BY ALEX DRISCOLL
Manly Warringah Wolves AFL Club have community as their heart
In a part of Sydney that is rugby league-mad, how can an Australian Football League (AFL) club like Manly Warringah Wolves make that connection with their community?
That is the exact question the club, and particularly its president, Jacqueline Wharton, has been asking. “We really are about the community. Honestly, that’s why I do it,” the volunteer told Peninsula Living.
One way the Australian rules football club has done this is by establishing firm pathways from a junior to senior level, Driscolland possibly for some beyond, into the Victorian Football League (VFL) and AFL. “Last year, the Northern Beaches had the most participants across Auskick and junior football programs in New South Wales,” Jacquline highlighted, later emphasising the importance of having that connection with junior and senior level. “It means our outreach is wider. We depend on the junior clubs to provide us with talented players, and they depend on us to offer development pathways.”
Jess Doyle, who plays for the professional GWS Giants team in the Australian Football League Women’s (AFLW), is just one of the many success stories this outreach has helped create.
More than just providing developmental pathways, the Wolves have also thrown their weight behind social causes that have a direct impact on the Beaches community, like domestic violence. On 5 April they will once again hold an anti-domestic violence round, following on from the successful round they held against rivals North Shore AFLC in July last year.
“At the instigation of one of our male premier league players, we organised for all women from North Shore and the Wolves to come out onto the field, and our captain read out a statement in support (of the women) and made an undertaking for all of them to do better,” Jacquline says of last year’s anti-domestic violence round.
The Wolves also held an Indigenous round last year, organised by former club president, and the first woman in the position, Joy Leaper. Jacqueline described it as an opportunity to ‘pay respect to Indigenous (players) and the grounds upon which we play.’ Indigenous players at the club also design a special jersey for the round, with the Wolves’ president stating it is important supporters and members see the club backing their Indigenous athletes.
If there is one thing to remember, it’s that clubs like the Wolves are exactly that, clubs run by people with a passion for the sport. Jacqueline is grateful for their sponsors such as Mounties, and encourages anyone with an interest in AFL to come down and support them.
Watch The Wolfpack play at Weldon oval. More details: manlywolves.com