Meet one of the faces of Womens AFL — Steph Chiocci

*written in october 2016*
AFL has been a male dominated sport since its inception, however it has largely neglected some of its biggest followers. Girls.
For many women they have had to sit in the background and watch the boys play their favourite sport, they would watch religiously knowing that it was highly unlikely that they would ever have the opportunity to play like their heroes.
Steph Chiocci was one of these girls, raised in a footy mad family of Carlton supporters she went to every home game. She finally convinced her parents to play in year 12 and that’s when her world began to change.
Chiocci has played for the Diamond Creek women’s team for around eight years now, her love for the sport grew tenfold and she knew it was something she wanted to do. Unfortunately for her the sport only remained a hobby as there was no future for her in footy, she became a school teacher but she never let footy go.
With extremely hard work from AFL Vic and other women associated in sport her passion and dream has now become a reality. Chiocci became a part of the Western Bulldogs team and created history with the women’s exhibition match against the Melbourne Demons, after a lot of hard work there was finally success and it was decided a women’s league would be introduced in 2017, “the Bulldogs and Demons have really been trailblazers for the women’s league”.

It seemed the impossible was now an actual reality ‘I never thought it would happen in my lifetime, I didn’t expect for it to get this big so soon’ says Chiocci who was drafted by Collingwood, one of the most recognisable sporting teams in the country.
She was drafted at number 11, Collingwood’s second pick. There was a slight hope that she would be chosen by her childhood team but she was just as stoked to finally have the chance to live her dream, “ dad had his Carlton jumper underneath his clothes in case I was picked, but him and mum were both as happy as I was that my dream had come true. They copped a few messages from friends saying how ironic, and I still think it will be a bit strange to say go pies” she laughed.
For Chiocci, she is extremely excited to a part of the Collingwood team, her dream has actually come true and is so excited for not only her future but for the future of women’s football “we have made history and started something for future generations, it will be incredible to see what it’s like in ten years’ time”

There has been a lot of controversy about the difference in payment between the men’s and women’s league, she loves that people are passionate and are having the conversation but she also recognises that at the time being they are still a new concept. “ we just want to be paid fairly for the hours we work right now, it’s not a full time sport and many of us still have our full time jobs and am sure in the future we will eventually work up to it”.
The women’s calendar is a lot shorter than the men’s at the present time and the main focus is to put out a concept that is strong and not rushed. Whilst it’s great that there is the platform is important to make sure it’s the best it can be and to be successful, there is no point putting something out there that is there for the sake of it which could really damage the brand of women’s sport if it is not good enough.
One of the most inspiring things about the women’s league is that it’s a group of women who have all fought the same hardship and have been living the same dream. Many including Chiocci herself travel an hour to training and are incredibly committed to the sport, a lot of the girls come straight from work or study to go and train hard but their passion for the sport is what keeps them going.
The girls have been doing it for the love of the sport, they weren’t paid and they took the time out of their lives to play their dream sport ‘they become your best friends’ explains Chiocci, “ we are all fighting for the same thing”. This will bring a uniqueness to the game showing what talent we have in AFL and that there is now a pathway for young girls, they do not have to stop playing at U12’s they can go right through and have the opportunity to finally play AFL.
One of the big things Chiocci comments on is that how important the influence of her and the other girls in the league will be to future generations, she never thought in her career she would be able to get this far but has paved the way for the history of not only AFL but women’s sport across the country.
Chiocci has become poster girl for the women’s league and it isn’t hard to see why, when she talks it’s with such excitement and passion and you can really tell this is what she wants to do. She is definitely made for it. She holds herself to a high standard and puts immense pressure on herself to do everyone around her proud, ‘the disappointments I’ve had have shaped me, I felt the pressure on myself with my performance with the Bulldogs in 2013 and am so glad they decided to stick it out with me”.
Being elected the Bulldogs captain gave her a sense of worth and it allowed her to realise that she was supported by her team and that she needed to keep pushing.
Her team Diamond Creek has had a very significant impact with the women’s league with 16 of its players being drafted this year, the girls from Creek have had an incredibly successful run in the past years and it is quite obvious to see that there is a lot of talent to come through.
When asked about who her role model is Chiocci automatically goes to the girls she plays against, whilst they are competitors off the field at the end of the day she knows the have the same dream as her. She also recognises the ladies that have gone before her and made a tremendous effort that we may not be aware of, one of these ladies is Susan Alberti the Western Bulldogs Vice President “she is always giving back, no matter what hardships she has gone through she is always there being an incredible support”
There is no doubt that Chiocci is an incredible role model, no matter how many struggles she has had she is finally living her dream. Her story is inspiring and she will no doubt be a major influence for women in sport, it will be exciting to see her grow and make her mark on footy in 2017 and the future.