MEET YOUR NEW GIANTS: The code-hoppers

Published on: February 8, 2018February 8, 2018 by Mary

This article was written by Caitlin Arnold.

One of many unique attributes of the AFL Women’s competition is the outstanding resolve and pressure it takes for some of the players to be dual-athletes.

A feat nowhere to be seen in the men’s league, playing more than one sport at a national level – sometimes even during the same time period – is currently a given for these women who have a pure love for what they do.

In the AFLW, 2017 Best and Fairest winner, Erin Phillips switched from playing basketball in the United States to join the Premiership winning Adelaide Crows, and only recently retired from her much-loved round ball game to concentrate on the one sport.

MEET YOUR NEW AFLW GIANTS: The interstaters

Published on: February 5, 2018February 5, 2018 by Mary

This article was written by Caitlin Arnold.

There are few stand-alone team colours in the AFL or AFLW, which instantly trigger thoughts of one specific team.

Yellow needs black, for instance, to conjure thoughts of Richmond. And red seeks white to ‘cheer cheer’ for the Sydney Swans. But there are a handful of famous hues that immediately take footy fans to one club, all on their own.

There is the famous Navy Blue, of course, which immediately brings one of the oldest footy clubs, Carlton, to mind. And most recently, orange, which provokes scenes of the sun setting over Spotless Stadium for the game’s newest club, the GWS GIANTS.

Rebecca Privitelli has now played for both the Blues, and as of the past weekend, officially for the GIANTS too.

Mary’s Wonder Women: Scorchers and Sixers to contest WBBL final

Published on: February 3, 2018February 3, 2018 by Mary

This article was first written for and published by The Roar.

On Sunday afternoon when the final of WBBL03 is played, it’ll be déjà vu for cricket fans, with the final being contested between the same two clubs as last year – the Sydney Sixers and the Perth Scorchers.

To book their place in the final, the Perth Scorchers beat the Sydney Thunder by 27 runs, largely due to the efforts of Nicole Bolton, Ellyse Villani and Emma King.

Mary’s Wonder Women: Dates for your 2018 diary

Published on: January 5, 2018January 5, 2018 by Mary

This article was first written for and published by The Roar.

New year. New diary. 2017 may have been a ‘watershed’ year for women in sport, but I am confident 2018 will be even better.

Here are some of the events underlined in my diary featuring women in sport this year.

Mary’s Wonder Women: My favourite women in sport moments from 2017

Published on: December 29, 2017 by Mary

This article was first written for and published by The Roar.

At around this time last year, as I reflected on 2016, I knew that it had been a watershed 12 months for women in sport.

Flash forward and I am reading plenty of articles labelling 2017 the same way.

Women’s sport weekly wrap: Hannah Mouncey’s ineligibility for the AFLW Draft

Published on: October 20, 2017 by Mary

This article was first written for and published by The Roar.

There are some topics I am afraid to write about.

I am someone that is passionate about diversity and inclusion in sport. When I write about sport, I want to make sure that I am coming from an educated, considered and respectful position. Hurting the sports that I am passionate about or making someone feel like they were not welcome in the Australian sporting family is the last thing that I want to do.

Women’s sport weekly wrap: AFLW’s bold expansion plans

Published on: September 29, 2017September 29, 2017 by Mary

This story was first written for and published by The Roar.

And then there were 14 (well, not until 2020).

This week the AFL announced that the AFLW is about to get a whole lot bigger with a bold expansion plan which will see North Melbourne and Geelong join the eight existing clubs in the third season of the AFLW in 2019, with Richmond, West Coast, St Kilda and the Gold Coast set to follow in 2020.

What generated plenty of excitement though was that for the first time, Tasmania will have a team that it can adopt as its own through its joint bid with North Melbourne.

Women’s Sport Weekly Wrap: Victoria just too good

Published on: September 8, 2017 by Mary

This story was first written for and published by The Roar.

In Week 1 of the NRL finals, two very special women will make history.

On Friday night, in the game between the Sydney Roosters and the Brisbane Broncos, Kasey Badger will become the first female to officiate an NRL finals game.

Not far behind her is Belinda Sleeman, who will run the touchline in the game between the Penrith Panthers and the Manly Sea Eagles.

AFL clubs, it’s time to stop your players appearing on the Footy Show

Published on: June 27, 2017July 1, 2017 by Mary

This story was first written for and published by The Roar.

“I regret the comments I made about Caitlyn Jenner. What I said was not appropriate and I’m sorry to anyone offended.”

Another week. Another Sam Newman apology.

Women’s sport weekly wrap: AFLW continues to dominate the news cycle

Published on: May 27, 2017July 2, 2017 by Mary

This story was first written for and published by The Roar.

Each week in preparation for writing this piece, I spent half an hour each morning scouring the news looking for my favourite stories in women’s sport.

So when Roarers comment that I have missed something, in some circumstances it’s me making a choice to include news about one sport rather than another, while in other cases it’s because I just haven’t seen the news.