Operations Manager for over 40 years until her sad passing in 2011
Kelli UnderwoodThe first female to commentate a full game of AFL on live television
Bree McPheeWife of former Essendon and Fremantle player Adam McPhee
Beverley O’ConnorFormer Melbourne Football Club Vice-President and sports journalist
Chelsea RoffeyThe first female to act as goal umpire at an AFL Grand Final
Samantha LaneFootball journalist and TV personality
Susan AlbertiBoard member and patron of the Western Bulldogs Football Club
Debbie LeeCo-founder of first AFL sanctioned women’s game
Nanette MalthouseWife of former Collingwood and Carlton coach Mick Malthouse
Sharon BoydMother of former Western Bulldogs captain Matthew Boyd
Judith Elliott &Football trainers for over 40 years
Joy Gelly