AFL National Women's League

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. T.J. Stephens:

That this council—

1. Congratulates the Adelaide Crows on winning the 2019 AFLW grand final;

2. Congratulates Erin Phillips on winning the AFLW grand final best on ground medal;

3. Acknowledges the important role the AFLW competition has had in growing grassroots participation in women’s football and providing role models for the next generation of AFLW players; and

4. Recognises that the crowd of over 53,000 is the biggest ever attendance at a women’s sporting game in Australian history and the fifth largest crowd at an AFL game at the Adelaide Oval.

(Continued from 3 April 2019.)

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (22:33): I rise to wholeheartedly support the motion by the Hon. Terry Stephens congratulating the Adelaide Football Club's women's football team on their second premiership success in three years and setting a record 53,000 attendance for a women's sporting event, which was held at Adelaide Oval.

It has been a bittersweet month for the team. Recently, the team's star player and co-captain, Erin Phillips, was named South Australia's sports star of the year, while the team won the team of the year award. But in a cruel blow on Monday, just as the team returned to training for the 2020 season, their other co-captain, Chelsea Randall suffered a similar anterior cruciate ligament injury as suffered by Erin in that memorable grand final win earlier this year.

In 2019, Erin swept up all the major AFLW awards, winning her second medal as best on ground in the grand final, second AFLW best and fairest and second AFL Players Association most valuable player award. In her sensational 2019 season, she averaged 21 disposals at a 60 per cent efficiency and kicked 11 goals. She became the benchmark for the competition and led the league for contested possessions and score assists. She was second overall for most goals kicked, total disposals, clearances and champion data ranking points, and third for inside 50s. The team was exciting to watch, winning eight straight games.

Erin Phillips has now become an icon in the sport she has loved since she was a child and, of course, she is the daughter of Port Adelaide legend, Greg Phillips. I remember watching Erin play as a junior and hold her own against the boys. With her blonde locks and silky skills, she was a stand-out player even then. Her leadership skills then are evident today, and she has become a role model for young footballers, male and female.

She is a shining example of what is so good about women playing in sports once regarded as male strongholds. Let's not forget that she has also had a distinguished national and international basketball career. In the AFLW off season, she lives in Dallas, Texas, with her wife, Tracy, and their three children, where she is an assistant coach in the WNBA, the best women's basketball league in the world. There, she is with the Dallas Wings.

Following the Crows' emphatic victory and the record turnout in the grand final, I was moved to call for more recognition of their achievement at the Adelaide Oval in the form of a statue of Erin. Recently, netball star Natalie von Bertouch made the same recommendation in her Advertiser column, although it did not seem to win much support from some ageing male sporting legends.

On my visits to the ground, I noted that the more visible honours on the grandstands and in various function rooms are largely anointed with male figures—quite worthy they are too. The statues ringing the plaza are also dedicated to male football and cricket legends who achieved greatness in their performances at the Adelaide Oval, plus there are the existing monuments to pioneer aviator Sir Ross Smith. I am wondering why they left out his brother, Keith. Perhaps they need to consider including him in the centenary year of the Vickers Vimy. Of course, there is also the Greek mythical God Hercules, so it is raining men at Adelaide Oval.

As for recognition of our state's acclaimed female athletes associated with the Adelaide Oval, they are effectively hidden from full view in a hall of fame section beneath the western member stands. While there is an area of lawn that is named after the great cricketer and netballer Lyn Fullston, if you did not specifically look for it, it would virtually go unnoticed.

In an historical perspective, we should not underestimate or forget the strong contribution women have made too. Ninety years ago, more than 41,000 people watched a women's football match on the Adelaide Oval as part of a charity event. With so many men in active service during World War II, women who worked in munitions factories, in steel mills and on farms played football fundraisers. They were extremely popular.

The time has come to put the AFLW in its proper historical context. It has now arrived as an elite competition pioneered by the likes of Erin Phillips and will only continue to grow in stature. The grand final was the first under the auspices of the AFL to be played at the stadium, so the game has already earned its place in history. These moments should not go left unrewarded or allowed to gather dust until someone decides to recognise them for posterity many decades later.

So in April I wrote letters to the male-dominated Stadium Management Authority as well as to Mr Basil Sellers, the very generous benefactor of the statues at the Oval and of an expensive giant piece of structural artwork for the City of Adelaide that still cannot find a home. I sought their support for a monument that would serve as a symbolic honour of women's football being played at the Oval. If you are going to create a statue of someone synonymous with women's football and sport in the state, who else would you model it on but Erin Phillips?

While the response I received from Mr Sellers was extremely polite and supportive of women's sport, it was somewhat underwhelming and poured cold water on my enthusiasm. Mr Sellers pointed out that the decision to erect statues is made jointly with him and Ian McLachlan of the South Australian Cricket Association and the Stadium Management Authority's John Olsen as 'owners of the land'. I thought the owners of the Adelaide Oval were the South Australian government, representing the taxpayers who paid for the venue.

Mr Sellers said the final decisions were unanimous on which celebrated identities are honoured, as they were real icons who had performed at the Adelaide Oval many times. They were not to be current players and needed to have been retired as players for a decent period or around five years. This, he said, would avoid the mistake of honouring someone who perhaps becomes not worthy.

As for Erin, Mr Sellers said she one day might fit the bill, but he felt it was too early to give her that honour of a statue. Again, my suggestion to nominate Erin was made in the symbolic sense. I hope that that day comes soon before the wonderful achievements of Erin and the Crows women fall into a distant memory. What happened this year at the Adelaide Oval is a unique piece of our sporting history on that fabled arena of dreams. I commend the motion.

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (22:42): For most youths, the dream of reaching the elite level in their chosen sport is one of the greatest challenges they can set themselves. Unfortunately, as is common for young girls, there are often invisible barriers that prevent them from reaching that goal. To put it simply, it is difficult to be something you cannot see.

Yet earlier this year we saw athletes from all different backgrounds, from all kinds of socio-economic statuses showing us what their bodies can do. I congratulate the Adelaide Crows women's team on their historic win this year as well as all who were involved to help make that day a success. Their talent, camaraderie and sense of community both on and off the field are to be commended.

Throughout the season there has been a real sense of goodwill, development and achievement. It is these efforts which have enthralled many throughout the season and which I have no doubt helped contribute to a record attendance for the domestic women's sports game in Australia. It is a match that has already been titled one of the most significant moments in Australian football history, as we saw over 53,000 fans attend the stadium. It is a pity that the state government cannot provide the same confidence in the game by providing adequate public transport on the day.

That Sunday exemplified what sport has the power to do. Girls have been encouraged to pursue not only football but other dreams they may have that may be hindered by perceptions of male dominance. They now know that they can because they can see that it is possible and because they know that they are welcome, encouraged and supported to participate and to succeed. This does not mean that there is not further work to be done for the movement. Disputes and behaviours continue to galvanise women's sport. One only needs to consider the Tayla Harris scandal to see how much further we have to go.

We must continue to fight for equality in sport and everywhere else and support the clubs who genuinely welcome and include women and other minorities. By transforming the way we see the roles of men and women, we have an opportunity to influence the many other issues grounded in persistent inequality our communities confront. As a government, we must be doing all that we can to ensure equality in every aspect of football and in all sporting codes. I commend the motion.

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (22:44): I thank honourable members for their indications of support. I wish the Crows women's team and their captain, Erin Phillips, every success in the coming season and I hope they can go back to back.

Motion carried.