FORMER MELBOURNE footballer Bronwyn Davey has joined Port Adelaide's women's team for the 2016 SA Women's Football League season.
Davey, 36, previously played for Port Adelaide and Greenacres in the SAWFL, but is notable for being one of three South Australians to play in the first AFL women's game between Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs in 2013.
She will play in the Port Adelaide Women's opening Division 1 game at Alberton Oval on Sunday afternoon.
Davey has a strong family connection to Alberton too, with her brothers Aaron and Alwyn drafted to Melbourne and Essendon from Port Adelaide's SANFL team, and her cousins Gavin Wanganeen and Fabian Francis also playing for Port in the AFL and SANFL.
"We grew up being Magpie people, I just came back from playing for Palmerston Magpies actually, and my brothers and cousins played for Port Adelaide as well," Davey told portadelaidefc.com.au.
"I was a late starter - around 27, 28 years old - because when I was younger there no opportunities for female football.
"To be still playing nearly 10 years later is really good.
"I played the sport mainly for the fun, the teamwork and being around the club, and I was lucky enough to be drafted in the inaugural 2013 Melbourne-Bulldogs draft under the 'brother/sister' rule."
Davey says the opportunity to play in the inaugural AFL women's game at Etihad Stadium in 2013 was an unforgettable experience, and something she'll be encouraging her younger teammates to try for in the future.
"It was an amazing experience, and an opportunity of a lifetime," Davey said.
"For young females who want to experience the chance to play AFL football I say, go for it!
"I've got three daughters and the pathways will be a great opportunity for them to experience female football.
"It will be a good opportunity for me to come back and help the club rebuild [its female program] and hopefully my daughters will get involved, and I can be involved in the coaching side of it."
Port Adelaide has also seen a number of Aboriginal Power Cup graduates sign up for the women's team in 2016.
Davey hopes she can be a mentor to fellow indigenous players taking their first steps in senior women's or under-18 football, so they can aspire to playing on an AFL arena as well.
"I think it is quite important, if those girls want to fulfil their dreams of playing on the big stage in their career, then they should stay on board Port Adelaide, be mentored from some great people.
"Hopefully I can be one of those people who get them through to the highest level."
The Port Adelaide Women's Football Club plays its opening senior games on Sunday 17 April at Alberton Oval. The Division 1 Magpies host Modbury at 2.00pm, after the Division 2 game against Flinders University at 12.00pm.
