For Fremantle’s squad of 29 AFLW players, Saturday 4 February is a day 100 years in the making.

Carlton and Collingwood will open the inaugural NAB AFL Women’s competition on Friday night, and Fremantle will follow on Saturday when they face the Western Bulldogs at VU Whitten Oval.

The significance of the competition cannot be understated. Women can now play what is arguably Australia’s most beloved game in a national competition, in front of a national audience on live television. 

As a proud all-Western Australian side, there’s an added significance for Fremantle - with the earliest records of women’s football coming from their own backyard. 

In the State Library of West Australia are two photos that prove that women have been playing Australia’s indigenous game for over a century.

From 1917 is a photo of the first recorded women’s football side called Foy and Gibson’s, with the squad made up of staff from the Perth department store bearing the same name.

 
The first recorded photo of a women's football team, Foy and Gibson's (Pic: State Library of Western Australia) 

Second is a girls’ football match played in Perth in 1918. The photo shows more grass than action, but the enthusiasm of the competitors is clear - despite being hindered by the dress standards of the era.

 
A girls' football match in 1918 in Perth (Pic: State Library of Western Australia) 

Decades later, girls growing up in Australia were still expected to take on a supporting rather than a participatory role in football - and female attendance numbers have grown to the point of reaching parity with the men.

But playing the game has been another matter.

Amy Lavell, a member of Fremantle’s inaugural leadership group, gave up football to become a teacher while at the peak of her abilities, despite earning a list of accolades that would have given her legendary status in the men’s game.

A WA state representative, Lavell was a premiership player and two-time best and fairest winner at the Coastal Titans in the WAWFL, and was voted into the league’s team of the decade from 2000 to 2010.

“I felt I wasn’t really going anywhere, and I thought there was no point to keep going,” Lavell said. 

“I started my career at Perth College and got married so I decided to take a break. 

“Eventually my husband convinced me that I should start playing again just because I enjoyed it so much, and when the women’s league came along…it was just good timing to come back.”

Upon her return to football in 2016, Lavell was back to her best, winning the WAWFL leading goal kicking award.

While the 29-year-old laments being in the twilight years of her career just as women’s football is about to take off, she’s thankful just to have the chance.

“I wish my body was ten years younger, because it would have been a different story,” Lavell said.

“But at least I’ve been able to have this opportunity because I know some people that were great footballers when I was younger, and they probably wish they had the chance I have now.”

With the AFLW no longer just a pipe dream, women’s participation in football has skyrocketed.

Female participation grew 45 per cent in 2015. By the end of 2016, over a quarter of all AFL participants were female, with a total of 380,041 women playing Aussie rules in some form.

And new supporters are coming on board, too. 

Lavell said she’s already seeing the effect of an increased interest in football because of the women’s league.

“I’m finding a lot of people are backing us because it is a women’s sport,” Lavell said.

“They think it’s great we get to play, some people have gone the other way too but not as many as you’d think. It’s been so much more positive.

“I think people are amazed to see girls playing footy, and then they watch and they’re like ‘wow’.

“My husband’s uncle, he’s a real traditional person and straight down the line. And he prefers to watch the women’s over the men’s. He really enjoys it as it’s easier to watch.

“It’s just interesting to see the excitement around, I never thought it would be so big.” 

With an increase in participation and supporter numbers, the AFL Women’s competition has already started kicking goals before a game has been played. The end result will be more people involved in footy as players and supporters - and that’s something any fan can get behind.

HOW TO WATCH FREMANTLE'S UPCOMING AFLW GAMES
Round 1. Western Bulldogs v Fremantle, 4:40pm (WST) Saturday 4 February at VU Whitten Oval
Broadcast live nationally Channel 7mate and Fox Footy

Round 2. Fremantle v Brisbane, 4:05pm (WST) Sunday 12 February (WST) at Fremantle Oval
With free entry, there's every reason to get down to Fremantle Oval to support Freo in their first game at home!

AFLW ticketing information

AFLW fixture and broadcast information