AFLW superstar Daisy Pearce says she wants to be coached by the best person for the job, regardless of the gender.
The Age football writer Caroline Wilson wrote last week asking where have all the women coaches in AFLW gone, a sentiment Pearce believes has logic.
However, the dual Melbourne best and fairest winner thinks hiring the best person for the job, as opposed to making a decision on gender, is the way to go.
“I have always made it pretty clear, as a player, I selfishly would want the best coach for the job,” Pearce told SEN Breakfast.
“Whether that’s male or female, I just want the person that is going to develop me into the best player and best leader and best person that I can be.
“I’m always a bit uncomfortable about this idea of forcing females into roles.”
Pearce is of the notion more female coaches will present, once they spend more time in a professional football system.
“I think eventually we will see more female coaches within the game," she said.
"They will probably come from this crop of players who have had the opportunities that the women that might be in the age bracket to coach now wouldn’t have had in terms of learning the game and getting on the coaching pathway.
“Caro makes a good point in that, we need to strike some sort of a balance in giving women those opportunities.
"Because that was one of the indirect aims the AFL wanted out of this competition was to not just to give us players an opportunity to play the game, but also to start creating off-field roles, whether that’s in coaching or administration."
SEN Breakfast with Garry Lyon and Tim Watson can be heard Monday-Friday 6-9am, and you can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here.
“If, in isolation, these decisions were made on the fact that Michelle Cowan, Bec Goddard, Meg Hutchings and Peta Searle aren’t the right people for those jobs, in isolation, then I’m comfortable with that position that they’ve parted ways.
“It’s a worth a look to make sure there isn’t something environmentally or culturally that’s disallowing these women to thrive in the industry and within these roles.”
There are currently no female head coaches in AFLW, with Fremantle and Adelaide yet to fill vacant positions.
Listen to Daisy Pearce’s chat with Garry Lyon and Tim Watson on SEN Breakfast in the player below