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Daisy Pearce

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Daisy Pearce
Pearce running into position
Pearce playing for Melbourne in 2017
Personal information
Full name Daisy Pearce
Date of birth (1988-05-27) 27 May 1988 (age 33)
Place of birth Bright, Victoria, Australia
Original team(s) Darebin (VFLW)
Draft 2016 marquee signing
Debut Round 1, 2017, Melbourne
vs. Brisbane, at Casey Fields
Height 170 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Midfielder / defender
Club information
Current club Melbourne
Number 6
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2017– Melbourne 30 (6)
Representative team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
2017 Victoria 1 (1)
International team honours
2006 Australia
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of the 2021 season.
2 State and international statistics correct as of 2017.
Career highlights

AFLW

VWFL/VFLW

Source: AustralianFootball.com

Daisy Pearce (born 27 May 1988) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW). Widely regarded as the face of women's Australian rules football and one of its first superstars,[1][2][3] Pearce has served as Melbourne captain since the competition's inaugural season,[a] having also captained the club in the women's exhibition games in the years prior. She also captained Victoria in the inaugural AFL Women's State of Origin match in 2017, where she was adjudged best afield.

Pearce began her state league playing career in 2005 with the Darebin Falcons in the Victorian Women's Football League (VWFL) in 2005, captaining the club from 2008 to 2016. She is a ten-time premiership player (seven as captain), seven-time league best and fairest winner in the VWFL and VFL Women's (VFLW) and five-time Darebin best and fairest winner. She also represented Victoria at both under-19 and senior level, and was selected by Melbourne with the first selection in the inaugural national women's draft in 2013 before the first exhibition game.

Pearce was named as a marquee signing by Melbourne in 2016 before the inaugural AFL Women's season. At AFLW level, Pearce is a dual AFL Women's All-Australian, having been named as captain in the 2017 team and vice-captain in the 2018 team, and won the inaugural two Melbourne best and fairest awards. She is also a three-time AFLW Players' best captain, having won the award in her first three completed AFLW seasons.

Outside of her playing career, Pearce also became an established media performer in both television and radio. She is currently an expert commentator for the Seven Network and 1116 SEN's AFL coverage; she also appeared on the Seven Network program AFL Game Day as a rotating panel member from 2016 until the show's cancellation in 2020 and hosted her own podcast on SEN, This Is Grit, in 2019. The VFL Women's best and fairest award, which Pearce was the inaugural recipient of in 2016, was named the Lambert–Pearce Medal partly in her honour in 2018.

Early life[]

Daisy Pearce was born on 27 May 1988[5] in Bright, Victoria[6] to parents Daryl and Dee.[3] She has two older brothers, Will and Harry, and two younger half-sisters, Ruby and Ali, through her mother.[3] Her parents separated when she was a child, with her mother and brothers relocating to the Melbourne suburb of Eltham and Daisy remaining with her father in Wandiligong, near Bright,[7][3] where she attended Bright P-12 College.[6] When Pearce was a teenager, she moved to live with her mother and the rest of the family,[3] and attended Eltham High School.[6]

As a child, Pearce supported the Carlton Football Club, and her favourite player was Carlton premiership player and former captain Brett Ratten.[8] She began playing Vickick, the then-statewide program designed to teach basic Australian rules football skills from a young age, at the age of five before going on to play junior football alongside boys.[9][7] Her father was a coach at the Bright Football Club, which allowed Pearce to begin training with the under-13 boys team from the age of eight;[6][7] at Bright, she played alongside her brother Harry[6] and future Collingwood premiership defender Ben Reid.[3] Pearce sought dispensation from the local league to continue playing alongside boys as a teenager,[7] but was disallowed, which played a part in her decision to move to Eltham.[3] At high school, she took up netball, tennis and volleyball, making a national youth squad for the latter, before eventually picking up football again.[3]

Early football career[]

State league and representative football[]

Pearce standing in position
Pearce playing for Darebin in the 2017 VFL Women's Grand Final

Pearce was a member of the Australian team that played against Ireland in the 2006 Ladies' International Rules Series, which remains the only women's series to have been played.[10][11] In June 2007, at the age of 19, she was one of two VWFL representatives, alongside St Albans midfielder Shannon McFerran, who played in the annual E. J. Whitten Legends Game; Pearce played for Victoria while McFerran played for the All Stars, who won by 15 points.[12][13] Pearce captained the Victoria under-19 team at the 2007 AFL Women's National Championships.[14][15] She was named in the carnival's All-Australian team and won the award for joint-player of the tournament.[14][15] Pearce was named in the leadership group for the Victorian seniors team at the 2009 championships,[16] winning All-Australian honours,[17] and was named deputy vice-captain for Victoria at the 2011 championships.[18]

