MICHELLE Cowan humbly says she’s not a groundbreaker, but the fact she’s already part of an elite state league level coaching panel and is set to become Melbourne’s first female coach is evidence enough to suggest she is.

For Cowan, it’s about the love of the game, and she’s simply following her passion.

“If it means that I can help inspire another girl to do something like that – then that’s great, but for me, it’s just something that I’m following and really passionate about. I love doing it,” she told melbournefc.com.au.

Cowan, who became the first female coach in the WAFL, grew up in Western Australia as a West Coast Eagles supporter. Although she hailed from a sporting family, neither Cowan’s father or brother played Australian Football. But as a 16 year-old, she watched football religiously, whether it was the AFL, WAFL or her local club.

“I just had a really strong passion for it at a really young age, and I loved watching it - it was something that I knew that I wanted to focus on and try and build a career out of,” she said.

Cowan has coached “a variety of sports” for more than 15 years.

But after deciding to focus on Australian football, Cowan became an assistant coach with West Perth in 2004-05.

She then had a family and coached at community level, before returning to the WAFL, where she is now “thoroughly enjoying working” with the midfield at South Fremantle, under former Fremantle star Paul Hasleby.

“The guys are great, the coaching staff is brilliant and it’s a great club to be a part of. Paul Hasleby has really taken me under his wing and he’s a bit of a mentor for me as well, so I’m learning a lot from him,” she said.

Last weekend, Cowan spent the weekend with Mark Neeld and his coaching staff, gaining an insight into Melbourne’s pre-match preparations and match-day operations. Although the Demons went down to Fremantle at Patersons Stadium by a whopping 90 points, Cowan said it was a “great experience”.

“I really enjoyed sitting in on the team meeting at the hotel and then being part of it on game day, the quarter-time huddle and the three quarter-time huddle,” she said. 

“The coaching staff at Melbourne were extremely welcoming towards someone they hadn’t met before, which was great. It was great just seeing the professional side of Aussie Rules and being in the AFL.”

Cowan, who will coach the inaugural Melbourne team in the first AFL sanctioned women’s match against the Western Bulldogs in the lead-up to the men’s clash in round 14 at the MCG, said it was an “absolute honour to coach a club with such a rich history”.

“I’m just really excited for the opportunity,” she said.

“It’d probably rank as my all-time greatest achievement as a coach, to be honest.

“To be the first sanctioned AFL match for women at the MCG is really exciting, and I’m really excited for the 50 girls who get to run out on the MCG as well.”

She said the recent inaugural AFL Women’s Draft, which saw 50 players selected (25 by Melbourne and 25 by the Bulldogs) was a significant step.

“Everybody has been saying how amazing it was for women’s football. For me, it has been an amazing step for women’s sport in general,” Cowan said.

“I had a lot of people talk about the energy in the room and the way it was in Melbourne, and it was exactly the same in Perth – the vibe in the room was outstanding.

“The girls were excited for themselves and each other, so it was a great event and it was extremely well run. I’m really excited for the 25 girls who got drafted to Melbourne.”

As for aspirations to coach in the AFL, Cowan said she had already set his sights on joining a panel in the near future.  

“It is actually [something I want to do]. Having just spent the weekend with Melbourne and spending a lot more time with footy at the moment, my goal is to obtain my level three coaching accreditation,” she said.

“I’m certainly keen to then knock on the doors of a few AFL clubs as well.

“It’s just going to take a club that looks out of the square, because nobody’s done it yet. It’ll be someone who looks outside of the box and appoints a female to a coaching role.”

Cowan said she would realise a dream if she joined an AFL club in a coaching capacity.

“For me, it’s just one of my goals, really. It’d mean that I’ve achieved a goal I set out to achieve a long time ago,” she said.

“Whether you’re a man or a woman, it’s just about being the right person for the right job.

“I personally bring some unique skills to the table, and it’d just be a matter of which club fits right.”

But long term, Cowan has a firm vision for women’s football – to have an AFL competition.

“The vision for AFL by 2020 is to have a national competition aligned with the AFL clubs, which I think is a realistic goal as well,” she said.

“All other sports and professional sports have a female competition and, being Australia’s greatest game, it staggers me that we don’t currently have anything like that in place.

“The vision is there, and I certainly think it’ll happen. This is a great step forward with our match on June 29 at the MCG.”