AFL Women’s premiership coach Bec Goddard heads up first-ever all-female coaching panel in AFL

Part of a groundbreaking move at Hawthorn, Bec Goddard refuses to be deterred by a lack of female coaches in the AFL industry.

Hawthorn VFLW senior coach Bec Goddard. Picture: Supplied/Hawthorn FC

Bec Goddard is determined – not deterred.

Despite the only female premiership coach in AFL Women’s being overlooked for recently vacant senior coaching jobs in the women’s competition, the senior coach of Hawthorn’s VFL Women’s outfit says the football industry has an opportunity to use the effects of 2020 to assess its opportunities for women.

The Hawks are the first AFL club to field an all-female coaching panel, with Goddard at the helm.

And while they haven’t necessarily been popular terms amid the COVID-19 crisis, Goddard wants to be “a carrier” of a trend she hopes becomes “contagious”.

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Bec Goddard coached Adelaide to the 2017 AFLW premiership before she was let go. Picture: AAP Image

“Are we just going back to normal (after COVID), or can we do better?” Goddard said.

“What is it that we can do better? I know for me as a coach, I’m driving myself to improve and get better and make this space more accessible for women.

“You cannot follow a parked car. And so when I look back on my legacy, it’s not just going to be the 14 (AFLW) games and the premiership.

“I refuse to disappear and just hope that this industry will change. When I finish, I want to look back and think, ‘wow, I made a difference to the sport I love’.”

Goddard leads with assistant coaches Christina Polatajko and Hayley Gregory and development coaches Lou Wotton, Natasha Beck and Steph Carroll.

Goddard, who led Adelaide to the inaugural AFLW premiership, said in her experience of pitching for senior coaching roles, she had heard an array of reasons why she had been overlooked.

“She’s good, but she’s not quite ready yet,” is one.

“She’s not tough enough …(or) she’s too aggressive.”

A gamut, she said, despite her extensive and accomplished coaching experience, that was pinpointed by what some clubs claimed was an unfamiliarity with her and her work.

“Because a as a society, we’ve got this idea of what we think we want as a coach,” she said.

“But what I’m really excited about at Hawthorn is we’re doing something now.

“We’re looking for the potential. We’ve got that healthy attitude about what women can achieve.

“This isn’t about giving a job to our mates. We’re not talking about giving these coaches keys to a car without instruction on how to do it.

“We’re appointing five fantastic women whose experience in footy no one knows about yet because they haven’t had their moment to shine.”

It’s about “kicking the door down so others can walk through them”.

Hawthorn's all-female VFLW coaching panel at Waverley Park. Bec Goddard (centre), assistant coaches Christina Polatajko and Hayley Gregory with development coaches Lou Wotton, Natasha Beck and Steph Carroll. Picture: Supplied/Hawthorn FC

Peta Searle currently sits as the only female senior coach in the AFLW competition.

The landscape doesn’t make Goddard angry, just fuelled.

“I am determined to influence in a way that makes real change, and looking at different ways that I can communicate that and influence that,” she said.

Former Australian netball coach Lisa Alexander’s recent application for North Melbourne’s then-vacant senior men’s coaching position was a move Goddard welcomed, and said would only continue to serve as a spark.

“I think it’s great when women with a platform are able to rattle the cage and create conversation, and that conversation has lingered,” she said.

“It doesn’t matter about whether she was ever going to be a genuine candidate or not – the fact that the conversation has lingered, I’ve started to notice that these discussions are definitely lingering.”

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Hawthorn chief executive Justin Reeves said the “significant gap in the development pathways available to female coaches” had led to the initiative.

“It became clear that if nothing changed then we’d continue to find ourselves looking for top end female coaching talent and be unable to find it,” he said.

“By implementing an all-female coaching panel, in a structured environment with the right support and development opportunities built into the program we will be making a significant and meaningful contribution to the furtherment of women’s participation in the AFL.

“This is undoubtedly the right decision for our club and for our game. We are committed to growing women’s participation in sport across all levels and the time to make significant change and lasting impact is now.”

Originally published as AFL Women’s premiership coach Bec Goddard heads up first-ever all-female coaching panel in AFL