Then dubbed the Melville Warriors, local women have had the chance to play in the West Australian Women’s Football League since 1987, the club morphing into the Melville Dockers in 1997 and then integrating with East Fremantle in 2009.
With several state, All Australian and AFL representative players both past and present, the club is one of the strongest in the nine-team competition, having won six premierships since their inception.
East Fremantle Women’s Football Club committee member Lynette Smith said it was not only about the adults, with the club also working hard to promote the sport to young girls.
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READ NOW“East Fremantle has a youth girls team and they can start playing at the age of 13 up until they are 17 and from there they can continue to play in the WAWFL, either in reserves or the league team,” she said.
“We have about 75 girls in our youth girls and senior teams and have a fair few new girls come down already this year.
“It has been a struggle to get people’s minds around the idea that women are capable of playing AFL and this was portrayed with the coverage of the women’s AFL match between Melbourne and Western Bulldogs last year.
“To get the support of the AFL competition next year, we need to promote as much as possible; we have been waiting for something like for quite a white.”
Smith said all local girls and women were welcome to join the club.
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