Daisy Pearce

Women's exhibition games In May 2013, the Australian Football League (AFL) announced that a women's exhibition game would be held for the first time during its annual Women's Round, involving AFL clubs and the . Fifty of the top female footballers in Australia were selected in the inaugural national women's draft later that month to play for the two clubs at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in a curtain raiser to the AFL match between the clubs in June; Pearce was recruited by Melbourne with the first selection in the draft, and was later named as Melbourne's captain. She was adjudged best afield with 28 disposals in the first exhibition game, which Melbourne won by 32 points in front of a crowd of almost 8,000. A second exhibition game between the two clubs, again played as a curtain raiser to the men's match and this time at Etihad Stadium, was announced in June 2014; Pearce was named among Melbourne's best players in its 46-point win.

In February 2015, the AFL announced that two women's exhibition games would be played that year between Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs, the first to be played at the MCG in May and the second to be played at Etihad Stadium in August. Pearce was named among Melbourne's best players with 23 disposals in the first match, which Melbourne won by eight points, and was best afield with 30 disposals in the second match, which Melbourne won by four points. Later that year, she was named as the inaugural winner of the club's best female player award, polling five out of a possible six votes from the two matches. In February 2016, the AFL announced a ten-match national exhibition series to be played throughout the year, in which Melbourne played two games against the Western Bulldogs in March and September, as well as a match against a women's team at the MCG in May. Pearce was best afield with 33 disposals and eleven marks in the first match, which Melbourne lost by 20 points, and was named among Melbourne's best players in its 71-point win over Brisbane. She was Melbourne's best player in its 39-point loss to the Bulldogs in September; the match was watched by an average audience of 387,000 people in Melbourne, which was greater than the average viewing audience for every Saturday night game during the 2016 AFL home-and-away season, as well as a national audience peak of over one million people.

AFL Women's playing career

2017–2019: Midfield seasons and pregnancy

In July 2016, Pearce and Melissa Hickey were announced as 's two marquee players for the inaugural AFL Women's season in 2017. Pearce was announced as the club's first AFLW captain in January 2017. She made her AFL Women's debut in Melbourne's inaugural match in round 1 against at the club's home ground, Casey Fields, and was listed among her team's best players in the loss, recording 19 disposals and nine tackles. Pearce was among Melbourne's best players in every game for the season; she was named by the AFL Players Association (AFLPA) as "Player of the Week" for round 4 after recording 29 disposals and six tackles in Melbourne's win against and was awarded the maximum three votes for the AFL Women's best and fairest award in Melbourne's round 6 match against . Following the home-and-away season, she revealed that she played the first two rounds with an injury after sustaining bone bruising and a corked calf in the opening round, and had sat out training for the entire week leading into round 2. At the end of the season, Pearce was named captain of the 2017 AFL Women's All-Australian team. She won the inaugural Melbourne best and fairest award and AFLPA AFLW best captain award, and was one of three Melbourne players nominated by her teammates for the AFLPA AFLW most valuable player award. She averaged 21.9 disposals, the most of any player in the inaugural season. She then captained Victoria in the inaugural AFL Women's State of Origin match on 2 September in front of a crowd of 9,400, where she was adjudged best afield with 37 disposals in the 97-point win. She was among Melbourne's best players in four of its first five matches of the season, polling the maximum three AFL Women's best and fairest votes in Melbourne's loss to in round 3. Pearce polled a game-high nine votes for the AFL Coaches Association (AFLCA) AFLW champion player of the year award in rounds 1 and 3 and the maximum ten votes in round 5, and was selected in afl.com.aus Team of the Week in the same rounds. At the end of the season, Pearce was named vice-captain of the 2018 AFL Women's All-Australian team, and again won the Melbourne best and fairest award and AFLPA AFLW best captain award. She was again nominated by her teammates for the AFLPA AFLW most valuable player award. Melbourne signed Pearce for the 2019 season during the trade and signing period in May. However, on 31 August, Pearce announced her pregnancy with twins, which would result in her missing the 2019 season; she was retained as an inactive player, and Elise O'Dea and Shelley Scott were eventually announced as co-captains in her place.

