Meet Adelaide Oval’s ‘grass’ ceiling smasher: the first female grounds person at the iconic stadium

Meet Adelaide Oval’s first female groundskeeper who started her full-time job on Monday, less than a week before the first game of AFLW played on the surface

As Crows AFLW players run on to Adelaide Oval on Sunday for their preliminary final, it won’t be historic just because it’s the first game of elite-level women’s football to be played at the ground.

The women will be playing on grass prepared with the help of Adelaide Oval’s first female groundsperson.

Brooke Francis, 19, started her full-time job on Monday as one of 11 grounds staff who work on Adelaide Oval after completing her apprenticeship, and has been working diligently this week to ensure the grass is perfect ahead of this weekend. Francis said she was pleased the AFL had made the decision to play the AFLW preliminary final between the Crows and Geelong at South Australia’s premier stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Brooke Francis at Adelaide Oval. She is the first female groundsperson employed at the iconic SA stadium. Picture: AAP/Mark Brake

“I love equality because being a female in a male-dominated career choice can be tough sometimes, so I think it’s fantastic they get the same opportunity as the guys, because why not?,” she said.

Adelaide Oval head curator, Damian Hough said he was immediately impressed with Francis’s dedication and ability to learn quickly on the job.

Francis said she didn’t think of herself as a trailblazer, but was just happy to have her dream job. She studied viticulture at Urrbrae Agricultural High School, but finished Year 12 five weeks early to start her apprenticeship in horticulture.

Originally published as Meet Adelaide Oval’s ‘grass’ ceiling smasher: the first female grounds person at the iconic stadium