Keeping Score.

Until recently, girls were relegated to the sidelines as wistful observers or diehard supporters in the Australian Football League.

Women’s games had popped up in enthusiastic bursts across the country over the past century to entertain, but not sustain without the backing of the big league.

Following a report into women’s football, the AFL launched a series of exhibition matches in 2013 to test the water; Women’s AFL exploded.

The future of the women's game is so promising.

I pay homage to our women’s games to render the invisible visible. In some, I paint onto vintage tin number plates once used to score regional matches. The players are depicted as ghosts inside the numbers; lost to AFL history. Stepping outside the numbers, they are in colour, no longer passive observers, but active participants: seen and counted. 

I have never been much of a footy fan, so my fascination with the love of the game comes from an outsider’s perspective.

The first local women’s game I watched in 2017, my 17-year-old daughter was tackled and had her arm broken. Undeterred, she went onto play as soon as she could - a typical story from many women who love the game. It’s not just a sport, it’s a community of amazing woman who pull together in ways that extends beyond team and game. The tenacity, team spirit and support these women share is incredibly inspiring.