Pearce began playing with Darebin in the premier division of the Victorian Women's Football League (VWFL) in 2005 at the age of 16, winning the Lisa Hardemann Medal as best afield in that year's grand final.[6] In 2007, Darebin went through the VWFL season undefeated, defeating Melbourne University in the grand final, with Pearce named among the best players in the grand final.[19] Darebin would go on to win five VWFL premierships in a row, before losing to St Albans in the grand final in 2011; Pearce, who had by then become captain, was named Darebin's best player in the loss.[20] In 2013, Darebin again went through the season undefeated, defeating Diamond Creek in the grand final, and Pearce was again named among the best players in the grand final.[21] Darebin repeated this feat in 2014, again going through the season without a loss and defeating Diamond Creek in the grand final, and Pearce was named best afield in the grand final.[22] She would also feature in Darebin's third consecutive grand final win over Diamond Creek in 2015.[23] During her career in the VWFL, Pearce won the Darebin best and fairest award five times[6] and the Helen Lambert Medal as the VWFL's best and fairest player six times.[24]

Pearce shaking hands with a woman onstage as she is presented with a medallion
Pearce receiving her premiership medallion following the 2017 VFL Women's Grand Final

In March 2016, the VFL Women's (VFLW) was launched, with Darebin named among the ten teams from the VWFL to participate in Victoria's new state league competition.[25] Pearce would go on to win the inaugural league best and fairest award and play in the first VFLW premiership in 2016 as Darebin defeated Melbourne University.[26] She would also play in Darebin's grand final win over Diamond Creek in 2017, kicking a goal and receiving praise from coach Jane Lange for her leadership and commitment as Darebin won its fifth consecutive state league premiership[27] and tenth in twelve years.[28]

Women's exhibition games[]

In May 2013, the Australian Football League (AFL) announced that a women's exhibition game would be held for the first time during its annual Women's Round, involving AFL clubs Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs.[29] The top 50 female footballers in Australia were selected in the inaugural national women's draft later that month to play for the two clubs at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in a curtain raiser to the AFL match between the clubs in June; Pearce was selected by Melbourne with the first selection in the draft,[14][30][31] and was later named as Melbourne's captain.[32] She was adjudged best afield with 28 disposals in the first exhibition game, which Melbourne won by 32 points[33][34] in front of a crowd of almost 8,000.[34] A second exhibition game between the two clubs, again played as a curtain raiser to the men's match and this time at Etihad Stadium, was announced in June 2014,[35] and Pearce was named among Melbourne's best players in its 46-point win.[36]

In February 2015, the AFL announced that two women's exhibition games would be played that year between Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs, with the first to be held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in May and the second to be played at Etihad Stadium in August.[37] Pearce was named among Melbourne's best players with 23 disposals in the first match, which Melbourne won by eight points,[38] and was best afield with 30 disposals in the second match, which Melbourne won by four points.[39] Later that year, she was named as the inaugural winner of the club's best female player award, polling five out of a possible six votes from the two matches.[40] In February 2016, the AFL announced a ten-match national exhibition series to be played throughout the year,[41][42] with Melbourne playing two games against the Western Bulldogs in March and September, as well as a match against a Brisbane Lions women's team at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in May.[42] Pearce was best afield with 33 disposals and eleven marks in the first match, which the Bulldogs won by 20 points,[43] and was named among Melbourne's best players in its 71-point win over Brisbane.[44] She was Melbourne's best player in its 39-point loss to the Bulldogs in September;[45] the match was watched by an average audience of 387,000 people in Melbourne, which was greater than the average viewing audience for every Saturday night game during the 2016 AFL home-and-away season,[46][47] as well as a national free-to-air audience of over one million people.[47]

AFL Women's career[]

2017–2019: All-Australian seasons and pregnancy[]

