With the Matildas’ 4-1 win over Jamaica in their final group game at the FIFA Women’s World Cup earlier this week, the team has progressed to the next stage of the tournament and will now compete in the knock-out phase.
Their next game will be against Norway on Sunday morning, so set your alarm clocks.
There was jubilation across Australia with the progression, but the mood in some parts of the country was certainly more subdued a week and a half ago after the Matildas’ first game in the tournament where they lost to Italy 2-1.
It was bitterly disappointing to see Barbara Bonansea’s second goal in the 95th minute, which won Italy the game.
Following this loss, there was plenty of criticism – of the coach, of the players and of the tactics.
The Matildas responded with a 3-2 win over Brazil. But not content to let her football do the talking, in a post-match interview following that win, Australian sensation Sam Kerr responded to the critics with the following comment: “We’re back, so suck on that one”.
And then social media blew up.
Some were very critical of Kerr’s comments, suggesting that given how high profile the Matildas have become, they should expect criticism when their performances are not up to the standards expected, just like any other team would.
Whilst the Matildas may be the darlings of Australian football, some thought that given their last couple of performances, criticism of the team was warranted.
I can certainly understand this approach. For women’s sport to continue to grow and develop, one of the next stages in our reporting and coverage is the ability to fairly criticise both individual and team performance, just like is done in men’s sport.
For years, women’s sport has simply sought attention and some level of reporting. But now that reporting on various women’s sports is on the rise, I expect that criticism – when warranted – will follow.
This will hopefully be part of the continued growth and increased levels of popularity. This is something that may take some of our athletes time to get used to, especially as they are increasingly in the public eye.
But there’s more to it than just criticism of the way the team is playing. And that might be harder for some of us to understand.
(Photo by Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images)
The reality is that we still live in a world – particularly online – where women, and in this case female athletes, are targeted with very nasty and personal forms of abuse.
After some criticised Kerr for her “suck on that one” comment, the Australian captain took some screenshots of the online abuse she is subjected to.
You don’t need to look at just those screenshots, simply find a high-profile female athlete on social media and read the comments following their posts or photos – comments that target their sexuality, the way they look, the fact they play a sport that is traditionally male-dominated.
There have been countless examples of this type of harassment this year alone. The comments in relation to that kick by Tayla Harris provide a good example. Whilst that image has become one of the most celebrated sporting images of the year, the furore around it began after some derogatory comments were made about the way Harris looked when she was kicking a footy.
Our athletes should not be subjected to this type of abuse simply for playing the sport that they love.
So perhaps Kerr was telling those insidious trolls to “suck on that one”.
But maybe I’m just looking far too deeply into this.
Given the popularity and money surrounding many men’s sports, the majority of players come across as cardboard cut-outs in the media.
In rugby league we make fun of clichés like “full credit to the boys”, “taking it one week at a time” and “we just played for each other”. Many fans cry out for personality and welcome it when we get a small glimpse into who the athlete is.
And we certainly got a glimpse of a real, raw and emotional athlete following that win against Brazil.
For women’s sport to continue to progress and to grow, we need personalities like Sam Kerr. We need more examples of athletes that aren’t afraid to speak their minds like Alex Blackwell, Michelle Heyman and Sharni Layton, who show young men and women that it is absolutely OK to be who they are.
And whilst women’s sport will change over the years, the one thing I hope never changes is the personality some of our players demonstrate, their desire to play the sports that they love and the focus that they have on role-modelling for the next generation of young athletes coming through.
I hope Sam gets to stick it to the haters once again as Australia enters the knock-out phase.
Spanner
Roar Rookie
Less silly comments and somersaulting and more penalty taking practice, please !
Mister Football
Roar Guru
Interestingly, the other day, Gerard Whately mentioned that Ash and Sam are his two biggest sports people at the moment, of any sex, and then it's daylight to 3rd. There was then a discussion about who was 3rd, and it was a struggle to even think of a single nomination.
