Add Category
Posted
Lilly Rogers is one proud grandmother — she travelled more than 2,000km from Perth to Broome to see 13 of her granddaughters and nieces play in an AFL grand final.
She even had all of their names and jersey numbers printed on a t-shirt.
The grand final marked the end of the first year of the women's West Kimberley Football League.
And with just four teams, the small local competition may not seem significant, but for many women in the Kimberley it has been transformative.
Ms Rogers and her family are from Looma, a remote Aboriginal community in northern Western Australia.
It has a population of fewer than 500 people and, like the rest of the Kimberley, AFL is a big deal. A really big deal.
On the first weekend of September, many travelled hours for the game at a local oval in Broome, but that is not unusual for a competition in one of the most sparsely populated areas of the world.
The Looma Eagles made history and won the premiership against Broome's Cable Beach.
Ms Rogers was thrilled.
"It made me so proud to see them playing the game," she said.
"It was good, exciting. It was the first time for the ladies."
Now in her 60s, Ms Rogers lives in Peth but spent most of her life in Looma.
She said young women in the Kimberley should take advantage of an opportunity she never had.
"While you've got the chance, go for it," she said.
Big dream for the big leagues
After the grand final win, 17-year-old Darliah Killer is a local footy legend, but her ambitions stretch far beyond small town celebrity.
"Me and my sister … we always wanted to play football. We wished we were boys," Darliah said.
"We grew up watching football. Football is in our DNA … but now it's our turn."
Northern Western Australia has been described as the last frontier of untapped football talent.
Kimberley men have played for state and national teams, including Derby-born players Callum and Brendon Ah Chee.
The West Kimberley Football League is a 25-year-old institution. Until this year, women never had their own competition.
Traditionally, their place has been on the sidelines, supporting their brothers, fathers, and partners.
But that is all changing. Since the rise of the Australian Football League Women's, young players are dreaming of becoming national football stars.
The establishment of the official women's league in West Kimberley will give young girls the opportunity to play professional sport nationally.
When Darliah finishes high school in just over a year, she is gunning for a spot in an ALFW team.
"I believe that I can go all the way. I want to play for the women's league," she said.
Uniting women in remote communities
Looma Eagles manager Antonia Pindan said before footy, "we had nothing really to look forward to".
"Now all the women in the community are together as one," she said.
Many small communities in the Kimberley are extremely isolated and battle problems with drugs, alcohol and violence.
The region has some of the worst suicide rates in the nation.
It was the suicide of a 10-year-old girl in Looma in 2016 that sparked an inquest into youth suicide in the Kimberley this year.
AFL is championed as a positive influence for young boys in remote communities, and now young girls are enjoying the full benefits of participating in team sports.
"AFL keeps the younger kids away from trouble, keeps them away from drugs and alcohol, it keeps us busy. Now there is something for the girls," Ms Pindan said.
"It gives us opportunity to be fit, be healthy and have fun."
Ms Pindan believes this first competition is just the beginning of a huge swell of female participation throughout the Kimberley.
She said women from surrounding communities were approaching Looma.
"We want to do something, we want to play football like you mob play football. We want to come together, in unity, as one. Like how the Looma girls did," she said.
Ms Pindan said it had had a huge impact on her own life.
"It gives them something to look forward to, and myself to look forward to, to work hard and look forward to something good," she said.
Darliah never had the opportunity to play football like her brothers when she was younger, and is glad young girls in her community can play AFL.
"They have more opportunities than we had at that age. They have a brighter future," she said.
Topics: australian-football-league, indigenous-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander, sport, health, women, broome-6725