Whitney Yunupiŋu grew up on the sidelines of the Nhulunbuy footy oval and learned to kick not long after learning to walk.

It wasn’t long before she grew to become a leader in the sport herself, captaining the Gumatj clan’s Gopu (blue marlin) women’s team as a teen.

But the aspiring Aussie Rules player’s rapid rise came to a standstill when the organisers left town and the formal women’s league dissolved in 2018.

“This is the only opportunity we’ve got for drafting [and] getting sent away to Darwin, and then from Darwin, getting sent away to other places,” she said of the talent pathway that had suddenly closed.

When the national women’s AFL league debuted in 2017, around 6 per cent of players were Indigenous.

According to the AFL Player’s Association, First Nations women currently only comprise about 4 per cent of the AFLW.

Ms Yunupiŋu, now 23, wants to address the lack of pathways for remote women to play sport at higher levels.

She’s taken on coaching responsibilities for a new women’s footy training squad, bringing together girls and women from Nhulunbuy and three surrounding Yolŋu communities and remote outstations.

“We want people out everywhere to recognise us and know we are willing to take this opportunity.”

‘We want our brothers to support us’

 Part of the challenge, Whitney said, was negotiating a sense of “shame” that held many Yolŋu women back from the sport.

“Cultural-wise, for example you can’t have a sister playing in front of a brother,” Ms Yunupiŋu said.

“But we want to change that – we want our brothers to support us like we support them on the field.

“You don’t need to be ashamed of anything. If men can do it, so can women.”

Whitney’s sister, Danielle Yunupiŋu, said the best part of playing in the women’s team was building friendships – with Yolŋu and balanda (non-Indigenous people) alike.

“It’s so much fun,” she said.

“You get to build that friendship and that relationship with the girls – it’s amazing.”

The training squad has grown so rapidly that AFL Gove development manager Matt Levings is splitting the group up into a girls and women’s team.

“I was expecting a bit of a slow burn,” he said.

“But it’s actually really got going pretty fast and engagement has been a lot better than I ever would have hoped for.”

High hopes to help empower more women

The prospect of a women’s footy team has generated a buzz among newcomers to town, including Chloe Hunt, who was roped into helping manage the team after she inquired with Mr Levings about trying out the sport.

“I think they probably thought I knew a lot more about footy than I did,” she said.

While Mr Levings was glad to have balanda newcomers like Ms Hunt supporting the league, he said it was Yolŋu women who would be crucial to the league’s success.

“We’re trying to empower the women themselves, running coaching courses, umpiring courses, trying to give them that leadership, so they can run their own competitions,” he said.

The women hope to hold an Arnhem Land-wide tournament this year, before eventually expanding into a full local league.