Kangas
Guest
I will have a look for those podcasts I also enjoy the guardian football podcasts which have terrific intelligent men and women chatting twice a week They are giving the women’s World Cup some excellent media
Pedro
Guest
Ash Barty what an inspiration, a couple of matches away from number 1. Definetly in the chase for Australian sportsperson of the year On the flip side some of our men tennis should be banned for a momth
JimboJones
Guest
Geez Mary. Why do you always have to have a Victims paragraph in every article you write ? Your just as much a part of the problem, as any. ( No doubt someone will feel the urge to correct my punctuation there ) The liken the people hurling abuse like kids throwing rocks through windows of an old house. They don't pick n choose which window to throw the rocks through , they just throw as many as they can and run away as fast as they can , to avoid getting caught. They know they are doing wrong ,but they cant help them selves , its called human nature. Unfortunately, in the era of social media , all the kids have rocks to throw and there's lots of old houses to throw them at . Just promote the sports you love Mary . Honestly ! I think you should try hard not to hunt in the media drama queen pack . In the 70's and 80's Sam Kerr would have been put on a pedestal for her comments. "Aussie As, Shes a bloody top sheila" . In 2019 people seem to be desperate to be offended . Sad really.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
Thankfully we have Mary and the Roar, so that those of us who follow womens sport can congregate here in large numbers to sing its praises. If you are not aware, there are a few excellent all-female sporting podcasts doing the rounds, and I believe Mary hosts one of them.
Kangas
Guest
Mid I don’t believe the small sample size of roar articles in any code of women’s sports are a reflected in the real world I’ve been involved in soccer afl and rugby netball clubs through my kids and there is almost zero awareness that all these w afl women’s nrl w league competitions exist.
Jordan Klingsporn
Roar Guru
Well yeah, i obviously meant Football sites.
Midfielder
Roar Guru
Good point but mainly on Football sites ...
Midfielder
Roar Guru
Mary great article . If I could add something and ask a more general question of you. The Womens WC is mega huge and the skill and ability has been amazing, yet the event outside the Matilda’s is largely unreported and its the first article by yourself. I hope this does not come across as a code war thing… but the W-League and women’s Football has been around in Australia since the 60’s my mother played a a women’s team in a women’s competition. The Opals are huge and also play in many mega tournaments against other nations. Yet our media largely ignore these two very international and very talented teams, and the media given to recent sports like league and AFL is huge by comparison Compare the Opals and women’s basketball and netball… my guess is netball receives many times more, yet the basketball has been established for yonks at a national level and the Opals hugely rated at international level. Essentially I am saying that why is female reporting tending to mirror male sport branding and for me basketball & the Opals cope it in the neck. Basketball has the oldest national women’s league and get almost no coverage and has produced many very talented people. This is the women’s basketball home page http://wnbl.com.au its worth a look . Anywho back on topic we do need more Sam Kerr’s but equally we need more reporting of international women’s sport to separate and highlight it from local Australian male sports.
Jordan Klingsporn
Roar Guru
I think you are looking a bit too deeply into this, Mary. A positive thing to write on would be how much the Australian Football community has been talking about this tournament. Look at how many articles on this site are about the Women's World Cup in the past 2 weeks, then look at how many are about something else.
Aiden
Guest
As they were after the last win. She’s authentic and fun. I don’t for a minute mean that it would be ok for her to abuse fans or critics in every list match interview, but she doesn’t have a history of that. She’s a fantastic role model. That little outburst, of you can call it that, was cheeky, spur of the moment, a release of pressure and would no doubt have come from a sense of solidarity with her teammates. I was one of the people who criticized the Italy game. I think she was directing the comment at critics as much as trolls. Who on earth would be offended. Pathetic. I thought it was hilarious, pumped me up even more. Yeah, we can suck on that one, well done girls! For goodness sake this is the biggest beat up in history. I hope she tells us all to take a dump if they win the WC.
Statler and Waldorf
Roar Guru
Sam's comments from now on will be the std boring rubbish and that's disappointing
Fadida
Roar Rookie
The "suck on that " was aimed at those who criticised the team. The social media response from Kerr was for the ignorant, small minded and cowardly abusing Kerr. As you pointed out, the criticism of the tesm and tactics, totally justified in my opinion, was simply a sign of the status women's football has achieved in this country. The OTT response to Kerr's comment is a reflection of the need for 24/7 articles, but Sam needs to remember she captains what is one of Australia's biggest sports teams. Without losing her personality
Chen Yang
Roar Pro
Agreed. As mike said last week, she can say whatever she damn well wants. We complain about bland robotic media interviews where players repeat the same meaningless tropes, yet rise up in outrage when kerr starts showing some personality. Smh
Kangas
Guest
Good article Mary Sam Kerr is a breathe of fresh air . Loved the way Sharni Layton handled herself in interviews , so honest about herself , my daughter idolised her when she played for netball for Australia.