Pearce continued to mentor and work with Melbourne players in an unofficial assistant coach role when they returned for pre-season training in November 2018, and gave birth to twins in February 2019. By April, she was back to her playing weight, and later that month, she re-signed with Melbourne for the 2020 season. and resumed training with her Melbourne teammates three weeks later. In August, Pearce was announced as an assistant coach to Dermott Brereton for the Victorian team in that year's E.J. Whitten Legends Game.

2020–2021: Return to football and position shifts

Pearce was reinstated as Melbourne captain in January 2020. Coach Mick Stinear said, "With her knowledge of our game plan, and her ability to instruct, support and give feedback on and off the field, she's just the ideal person to lead this group". She ran a personal best time over two kilometres in the lead-up to the season. Later that month, Pearce made a successful return to football, playing the first three quarters of Melbourne's practice match win against Collingwood. Leading into the season, womens.afl journalist Sarah Black named Pearce at no. 5 on her list of the top 30 players in the AFLW. Pearce played her first AFLW match in 694 days in Melbourne's win over in round 1, playing in a new role as a defender; in doing so, she became the first player to return to playing at AFLW level after giving birth. Pearce was named among Melbourne's best players in five of its six home-and-away matches for the season; she polled eight coaches' votes in round 2 and five in round 3, and was selected in womens.afls Team of the Week for round 2. After round 6, the last two home-and-away rounds were abandoned and a modified finals series was brought forward due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing Melbourne to qualify for finals for the first time. Pearce was among Melbourne's best players with 22 disposals in its semi-final win over , before the finals were cancelled with no premiership awarded due to the pandemic. Pearce was selected in the initial 40-woman squad for the 2020 AFL Women's All-Australian team, and was voted as the AFLPA AFLW best captain and nominated by her teammates for the AFLPA AFLW most valuable player award for the third time.

Leading into the 2021 season, Pearce was named as Melbourne captain for a fourth season, and was named by Sarah Black at no. 9 on her annual list of the top 30 players in the AFLW. Prior to the opening game of the season, Pearce said that she had been "squeezed out of the midfield, officially" and would continue to primarily play at half-back while still making small appearances in the midfield. Pearce polled the maximum three AFL Women's best and fairest votes in Melbourne's round 1 win against . She was named among Melbourne's best players in its win over in round 6 after moving to the forward line and kicking two goals, and was selected in womens.afls Team of the Week for that round. Pearce was named among Melbourne's best players in round 8 after kicking a goal and setting up the match-winning goal in the club's close win over Fremantle, which assured its position in that year's finals series. She injured the medial collateral ligament (MCL) in her right knee in the opening minutes of Melbourne's close win over Brisbane the following week after her leg was caught underneath her in a tackle, which ruled her out of Melbourne's qualifying final win against Fremantle and preliminary final loss to Adelaide. Following the preliminary final, Pearce placed second in that year's AFLPA AFLW best captain award behind captain Ellie Blackburn; she revealed the next day that she had suffered a small tear to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her right knee in the round 9 game, and that she would have surgery to repair the MCL while allowing the ACL to heal naturally.

2022: 13-goal season, premiership and retirement

Pearce was named as Melbourne captain for a fifth season leading into season 6, continuing in her forward role from midway through the previous season. Stinear said that she was the strongest he had ever seen her; Pearce said that she had focused more heavily on weights and more of a strength and power focus over running during the pre-season. and was among Melbourne's best players in its loss to Adelaide in round 4, kicking two of the team's three goals for the game. At the halfway point of the season, Pearce was equal-third in the competition for average score involvements with 4.4 per game. She was among Melbourne's best players in its win over Brisbane in round 7, shifting back into defence during the match to record 15 disposals; she received five coaches' votes and was selected in womens.afls Team of the Week for round 7. Pearce was among Melbourne's best players with five goals in its record-breaking win over Fremantle in round 9, becoming Melbourne's first AFLW player and the fourth AFLW player overall to kick five goals in a match; she received the maximum ten coaches' votes, was selected in womens.afls Team of the Week for round 9 and polled the maximum three AFL Women's best and fairest votes. Pearce played in Melbourne's preliminary final win over Brisbane in the first AFLW match played at the MCG to help the club progress to the 2022 AFL Women's season 6 Grand Final, its first grand final appearance. She was named in Champion Data's 2022 AFLW All-Star stats team after leading the competition for score involvements with 1.5 per game and kicking 13 goals in ten games, was named in the 2022 AFL Women's season 6 All-Australian team, her third All-Australian selection, and was voted as the AFLPA AFLW best captain for the fourth time in her career. Pearce played in Melbourne's loss to Adelaide in the grand final, playing a key role in defence and on the wing. Following the grand final, she won her third Melbourne best and fairest award by a single vote. In May, Pearce said that she would continue playing for "at least one more" season, with the competition's seventh season taking place later in the year.

