‘Not just Carlton and Collingwood’: Why this game of footy made fans weep in the stands

When asked to recall her memories of the historic, inaugural AFLW match in 2017, Brit Bonnici remembers feeling confused.

The Collingwood player took to the field for the very first game between Collingwood and Carlton, which saw an extraordinary lockout crowd of 24,500 fans squashed into Ikon Park.

But the then 18-year-old was perplexed to see fans crying in the crowd and rival Blues supporters asking for her autograph.

Then AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan, who had fast-tracked the league into existence with eight foundation teams, ventured outside to apologise to disappointed fans who couldn’t get in.

“I remember thinking, ‘That’s so weird, why are people like this’,” she laughed. “It’s probably taken me until this season to completely understand the magnitude of that game and how big it was for the broader community.”

Carlton player Darcy Vescio recalled the earsplitting volume of the crowd and the blanket of excited faces covering every available seat, stairwell and patch of grass.

“Everywhere you looked, I just remember seeing skin,” they laughed. “People were so tightly packed in, it was incredible.

“It was a game of footy, but it meant so much to so many people, and you could feel that emotion throughout the stadium. It wasn’t just Carlton and Collingwood people there. It was more than that. It was people who wanted to see AFLW and who have wanted it for so long, and who maybe never thought they would get to see the day.”

Vescio and Bonnici will clash in the opening match of the AFLW’s 10th season on Thursday, paying homage to the inaugural game.

Vescio initially joined Carlton as a graphic designer and has witnessed the evolution of AFLW including an expanded season, better pay and increased resources.

The now 32-year-old was the first AFLW player to reach 50 career goals and was crowned Carlton’s best and fairest in 2021. However, Vescio said an interaction with a teammate made them reflect on how far women’s footy has come.

When Annie Lee joined the Blues in 2021, she showed Vescio a photo. It was Lee sitting in the crowd watching Carlton play at Whitten Oval in 2019.

“It was one of those moments where you realise, we are who they were watching when they were little girls,” Vescio said. “It’s very special.”

Bonnici highlighted AFLW’s impact on grassroots footy, especially in regional areas where youth girls and women’s footy used to be scarce.

The league has encountered turbulence over the years, with the AFL recently telling clubs that the AFLW is losing $50 million a year.

Many believe the expansion to 18 teams happened too quickly.

However, Vescio and Bonnici have been proud to witness W’s professional makeover.

“The first season, like we were starting sessions at 6pm and getting home at 10.30 or 11pm some nights,” Vescio said.“I know some clubs still do it [train at night] but it felt like you’d live two days in one … your day job and then your footy job.”

Collingwood vice-captain Jordyn Allen said the AFLW’s rising pay scale meant fewer athletes needed to rely on a second income.

The 25-year-old defender has given up her day job as a paramedic with Ambulance Victoria to concentrate on football.

“I didn’t predict that AFLW was going to grow as quickly as it did when I embarked on my degree at 19,” Allen said.

“I thought that I’d have a chance to get my degree done, do my graduate year, and then have the opportunity to work casually and do flexible work with AV [Ambulance Victoria].

“But that door is closed now, which is great.”

Allen said improved salaries were already having a flow-on effect: clubs were more invested in their AFLW teams and players were better prepared.

“Because we have a list full of players who have prioritised their football, it means the club is able to put on day sessions for us, which is helping our performance as footballers,” Allen said.

“It eliminates other opportunities for us to kind of work as much outside of the club … but I think that’s what we’ve been asking for so many years – to get to this point where it’s a real privilege to be able to come into the club and have it as your primary profession.”

Ahead of Thursday opening game, Bonnici wanted to acknowledge the trailblazers.

“There are so many players who were part of that first game and were part of the reason why somebody like me even has the opportunity that I have right now,” she said. “Those players should continue to be celebrated.”

Follow our live coverage of AFLW round 1 here. From the moment the first teams are announced to the wash-up from the round. This is your home of women’s footy.

News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport are sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.