"Australian rules" football, officially known as Australian football, is a staple Aussie pastime—and has been for over a century. Die-hard fans follow the Australian Football League (AFL) with fervor from March to September every year. But while spectators are as diverse as the country's population, playing the sport has always been a man's job—until now.The AFL will unleash its female league in 2017, featuring eight teams from across the country. Monique Hollick, Justine Mules, Courtney Cramey, Deni Varnhagen and Chelsea Randall are among 27 players drafted to Adelaide Football Club, more commonly known as "The Crows". When they kick off on Saturday 4 February, these elite athletes will make history as the first women to play Aussie rules professionally.
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What inspires them to hit the field (and sometimes each other) for this full-contact sport? What stereotypes are they ready to smash? And will they be paid as much as their male counterparts? We went to a practice for the answers.
Justine Mules, 22, civil construction worker
"I'm here training with the Crows three times a week, then I train with a personal trainer once a week as well. I've got a good routine at the moment: I'm up about 5am to get my breakfast and lunch ready. Then 6am till 3pm is work. Then I come home from work, have a nibble, and sometimes I have a nap—because I need it, I'm so exhausted. Then I go to training."It's exciting; I've always dreamt about being able to play AFL. It's actually a real live thing—we've never had that before. We don't know what's going to happen. This may break it or make it, y'know?"I've always dreamt about being able to play AFL.
Monique Hollick, 27, satellite engineer
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"I think we're going to surprise people with our level of skill and fitness. That'd be a nice feeling. They've got pretty low expectations from what I've read on social media—some of them, anyway."I was thinking, 'How cool would it be to be a male AFL player?' and my mom said, 'But then you wouldn't be a satellite engineer. You'd just be a football player until you're 30. Wouldn't you prefer to be both?' And I thought, actually, yeah, I would prefer to be both. This is awesome."Read More: Keeping Score: The Woman Tracking Rape in College Football
Deni Varnhagen, 24, nurse
"You have to question the men['s motives]— sure, they love the game, but they're getting paid. Think of the men's amateur leagues: Even from my age, playing in their local community, they all get paid."With females, we've never been paid, up until now. We've genuinely played for the love of the game. That's why it can be so disheartening when you get people who bag women footballers. It's like, we love this game. We're definitely a force to be reckoned with when we're together as one."We've got different bodies. We're going to play our own brand of football.
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Chelsea Randall, 25, Adelaide Crows' female community programs officer
Courtney Cramey, 35, ministerial liaison officer
"We've been juggling work and trying to become professional athletes—and motherhood and family for some girls as well. I think we're all warriors. We have different challenges to men but it's nice to finally get those doors open for us, especially in the AFL space. We can pave the way for generations to come."That first game, that first bounce, that's just gonna be epic. We've all waited for it for such a long time. That's gonna be the reality moment of, it's here."