In August, Pearce was named at no. 25 in Sarah Black's season 7 list of the top 30 players in the AFLW and was named as Melbourne captain for a sixth season. She kicked a goal from eight disposals in Melbourne's round 1 win over Adelaide, playing a negating role on Adelaide defender Sarah Allan as part of her role to "keep [Adelaide's] intercept (possession) game to a minimum". Pearce was among Melbourne's best players in its win over North Melbourne in round 2 with two goals. In the lead-up to her 50th AFLW game, Pearce said that while she would "love" an AFLW premiership, "It's less about ticking that box and having a premiership than it is about love for the game [...] I think I'll walk away still really fulfilled and feeling like the game has given me so much". She played her 50th game in Melbourne's win over Gold Coast in round 8, kicking a goal from 11 disposals and six marks. Pearce kicked the winning goal in Melbourne's preliminary final win over North Melbourne to help the club progress to the 2022 AFL Women's season 7 Grand Final, its second consecutive grand final appearance. She played in Melbourne's premiership win over Brisbane the following week, one of five inaugural Melbourne players (the others being Sarah Lampard, Lily Mithen, Karen Paxman and Lauren Pearce; Stinear was also their inaugural coach ) to do so. In January 2023, Pearce announced her playing retirement.

Playing statistics

55 !! 25 !! 22 !! 471 !! 254 !! 725 !! 115 !! 160 !! 0.5 !! 0.4 !! 8.6 !! 4.6 !! 13.2 !! 2.1 !! 2.9 !! 25

Playing style and positions

Pearce was known for being a smart, skilled who directed play on-field. Longtime Melbourne coach Mick Stinear described Pearce as an "on-field coach" designed to "accelerate the next generation of female coaches" in Australian rules football, and was mentored by former Darebin and St Kilda coach Peta Searle as part of the twelve-month program. Later that month, she joined the AFL Academy as coach of its women's program. In June, Pearce accepted a coaching role at Geelong as part of the AFL's women's coaching acceleration program. She was one of four then-current AFLW players and nine women overall to receive a position at a club; the program enabled the women to start anytime before 2025, allowing Pearce to continue playing until she decided to begin in the role. While in her commentary role for the Seven Network, she was refused entry into 's change rooms following its round 1 draw against Carlton due to her coaching position, a decision which Richmond senior club advisor Neil Balme later clarified was a sign of respect for Pearce's intelligence: "I know I'd trust her to the point that (gathering intelligence is) not what she is there for [...] but to be able to do both jobs is a bit difficult at times". The Brisbane Lions later put the same ban on Pearce, with senior coach Chris Fagan saying that it was a hard decision and either choice was acceptable.