Pearce running into position
Pearce playing for Melbourne in 2017

In July 2016, Pearce and Melissa Hickey were announced as Melbourne's two marquee players for the inaugural AFL Women's season in 2017.[48] Pearce was announced as the club's first AFLW captain in January 2017.[49] She made her AFL Women's debut in the Melbourne's inaugural match in round 1 against Brisbane at the club's home ground, Casey Fields,[50] and was listed among her team's best players in the loss, recording 19 disposals and a game-high ten tackles.[50] Pearce was among Melbourne's best players in every game for the season;[51][52][53][54][55][56] she was highlighted by the AFL Players Association as "Player of the Week" for round 4 after recording a career-high 29 disposals in Melbourne's win against Carlton[57] and was awarded the maximum three AFL Women's best and fairest votes by the umpires in the round 6 win against Adelaide.[58] Following the home-and-away season, she revealed that she played the first two rounds with an injury after sustaining bone bruising and a corked calf in the opening round, and had sat out training for the entire week leading into round 2.[59] At the end of the season, Pearce was named captain of the 2017 AFL Women's All-Australian team[60] and won the inaugural Melbourne best and fairest award[61] and AFLW Players' best captain award.[62] She averaged 21.9 disposals, the most of any player in the inaugural season.[59] Melbourne re-signed Pearce for the 2018 season during the trade period in May 2017.[63] She then captained Victoria in the inaugural AFL Women's State of Origin match on 2 September, where she was adjudged best afield[8] with 37 disposals in the 97-point win.[64]

Pearce directing teammates during a match
Pearce during a pre-season practice match with Melbourne in 2018

Pearce showed similar form in 2018 to what she produced in the inaugural season. She was best afield in Melbourne's wins in round 1 against Greater Western Sydney[65] and round 5 against Brisbane,[66] and was selected in afl.com.au's Team of the Week in rounds 1,[67] 3[68] and 5.[69] In the round 3 match, which Melbourne lost to Fremantle, Pearce polled the maximum three AFL Women's best and fairest votes,[58] and in the round 5 match, she recorded 24 disposals and an AFLW career-best two goals.[66][58] At the end of the season, Pearce was named vice-captain of the 2018 AFL Women's All-Australian team,[70] and again won the Melbourne best and fairest award[71] and AFLW Players' best captain award.[72] Melbourne signed Pearce for the 2019 season during the trade and signing period in May 2018;[73] however, on 31 August, Pearce announced her pregnancy with twins, meaning that she would miss the 2019 season.[74] Elise O'Dea and Shelley Scott were eventually announced as co-captains in her place.[4]

Pearce continued to mentor and work with Melbourne players in an unofficial assistant coach role when they returned for pre-season training in November 2018,[75][76] giving birth to twins in February 2019.[77][78] By April, she was back to her playing weight,[79] and later that month, she signed for the 2020 season.[80] In July 2019, Pearce returned to the club to train three days a week as part of what she called her "pre-pre-pre-season" for 2020,[81] and resumed training with her Melbourne teammates three weeks later.[82] In August, Pearce was announced as an assistant coach to Dermott Brereton for the Victorian team in that year's E.J. Whitten Legends Game.[83][84]

2020–present: Return to football[]

Pearce interacting with a fan after a match
Pearce post-match with Melbourne in 2021

Pearce was reinstated as Melbourne captain in January 2020, with coach Mick Stinear saying, "With her knowledge of our game plan, and her ability to instruct, support and give feedback on and off the field, she's just the ideal person to lead this group".[85][86] She ran a personal best two-kilometre time trial time in the lead-up to the season.[87] Later that month, Pearce made a successful return to football, playing the first three quarters of Melbourne's practice match win against Collingwood.[88][89][90] Leading into the season, womens.afl journalist Sarah Black named Pearce at no. 5 on her list of the top 30 players in the AFLW.[91] She played her first AFLW match in 694 days in Melbourne's round 1 win against North Melbourne the following week, and was named among Melbourne's best players[92][93] in a new role across half-back.[93][94] Pearce was selected in womens.afl's Team of the Week in round 2.[95] After round 6, the last two rounds of the home-and-away season were abandoned and a modified finals series was brought forward due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing Melbourne, which was third on its conference ladder at the time, to play finals for the first time;[96] Pearce was among the best afield in Melbourne's semi-final win against Greater Western Sydney with 22 disposals,[97] before the finals were cancelled without a premiership being awarded due to the worsening pandemic.[98] Pearce went on to be selected in the initial 40-woman squad for the 2020 AFL Women's All-Australian team,[99][100][101] and was voted as the AFLW Players' best captain for the third time in her three completed seasons.[102][103][104]

