Hannah Scott says she felt overwhelmed when the idea was first brought to the leadership group – the Western Bulldogs wanted to host the first ever AFLW Pride Game, officially announced today at Pride of Footscray in Barkly St.
The Dogs will take on Carlton under lights at Victoria University Whitten Oval in Round 4 on Friday, February 23 in a game that celebrates gender diversity and inclusiveness
Speaking at the launch alongside CEO Ameet Bains, his Carlton counterpart Cain Liddle and Blues defender Brianna Davey, Scott said she felt a mix of pride and a strong sense of belonging.
“It was a pretty overwhelming feeling, I just felt like I belonged at Western Bulldogs,” Scott said.
“It’s a great opportunity to bring to light everything that’s going on. I just think – we’re in the public eye – what better thing to do than to help young people come out and be proud of who they are.
“What people don’t understand is that people that are out, everything that they’ve gone through to get to that point. You lose relationships with family members, you lose friendships, it’s a really tough time.
“I’m very, very happy to be a part of something like this and I couldn’t be prouder to be a Bulldog.”
As Scott tells it, the leadership group had a players-only discussion around the issue, but in the end it was short talk – everyone was in.
The fact that we’re sitting here is a pretty clear indication that all the players 100% embraced it. It was a pretty short conversation.. it was like ‘why are we even talking about this?’
All the players are behind this, they just love where the Club is going in putting their hand up. It shows the Bulldogs are looking for a certain culture, and it’s a culture that I want to be a part of.”