AFL Women's coaching career

2024–present: First seasons, club's first final

In December 2023, Pearce was announced as 's new AFLW senior coach on a three-year contract, replacing Michael Prior, with the club describing the appointment as "one of the biggest recruiting coups of [its] history" in a club statement. The appointment made Pearce the third former AFLW player to become a senior coach, following Lauren Arnell and Lisa Webb, and was later named at no. 1 on afl.com.aus list of the ten biggest stories of the 2023 AFL Women's season. Prior to her appointment, she had never coached her own team for a full season at any level. Pearce first coached West Coast in two unofficial practice matches during the off-season, a two-point win over Gold Coast in April and a 14-point loss to Fremantle in May, followed in August by a 56-point loss to Fremantle in a pre-season match simulation and a 32-point loss to St Kilda in a practice match. In week 1, in her first official match as an AFLW coach, Pearce coached West Coast to a one-point win over Richmond, followed by a 16-point loss to Essendon in week 2. She coached West Coast to an eleven-point win over the Western Bulldogs in week 3, overseeing West Coast's best start to an AFLW season with two wins from its first three matches, followed by a 17-point win over Collingwood in one of weeks 4's matches, marking the first time the club won consecutive AFLW matches and the first time it won three matches in a season, after only four matches. Pearce coached West Coast to a 45-point loss to reigning premier Brisbane in the other week 4 match, followed by a 24-point win over Greater Western Sydney in week 5, in which the club recorded its highest AFLW score of 10.4 (64) to place in the top eight on the ladder after six matches; however, West Coast would lose its final five matches of the season to finish 13th. Pearce described her first season as coach as a "whirlwind" and "massive learning curve", having tried to instil belief in her team to achieve immediate success, only to find "a kind of disconnect at first" given the team had previously never won more than two matches in a season. New co-captain Bella Lewis said that Pearce had brought a "real process-driven mindset" to the team, imploring the players to take things a week at a time and not look too far ahead. Leading into the AFLW season, West Coast lost to Fremantle by 22 points in a pre-season match simulation, followed by a draw with the Western Bulldogs in an official practice match. Pearce coached the team to a 15-point win over Gold Coast in round 1, a five-point loss to Essendon in round 2 and a 14-point come-from-behind win over St Kilda in round 3 to start the season. Fox Footy caller Kelli Underwood described the St Kilda win as "the best win under [Pearce's] coaching reign [...] it was an absolute masterclass by the coach", while Fox commentator Chyloe Kurdas noted the belief shown by the players and said that they were playing in a fashion similar to how Pearce herself played, describing Pearce as "certainly a 17th player" given her influence on the team; her six career wins as coach to that point were the most by a West Coast AFLW coach. followed by a seven-point loss to Fremantle in round 5 and a 51-point loss to Melbourne in round 6, which marked Pearce's first time coaching against her former club. The team responded with a 42-point win over Greater Western Sydney in round 7, its biggest ever win, and recorded its highest AFLW score of 11.9 (75) despite a flu outbreak causing several players to be left out of the squad, which forced the club to name a top-up player to field a full team. West Coast followed up with a 45-point win over Collingwood in round 8, besting its club record from the previous round, Pearce coached the team to a 31-point win over Geelong in round 10, followed by a 17-point loss to Sydney in round 11, leaving West Coast needing to win in the final round to guarantee its first AFLW finals appearance; the team lost to Carlton by 20 points, but other round 12 results worked in West Coast's favour, allowing the team to finish eighth with a 6–6 win–loss record and qualify for finals for the first time since its entry into the competition in 2020, earning a rematch against Carlton in an elimination final. Pearce described the feeling of the team waiting until the final match of the home-and-away season to know its fate as a "weird experience" and praised the players and staff for their work during the season, stressing that it was a "whole club investment" and she had been receiving "way too much credit" for the team's success.

In May 2026, Pearce was named as senior assistant coach to Darren Crocker for the Australian team in the inaugural AFL Women's Australia v Ireland match in August. Leading into the season, West Coast midfielder Ella Roberts said that Pearce had been growing more confident in her coaching and ability to pass on her football knowledge, which Roberts described as "unlike anything I've seen before". West Coast opened the season with an upset 12-point loss to Greater Western Sydney.

Coaching statistics Updated to the end of round 1, 2026.

