The last two years have heralded in the greatest revolution that has ever struck Australian sport.
This article is about four Australian teams that have changed how we look at our sporting sides.
For this, we have to thank Fox Sports for making a big deal of women’s sport. When you add the start of the AFLW – and now the NRLW – the trajectory of women’s sport is up, up and away.
These teams are no flashes in the pan and they have been strong for some time.
But with sensible administration and a core of seasoned internationals have catapulted them to the elite few in the world.
Netball
Their world dominance is not new. Even though the unbeatable two is now three, the Diamonds have not let their crown slip.
After a shock loss at the Commonwealth Games, they got up and dusted themselves off and started winning again.
With access to huge playing numbers, there seems to be an unlimited conveyer belt of world-class players.
Cricket
Our women’s cricket team has excelled in all formats of the game. With such stars as Ellyse Perry, Alyssa Healy and Meg Lanning as well as the young core of young up-and-comers, this team has talent, behaviour and an approach to the right way to play the game.
The sky is the limit and for the spectator, the games are fun, more muscular and aggressive and exciting to watch.
(MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)
Basketball
With past role models like Lauren Jackson and Penny Taylor, the Opals are on the crest of a wave and have hopes to reach greater heights at this year’s world championship.
With an all-star coach in Sandy Brondello and a world beater like Liz Cambage, their expectations are not fanciful. Now ranked four in the world, a medal is a distinct possibility.
Football
To be a world champion team you need superstars. We have one of the very best in Sam Kerr and a brilliant coach Alan Stajcic.
They have the talent to beat the unbeatable USA. Their brand of football is different to watch and these women are fast. They play the game at pace that is at times breathtaking.
This speed not only is an asset in attack it is telling in defence when more skilful players may have to beat the same player more than once because the defender turns around, chases and engages again.
Come next years World Cup in France, I will be watching as keenly as I did at the last year’s men’s World Cup.
Sam
Guest
Add to that the establishment of a women's Super Rugby competition and the fact the Australian Women's rugby 7s team winning the Gold Medal in Rio.
AusSokkah
Guest
You're highlighting three national teams (Opals, Diamonds and the Cricket) that have been in the worlds elite for much longer than the last two years. The Opals had medalled at every olympics from 2000-2012, the Diamonds have dominated world Netball for much longer than I can remember, and in a relatively small world pool our Australian Cricket team have also dominated the rankings. It's revolutionary maybe that the Matilda's have made a huge leap in recent times from a #10 ranked side to a side capable of competing and beating the worlds top 5 teams and at the same taking a top 5 ranking for themselves. You could put the revolutionary tag next to the phenomenal number of Australian women's basketballers playing in american colleges. Or even look at the inroads that Cricket, Netball have made into television coverage with the Super Netball and Big Bash League. I'd argue the poor treatment of W-League and WNBL on TV over recent seasons has been much less than revolutionary. The success of the national teams requires successfully supported national competitions broadcast on tv and ABC funding cuts meant that both W-League and WNBL had suffered. It's only been the last month that has seen SBS and FoxSports pick up weekly matches for WNBL and FoxSports, SBS and FFA's live app showing every game of the W-League this season. The AFLW revolution has stalled with an unbelievably shorter season amid the AFL's rush to prematurely expand, and both NRLW with 4 teams and Super W with 5 teams are barely proper competitoins yet. I believe it's dangerous to herald the arrival of a revolution of women's sports when there are still so many hurdles to overcome.