Latest news with #ErinPhillips
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Australian football is notably richer when it's open to everyone
The 30th Australian Football Hall of Fame was a reminder that there's more to the sport than the AFL. It was a reminder that the talent in Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania was at various times every bit the equal of what was coming out of Victoria. Last night's inductees included a five-time All Australian, a self-described 'little fat kid from Colac', and a man considered the best ever Tasmanian footballer never to play on the mainland. They included a man who took more marks than anyone else in the history of VFL/AFL football, a giant raconteur from South Australia who reflected that 'football was simply something I did on a Saturday,' and a seven-time premiership player in the WAFL who later umpired five grand finals. A goalkicking machine from South Australia during the Depression years was also elevated to legend status. But last night's event did something very different to the preceding three decades – it inducted two AFLW players. Erin Phillips won two WNBA championships, a basketball world championship gold medal and represented Australia at two Olympics. But until just over a decade ago, the idea of playing Australian football professionally seemed fanciful. 'I never wanted to be a boy,' she said last night, 'I just wanted the opportunities they had and that was footy.' Her dad, Greg, a Hall of Famer himself, was a fine footballer for Port Adelaide and Collingwood. He had thighs like John Nicholls, the sort of legs that could prop up jetties. Last night he was a blubbering mess. 'I can't imagine what it would be like to tell your 13-year-old daughter that she can't play the game she loves any more,' his daughter said. 'Now she's standing next to you in the Hall of Fame.' Daisy Pearce bashed down the same barriers. 'I'm a pretty determined bugger,' she said last night. She won 10 premierships and seven competition best and fairests at the local level, before becoming a key driver of the AFLW. There were dozens of Hall of Famers in the room last night but few of them finished their careers on such a high note. Her dad, Daryl, also her junior coach, suffered a stroke in recent years and missed her final game, a premiership. But he was in the room last night to see her inducted into the Hall of Fame. Football's women, a correspondent wrote in The Age in the 1970s, 'are mere appendages to the game, extras in an all-male saga, tolerated but not taken seriously'. That sentiment prevailed until not that long ago. In some corners of the internet and the industry more broadly, it still does. But more than anyone else, champion players like Phillips and Pearce proved the folly of this. They reminded men that this game they were brought up to assume was theirs is now open to the other 50.2% of the population, and that it's all the richer for it. Nearly three-quarters of a million girls and women now play Australian rules football. Pearce and Phillips, one suspects, would be pivotal figures for nearly all of them. Every inductee last night said a variation of the same thing. They looked around the room and they saw their childhood heroes. Garry Lyon had a poster of Tim Watson on his wall. Nick Riewoldt idolised Jason Dunstall. Phillips followed her dad everywhere, even to the premiership dais. 'To look around the room right now – these were my gods,' Pearce said. She and Phillips said they could never have imagined standing in front of a room such as this as fellow professional footballers, as fellow Hall of Fame members, and as equals. The Hawks have won their past seven matches at UTAS Stadium with their last loss coming against the Crows in 2023. Nick Riewoldt, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame last night, was one of the great players of last few decades. Few made their direct opponent work harder or run further. Few deserved a premiership more. But few were so tortured by nerves and anxiety before games. He described it as like being on death row, awaiting execution. 'It was something to endure, not enjoy,' he said. He described it as a 'pit in your stomach feeling, fuelled by the fear of not performing perfectly and the judgment that came with it.' For 24 hours before a game, he would sweat, struggle to sleep and eat, pace the house, snap at everyone and generally be a nightmare to himself and all around him. He would always be the first to arrive at the ground, whereupon he would warm up with a routine akin to Rocky Balboa training in Russia. The minute the ball was bounced, he was fine, and it was his opponent's time to start sweating. The Melbourne captain backs May for 'showing care, his version of care', while speaking on Triple M radio, after the teammates' confrontation after a late turnover in the narrow loss to Collingwood. 'To borrow an infamous line from Will Smith, I think Melbourne should take our players' names out of their mouth. It's interesting, hearing the captain and coach speak specifically on Luke was really disappointing.' Fremantle chief executive, Simon Garlick, takes a swipe at Melbourne while speaking on SEN WA Mornings, after the Demons made not-so subtle overtures to their former key forward Luke Jackson. Any thoughts you want to share? Reply to this email or send your views to fromthepocket@ Sign up to From the Pocket: AFL Weekly Jonathan Horn brings expert analysis on the week's biggest AFL stories after newsletter promotion Western Bulldogs (including as Footscray) are part of the three longest streaks for matches played against an opponent without meeting in a final. Which club do they share the record with? Answers in next week's newsletter, but if you think you know it, hit reply and let me know. Last week's answer: Which clubs have met in the most grand finals? Collingwood and Melbourne have played seven times with a premiership on the line. Congratulations to Michael Courtney, who was first to reply with the right answer. No team is better than Collingwood at adapting to the needs of the moment – and the ladder leaders keep on winning even if by the narrowest of margins against Melbourne. Reply to this email and drop me a line, or email fromthepocket@ Have a friend who might? Forward this to them, or tell them how to get it.