Leading into the 2021 season, Pearce was named as Melbourne captain for a fourth season,[105] and was named by Sarah Black at no. 9 on her annual list of the top 30 players in the AFLW.[106] Prior to the opening game of the season, Pearce said that she had been "squeezed out of the midfield, officially" and would continue to primarily play at half-back while still making small appearances in the midfield.[107] Pearce polled the maximum three AFL Women's best and fairest votes in Melbourne's round 1 win against Gold Coast.[58] She was named among Melbourne's best players in its win over St Kilda in round 6 after moving to the forward line and kicking two goals from 13 disposals[108][109][110] and was selected in womens.afl's Team of the Week for that round.[111] Pearce was also named among Melbourne's best players in round 8 after kicking a goal and setting up the match-winning goal in the club's close win over Fremantle, which assured its position in that year's finals series.[112] She injured the medial collateral ligament (MCL) in her right knee in the opening two minutes of Melbourne's close win over Brisbane the following week after her leg was caught underneath her in a tackle,[113][114][115] which ruled her out of Melbourne's qualifying final win against Fremantle[116][117][118] and preliminary final loss to Adelaide.[119][120][121] Following the preliminary final, Pearce placed second in voting for that year's AFLW Players' best captain award behind Western Bulldogs captain Ellie Blackburn;[122][123][124] she revealed the next day that she had also suffered a small tear to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her right knee in the round 9 incident, and that she would have surgery to repair the MCL while allowing the ACL to heal naturally.[125]

Pearce was named as Melbourne captain for a fifth season leading into 2022.[126][127]

Playing style and positions[]

Pearce demonstrating her kicking technique
Pearce kicking the ball during a match in 2017

Pearce is known for being a smart, skilled and composed player[128][112] who directs play on-field,[94][129][130] with Stinear describing her as an "on-field coach".[129] She began her AFL Women's career playing primarily as a midfielder, having achieved most of her recognition playing in that position;[24][43][48] her average of 21.9 disposals per game in 2017 was the highest of any player.[59] Upon her return to football in 2020 after the birth of her twins, Pearce began playing primarily as a defender[94][88] before playing as a forward during the 2021 season.[129][110]

Statistics[]

Statistics are correct to the end of the 2021 season.[131]
Legend
 G  Goals  K  Kicks  D  Disposals  T  Tackles
 B  Behinds  H  Handballs  M  Marks
 †  Led the league
for the season
AFLW playing statistics
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game) Votes
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2017 Melbourne 6 7 1 1 79 74† 153 16 36 0.1 0.1 11.3 10.6† 21.9† 2.3 5.1 7
2018 Melbourne 6 7 2 1 89 38 127 11 37 0.3 0.1 12.7 5.4 18.1 1.6 5.3 6
2019 Melbourne 6 0 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 0
2020 Melbourne 6 7 0 0 68 36 104 19 20 0.0 0.0 9.7 5.1 14.9 2.7 2.9 2
2021 Melbourne 6 9 3 4 67 22 89 17 25 0.3 0.4 7.4 2.4 9.9 1.9 2.8 3
Career 30 6 6 303 170 473 63 118 0.2 0.2 10.1 5.7 15.8 2.1 3.9 18

Honours and achievements[]

Media career[]

Pearce holding a microphone
Pearce working for the Seven Network in 2018

Television and radio[]

Pearce has been a rotating panel member on the Seven Network program AFL Game Day since 2016 and is a boundary rider for Seven and 1116 SEN's AFL coverage.[132] In 2018, Pearce began appearing on the SEN morning shows SEN Breakfast (with Garry Lyon and Tim Watson) and Whateley (with Gerard Whateley),[133] and in 2019, she also hosted This Is Grit, a weekly podcast series on SEN focusing on female sportspeople.[134] In 2021, she began co-hosting The W Show on womens.afl alongside Nat Edwards, where they analyse and discuss AFL Women's matches, news and topics.[135] She previously provided special comments for Triple M in 2017[136] and has written columns for The Age.[137]

Pearce was a boundary rider for Seven's coverage of the AFL Grand Final in 2018 and 2019.[132] She became the first woman to provide special comments for Seven's coverage of the grand final in 2021, and was widely praised by fans and media for her commentary.[138] Pearce also won the award for Best Opinion/Analysis – TV/Radio at the 2021 Australian Football Media Association Awards, with the AFMA commenting: "Daisy’s football knowledge is incredible and she leaves viewers with a better appreciation of the game".[139][140][141]

Advocacy[]

After Tiffany Cherry spoke out against the Nine Network in February 2018 for failing to stand up for gender equality after being replaced as host of the Nine program Women's Footy by Clint Stanaway, Pearce said that it was better to have both men and women involved in commentating and talking about the men's and women's competitions. "I enjoy seeing men working across and well-informed football commentators talking about [women's football]... why can't we see men working across the AFL Women’s competition?" She said that if there was a belief that only women should call AFLW games and only men should call AFL games, "It's almost as if we are taking a few steps back".[142]

