Western Bulldogs and Melbourne honour women’s footy pioneers by playing for Hampson-Hardeman Cup

WESTERN Bulldogs and Melbourne will fight to keep their respective AFLW seasons alive at Whitten Oval on Saturday night and while doing so will honour two women’s footy pioneers.

FIRST-MOVER women’s clubs Western Bulldogs and Melbourne will fight to keep their respective AFLW seasons alive at Whitten Oval on Saturday night.

The Dogs are without captain and key forward Katie Brennan while the Demons have lost Meg Downie, who suffered a heavy headknock but had her season ended by hamstring injury.

The clubs will be playing for the Hampson-Hardeman Cup, named in honour of women’s footy pioneers Barb Hampson and Lisa Hardeman, who developed the first women’s national championships in 1998.

“As well as the occasion of both pioneering teams playing each other, it’s a big game for both of our teams,” Western Bulldogs utility Ellyse Gamble said.

“We’re both on one win and one loss — you really don’t want to lose any more. Melbourne’s a great team ... we rate them highly.”

Lisa Hardeman and Western Bulldogs player Ellyse Gamble with the Hampson-Hardeman Cup, which the Bulldogs and Demons will play for on Saturday night. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

Gamble was an emergency for last September’s exhibition game, when the country’s best female players turned out for Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs.

The Tasmanian was thrilled to remain a Bulldog for AFLW01.

“I was ecstatic to get drafted, but then to get drafted to the Western Bulldogs it was something extra special,” she said.

“I felt more comfortable coming into it and moving to a different state knowing it was the Bulldogs because I had that previous experience and knew some of the staff and players.”

Hardeman is a staunch Western Bulldogs fan and regularly attends training as well as matches.

While Gamble said she doesn’t look at Saturday night’s clash any differently to other games, history would remember the two foundation clubs.

Ellyse Gamble and captain Katie Brennan, who will miss Saturday night with injury, celebrate a goal during the loss to Adelaide last weekend.

“It’s going to be an amazing weekend,” she said.

“Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs are both pioneering teams so to play against each other this weekend, it’ll hopefully be another massive occasion, like the exhibition match.”

The Bulldogs were upset by Adelaide last Friday night while Melbourne got on the board against Collingwood.

Gamble said lessons had been learned after the Crows defeat.

“Our work rate was there, we gave 100 per cent, it was probably just executing (that let the team down),” she said.

“We’re really focusing on executing a bit better.”

Originally published as Western Bulldogs and Melbourne honour women’s footy pioneers by playing for Hampson-Hardeman Cup