Football, A woman’s game too

If AFL is a man’s game, someone clearly forgot to tell Courtney Jensen.

The 20-year-old netballer-turned-footballer is coming off a notable grand final performance last month in the debut season of SA Women’s Football League (SAWFL).

Courtney’s tenacity and versatility assisted her in contesting every game for the North Adelaide Roosters, catapulting her into the spotlight and the company of women’s AFL elite including Crows co-captain, Erin Phillips; Sarah Perkins and NAB rising star, Ebony Marinoff.

It seems no-one is surprised by the meteoric rise than Courtney herself.

Sitting in her family home at Nuriootpa, her number 25 Roosters Guernsey slung across the kitchen chair, the down-to-earth retail worker says she didn’t so much chase a football dream as stumble across it.

“During school I played footy for Nuri High against other schools and a couple of girls we played in Adelaide said ‘you’re actually alright, you should come and play for the state team’. I didn’t realise there was a state team,” recalls Courtney.

“I’d always liked footy but I never thought it was a thing girls could do.”

Unaware of her natural talent – “I’d always been able to kick a football and handball one” – in 2015 Courtney made the under 18s state team.

She was playing for Angle Vale when she was handpicked to trial for the women’s state competition.

“They were looking for girls who would have the skills to play at SAWFL level…and also show leadership, that we were not just individuals but could work as a team,” says Courtney.

“We found out a couple weeks later what team we were selected in. I really hadn’t thought about it so it was a good surprise.

“I guess in the first ever season we didn’t know what to expect or what they were expecting, but moreso I was just excited to be giving it a good hard go.”

What followed was a gruelling eight-week season when the Roosters dropped only one game on their way to the history-making grand final against Norwood Redlegs in April in front
of a 2000-strong crowd.

Traditionally a midfielder, Courtney was slotted into defence in what was always going to be “a really tough match”.

“It was pretty nerve-wracking until that first touch – once that’s done you just try to do your best and think about what you can do for the team,” said Courtney.

That team-focused attitude earned her the respect of head coach, Matt Slade.

“Courtney rotated through the backline and did end up forward and she was a versatile player,” Slade says.

“She was filling holes and it was an important role.”

He also commended her commitment.   

“In terms of her work ethic, she was excellent,” Slade said. “We had to reward that and she did well to stay in the team and play every single game.”

While the Roosters went down by 27 points in the final after an arm wrestle, Courtney has no regrets about the result.

“Someone has to lose and to make the grand final for the inaugural season, it was just a great experience all round,” she says.

Watching in the wings were Courtney’s family members, who didn’t miss a game.

Mum Jacqui is not surprised by Courtney’s overnight success, nor her capacity to take everything in her stride – including her ability to continue balancing her role as a key Nuriootpa Netball Club centre court player with her newfound footy commitments.

“Probably the biggest surprise was when she said ‘Mum, I might give footy a crack’ – that was a bit unexpected,” says Jacqui.

“But she’s always been quite gifted when it comes to sport – she’s one of those fortunate kids who can pick anything up quickly.

“She puts in a lot of hard work; she’s not home often to do the dishes but she is 100 per cent committed to her sport and her team and we’re very proud of her.”

The public response has also been overwhelmingly supportive, although Courtney says there’s a little way to go.

“A lot of people say football is for boys, netball is for girls,” she says.

“I guess women’s football had only just started growing when I was getting into it and I don’t think anyone thought it was going to be such a massive movement.”

With female participation in the sport increasing by 19 per cent to 380,000 in 2016, Courtney takes little notice of the nay-sayers.

“Some supporters say women are not fast enough or don’t go hard enough,” she says.

“Sure, there’s the endurance and speed that men have on the women, but look back to when the men’s competition started – scores were low and the skills weren’t the best.

“Wait a couple years and it will change. As it continues to grow it will allow women to try hard and push themselves even harder.”

She points to the AFLW inaugural premiers, saying the dream of wearing the red, blue and yellow is absolutely attainable.

“To see the Crows win the grand final, it’s everything to us – it makes us want to build more and more,” Courtney says.

“To see how far they have come in such a short time, it’s so great for the younger generation to look up to these girls and maybe pursue that themselves.

“You just have to have self-belief in what you can do.”