How AFLW Star Danielle Ponter is Giving Back On and Off-Field

Danielle Ponter is carrying on her significant family legacy by letting her footy do the talking, but it hasn’t been without sacrifice.

Despite having been on Kurwana’s list since 2019, Ponter only made the move to Adelaide last year, opting to commute from her home base in Darwin in the years prior.

It meant training alone, or with one or two Northern Territory-based teammates, and plenty of travel hours.

“It was fairly hectic, I was working in Darwin, and I was flying down every week, and then I would fly to a game elsewhere, and I’d fly home,” Ponter told AFL.com.au.

“That’s what my 13 to 15 weeks of the year would look like, so I think in the first couple of seasons I racked up like 70-plus hours of flying in a season. It got to that point where I was more exhausted from everything off the field rather than everything on and I knew it might have been taking away what I could give on the field.”

Fans could be forgiven for not realising Ponter’s heavy travel schedule and relative disconnection from her teammates, given her important role in the Crows’ 2019 and 2021 premierships, and 46 goals kicked over her first five seasons.

But as one of the breakout stars of 2023, those early seasons were only scratching the surface of what she was capable of, and her relocation allowed her to get more out of herself.

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Last year Ponter kicked a club-high 20 goals, while also leading her side for centre clearances, playing in a new hybrid role.

“Last season, I got my full preseason in with everyone, which was great. But everything off the field, it’s probably gone in the complete other direction, just being away from family and home and everything,” Ponter said.

“So, there’s benefits to it. My footy’s going great, but there’s parts of it, the sacrifices off the field that you make. I think I’m trying to make a lot of my footy work because I understand the sacrifices that I’ve made off the field, so that’s sort of what drives me most of the time.”

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Crucially, Ponter’s partner Nathaniel made the move with her. As a schoolteacher, finding work wasn’t a problem, and he has been a sense of comfort in the move.

The pair were engaged on the eve of the 2024 NAB AFLW season and have now been settled in Adelaide for 18 months.

“He’s been a massive part of it, and if I wasn’t with him, then it’d make it a lot harder than what it was. I’m really grateful that he was able to come down,” Ponter said.

Such a significant change in lifestyle was hard for the star Crow because of her tight connection to her family and culture. A proud Anmatyerre, Marranunggu and Tiwi woman, she is the niece of Essendon champion Michael Long, and cousin to four-time Hawthorn premiership player Cyril Rioli.

“My family is very important to me, and I’ve probably been very lucky that I’ve been brought into footy. My whole life has been surrounded by footy,” Ponter said.

“As soon as I was born it was footy, footy, footy and we’ve always been proud of not just footy, but we’re proud Aboriginal people and we’re a proud family. I’ve been lucky enough to witness some of the great things that my uncle Michael Long has done for footy, but more importantly, for the wider Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.

“So, every season I try to bring that part of him into this space. Ultimately I just want to make just a bit of a difference (like) what he’s done, in the space that I am in now.”

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There is a sense that by stepping out onto the footy field, Ponter represents more than just herself, a star footballer. Rather, she represents that legacy of her family and its culture.

Through the Michael Long Foundation, Long has worked hard following his impressive footy career to promote awareness and understanding of First Nations people within Australia, including the now annual Long Walk to the AFL’s Dreamtime at the ‘G match.

“It’s obviously more than just footy for me and more than just my family, we represent so much more than that. And every day he tried to contribute more or tried to help impact the way Aboriginal communities and people were treated and respected,” Ponter explained.

“I’m not just trying to play a bit of footy here, I’m trying to help out in that space as well … it’s not a responsibility, I don’t feel pressured into doing what I’m doing. I think it’s just that respect and love that I have for my community and for my people, and that was instilled in me from a very young age from my family.

“So, I’ve grown up always trying to give back in a way. There’s no pressure in doing it, I love what I’m doing, and I would just love to do it for as long as I possibly can, and hopefully make as much of a difference as my uncle or my cousins have in the past.”

Outside of her footy, Ponter works as Kurwana’s First Nations programs co-ordinator, connecting the club to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the community.

And on the field, she has made a concerted effort to share the fun of playing footy, particularly when it comes to goal celebrations, in an effort to keep her teammates up and about.

“Last season, we always talk about it, but we’d celebrate a goal, and everyone would run back to their positions or do something not quite as exciting as what it is now,” Ponter said.

“As a forward line, we’re just trying to show that we’re having a lot of fun … I’m just very happy at the moment, and it’s just an expression of that, but also just trying to hype the girls up and make it fun again.

“Make footy fun again, I know it’s always fun, but at times it can be an extremely hard sport, especially when things aren’t going your way. So, there’s moments where we just get really hard on ourselves and can strip the fun out of things, but it’s a nice reminder at the end of the day that footy’s fun, and that’s why we’re all here.”

This article was originally published on AFL.com.au and was republished with permission.