GNFL 2024 season preview: Women’s football in Geraldton celebrates 20-year milestone

This year marks a special celebration for footy in Geraldton, with the first women’s game played 20 years ago.

Rovers and Railways formed the first women’s team in Geraldton for a one-off match in 2004, pioneering the game for women today.

The Rovers club put the team together in celebration of their 100th anniversary.

Leanne Campbell coached the ladies Demons side back in 2004 but said she never would have expected how far the game would come.

“I couldn’t tell you that they played too good ... but it’s gone a long way now, it’s professional now,” she said.

“Everyone was excited about the girls playing and now it’s normal, not that I ever would have thought 20 years ago that girls would be playing football regularly like they do now.”

Many of the women had never picked up a footy before the game.

“I had to send my son in there and show the girls on the blackboard what the positions were and where they could go and couldn’t go,” Campbell said.

“I said to my son afterwards ‘I think that’s just gone straight over their head’, which it did.”

The game was a planned exhibition for the centenary celebrations and although they were lacking skills, the clubs were excited to have the girls play.

Now women’s football is a regular fixture and receives as much attention as the men’s game, which was unheard of 20 years ago.

“Just don’t realise what’s going to happen in the future; I thought that was just going to be a one-off game and girls would never play football again,” Campbell said.

“My granddaughters are playing for Rovers this year and my daughter, who was the water girl back 20 years ago, she’s the manager of the ladies’ team at the moment.”

Now the club is celebrating its 120th anniversary in 2024 and will host a reunion for the first women’s match on June 29 when Rovers play Railways.