THE SECOND NAB AFL Women's competition official Pride Round will be held from January 21-25 and is a celebration of diversity and inclusivity within the game and community.
Gold Coast and the Western Bulldogs will not play in round three following a fixture shake-up due to AFL health and safety protocols, but check out what your club will be wearing in season 2022 to celebrate Pride when it can.
The Crows' Pride guernsey sees the rainbow flag woven seamlessly into the centre of the guernsey design, reflecting how LGBTIQ+ fans are a core part of the Adelaide Football Club community.
The 2022 design increases the visibility of the rainbow flag, with the colours added to the shoulders of the guernsey.
"We are so honoured and proud to wear this Pride guernsey and play in a game that shares the awareness that it doesn’t matter who you are or where you are from, there is a place for you at our club," captain Chelsea Randall said.
"For people to have a sense of belonging and that they are welcomed and supported, that’s all that anyone wants."
Brisbane will again wear the rainbow-themed guernsey which was first worn against Gold Coast in last year's Pride Round.
The Lions believe people should be proud of who they are and welcome the AFL’s initiative as another significant step towards being a more inclusive game.
The Blues’ 2022 Pride guernsey, designed by the club’s Carlton Pride supporter group, represents themes of LGBTIQ+ and AFLW stories relating to growth, journey, struggle, and strength.
There is a key focus on the transgender community for 2022, with Carlton Pride treasurer Rochelle Pattison highlighting the importance of this recognition in the guernsey design.
"The Carlton Pride group felt that acceptance of this community, inclusive of people of colour, is continuing to grow. There is progress to be made in our society that educates people on transgender, gender diverse and non-binary individuals and results in acceptance of their community," Pattison said.
Carlton Pride secretary David Gould added: "The 2022 Carlton Pride guernsey takes on a new visual from its previous years to reflect growth and the colours represented in this guernsey show the full spectrum of the progress flag.
"We have been very appreciative of the Carlton Football Club’s willingness to become a partner in championing inclusivity."
Collingwood's Pride guernsey has been designed by teammates Brianna Davey and Sarah Rowe.
The guernsey features the traditional Pride rainbow colours, pink and blue stripes to represent the transgender flag and a brown strip to represent people of colour in the LGBTIQ+ community.
"What pride round does is it explains the community that exists within AFLW, how accepting the environment is and how celebrated differences are within the code, and it's not like that in any other sport in Australia," two-time All-Australian Sabrina Fredrick said.
"I think AFLW is the benchmark when it comes to inclusivity, that's why it's so significant, because it goes much further than pride- it's how inclusive we are as a community."
Fremantle's first ever Pride guernsey is based around Fremantle’s away strip, with the colours of the Pride Flag filling the chevrons.
The back of the guernsey features the Progress Flag as well as an homage to the popular 'Containbow' public artwork located off Canning Highway in East Fremantle, designed by local artist Marcus Canning.
Fremantle forward Gemma Houghton said she fell in love with the jumper when she modelled it for a photoshoot at the Containbow.
"I think the jumper is amazing in how it looks and what it represents for the Queer community," Houghton said.
"There’s an awesome meaning behind it which makes it really special to me and this group."
The Cats’ AFLW team will again don the Pride guernsey they first wore in last year’s inaugural Pride Round, with a rainbow forming one of the hoops, and the Transgender Flag on the shoulders.
Captain Meg McDonald, who was part of the working group that designed the guernsey last season, said seeing the LGBTIQ+ community integrated within the traditional hoops design had been integral in creating the guernsey.
"The focus of the design was to make sure that the rainbows would be included within the hoops," she said.
"We spoke to our Pride Supporter Group, and I think they were really passionate about looking like the rainbow was part of our jumper, and it had always been there.
"That’s such a significant part of the design and why it was designed that way. To think that such established clubs and communities are now really welcoming – and not only welcoming, celebrating everyone – I think it is really important to show the LGBTIQ+ community feels about the sport of AFL and clubs like this, that they’re included and part of the design, and celebrated."
The Suns' inaugural Pride guernsey, which features the rainbow often associated with Pride, was helped designed by AFLW players Sarah Perkins, Britt Perry, Jade Pregelj and Hannah Dunn.
"It’s really special for us to have our first guernsey as a (dedicated) Pride guernsey," Perkins said.
"The inclusiveness that we all feel, to have it reach the wider community of the LGBTQI+ community and keep getting that visualisation out there is really important for us as a club (to show our support)."
Greater Western Sydney's inaugural Pride guernsey will be on display when the Giants play their first home game of 2022 in round four.