Pearce was among several high-profile AFLW players to speak out during the 2020–2022 collective bargaining agreement negotiations in 2019, with Pearce supporting the AFL Players Association (AFLPA) and its efforts to grow the competition,[143][144] saying that broader talks between the AFLPA and AFLW players would result in an agreement that would satisfy all players.[145] "To me, it's about building relationships with different stakeholders and having trust that if the AFL Players Association tell us that moving forward 'we're going to improve communications [...] because we've acknowledged there's some challenges with communicating with part-time girls', I trust that they'll do that".[146]

Coaching career[]

In October 2021, Pearce was among eight women selected in the AFL's women's coaching academy for 2022, with Pearce to complete her AFL level three coaching accreditation and receive mentorship from former Darebin and St Kilda coach Peta Searle as part of the twelve-month program.[147][148][149]

Legacy[]

Pearce running towards a banner bearing her portrait followed by her teammates, with Melbourne AFL players and staff forming a guard of honour and fans visible in the background
Pearce leading her teammates onto the field before a game in 2017

Pearce is widely regarded as the face of women's Australian rules football and one of its first superstars.[1][2][3] In 2016, Pearce was named Football Woman of the Year for her work as the AFL's female football ambassador, an AFL talent coordinator and a graduate intern at the Melbourne Football Club.[150][151] In February 2017, Melbourne unveiled its new AFLW mascot, a costumed human depicting a "young female footy player", named Daisy to honour Pearce.[152] On 7 March 2017, Pearce became the first woman to be elected as a director on the board of the AFLPA, which then decided to include AFLW players as full members of the association.[153]

Pearce is highly regarded across the football industry for her professionalism, football knowledge and leadership, both on and off the field, as well as being a role model for current and future female footballers and commentators:

Daisy is the most determined and competitive beast I've ever played with or against. She's ever-reliable and delivers for the team 100% of the time, not only through her on-field ball-winning magic, but also through the way she leads and brings her teammates together.

— Karen Paxman, former Darebin and current Melbourne teammate[24]
Pearce sitting at a desk wearing a Melbourne polo shirt
Pearce appearing on the Seven Network pre-game show ahead of the first AFLW match in February 2017

Daisy is a fantastic leader and leads by example both on and off the field. Daisy is the complete package of a footballer [...] I have learnt a lot about how to conduct myself on and off the field from Daisy and she has been a great role model for me.

— Melissa Hickey, former Darebin and Melbourne teammate and Geelong captain[24]

[Pearce] is a leader on the field and off the field. I don't think I've met anybody else who speaks as well and I think more people are getting to see that now [...] she is such a great role model for young girls and women of all ages, really.

— Jane Lange, former Darebin premiership teammate and coach[24]

[Pearce] has been a generational player and a generational leader. Talk about a story of breaking glass ceilings [...] she has just done it by being good in a way that has totally changed the landscape for young women.

— Gillon McLachlan, AFL chief executive officer[3]

[Pearce's] knowledge is excellent. God, she is well prepared [...] she has a presence. You can feel it. She has that lovely balance of being engaging, warm and charismatic, but at the same time she is humble and keen to listen and improve.

— Bruce McAvaney, longtime Seven Network host and commentator[3]

In September 2018, the VFL Women's best and fairest award was named the Lambert–Pearce Medal to honour both Pearce and VWFL founding committee member and former president Helen Lambert.[154] Pearce had won the inaugural award in 2016 after having previously won six Helen Lambert Medals in the VWFL.[24][154]

Personal life and philanthropy[]

Pearce began working as a midwife at Box Hill Hospital upon moving to Melbourne,[9][155] and lived in Eltham, in Melbourne's north-east.[156] Pearce gave birth to twins with her partner, firefighter Ben O'Neill,[3] in February 2019[77][78] via a caesarean section.[3] Her son was diagnosed with dextrocardia while she was pregnant.[3]

In October 2020, Pearce and her family relocated to Porepunkah,[3] near Bright in country Victoria,[157] and she currently divides her time between there and Melbourne.[3]

In June 2021, Pearce participated in the annual Big Freeze at the 'G event to raise funds for motor neurone disease (MND) research,[158][159][160] sliding into the ice bath at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in costume as the titular character from the Australian animated series Bluey;[159][160] the 2021 edition of the event raised more than $10 million.[160]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Pearce did not captain the club during the 2019 season, which she missed due to pregnancy.[4]

References[]

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  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Walsh, Courtney (12 February 2021). "In a league of her own". Weekend Australian. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
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