Angela Foley (born 13 December 1988) is an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er playing for the

Port Adelaide Football Club Port Adelaide Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, Alberton, South Australia. The club's senior men's team plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), where they are nicknamed ...

in the

AFL Women's AFL Women's (AFLW) is Australia's national semi-professional Australian rules football league for female players. The first season of the league in February and March 2017 had eight teams; the league expanded to 10 teams in the 2019 season, 1 ...

(AFLW). She previously played for the

Adelaide Football Club The Adelaide Crows (officially the Adelaide Football Club) are a professional Australian rules football team based in Adelaide, South Australia. Founded in 1990. The Crows has fielded a men's team in the Australian Football League (AFL) since ...

from 2017 to 2022. A defender, tall, Foley plays primarily on the

half-back line In the sport of Australian rules football, the half-back line refers to the positions of the 3 players on the field that occupy the centre half-back and left and right half-back flank positions. Centre half-back The role of the centre half-back ...

with the ability to push into the

midfield Midfield is the part of a sports field that lies approximately in the center. In American football, association football (soccer) and field hockey, it is the area in and around the center circle, as well as the players who occupy that region. In ...

. After spending her early life in country Victoria, in which she won a premiership and best and fairest with Bendigo Thunder, she moved to Darwin in 2013. Her career in the Northern Territory saw her win three consecutive premierships, two consecutive league

best and fairest In Australian sport, the best and fairest award recognises the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition. The awards are sometimes dependent on not receiving a suspensi ...

s, a grand final

best on ground In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

medal, and interstate representation. Foley's performances in representative matches in 2016 saw her recruited by the Adelaide Football Club as a priority selection for the inaugural AFLW season. She is a dual AFL Women's premiership player.

Early life

Foley was born and raised in

Shepparton, Victoria Shepparton () ( Yortayorta: ''Kanny-goopna'') is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River in northern Victoria, Australia, approximately north-northeast of Melbourne. As of the 2021 census, the estimated population of Shepparton, ...

. She played with the Bendigo Thunder in the

Victorian Women's Football League The Victorian Women's Football League (VWFL) was the oldest and largest Australian rules football league for women in the world, consisting of 47 clubs from Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, across seven divisions and a total of ove ...

north west conference, winning the club's inaugural

medal in 2011 and a premiership in the 2012 season. She moved to Darwin at the start of 2013 and joined the

Waratah Football Club The Waratah Football Club, nicknamed, Warriors or Tahs, is a member club of the Northern Territory Football League The Northern Territory Football League (NTFL) is an Australian rules football semi-professional league operating in Darwin ...

in the

Northern Territory Football League The Northern Territory Football League (NTFL) is an Australian rules football semi-professional league operating in Darwin in the Northern Territory. The league is one of few (and the highest level) Australian Rules competitions played during ...

(NTFL), winning the premiership in her first season with the club and the Brenda Williams Medal as the

in the grand final. She won a further two premierships with the club in the 2014/15 and 2015/16 seasons and was also announced the league's most valuable women's player for both seasons. Foley represented the Northern Territory for the first time in 2015 when the territory faced

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

in May. She was selected as part of the inaugural NT Thunder talent program in 2016 and represented the territory in April against

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

and

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. She was selected by the

Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. It is based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, ...

for an exhibition match against the

Brisbane Lions The Brisbane Lions is a professional Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, that plays in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club was formed in late 1996 via a merger of the Melbourne-based 1883 foundation VFL c ...

at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadiu ...

in May, with the ''

NT News The ''Northern Territory News'' (also known and branded as the ''NT News'') is a morning tabloid newspaper based in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published every week from Monday to Saturday. It prim ...

'' reporter, Marc McGowan, stating her two matches against Victoria and Tasmania were key to her selection for Melbourne. In June, she represented the Northern Territory against South Australia in a curtain raiser before the AFL versus match at

Adelaide Oval Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the city centre and North Adelaide. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby ...

. Her representative performances throughout the year saw her selected for Melbourne in the all-stars match against the in September at

Whitten Oval Whitten Oval (also known as Victoria University Whitten Oval under a naming rights agreement) is a stadium in the inner-western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located in Barkly Street, West Footscray. It is the training and administra ...

, in which she kicked a goal and was named one of Melbourne's best players. Foley also played two seasons in the premier

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

competition in Darwin for the Hoggies, but elected to give up the sport from the 2016 season to focus on her football career.

AFL Women's career

Adelaide (2017–2022)

Foley was recruited by the Adelaide Football Club as a priority selection in August 2016. She was named as Adelaide's inaugural co-vice-captain alongside Sally Riley in January 2017. She made her debut in the thirty-six point win against at

Thebarton Oval Thebarton Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia currently used for a variety of sports including Australian rules football. It was the home ground of South Australian National Football League (SANFL) club West Torrens Football Clu ...

in the opening round of the 2017 season. Her performance in the three point win against at

in round three drew praise due to her limiting the impact of the league leading goalkicker,

Darcy Vescio Darcy Vescio (born 3 August 1993) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Carlton Football Club in the AFL Women's competition. As a heavily marketed marquee player, Vescio has been referred to as a "household name" in Australia by E ...

