The motto for this year’s International Women’s Day is ‘Be Bold For Change’. As a female AFL player, I have experienced a lot of change throughout the past year.

I am now paid to play the sport I love, I get access to elite facilities and coaches and get to play at some of the best grounds across the country.

However, for me the biggest and most rewarding change has been witnessing the transformation of people’s perceptions towards females playing AFL.

Growing up all I ever wanted to do was play football. I went to Auskick, collected playing cards and would go with my Dad to watch games at every opportunity.

When I turned 12 I was told I was no longer able to play. There were no competitions for young girls. I was shattered. So reluctantly I turned my attention to other sports that were considered acceptable for girls such as tennis and netball.

Last week I went down to Baulkham Hills Football Club as part of my community work with the GIANTS. When I arrived I was greeted by a group of smiling girls ready for training.

There were girls there of all different ages, races and abilities, but they all had one thing in common — they all loved footy.

Talking to one of the mothers she explained to me that the girls program was only a year old. In that year they were able to recruit enough players to field three teams! They had a pathway all the way from under-12s through to the senior women’s competition.

This is something I would have loved when I was growing up.

After our round five home game on Friday night a few of the female players did a meet and greet with fans. The weather was horrible and our game had finished about an hour before so I went down expecting to sign one or two things to do.

To my surprise there was a line of people waiting to meet the female players. They weren’t just girls lining up either, there were young boys as well hoping to meet their favourite players.

This was the same at the GIANTS’ Members and Fans Day the following Sunday.

Having grown up in a time when it was seen as strange for girls to play football, it fills my heart with happiness to witness these girls following their dreams to play AFL without judgement.

The way the Australian public has embraced female football shows we were ready for this change. The amazing crowds, the television audiences and the increase in participation makes me think that we are ready for more too.

We still have a long way to go until we are equal with our male counterparts, but if we continue on the current path it’s only a matter of time.

GIANTS’ AFL Women’s player Phoebe McWilliams wrote this piece for Swoop on the Daily Telegraph as part of their 2017 International Women’s Day celebrations.