Is there a sweeter grand final win than one secured in the dying seconds of extra time? Melbourne Victory says no. The W-League grand final win was made all the more sweeter given it came from the boot of 19-year-old Kyra Cooney-Cross. The future of football sure is bright!
As Sam Lewis wrote, what was striking about the 2020-21 season, was how it so perfectly demonstrated the persistence that underpins so much of women’s sport.
“There is, I think, one conclusion we can draw from the 2020-21 campaigns: that, despite all the adversity it has faced—the disastrous broadcasts, the shifting fixtures, the border controls, the lockdowns, the unacceptable playing surfaces, the injuries, the fatigue—these remarkable players, and therefore this remarkable league, endures.”
After such a tumultuous season, to even get a grand final seems a fairytale ending. And the good news continued with the announcement that the W-League is set for expansion, potentially in time for the 2021-22 season.
We love to see investment and development of women’s sport any time, but with the World Cup on the horizon, now seems the opportune time to be investing in women’s football. However, as Marisa Loradanic wrote for Siren just a few short weeks ago, the road to professionalisation for the W-League is not without challenges.
As Marissa wrote, women’s football needs financial investment from the grassroots up, but it also needs some long-term thinking.
“None of these aspirations are particularly new. In fact, many of them are long held and long overdue. But Australian football must prioritise the W-League now. So that it and all of women’s football in this country can benefit from the World Cup on home soil in 2023. Waiting until after the tournament puts the whole women’s game behind the curve.”
Sirens in the wild!
It was so exciting to have an IRL event last week when Georgina Hibberd came to Melbourne to officially launch her book ‘Never Surrender’.
It was great for some of us Sirens to get out and about back at the women in sport events that used to bring us all together to celebrate and support each other. Thanks to everyone who came up and said hello, it was great to put so many faces to Twitter handles! And hopefully our women in sport community can have more gatherings as we recover from last year.
And a big congrats to our friend Georgina on a very successful launch!
Siren Shirts
Our Siren shirts are still available if you’ve yet to get one!
These shirt sales go a long way to supporting Siren and the work we do. Thanks to the funds raised so far, we’ve been able to commission some great pieces and we’ve been able to support some travel opportunities for contributors to get to matches and events to produce content. It means the world to us.
You can also still buy our badges and pins here—every sale helps!
In this issue
We have Gemma Bastiani’s exclusive preliminary finals edition of ‘The Round Up’ proudly brought to you by our friends at Women’s Australian Rules Football Radio.
Be sure to tune into their VFLW coverage this season!
Mary Konstantopolous talks to Western Bulldogs’ graphic designer Natalie Gills who we are thrilled to feature again in Siren. Natalie is the genius behind the Bulldogs Pride guernsey designs and she shares the story of this year’s with Mary.
Rachel Bach of By The White Line is back with her first Siren Collaborator piece for us for 2021. It’s a deeply personal piece as Rachel shares how she’s covering W-League legend, and friend, Rebekah Stott’s battle against Stage 3 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. We thank Rachel for writing this to bring more visibility to Rebekah’s story. We’re all behind you Stotty.
The Siren team has been busy in the lead up to the AFLW grand final this weekend.
Gemma Bastiani has you covered with the Play On Preview with Julia Montesano and Play On Review with Rana Hussain. And Alison Smirnoff and This AFL Life crew answer all your pressing footy questions in the latest episode.
The impact of the AFL’s new rules around concussion will mean a significant out for the Crows, Kate O’Halloran has all the details for the ABC.
Kirby Fenwick reviews the preliminary finals, and Brisbane’s hopes for third time lucky for The Guardian.
The Round Up: AFLW Preliminary Finals 2021
By Gemma Bastiani
Presented by WARF Radio, the 2021 AFLW Preliminary Finals set us up for a remarkable grand final: a rematch of the inaugural 2017 grand final.
The story I wish I didn’t have to tell
By Rachel Bach (By The White Line)
Siren Collaborator Rachel Bach of By The White Line shares the journey she’s on with the incredible Rebekah Stott as she battles Stage 3 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
Putting everyone in the spotlight
By Mary Konstantopoulos
The Western Bulldogs had one of the best Pride guernsey designs we’ve seen this year. Mary Konstantopoulos talks to designer Natalie Gills about its story.
Who is still buzzing from the W-League Grand Final!
Samantha Lewis wraps the game and the season up for us at The Guardian and wrote this great piece for ESPN. Sam also took a look at the recent 5-2 defeat the Matlidas experienced from Germany. It’s been a busy week for football and for Sam!
We’re thrilled to see Kate Roffey take on the presidency at the Melbourne Football Club, the first female president in the club’s 163-year history.
Our Aussie women were on fire on tour in New Zealand and retained the Rose Bowl. They’re now sitting on 23 consecutive ODI wins.
We are so excited for this doco from Suncorp Super Netball!
FOX SPORTS and Kayo will air all six episodes over a three-week period leading into the 2021 Suncorp Super Netball season. Episodes one and two will run back-to-back on April 13 at 8:30PM AEST with episodes three and four to appear on April 20 and episodes five and six to appear on April 27. Tune in!
More. Of. This.
Samantha Lewis writes on the stars who create magic moments on the biggest stage in the W-League.
Basketball Australia has confirmed the appointment of Carolyn Campbell as interim CEO. Basketball Australia is also calling for expressions of interest from suitably qualified coaches for a second round of its Elite Female Coach Advancement Program.
The AIS launched their Athlete Accelerate Program last week that aims to increase career pathway options for women athletes.
The dates for the 2023 Netball World Cup in Cape Town have been confirmed.
Congratulations to Natalia Dorantes who has been announced as the new coordinator of football programs for The Washington Football Team. Natalia becomes the first Latina in NFL history to serve in that position.
Kasey Badger officiated game 101 and spoke to Mary Konstantopoulos about her career as a NRL touch judge.
Congrats to Sammy Bremner who is expecting her second child!
Check out this great piece on athletes sharing their stories on being trans in Australian ice hockey. So good to see more and more stories like this.
Good thread alert. Check this out from the @ButKickers and learn why you might have seen #MismaPasion trending last week.
Want to work on the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup? Of course you do! Check out all the roles going here.
It’s great to see the Women’s Coaching Association doing the work to support young leaders and mentors in programs like the Bachar Houli Foundation. Well done team!
Scenes. Absolute scenes.
Runner up
We are in awe.