Bec Goddard wants professional AFLW players in AFLW03

BEC Goddard continued her golden run by winning Football Woman of the Year on Thursday, but she wants to achieve more, and wants more from the game too.

Chelsea Randall, Bec Goddard and Erin Phillips with the AFLW premiership cup. Picture: Getty Images

PREMIERSHIP coach Bec Goddard hopes there will be professional AFL Women players by 2019.

G oddard, who led Adelaide to the inaugural AFLW flag in March, was on Thursday crowned the Football Woman of the Year at the Essendon Women’s Network Grand Final event.

The 39-year-old won the premiership, coached the Allies in AFLW State of Origin and works full-time with the Australian Federal Police.

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Goddard said she would love to work full-time in women’s football — she will take leave to coach the AFLW Crows in 2018 — and hoped the athletes would become professional.

“I really would like to think that there’ll be some players on lists in season three that will be full time, I hope that that’s the way it goes,” Goddard said.

Adelaide premiership coach Bec Goddard

“From a coaching perspective, it’s not sustainable for me to continue to do two jobs during the year, but I know we’ve just got to let season two play out.

“I would really love to just focus on the one job.

“ ... Gillon McLachlan and I had a discussion at the commission meeting a couple of months ago and he actually asked me, ‘how much more time do you need, Bec, to make this better?’, I said ‘I’ll take an hour, I’ll take two hours, but I’m telling you any more time is going to make a massive difference to what you actually see out there’.”

Goddard won’t be at the MCG on Saturday as her Adelaide counterpart Don Pyke strives to make it a historic double. She flew out for London Thursday night to be guest speaker at AFL Europe’s Grand Final luncheon.

“I’ve been a very passionate spectator in what they’ve been doing, I won’t be here but all the girls are flying or driving in, they’ll all be here,” Goddard.

In her acceptance speech Goddard was also heartfelt in her endorsement of marriage equality.

Adelaide head coach Bec Goddard celebrated with Crow Abbey Holmes.

“This week I’ve been lucky enough to be part of AFL Grand Final week for the first time, I’ve noticed at every function that I’ve been luckily invited to and I’ve been kindly acknowledged for being in the room myself, that all the men are welcomed and their beautiful wives are also welcomed,” Goddard said.

“May I one day be so lucky that in Australia I can have my beautiful wife welcomed.

“Thank you to the AFL for their support on this really important social issue.

“ ... I’d hate to see myself having moved to New Zealand to coach in the NZFLW just to be truly considered equal.”

Originally published as Bec Goddard wants professional AFLW players in AFLW03