ABC News
3 days ago
- Sport
- ABC News
Phillips and Pearce's Hall of Fame induction reflects the long fight for women to play footy
There's a poetic tilt to the year that the AFLW will enter its 10th season, as its first former players are inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame. The wider footballing community may have started to take note of the names Erin Phillips and Daisy Pearce when the women's elite competition erupted onto the scene in 2017, but the roots of their impact go far deeper and extend a lot further back than from that first ball up between Collingwood and Carlton at Princes Park. As AFLW analyst and commentator Gemma Bastiani pointed out, Pearce and Phillips represent two very different, but equally worthy versions of women in footy pre-AFLW. "Erin pursued other sports after being told no, Daisy raised the standard of the then-VWFL to force the AFL's hand," Bastiani wrote on X. The timing of the AFLW's introduction being brought forward to 2017 from 2020 meant that Pearce and Phillips got to play at the top level, but its delayed start meant we never really got to see them in their prime. After being forced away from football age 13, Phillips turned to basketball. There, she made herself known on the international stage, becoming a two-time WNBA champion, world champion, Commonwealth gold medallist and Olympic silver medallist. When the whispers came that the AFLW may be forming, she made the courageous choice to follow her first calling. She packed up her family in the US and moved back to Australia for the competition's first iteration in 2017. Externally, she brought gravitas, excitement and, importantly, eyeballs to the competition. Internally leadership and belief in what they were building. She left the game as the most decorated elite women's football player to date: a three-time premiership player, two-time league best and fairest, three-time All Australian, two-time grand final best on ground and two-time club champion. Pearce, on the other hand, carried the weight of being the face of the newly formed AFLW. In 2013, when women's football pioneers were pushing for a professional competition, Pearce was taken by Melbourne with the first pick in the inaugural national women's draft for the first women's exhibition game. She then became a marquee signing for Melbourne and entered the competition a 10-time VWFL/VFLW premiership player with Darebin, where she was captain between 2008 and 2016. In her Hall of Fame speech, Pearce said she carried a weight in those early days of feeling like they had to put on a good spectacle, kick enough goals, gaining enough attention, as the future of women's footy was riding on their shoulders. Pearce ended her speech honouring the ones that came before her, the pioneers who never got to play at the top level. The likes of Debbie Lee, Peta Searle and Jan Cooper. Highlighted in both stories on the night was that they used to run around with the boys as kids, as there were no girl teams for them to play in growing up. "I never wanted to be a boy," Phillips said in her speech. "I just wanted the opportunities that boys had, and that was footy." This is a common story within the first generation of AFLW players, who came from all corners across the country to fight for the right to play and grow the game they love, in the face of fierce adversity and constant pushback. Without those trailblazers, spearhead by Phillips and Pearce, we would not have a 10th season to enter into this year. Now, almost 600,000 women and girls participate in Australian Rules footy across the country.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Fans slam the AFL for naming the first women to the league's Hall of Fame - but NOT because of their gender
Footy fans have lashed out at the AFL after Erin Phillips and Daisy Pearce became the first women to be named to the league's Hall of Fame - but their complaints are all about the timing of the honour, not the stars' gender. Phillips - who won three AFLW premierships and three All-Australian nods in her time with the Crows and Power - provided the highlight of Tuesday night's ceremony with an emotional acceptance speech. Pearce - who now works for Channel Seven in addition to coaching West Coast's women's side - won an AFLW premiership and became a three-time All Australian with the Melbourne Demons. Fans voiced their shock at their induction as Pearce only retired from playing in 2022, with Phillips doing the same in 2023. The AFL's guidelines on the Hall of Fame state that 'players are only eligible after they have been retired from the game for at least five years'. However, an exception was made for AFLW players in June last year that makes them eligible after just one year in retirement. Footy supporters couldn't deny Daisy Pearce (pictured) is a giant of the women's game - but had issues with the fact she was inducted after only retiring as a player in 2022 Some fans went online to slam the AFL when Phillips and Pearce's inductions were made official. 'I would never deny her impact on the women's game, but hasn't she been retired for 5 minutes? It took Gary Ablet Sr 8 years to be inducted, Erin less than 2 years? Over 1000 goals vs 50. 250 games vs 50 odd?' one wrote. 'Congrats to her on her induction. But didn't she only retire last year & isn't the criteria 5 years retired?' another added, referring to Phillips. 