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These did not include the 35,000 school athletes, with its most junior program AusKick garnering the most growth.
The Sunshine State has long been a rugby league stranglehold, however its 64,566 players in 2022 (not including its Auskick introductory equivalent, League Stars) shows ground is being made on the rival code.
The success of the men’s and women’s Lions outfits – the latter featuring in four grand finals – has inspired a 10 per cent growth in girls picking up the Sherrin this year.
Charlie Cameron, Eric Hipwood and Cam Rayner of the Lions celebrate a goal during the AFL Preliminary Final clash with Carlton.Credit: Getty
Zielke has partnered with the Jonnie Walker In Her Shoes campaign, an initiative which recognises the founding women of the AFLW and the path they have paved.
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Four individually handcrafted football boots, made from the shoes worn by 21 legacy players in the league’s history, were gifted to current stars – Chloe Dalton, Emily Bates, Ashleigh Brazill and Brisbane’s Ally Anderson – to symbolise the bold steps that have been, and continue to be, taken from one generation to the next.
Zielke said the announcement last week of the AFL and AFLW’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement – which includes an average women’s pay of $82,000, longer seasons and multi-year contracts – was the first of many strides still to take.
While Victoria will remain the game’s greatest source of attention, she said a first Lions’ AFL premiership since 2004 would ignite a greater passion for the sport in Queensland across genders, that spearheads a charge towards a full-time professional women’s competition.
“I had a real long passion of football in Queensland, and I’ve seen how it used to be talked about and how we used to be treated ... [and] the adversity a lot of us older generation [players] had to go through,” Zielke said.
“There’s still a lot of progress to be made. The current players have to push those barriers, which they are, and keep setting the standards, so people do show up and are talking about our games.”
The Lions will line up in the AFLW on Sunday to take on Hawthorn in Melbourne, currently sitting fourth on the ladder after five rounds.
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