Summary

AFL Women's 2017 Fixture Poster, featuring the team play-offs over 7 rounds on the reverse of the poster, with 3 double-header matches and an undecided Grand Final Round. The face of the poster features 35 players of the inaugural Women's Carlton Football Club 2017 Team, sketched in line drawings in the team's colours of white, sky blue and navy. The sketches capture the portraits of the players in dynamic form as they mark the ball or line-up a kick. The logo of the AFL is features at the top of the poster, along with the logo of NAB (National Australia Bank), the main sponsor. At the bottom, the phrase "You Witnessed History" is capitalised in sky blue, along with the Instagram logo - a suggestion to share the experience of the inaugural event on social media.

Fixture Posters are from an authorised and limited print run - such as this poster which is numbered 173/1864.

Physical Description

Cardboard poster with sketches of players in sky blue, white and navy. Colour-printed on face and reverse.

Significance

Statement of Historical Significance:
This acquisition documents the formation and commencement of the first Australian Football League Women's competition, launched 3 February 2017. This was an event of enormous historical significance: while women have been recorded as playing competition Australian Rules football since the early 20th century, and the AFL supported the introduction of two demonstration matches (Melbourne and Western Bulldogs) in 2015-16, this 2017 competition marked the first offically recognised and supported competition by the AFL. It involved eight teams from five states, playing eachother once over seven rounds around Australia, culminating in a top of the table grand final match (won by the Adelaide Crows). Matches were televised and the first match between Collingwood and Carlton at Princes Park on 3 February which saw a crowd 'lockout' (some 27,000 people attended) demonstrated the community interest and support in a women's competition as well as the historical import of the event.

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