Play on! The Hidden History of Women's Australian Rules Football

by Brunette Lenkić, Rob Hess

Since the inception of Australian Rules football in the 1850s, women have been eager to be involved. More than 100 years ago, they began taking to the field. However, their stories have largely been invisible – sidelined, ignored or forgotten.

Play On! is the first comprehensive history of women’s Australian Rules football and showcases the athleticism, hard work and resilience that has kept the women’s game alive.

Discover how competitive women’s football began with shop assistants at Perth department stores, how female footballers supported soldiers in both world wars, and how a few passionate women created state and territory leagues across Australia.

With schoolgirls’ competitions flourishing, state leagues growing, and a national league imminent, the women’s game has never been stronger. Talented, dedicated and proud women over the past century have made Australian Rules football a truly national game.

Genres: Nonfiction

320 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2016

Reviews

[Kelly (Diva Booknerd) · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an enthusiastic supporter of Australian Rules Football, I absolutely adored the rich and inspiring history of the women's game. From the suburban grass roots movements and surprisingly, the Western Australian foundations to the current AFLW competition championed by the incredible Susan Alberti, former Western Bulldogs vice president. Absolutely inspiring for females who ever dreamed of pulling on the boots.

Like me.

[Joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

It feels poignant that I finished reading this the same week the 2024 AFLW fixture was released and everyone realised how little the AFL cares about the growth and development of the women's game.

All in all, this was an okay read - I'm not by any means an AFL fan (yet), however, I am a women's sports fan and given my recent love for women's soccer I was very interested to learn more about the development of AFLW (given the fact that the dub is a much older league yet AFLW is more developed due to the ridiculous money the AFL has).

I think my main qualm with this was the structure. While it was interesting to learn about the early days of women playing AFL but the first 70% of the book felt very repetitive, there was a LOT of focus on how the game started as a way to aid the war effort. I understand wanting to show how it was popping up in various states but it just ended up being a lot of very similar stories.

But honestly, this book's biggest issue is that it was published in 2016 and is sorely due for an update. The book feels extremely unbalanced with the amount of time spent talking about women's football pre-AFLW and then only a little bit of focus on the actual development of the league. However, the book can't really be faulted for this as when it was published in 2016, the AFLW was still in its infancy at only three years old. It's now been eleven years since the league started in 2013 and reading it in 2024 feels really unsatisfying as there's SO much historical focus but barely any discussion of the current climate around AFLW. It would be amazing if they updated this with a few more chapters focusing on everything that's happened in the last seven years and discussing the issues the league is currently facing (i.e. the fixture).

So all in all while I found some parts of this interesting It also didn't really teach me as much as I had hoped and was a little dry in execution.

[Alyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very comprehensive, if it at times a little dry, history of women's involvement in AFL. Fascinating that even though women have been playing for 100 years, it seems really only in the past 20 that its happened consistently, and then only in the past 10 real progress has been made.
Loved seeing all the old photographs, and would love to read a follow up or update after a couple of years of the AFLW.

[Giles Field · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a thorough history of a topic I’m very interested in: women’s Aussie Rules football. The work feels a bit scholarly, a little like reading a high quality thesis but it has all the detail you could want, current up to the eve of the AFLW competition. Probably a bit too dry for those without a particular interest in the topic, but perfect for footy history nerds (like me!).
📚📚📚

[Ztu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Important history but could have easily been condensed into an article, which I would have given a much higher rating.

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really engaging, educational book which was well-written

[Mark Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book. Only took a star of as due to publication date it couldn't cover the 1st few seasons of AFLW.

[Caitlin Arnoldi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m not gonna lie I didn’t finish this but it was okay! Would love to read a more recent version of an aflw book.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a must-read for new and existing fans of women's AFL. It has indeed been a "hidden history", but Lenkic and Hess have dragged it into the light for all to see and enjoy. I knew there had been women's exhibition matches during WWI and WWII, but I was not aware that such matches had been going on since the 1850s! It was fascinating to read of the football games played by rival factory teams in Perth - and to see just how big a role Western Australian women have played in women's football. My assumption had always been a Victorian phenomenon, with some links to South Australia, but I discovered in these pages just how national the game really has been for a long time. The struggle to have a seriously regarded and recognised competition for women has been going for almost as long as AFL has existed.
It was also wonderful to see all those names who are now becoming so familiar through the new AFLW, like Susan Alberti, Katie Brennan, Nicole Graves, Melissa Hickey, Daisy Pearce, Tayla Harris, Debbie Lee, Lisa Hardeman, et al - and read of their passion and drive to make our game accessible for all.
A great addition to our sporting lexicon.

[Liz Barr · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to love this, but found it rather bland and dry. Some interesting facts, but the writing did not set my world on fire.

[Kirby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've just read the last line of this book and I'm grinning and crying at the same time.
This is a brilliant history of women's AFL: beginning with the very early games at the start of the last century, right up to the incredible growth of women's footy over the past few years. Well-researched, well-written, equal parts fascinating, infuriating and joy inducing. I heartily recommend it to anyone that has even a passing interest in women's sport and/or AFL.
Oh, and that last line?
"Come 2017, their 100-year apprenticeship will be over"
Oh it is, it most definitely is!

[Alan Marr · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an awesome year for Australian football. Not only has my team finally tasted the success we have longed for, for over 62 years but the newly formed Womens' League is about to be launched. I had no idea women had been playing the game for so long. This is a well researched, well written account of the women who pioneered the sport. I loved it. Go Dogs!!!