The journey of Women’s football at Kew began with a meeting at the Harp of Erin hotel in late 2013, where a small group of young women, who had enjoyed a few years of Youth Girls football at Kew Rovers, expressed a desire to want to continue playing together into adulthood. With no obvious pathway or home club, nor any rule book on how to actually get something off the ground, a plan was concocted to approach the local Kew Football Club about being the home of a senior women’s team. ‘The rest is history’ as they would say, as the Kew committee welcomed the initiative, and thus Kew would field a women’s football side for the first time in 2014.
A dream that started with one fledgling junior girls’ team quickly blossomed into two senior teams, albeit with very tight numbers, that would compete in the Victorian Women’s Football League (VFWL). Jeff Hooper, who had coached the Youth Girls team at Kew Rovers, was named inaugural coach of the ‘Division 2’ side, whilst Courtney Donnan (née Morath), the driving force behind the inception of the women’s program, would coach the ‘Division 5’ side. The sides would be named the Kew Giants, using the moniker and colours from the previous seasons Under 18 Men’s side in the VAFA.
Despite this momentum, the early days were still very tough. Training numbers were in the single digits, and the defeats in opening rounds were in the triple digits. To make things more difficult, travel for away games included North Geelong, Redan, Sunbury, Seaford and Mordialloc. It was certainly emblematic of women’s football competition at the time. After 7 rounds, the decision was made to continue the season with just one side, so the Division 2 side was removed and the season played out in Division 5 under the one side.
Having been winless for those 7 rounds, in Round 8, with the two sides combined and competing in Division 5, Kew Giants Women would taste victory for the first time with a 73-point win over Brunswick Renegades. Following the winless start, Kew would go on to win its last 5 games to finish 4th on the ladder, achieving finals in its inaugural season. A 55-point win over Melbourne Uni in the first semi, followed by a 38-point win over Brunswick Renegades saw the team qualify for the Grand Final! Unfortunately, the fairytale wasn’t to be, as ladder-leaders Seaford would defeat Kew by 13 points at Coburg City Oval. Steph De Bortoli & Jess Burger would captain the side in this first season, and do a fantastic job laying the platform for those that would come after.
The landscape of women’s football in 2014 wouldn’t recognise itself today. The early Kew women’s footballers went without the luxury of waiting for the opportunity to present itself. Teething issues came in droves, as the side navigated equal opportunity against the grain of just about every feature of club football that was familiar and comfortable.
In spite of this, the positive results in the back half of 2014 meant that enough momentum was built for the team to continue the following season. The Giants moniker and colours would be dropped, with the team adopting the traditional ‘Bears’ name and jumper. The competition would change again; this time Kew would play in Division 3. Ben Forrest and Antony Forato took over as coaches, with Steph De Bortoli again co-captaining, this time alongside Amber McEwin. A strong season would see the side finish 2nd after the home and away season. In the first final, Kew would cause the upset of the season with a 2-point victory over powerhouse (and previously undefeated) Endeavour Hills, and with it qualify for a second consecutive Grand Final. Deer Park would also upset Endeavour Hills, setting up a grand final show down with the Bears. Unfortunately, Deer Park would prove too strong, winning by 20 points.
2016 would be a year to remember. Ben Forrest continued as coach, as the team were this time placed in Division 1 of the VWFL. Motivated by two grand final defeats, and with a side filled with strong players on every line, Kew would run the table, going undefeated in the home and away season and finishing on top. A 40-point win over Pascoe Vale in the second semi-final meant a third consecutive Grand Final appearance was achieved. Third time would truly be the charm, as on a sodden Sunday morning at Coburg City Oval, Kew would defeat Darebin Falcons by 19 points to win its first ever Women’s Premiership! Sarah McKenna was adjudged best on ground, but it truly was a team effort. Such was the strength of the side; four players finished in the top 10 in the competition best and fairest count – Gabby Mahoney the highest placed in 2nd.
It had been during this time that the women’s football had boomed across Victoria and Australia more broadly, in large part driven by the AFL’s introduction of a women’s competition for 2017, following series of exhibition matches in the preceding three seasons. Coinciding with the inaugural season of the AFL national women’s competition, multiple local leagues commenced Women’s competitions for season 2017. Having been an established club, Kew had its choice of leagues and decided on the Northern Football League (NFLW). Having been established as a destination club for women’s players, Kew would field two sides in the new NFLW. The NFLW was a strong competition, with the Senior side competing in Division 1 under new coach Theo Vlahos, and the Reserves side in Division 2. Despite a strong season, a 5th placed finish meant an elimination final against Melbourne Uni, which would ultimately be lost. The Reserves lost the semi-final to Darebin.
