Letter of the Day

Still got the Blues

AS an incorrigible Aussie Rules addict during adolescence in the 1960s, the Blueboys were my favourite footballers and I entertained an idealistic aspiration to become the first female president of the club.

Obviously, it didn’t happen, but 60 years later, I am thrilled that two new female presidents are now in residence at the Bulldogs and Demons.

Similarly to Kylie Watson-Wheeler, I attended weekly games with my dad and male cousins, and clearly, Carlton enjoyed greater success than the Doggies in the following decades of my support.

Players across the code were my role-models, embodying resilience, self-belief and consistent endeavour, among other things, “to get up when you are knocked down and to keep fighting the good fight”.

Having a strong fighting spirit wins clubs premierships. But as reality sadly reveals, it is still a hard fight for females to become CEOs and coaches, and infiltrate football more equally to establish a genuine level playing field.

Maybe if Carlton had appointed a female president 20-odd years ago, the club might have won another flag instead of five wooden spoons. Perhaps now is its opportunity to select the first senior female coach-such as Lisa Alexander-or maybe I’m still hopelessly naïve!