2024 Hostplus SANFL Volunteer of the Year Finalist – Julie Clifton

By JORDAN ROUTLEY

There may not be a more fitting reflection of the growth of women’s football than Willunga Football Club president Julie Clifton.

With an infectious can-do attitude, Clifton has been a fearless trailblazer for women’s football from the first day she walked into the famous old club nearly 10 years ago.

Her association with the Demons began with her daughter wanting to play football for the club, which at the time had only one other female player in her age group.

“The guys who were organising it needed a bit more help so I started helping and I wanted to see women’s footy grow and that’s how I started to get involved,” Clifton said.

From those humble beginnings, Clifton took on the role of Women’s Coordinator and established a female program that is now among the best in the state.

The Demons have won two of the past three premierships in the senior women’s and U17s competitions, with the club producing a cavalcade of SANFLW players.

“I think having good coaches is definitely a positive and wanting to create a positive environment and role-modelling is really important for the girls,” Clifton said.

“It was about creating a space where they felt supported and making it fun for them, so that has been a really important part of the success.”

Clifton continued to forge her own path when three years ago she was named the club’s first female president in its 150-year history.

“I put my hand up to be president, which to be the first female president of the third-oldest football club in South Australia was quite an honour and I’ve loved every minute of it since,” she said.

The Demons continue to thrive under her stewardship, with the senior men’s team winning two of the past three flags while the club celebrated its 150th year this season.

Clifton has also made a point of being an innovator and thinking laterally to remain a successful club, introducing the ‘Green Demons’ program to help bolster recycling efforts among a myriad of other initiatives.

“It is just about thinking outside the square and looking at what we can do better and where we can improve, so there are lots of little things like that we can do,” Clifton said.

In recognition of her work with the Willunga women’s program, Clifton was named South Australia’s 2022 AFLW Community Ambassador, which proved to be a terrific experience for her.

“I wasn’t expecting any of that to be honest, but it was really cool and I got to meet some amazing people in different states and watched the AFLW grand final which the Crows won,” she said.

Clifton was also charged with the big responsibility of putting together the club’s 150th anniversary celebrations this year, honouring the past legends and glories of the club.

“This year as president has probably been the most challenging, because with 150 years of history, I was absolutely driven to make sure it received the credit it deserved,” Clifton said.

“We had our gala dinner at the South Adelaide Football Club which was absolutely fantastic and we set up a mini-museum with all the memorabilia because it is part of my mantra to keep that memorabilia alive.”

Julie is one of seven finalists for the 2024 Hostplus SANFL Volunteer of the Year Award, with the winner to be announced at the annual SANFL Community Volunteers Awards Night at Adelaide Oval on Friday, 11 October.