With Theo Vlahos continuing at the helm, another new era would commence as the side moved to the VAFA competition, to fully align with the Men’s sides. Entering in the top flight Premier & Premier Reserves competitions, another top 4 finish for the seniors would ultimately result in another lost final to Melbourne Uni. A 6th place finish in 2019 meant the side missed finals for the first time, before the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
2022 would see the return of 2016 premiership player, inaugural co-captain and Collingwood AFLW operations boss Jess Burger as the Senior Coach, which injected a huge amount of energy in to the program. The side, captained by champion on-baller Lily Barr, would have an excellent season, finishing second on the ladder behind St. Kevins. The second semi-final would see Kew defeat the Saints, qualifying for the Premier Grand Final. The dose wasn’t able to be repeated, however, as St. Kevins would run over the top of the Bears by 23 points to claim the premiership.
Jess Burger would continue as coach for season 2023 – the 10th Year of Women’s Football at Kew. The size and enthusiasm of the Women’s squad demanded expansion to include a Thirds side, which couldn’t have come at a better time for the club. It was a mighty year on field. All three sides would finish on top of the ladder and qualify for Grand Finals. The Thirds, in its first season, unfortunately lost a heartbreaker to West Brunswick by 4 points. The Senior side came in to the Grand Final rematch against St Kevins as warm favourites, but alas the Saints would replicate the previous year’s encounter, winning by 25 points.
Despite the disappointment of the Senior side’s defeat, there was Reserves side, who claimed a famous victory by 1 point after a passage of play that will go down in Kew FC folklore. Trailing by 5 points deep in the last quarter, a desperate end-to-end play would result in a Tenille Nash mark 20m out just seconds before the final siren. With ice in her veins, ‘T’ would go back and slot the match-winner after the siren, giving Kew its first premiership in VAFA women’s competition, and second women’s flag overall.
2024 would see Jess Burger step down owing to her commitments at Collingwood, with Reserves Premiership Coach Emily Avery taking over. Em Avery would steer the club through two seasons, both resulting in semi-final losses, before departing the club to take up a role at Gold Coast Suns in its Girls’ Academy. Mannie Di Parsia, who had previously coached the Kew Under 19’s men’s side, would take over as head coach for season 2026.
Kew has been lucky enough to be home to a number of champion women’s players in its 13-year history of Women’s football. Early days it was Steph De Bortoli, who would be drafted to Melbourne in the inaugural AFLW draft in 2016, along with the likes of Amber McEwin, Selina Wilmot and Sarah McKenna. The Harding sisters – Mikaela and Issy – were the backbone of the senior side for years. Both had played together at Kew Rovers before their Kew senior careers. Mikaela is the winner of a record four best and fairest’s, whilst Issy also won one. Their father Greg was a long-time volunteer, helper and coach in the women’s program. Tara Donnan was another constant across the program as both a player and coach, for many years. In recent years Lily Barr has been the leader of women’s football at Kew – captaining for 5 seasons and representing the VAFA in interleague competition. Dakota Villiva won two best and fairest’s for Kew as well as the VAFA Women’s Premier Best and Fairest. All in all, seven women have played 100 games for Kew – Mik and Issy Harding, Lily Barr, Selina Wilmot, Tara Donnan, Louise Potts and Krystal Shaw, and twelve have pulled on the Big V in the VAFA representative games.
All of this would not have been possible without the immense work of Courtney Donnan. Courtney was a founding member and player of the Kew women’s teams, and her legacy shines through in the women’s players that represent Kew FC week in week out today. Courtney spent 10 years organising and running women’s football at Kew, including three seasons as club secretary. Her contribution to Kew was rewarded with Life Membership in 2024.
In thirteen years, the club has grown and developed a program that feels like home. With inclusion and enjoyment at the forefront, the Bears can be proud to have been at the forefront of women’s football in Victoria. Consider what our 2014 female footballers might have thought a “gender equal future” would look like at the Bear Cave, all these years down the track. Women make up nearly half of the Club Committee, including three out of five positions on the Executive Committee.
It isn’t now as it’s always been. Female-cut uniforms, Saturday fixtures, Club-wide training sessions, sanitary bins and changed language. We recognise the significant off-field progress that has fostered our on-field success, culminating in five Grand Final appearances including a VWFL Division 1 Premiership in 2016. Much of this success is owed to those with the courage to have a go in the formative years, laying the platform for the successful program we see today.