To celebrate the League's Pride Round in round three, the Giants will also don Pride T-shirts during the warm-up for their away game against North Melbourne.
"Pride Round is so important cause it allows everyone to celebrate who they are as an individual," player Katherine Smith said.
"Making sure everyone is loved and accepted for who they are, who they want to love and making sure they love themselves."
Melbourne's inaugural Pride guernsey was designed by former Melbourne player Tegan Cunningham and has the six-colour Pride Flag at its core, shades of red, orange, yellow, green and indigo make up Melbourne’s traditional 'V', complemented by the colour violet at the base.
The symbol of unity is further enhanced by the addition of 30 thumbprints – one for each player – on the shoulders and chest, representing the legacy of individual Demons and the impact each can have on the community.
The Pride Flag is extended onto the back of the guernsey, where the six colours line the playing number, while major partner Zurich has marked the dedicated round with a special logo change, incorporating the Progress Pride Flag.
"When designing the guernsey, it was important that I kept the Melbourne colours," Cunningham said.
"I think it’s a privilege to wear the traditional Melbourne design, so I didn’t want to take anything away from that. Keeping the red and the blue as the main parts of the rainbow was how I designed this part of the guernsey.
"Moving to the fingerprints, it was important to incorporate 30 fingerprints to represent each girl in the team."
The Roos' inaugural Pride guernsey design represents the club’s past and its diverse and progressive future. It features the traditional bounding Roo, synonymous with the club’s on-field AFL success in the 1990s, in the centre and vertical rainbow stripes on the front and back of the guernsey.
"Today is a very proud moment for our club," North Melbourne Chief Executive Ben Amarfio said
"The Pride guernsey is a representation of our past, our present and our future.
"We are proud of our club culture, one based around respect, dignity and inclusion and this guernsey is a great representation of our North Melbourne community.
"This weekend, Pride Round provides an opportunity for us to acknowledge and celebrate the diverse communities that make up our club and gives up a very public platform to create a match day where everyone feels a genuine sense of belonging."
Richmond's inaugural Pride guernsey was developed in conjunction with the club’s community partner, Midsumma Festival, artist Matthew Chan and Richmond players Katie Brennan and Sarah Hosking.
The design captures the journey, stories and milestones of the Richmond women’s program while showing the importance of pride and inclusion.
"This jumper is about pride and the community, and the bigger picture of everyone finding somewhere to belong," Sarah Hosking explained.
"But more than that, it also encompasses what it means to our playing group to wear a Richmond guernsey.
"This jumper tells a story of a young girl who is finding her way and is on a journey. It means something to everyone in our playing group and is a story about where we come from and where we have to go."
St Kilda’s AFL side debuted its Pride guernsey ahead of the 2021 Pride Game, with design set to continually evolve as more sporting organisations - whose names are printed on the guernsey - host Pride Cup events. Nationwide, over 275 clubs have taken part in local Pride fixtures.
The front of the guernsey features the modern-day Pride flag, which includes colours to represent the trans, Indigenous and persons of colour communities, as well as the traditional rainbow. This element is key to demonstrating the intersectionality of the LGBTIQ+ community and other minority communities and the importance of them in the St Kilda family.
The rainbow continues onto the back of the guernsey, with the colours branching upward to illustrate the club’s continual growth and room for further progression. Within the individual colours, names of organisations which have hosted Pride Cup events are featured, starting with the first one in Yarra Glen in 2014.
Co-vice-captain Kate Shierlaw spoke to the importance of Pride Round in the lead-up to Saturday’s match.
"You can’t be what you can’t see. I know coming into the AFLW and VFLW I was surrounded by role models and people who were comfortable being themselves," Shierlaw said.
"It doesn’t matter where you sit in terms of your sexuality, your religion, your race, or whatever it is. The AFLW leads that space and I’m really proud to be part of that environment."
The Eagles have not released a Pride Round guernsey but are celebrating inclusion and diversity with a Pride training singlet.
The Western Bulldogs' commitment to supporting diversity, inclusion and progression features in the design of the club's 2022 Pride guernsey.
Designed by Natalie Gills, the jumper highlights the progress pride flag, intertwined with the red, white and blue colours, in place of the traditional hoops.
It is the fifth straight year the club has worn specially designed guernseys in an annual match dedicated to celebrating the LGBTIQ+ community.
The Bulldogs and Blues established the Pride Game concept in 2018, in the second season of AFLW, and it has since grown to become a dedicated League-wide round of matches.
Did you head to the footy over the weekend? Tell us your thoughts! Take the survey now
