Australia’s top female athletes reveal problems in women’s sport
Charlotte Caslick, Lydia Williams, Kezie Apps and Ebony Marinoff open up on some of the biggest issues in their football codes.
Women's sport
Don't miss out on the headlines from Women's sport. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Matildas’ relief as Olympic qualifier venue moved over virus concerns
- Rachael Haynes warns team not to take T20 World Cup for granted
Women’s sport has a long way to go, but football boots designed specifically for female athletes is one small step in the right direction.
Aussie Sevens halfback Charlotte Caslick’s feet used to ache from running around in uncomfortable unisex and men’s boots.
Matilda’s goalkeeper Lydia Williams would tie her shoes so tightly around her narrow feet that she’d have to snip off excess shoelaces.
And both Jillaroo Kezzie Apps and Adelaide Crows’ Ebony Marinoff had to resort to thick socks.
Now, as Australia’s female sports stars fight for better pay, pathways, exposure and competitions, at least they no longer have to worry about ill-fitting footwear after Asics launch a range of footy boots designed for women.
FOR more women’s sport stories on Swoop, sign up for a Daily Telegraph subscription, just $1 for the first 28 Days!
Watch the 2020 NRL Nines tournament LIVE & On-Demand on KAYO. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >
Next, Caslick wants to to see more World Rugby Sevens Series tournaments played down under.
“We are a very successful team, but we play a lot overseas, so we probably don’t get as much exposure as teams playing in Australia,” said Caslick who is preparing for Sydney Sevens starting February 1.
“And our games do get broadcast but we play at difficult times for fans to watch.”
Women’s sevens has thrived since the national side won gold at the Rio Olympics and Australia’s female players are now paid the same minimum wage as their counterparts.
Caslick praised her code’s parental leave policy, having watched teammate Emilee Cherry make a successful return to the side after taking time off to have a baby.
But the halfback wants to see more research on how female rugby players should tackle returning to contact sport after giving birth.
“Emilee found it (returning to sport after childbirth) was a trial by error, and that was purely because there hasn’t been that many women who had done it before, adding contact brings a different dimension,” Caslick said.
“There’s not much research around how much you can push afterwards,
“I think a lot of us will probably reap the rewards of people like Emilee doing it, having a baby before us and coming back to play,” Caslick said.
For Goalkeeper Lydia Williams, Australia hosting a FIFA Women’s World Cup is at the top of her wish list.
“Whenever the national team comes out and plays in Australia, looking at the support we get, we need more games played in Australia to generate more females playing football
“And we need to play bigger teams over here to get the excitement ramped up even more.”
Kezie Apps’ wish list is slightly less ambitious.
The Jillaroo would love to be paid to play rugby league full time, she understands that the game must first develop at grassroots level.
As the NRLW continues to grow, Apps believes more should be done to prevent burnout among a crop of determined players who often juggle part-time footy with full-time jobs, family commitments and intense study loads.
“By the end of the season we’re all pretty burnt out, with everything through the year you have to sort of deal with,” Apps said.
“Working full time and trying to fit in training, playing for your local club and going in and out of different teams throughout the whole year … trying to juggle that gets a bit tricky.”
While the NRL actively offers support throughout the season, Apps admitted that players should be more proactive in talking about burnout.
“NRLW clubs have their own well being officer in every club … whether the girls utilise it enough or put it in the general conversation, that’s probably something we need to drive more as players” Apps said.
MORE NEWS
Australian Open 2020: 15yo Coco Gauff knocks out Naomi Osaka
Sam Kerr scores her first goal for Chelsea in Women’s Super League
And two-time AFLW Premiership winner Ebony Marinoff? She’s just happy to be playing footy.
The Crows midfielder described herself as a “realist” and believes female footy players will have to wait years before they are paid full time.
“I don’t feel the need to make it an 18-team competition, I don’t think the talent’s there,” Marinoff said.
“We have to keep chipping away and prove we are good enough to be full time, good enough to be paid full time, right now I don’t think everyone’s up to the standard.”