West Coast, Fremantle AFLW coaching rivals Daisy Pearce and Lisa Webb to pull on the boots for breast cancer charity match
They may be fierce cross-town rivals, but AFLW coaches Daisy Pearce and Lisa Webb are set to come out of retirement on Sunday for a powerful cause, writes ELIZA REILLY.
They may be fierce cross-town rivals, but AFLW coaches Daisy Pearce and Lisa Webb are set to come out of retirement on Sunday for a powerful cause.
The West Coast and Fremantle bosses are set to renew hostilities in Kick for a Cure, a charity exhibition game run by Carlisle and Victoria Park AFLW Masters to raise money for breast cancer.
The pair have already played one game against each other back in round three, 2018 when Webb’s Dockers had a five-point win over Pearce’s Demons. But before their coaching rivalry kicks off in round eight in what will mark Pearce’s first western derby as Eagles coach, the duo will vie for bragging rights on the footy field.
Event organiser Danielle Fagents said that it was a major coup for the clash which will also feature some of the biggest names in Western Australian women’s football.
“Daisy wasn’t even in Perth when we started organizing it so she wasn’t a part of the vision,” Fagents said. “But when she got the West Coast job, we thought ‘let’s get Daisy in a jumper’ and we’ve been working on it for quite a few months!
“We had several people around her in her ear. And eventually, she said she’d play.
“Lisa was keen to play because she has a personal connection to breast cancer.
“It’s going to be massive seeing them on the field together, particularly alongside some of our local pioneers. It’ll be like a big reunion and celebration of women in sport.”
The idea for Kick for a Cure was sparked when two of Fagent’s AFLW Masters teammates were diagnosed with breast cancer.
“We had a chat about ‘What more can we do?’ because one in eight women will be diagnosed with this,” she said. “And we decided to put together a fundraiser.
“We wanted to put on an exhibition match and to draw in the crowd, we wanted to bring together some WA women’s football pioneers, ex-AFLW players and media personalities.”
West Coast head of women’s football Michelle Cowan and Fremantle footy boss Claire Heffernan are also locked in to play as is local Triple M radio host Dani Shuey who is hoping to outshine her husband and former Eagles captain Luke.
Past Dhara Kerr medallists Deanne Coates, Amanda Crean, Jodie White, Belinda Bentley will pull on a jumper as well as several former AFLW players like Sabreena McKinnon (Duffy), Kate Bartlett, Leah Mascall, Ash Atkins and Alex Williams.
Women’s football pioneers like Jo Huggins, founder of the WAWFL and Barb Hampson, one half of the Hampson–Hardeman Cup will also pull on the boots while the match will feature a tribute to WA Football Hall of Fame inductee Jan Cooper.
While Cooper isn’t available to attend, the so-called ‘Godmother of AFLW’ was offered the chance to be an event ambassador after fighting breast cancer herself.
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Both teams will also feature representatives from each of Perth’s AFLW masters clubs who have either been through breast cancer or have a close association with the disease.
“It’s massive,” Fagents said. “We’re hoping that this event will happen for years to come and each year it’ll get bigger and bigger.”
The game kicks off at 2:10pm at Curtin University South Oval on Sunday and will be played in the spirit of masters football which means no scoring, shortened quarters and a focus on fun.
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