“I Feel Fortunate To Pave The Way”: How AFLW’s Matilda Scholz Is Inspiring Aussie Girls

AFLW player Matilda Scholz comes from an Australian sporting pedigree — her mum, Peta Scholz, is a former netball player who helped Australia win gold at the 1999 World Netball Championships and the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Now, it’s Matilda’s turn to take the baton.

“Mum played netball for Australia during a time when women were getting paid pretty much nothing to play sport at a very high level,” Matilda tells Refinery29 Australia. "To see that progression through her, to be able to see where women's sport has been to where it is now is really cool.”

At just 20 years old, Matilda is coming up during the changing tide of attitudes towards women in sport. In 2022, Matilda was named in the under-18s All-Australian team and by the following year, she was asked to join Port Adelaide in a priority signing.

Last year, Matilda won Port Adelaide's best and fairest award as well as the NAB AFLW, Telstra AFLW Rising Star award. And while the recognition is nice, Matilda lights up when speaking about the chance to make an impact on young girls and boys, crediting it as her “favourite part” of the AFLW.

“I think it's important for young boys to see [women’s sport] growing up,” says Matilda. “In society, [men] have a lot of say, so for them to be able to see women playing sport as they grow up, I think, is really important.” Matilda pauses thoughtfully, “I'm looking forward to the time when it's not even a subject that we're talking about."

Off the field and outside of her burgeoning career, Matilda is a typical 20-year-old. She loves to get out of the guernsey (Thrills and Triangl Swimwear are her go-to fashion labels), she’s looking forward to the incoming summer season, is dating fellow Port Adelaide player Abbey Dowrick, and is TikTok-obsessed.

“I post a lot on TikTok,” the AFLW player laughs. “Dancing is something that makes me really happy.” With 32.3K followers on the app, her young fans get to see more of Matilda’s personality in her TikTok dances as well as a glimpse behind the scenes of the AFLW, which is growing more popular with each year.

“I know if I'm growing my audience, it’ll bring more eyes onto the club.”

Matilda knows how important it is for the AFLW to maintain its momentum. The inaugural AFLW season kicked off in early 2017 with just eight teams. Now in its tenth season, 18 clubs are playing, and attendance is slowly but surely increasing.

“The competition is growing,” says Matilda. “We're getting better every single year. So I think for the critics who say that we're not good, [or] we're not skilful, I want to encourage them to look back and think about the AFL in its tenth season. There’s been 150 plus seasons of the AFL, [we’re] in our tenth and we’re already producing some really entertaining footy.”

Matilda credits programs like NAB AFL Auskick, Junior Footy and state league programs as pathways for getting girls into the sport. Her younger sister, Poppy, has joined the family trade and was drafted into the AFLW just this year, signing with Carlton Football Club. “[Poppy’s] someone who always encouraged me. I’m super proud of everything she’s done. Having each other to push ourselves has been really helpful.”

Through her social media presence and on-field performance, it’s clear that Matilda is one to watch and the future of the AFLW. “I see myself playing footy for as long as I possibly can,” Matilda says, a grin in her voice. “I just want to be the best footballer I can be for myself and for my teammates. I'd love to win a premiership somewhere, hopefully at Port Adelaide. But the future is crazy. You never know what's going to happen.”