Erin Phillips is congratulated by her wife Tracy after she won the AFLW best-and-fairest. Picture: Ian Currie

While she never intended to be a role model for same-sex unions, Phillips is happy to speak out if it helps to change perceptions, as well as the “disappointing” stance some politicians have on gay marriage.

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Speaking about her stellar season in the inaugural year of AFLW on Open Mike, which will screens on Fox Footy on Tuesday night at 8.30pm, the 31-year-old revealed she will play on again next year if Crows coach Bec Goddard remains at the club, hasn’t ruled the prospect of playing basketball for Australia at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and hoped that the success of AFLW can mean a greater financial reward for its players.

She also spoke about the impact of the kiss she had with her wife, Tracy Gahan, at the AFLW awards, saying: “she’s my wife, it was very, very natural ... I didn’t even think about it.”

Erin Phillips and wife Tracy Gahan at the W Awards.Source:Getty Images

Phillips said it was frustrating she and Tracy, with whom she has twin daughters, had no avenue to be married in Australia, with the pair having their nuptials in the US.

“Gay marriage is not legal in this country ... (so) Tracy and I have probably opened up more conversations,” she said.

“I think it needs to be legal, and not from a selfish point of view, but from a basic human rights points of view. It is (legal) in America.

“I find it really funny when I came back home to Australia and it is a big deal, because in America, it isn’t a big deal.

“We are a country that should be so far in advance of this, and the fact that we are still here in 2017 still debating it ... is disappointing, especially because the right to get married in my country wasn’t available.”

She said if a gay AFL footballer came to her in the future seeking advice she would feel honoured, saying she would tell them to be true to themselves.

Erin Phillips in action for Adelaide.Source:Getty Images

Erin Phillips in action for Australia.Source:Supplied

“I absolutely would love to take the call,” she said. “My advice would be ‘be yourself, just own who you are and don’t let outside influences affect your happiness’.”

She added: “There are a lot of people who are worried about what other people think of them. Tracy and I don’t worry about that kind of stuff.”

“I am very comfortable in my own skin and I am comfortable in my own marriage. If we can be role models for girls who are gay or straight ... in a positive way, how good is that.”

Phillips, who was best on ground in Adelaide’s AFLW Grand Final win, and who also won the AFLW best-and-fairest award, as well as the AFLW Players’ Association award, will resume for the Dallas Wings in the WNBA next month.

But she hopes to be back playing football with the Crows early next year, especially if Goddard remains at the helm.

“I keep asking Bec ‘Have you signed yet?’,” she said. “She hasn’t, but as soon as she does, my signature won’t be far away.”

“She is a big part of the reason why I want to re-sign with the Crows.”

But Tokyo and the prospect of that elusive Olympic Gold Medal still looms on the horizon of Phillips’ sporting ambitions.

“It is really hard to look so far forward, especially having two young kids,” she said. “This is something I will sit down and work out ... we will have to wait and see.”

Tuesday’s show, which screens at 8.30pm, also features Phillips’ father, Greg, a former Collingwood and SANFL Port Adelaide defender, as well as Mike Sheahan’s daughter, Kate, who played one game for the Magpies this year.

Originally published as Marriage ‘a basic human right’: Phillips