Emma Swanson has been selected to play for the Melbourne Football Club.
Camera IconEmma Swanson has been selected to play for the Melbourne Football Club. Credit: Supplied/Jon Hewson

Team-mates now opponents

Rachel Fenner, Mandurah Coastal TimesMandurah Coastal Times

They are two of 11 Western Australian women selected in the draft.

Swanson will play for Melbourne Football Club and Phillips for the Western Bulldogs Football Club.

The Demons versus the Bulldogs will be a ground-breaking match and the first time AFL clubs have competed in an AFL-sanctioned women’s match.

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The game will be played on Saturday June 29 ahead of the club’s women’s round meeting.

WA Football Commission’s Director Pathways and Competition, Grant Dorrington said the national draft was a result of the huge investment by the WAFC, the AFL and clubs into women’s football over the past 25 years.

‘The national draft and upcoming match have been a long time coming,’ he said.

‘There will be a national women’s competition in the future and I expect to see a WA team participating that will be very strong and competitive.’

The national women’s draft attracted the cream of the crop from around Australia with over 320 nominations and 50 players selected.