'Well I expect Dusty to be in next year and made a legend the year after if this is how quick it's going to be inducted,' wrote a third, referring to Richmond great Dustin Martin, who retired last season. 'Someone correct me if I'm wrong but… aint the whole AFLW too early for hall of famers?' another commenter said. '66 games makes you a first ballot HOF'er? Have a look at the players from the 80s and 90s who have played 300+ games, multiple premierships and other accolades, and they will probably never get a guernsey,' one fan said, referring to Phillips. 'Let the league develop more... it started in 2017 and there's already people getting into a HOF? Relax and bit and pull the hand brake up,' another wrote. Some reactions to Pearce's honour questioned why she was being inducted given she is still employed in the game as Eagles coach, with comments like, 'Genuine question, is an active head coach allowed to be inducted?' Other fans questioned whether Pearce and Phillips met the criteria for making the Hall of Fame - which they both did courtesy of a change to the rules in June last year Phillips (pictured at Tuesday night's Hall of Fame ceremony) is the most honoured player in women's footy history However, Simon Goodwin was inducted as a player in 2017, when he was coaching the Melbourne Demons, and Sam Mitchell was inducted in 2023 when he had already started coaching Hawthorn. Phillips' father Greg is a Port Adelaide legend and her words to him during her speech were a high point of the ceremony. 'To Dad, I can't imagine how hard it would have been to tell your 13-year-old daughter that she couldn't play the game she loves anymore,' she said, her voice breaking. 'And 27 years later, she's standing next to you in the Hall of Fame.' In her speech, Phillips also thanked the 'incredible women' who made the AFLW possible and singled out trailblazer Debbie Lee. 'You kicked down this door so others could walk through,' she said. 'I'm so proud to be by your side and I can't wait to kick down more doors with you Deb.' Pearce's last AFLW game was the Melbourne 2022 grand final victory and she called it the best day of her life, even though her twin children Sylvie and Roy were in the room, hamming it up for the TV cameras. 'It's controversial to say this, as a mother ... don't get me wrong, they're the best thing that's ever happened to me, but on a technicality, the day itself is not that good,' she said. 'Give me grand final day every day of the week.' Phillips was Adelaide's inaugural captain and the first women's best and fairest winner, playing in three Crows flags despite needing a knee reconstruction. She then switched to Port Adelaide when they joined the league in 2022. When the women's league started in 2017, marquee players such as Pearce and Phillips were crucial for its profile and credibility.
7NEWS
3 days ago
- Sport
- 7NEWS
Hall of Fame inductee Erin Phillips brings famous father Greg to tears in emotional speech
Australian football Hall of Fame inductee Erin Phillips brought her famous father to tears during an emotional acceptance speech on Tuesday night. Phillips became just the second woman inducted into the Hall of Fame — followed closely on the night by Daisy Pearce who was third — and completed the first father-daughter combination, joining dad and Port Adelaide great, Greg Phillips. WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Erin Phillips delivers tear-jerking Hall of Fame speech. The two-time AFLW best and fairest, who won three premierships with Adelaide before crossing to Port Adelaide when they entered the competition, thanked her dad in a tear-jerking tribute. 'To Dad, I can't imagine how hard it would have been to tell your 13-year-old daughter that she couldn't play the game that she loves anymore,' she said, with emotion in her voice. 'And 27 years later, she's standing next to you in the Hall of Fame. 'Thank you for teaching me a game that I loved, and even though you knew it was never going to take me anywhere at the time, you still taught me anyway.' When she was turned away from footy, as all girls were at the time, Phillips turned to basketball, where she became one of Australia's greatest ever. She won two WNBA championships, a World Championship gold medal, and a WNBL championship, among a host of other accolades which already made her one of the country's most celebrated athletes, before her footy career even started. As it turned out, she was eventually able to chase her original footy dream when it became possible in 2017, for which she credited trailblazing women like Debbie Lee — the inaugural female inductee, four years ago — with making possible. 'You kicked down this door so others could walk through,' Phillips said. 