Behind the seven-year fight to get the AFLW off the ground
Growing up in Melbourne, Suzie Miller's family was footy mad.
But because there were no girls in the AFL, she felt excluded from the game and boycotted the sport her family loved.
She didn't give it much thought until 2017.
Internationally acclaimed playwright Suzie Miller's Strong is the New Pretty explores the formation of the AFLW. (ABC News: Curtis Rodda)
"When they finally announced there was going to be a women's league, I thought, 'oh my goodness this is something I never even imagined,'" Miller said.
"I remember as a girl thinking, 'I can't even imagine girls being allowed to play football.'"
The Australian playwright was invited to attend the first grand final of the AFLW on the Gold Coast in a match-up between the Brisbane Lions and the Adelaide Crows.
Leah Kaslar and Sarah Perkins during the first AFLW grand final on the Gold Coast in 2017. (AAP: Dan Peled)
"Women were running out into a green field under a beautiful blue sky and all these little girls were cheering them on, and I just thought 'this is a generational shift,'" Miller said.
"There was just this air of joy throughout the evening, people were crying and laughing".
In awe of the inaugural grand final, Miller went to work interviewing various people involved in the AFLW to get a better understanding of how the league came to fruition.
From that moment, the idea for Strong is the New Pretty was born.
Lions fans Karina Smith and Ashley Lamb 2017 AFLW grand final. (ABC News: Matthew Eaton)
'Passing the baton'
Miller has more than 40 acclaimed plays to her name, including sell-out 'RBG: Of Many, One' international phenomenon Prima Facie and Inter Alia which starred actress Rosamund Pike.
Her new production is a fictional re-imagining of the true events that led to the formation of the women's league and has made its world premiere at the Brisbane Festival.
The production is part of the Brisbane Festival program. (Supplied)
In 2010, a report into the state of the sport commissioned by the AFL recommended the creation of a professional national women's competition by 2020.
The play explores the seven-year battle to turn the idea of a women's league from a dream to reality.
Freshly drafted Brisbane Lions player Ally Anderson was among the first group to take part in the inaugural season of the league.
Ally Anderson has won two AFLW premierships with the Brisbane Lions. (AAP Image: Joel Carrett)
"Growing up, I never thought I would a professional athlete," Anderson said.
"In that first year I kept thinking this is a one-time thing, I remember at the end of the first season I took so many pictures of the change room, the Gabba and the girls".
Since that first season, Anderson has won two premierships, been the AFLW's best and fairest and is the AFLW's games record holder.
More than just sport
The play's premiere comes in the fourth round of the AFLW's 11th season.
After she finished writing the play, Miller attended an under 9s girls game in Sydney where she witnessed young girls playing with their brothers cheering them on.
The play will be performed in Canberra, Geelong and Sydney. (Supplied)
"Australian rules football might be the great saviour of that great gender debate because these young boys will see these girls running around as strong competitive players, and they'll see them with strong bodies and loud voices," she said.
"They won't grow up thinking of girls as weak or other or not equal to them, and that's what I hope people can take from this play — everyone should get a fair go".
The play tours around Australia, heading to Canberra, Geelong and Sydney next.
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