Mick Malthouse defends AFLW comments after Moana Hope walkout
Former AFL coach Mick Malthouse says his comments about the women's league, which prompted marquee player Moana Hope to walk out of a public event, have been misconstrued.
Malthouse, who has coached both of this weekend's grand final contenders to premierships, made the remarks as part of a panel discussion in Ballarat.
He told the function he didn't like the AFL Women's (AFL) tournament, and the game should be modified for women.
After walking out of the function, Hope took to social media to say she would never let anyone say women did not belong in the top level.
Speaking on ABC Radio Melbourne this morning, Malthouse said he had been misunderstood.
"I don't say you shouldn't play it. I say I don't like it," he said.
"I don't like the women's game the way it is.
"I'd rather see them with a smaller ball. I'd rather see it without tackling. I'd rather see it without any heavy bumping.
"I don't like women's football because I've got four granddaughters, of which two are playing. The other two are too young at this stage.
"So they play their various sports. The one common thing about it is that they don't want to play a sport where they, where it's perceived to be rough and tough and get injured."
Last night Hope used Instagram, where she has more than 57 thousand followers, to say: "I love OUR game and I will never, ever let anyone tell me or any girl that we don't belong or deserve to pull this jumper on at this level. We are one."
The discussion was part of an AFL Grand Final Lunch hosted by the North Ballarat Football Club, and also featured former Brisbane Lions premiership player Jason Akermanis and Malthouse's daughter Christi.
Comments follow fixture storm
The walkout is the latest flashpoint between female footballers and the AFL establishment.
When the league flagged the possibility of fewer games being scheduled for the 2019 AFLW season, it drew fire from another of the women's game's biggest stars.
"It doesn't sit well with me, or a lot of the players," Melbourne captain Daisy Pearce told radio station SEN last month.
"This is presented as the female, elite, professional offering by the AFL, and it has been lauded as that, when in reality this is a gimmicky tournament."
Teammate Meg Downie described it as a backwards step, while Geelong's Erin Hoare tweeted that women "cannot commit as athletes" without the league having a genuine commitment to growth.
The eventual decision to introduce a conference system, in which not all teams play each other, was met with further controversy.
The AFL is currently working with the AFL Players Association on a vision statement for the ALFW, in part as a response to concerns that its recent decisions about the competition have been rushed and poorly considered.
A number of players and figures involved in the AFLW have told the ABC they are dismayed by a year of distractions and missteps, which they say highlight the dangerous lack of long-term planning.
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