'I'm so proud to be by your side and I can't wait to kick down more doors with you, Deb.' Phillips ended her stellar playing career at the end of 2022. The five-year player eligibility rule for the Hall of Fame was changed for women last year; AFLW players can now be inducted within a year of retirement and she was an obvious candidate. Her father, Port Adelaide great Greg, was inducted in 2020. Fos and Mark Williams, Hayden Bunton Sr and Jr, and umpires Jack McMurray Sr and Jr are the father-son inductees. Phillips was Adelaide's inaugural captain and the first women's best and fairest winner, playing in three Crows flags despite needing a knee reconstruction. She then switched to Port Adelaide when they joined the league in 2022. When the women's league started in 2017, marquee players such as Phillips were crucial for its profile and credibility. South Australian goalkicking machine Ken Farmer was elevated to legend status at Tuesday night's annual dinner in Melbourne. St Kilda great Nick Riewoldt, whose induction was delayed because of his family move to the United States, joined the Hall of Fame, along with four-time Hawthorn premiership hard nut Luke Hodge and former Melbourne captain Garry Lyon. South Adelaide ruckman Peter Darley, a key member of the club's most recent SANFL premiership in 1964, Tasmanian team of the century vice-captain John Leedham and seven-time East Perth premiership player George Owens are this year's historical inductees. Pearce's last AFLW game was the Melbourne 2022 grand final victory and she called it the best day of her life, even though her twin children Sylvie and Roy were in the room, hamming it up for the TV cameras. 'It's controversial to say this, as a mother ... don't get me wrong, they're the best thing that's ever happened to me, but on a technicality, the day itself is not that good,' she said. 'Give me grand final day every day of the week.' Pearce returned from having the twins in 2019 to captain Melbourne to the flag. Farmer, who died in 1982, is the SANFL's most prolific goalkicker, with 1417 for North Adelaide from 1929-41 in 224 games at an extraordinary average of 6.33 per game. He was never goalless in a game and coached the Roosters to two premierships. Riewolt went agonisingly close to a premiership, playing in St Kilda's draw and two losses across 2009-10. He said he had made his peace with not being able to help the Saints win their elusive second flag 'Rather than feeling like I walked away with the game still owing me something, I walk away feeling like the game gave me absolutely everything,' he said.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Erin Phillips' tearful revelation about family during emotional Hall of Fame nod
Female footy trailblazer Erin Phillips paid a heartfelt tribute to her family after becoming the first AFLW star to be inducted into the Australian Football Hall Of Fame on Tuesday night. In emotional scenes, Phillips emulated her famous father Greg after landing the prestigious honour, with Daisy Pearce joining the three-time Adelaide premiership player as the first former AFLW players to be inducted. The pair take their place in the illustrious group alongside footy pioneer Debbie Lee as the only female inductees. St Kilda great Nick Riewoldt also joined the Hall of Fame on Tuesday night, along with four-time Hawthorn premiership hero Luke Hodge and former Melbourne captain Garry Lyon. South Adelaide ruckman Peter Darley, Tasmanian team of the century vice-captain John Leedham and seven-time East Perth premiership player George Owens were this year's historical inductees. While South Australian goalkicking machine Ken Farmer was elevated to legend status at Tuesday night's annual dinner in Melbourne. Phillips - who was a two-time AFLW Best and Fairest winner - was joined at the gala night by her wife and former WNBA star Tracy Gahan, along with their four children. But it was a tribute to her father and Port Adelaide great Greg - was inducted in 2020 - that really resonated with those in attendance. 'To my mum and dad, I couldn't have asked for better parents to let me be who I wanted to be ... Mum, you don't really ever get much credit ... I thank you and love you so much. 'To Dad... I can't imagine how hard it would've been to tell your 13-year-old daughter that she couldn't play the game that she loves anymore. "And 27 years later, she's standing next to you in the Hall of Fame. Thank you for teaching me a game that I loved, and even though you knew it wasn't going to take me anywhere at the time, you still taught me anyway.' The honour sees Erin and Greg become the first father-daughter selections, with Fos and Mark Williams, Hayden Bunton Sr and Jr and umpires Jack McMurray Sr and Jr the father-son inductees. Phillips also went on to thank her wife Tracy, while hailing the influence of inaugural female inductee Lee, who entered the Hall of Fame in 2021. 'Debbie, you kicked down this door so others could walk through,' Phillips said. '(You're the) first female member of the Hall of Fame (and) I'm so proud to be by your side, and I can't wait to kick more doors down with you Deb.' The five-year player eligibility rule for the hall of fame was changed for women last year, meaning players can now be inducted within a year of retirement. And alongside Phillips, the other obvious choice was Melbourne AFLW premiership hero Pearce. Currently the coach of West Coast's AFLW side, Pearce was also a three-time best and fairest winner and three-time All-Australian and long regarded as the face of women's footy in Australia. Pearce famously returned from having the twins in 2019 to captain Melbourne to the flag. While Phillips was Adelaide's inaugural captain and the first women's best and fairest winner. She played in grand final wins for the Crows flags despite needing a knee reconstruction, before joining her famous father's club Port Adelaide when they joined the league in 2022. Unbelievable speech !! Well deserved even teared up when she thanked her ol man 😢💪 — VB (@VbSmasher) June 10, 2025 A wonderful sportswoman who has deserved all her success and accolades. A beautiful heartfelt speech. Thank you. for sharing your career. — Gwol50 (@gwol50) June 10, 2025 with AAP