–keeping her to zero disposals after halftime–with the

Australian Associated Press Australian Associated Press (AAP) is an Australian news agency. It was established by Keith Murdoch in 1935. AAP employs around 80 journalists who work in bureaus in all states and territories of Australia except the Northern Territory. It al ...

reporter, Ben McKay, writing she effectively shut down the dangerous forward. After the club finished second on the ladder, she was a part of Adelaide's premiership side after the club defeated by six points at

Metricon Stadium Carrara Stadium (known commercially as Metricon Stadium) is a stadium on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Carrara. The stadium is primarily used for Australian rules football, serving as the home ground of the ...

in the

AFL Women's Grand Final The AFL Women's Grand Final is an annual women's Australian rules football match to determine the AFL Women's (AFLW) premiers for that year. Each year, the winning club receives a premiership trophy and premiership flag; all players in the winn ...

. She played every match in her debut season to finish with eight matches and finished equal fifth in the Adelaide Club Champion award with 81 votes alongside

Rhiannon Metcalfe Rhiannon Metcalfe (born 27 September 1991) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Adelaide Football Club in the AFL Women's competition. State football Metcalfe started playing Australian rules football in 2015, picking up the game ...

. After re-signing with Adelaide for the 2018 season, she was named one of Adelaide's vice-captains for the second consecutive season with Sally Riley. She played the opening two matches of the season before she was suspended for one match due to kneeing

Daisy Pearce Daisy Pearce (born 27 May 1988) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition. Often regarded as the face of women's Australian rules football, Pearce has served as Melbourne c ...

in the thirty-two point loss to at

Casey Fields Casey Fields is a $30 million, 70 hectare multi-sports complex in the City of Casey at Cranbourne East a southeastern suburb of Melbourne. The complex is home to Australian rules football, cricket, netball, soccer, tennis, cycling, go ...

. In her return match, the draw against at

Blacktown International Sportspark Blacktown International Sportspark (BISP) (formally known as Blacktown Olympic Park) is a multi-sports venue located in Rooty Hill, a suburb in Sydney, Australia. The venue includes two cricket grounds, which have also been used for Australian r ...

in round four, she recorded twenty disposals, six marks and three tackles, with ''Shepparton News'' journalist, Tyler Maher, writing she returned from suspension with a bang. In the four point win against at

TIO Stadium Marrara Oval, currently branded TIO Stadium under a naming rights agreement (and previously also known as Football Park), is a sports ground in Darwin, the capital of Australia's Northern Territory. The ground primarily hosts Australian rules ...

in round six, she was the acting captain for the match and despite regular captains

Erin Phillips Erin Victoria Phillips (born 19 May 1985) is an Australian rules footballer for the Port Adelaide Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition, a radio host, and a former professional basketball player. She played nine seasons in the Wo ...

and

Chelsea Randall Chelsea Randall (born 14 June 1991) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Adelaide Football Club in the AFL Women's competition. She is one of the club's inaugural AFLW team co-captains. Early life and state league football Randa ...

playing in the match, the club elected to give Foley the captaincy in front of her home crowd. For her performance in the match, in which she recorded fifteen disposals, six tackles and four marks, she was named in AFL Media's team of the week and received two league best and fairest votes, meaning she was adjudged the second best player on the ground by the field umpires. Her performances throughout the season saw her named in the initial forty player All-Australian squad and she finished fourth in Adelaide's Club Champion award with 106 votes. In 2021, Foley was named as the stand-in captain of Adelaide's

2021 AFL Women's Grand Final The 2021 AFL Women's Grand Final was an Australian rules football match held at the Adelaide Oval on 17 April to determine the premiers of the fifth season of the AFL Women's (AFLW) league. The match was contested by the Adelaide Crows and B ...

team, after long-time captain

was ruled out from the game due to concussion.

Port Adelaide (2022–present)

In April 2022, Foley announced her intention to sign with 's inaugural AFLW team, officially signing with the club on the opening day of the expansion signing period in May.

Statistics

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Off-field

Outside of her football career, Foley is the director of sport at the Essington School Darwin in

Nightcliff, Northern Territory Nightcliff is a northern suburb of the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. History Although the origin of the name Nightcliff has always been surrounded by conjecture and controversy, the naming can be tracked back to 8 September 1 ...

. She also works part time at Brighton Secondary School in

Brighton, South Australia Brighton is a coastal suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, situated between Seacliff and Glenelg and aside Holdfast Bay. Some notable features of the area are the Brighton-Seacliff Yacht Club, the Brighton Surf Lifesaving Club, the Brighton J ...

Honours and achievements

Team * 2× AFL Women's premiership player ():

* AFL Women's minor premiership ():

Individual * Port Adelaide equal games record holder

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Foley, Angela 1988 births Living people Adelaide Football Club (AFLW) players Port Adelaide Football Club (AFLW) players Australian rules footballers from the Northern Territory Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia) Victorian Women's Football League players