24 !! 10 !! 14 !! 0 !! 41.7 !! 1 !! 0 !! 1 !! 0 !! 0.0 !! 25 !! 10 !! 15 !! 0 !! 40.0

Honours and achievements

Australian Football Hall of Fame (inducted 2025) AFL Women's premiership player : S7 (c) 3× AFL Women's All-Australian team: 2017 (c), and previously provided commentary for AFL Nation's AFL coverage for 1116 SEN on radio. In 2016, Pearce began appearing as a panel member on the Seven Network program AFL Game Day; before the show was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2018, Pearce began appearing on the SEN morning shows SEN Breakfast (with Garry Lyon and Tim Watson) and Whateley (with Gerard Whateley), and in 2019, she hosted This is Grit, a weekly podcast series on SEN focusing on sportswomen. In 2021, she co-hosted The W Show for AFL Media alongside Nat Edwards, where they analysed and discussed AFL Women's news and topics. She previously provided special comments for radio network Triple M in 2017 and has written columns for newspaper The Age.

Pearce was a boundary rider for Seven's coverage of the AFL Grand Final in 2018 and 2019. Pearce won the award for Best Opinion/Analysis – TV/Radio at the 2021 Australian Football Media Association Awards, with the AFMA commenting: "Daisy's football knowledge is incredible and she leaves viewers with a better appreciation of the game". Pearce was shifted to Seven's Friday night commentary team for the 2022 season, again providing special comments for the grand final that season, before moving to Thursday nights in 2023 upon commencing her coaching role with Geelong's AFL team. Pearce took a year off from commentary after becoming West Coast's AFLW senior coach, before rejoining Seven in 2025 to commentate on the network's coverage of Western Australia-based matches, occasionally appearing on other matches for the network. In 2026, she began appearing as a part of a rotating team of expert commentators on Sunday matches.

Advocacy

Pearce has advocated for both men and women to commentate and talk about women's football in the media. After Tiffany Cherry spoke out against the Nine Network in February 2018 for failing to stand up for gender equality after being replaced by Clint Stanaway as host of the Nine program Women's Footy, Pearce said, "I enjoy seeing men working across and well-informed football commentators talking about [women's football]... why can't we see men working across the AFL Women's competition?" and played down talks of a crisis developing after a group of players considered splitting from the AFLPA to create their own players union. She believed that broader talks between the AFLPA and AFLW players, which would allow more players to speak directly to the AFLPA, would result in an agreement that would satisfy all players. "[If] the AFL Players Association tell us that moving forward 'we're going to improve communications [...] because we've acknowledged there's some challenges with communicating with part-time girls', I trust that they'll do that".

Legacy

Pearce is often regarded by media as a pioneer of women's Australian rules football and the face of the AFLW, and is highly regarded across the football industry for her professionalism, knowledge and leadership, both on and off the field, as well as being a role model for current and future female footballers. SEN broadcaster Gerard Whateley called her "the defining figure of the AFLW era" and "the face of a social movement as well as a sport".

In 2016, Pearce was named Football Woman of the Year for her work as the AFL's female football ambassador, an AFL talent coordinator and a graduate intern at the Melbourne Football Club. In February 2017, Melbourne unveiled its new AFLW mascot, a costumed human depicting a "young female footy player", named Daisy in honour of Pearce. On 7 March 2017, Pearce became the first woman to be elected as a director on the board of the AFLPA; the association had decided that day to include AFLW players as full members.

In September 2018, the VFL Women's best and fairest award was named the Lambert–Pearce Medal to honour Pearce and VWFL founding committee member and former president Helen Lambert. Pearce won the inaugural award in 2016 after winning six Helen Lambert Medals in the VWFL. and by August 2024, the club had named its academy for its first- to third-year AFLW players the Daisy Pearce Academy. In December 2024, Pearce received life membership at Melbourne for her contributions to the club, and in June 2025, she was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame, with Pearce and fellow 2025 inductee Erin Phillips becoming the first AFLW players to be inducted and joining Debbie Lee as the only women in the Hall of Fame. and receiving a Distinguished Alumni award in 2019. She worked as a midwife at Box Hill Hospital and lived in Eltham at the time. Pearce gave birth to twins with her partner, firefighter Ben O'Neill, and she divided her time between there and Melbourne,

In June 2021, Pearce participated in the annual Big Freeze at the 'G event to raise funds for motor neurone disease (MND) research, sliding into the ice bath at the MCG in costume as the titular character from the Australian animated series Bluey. The 2021 edition of the event raised more than $10 million for Neale Daniher's charity, Fight MND.