It’s been a big weekend of footy for the Bulldogs, with double the red, white and blue on display at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
More importantly, there was double the pride, owing to the second elite AFL women’s match between the Western Bulldogs and Melbourne.
As a club, we are thrilled to be a part of the momentum that’s gathering in women’s footy, both here in the west and across the county.
The club has made a commitment to women’s footy because it makes sense. As a father of an up-and-coming female footballer myself, I know first-hand that girls want to play our great game.
What we need to do as an industry and community is make sure these girls get the opportunity to play throughout their lives.
That’s why we not only wholeheartedly support the annual fixture but also provide practical support for the sport that will make a difference to growing girls’ participation at grassroots and elite levels.
At the community level, the Bulldogs have kicked off the first
all–girls Auskick centre in Maribyrnong, so girls can have fun in a boy-free zone.
Further up the elite pathway, we have partnered with the Victorian Women’s Football League (VWFL) by hosting women state representative matches at Victoria University Whitten Oval.
We also house the VWFL development academy, which gives the state’s top talent access to one of the best elite playing surfaces in
the country.
We want to be a club that supports all our community.
Fundamental to that is supporting girls, like my daughter, so they can live out their dream of playing at the top level, if good enough.
And while our women’s team didn’t snag the result they wanted at the weekend, as a club we very much look forward to both our men’s and women’s teams having dual wins on the big stage.
