Stevie-Lee Thompson (born 23 March 1992) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Adelaide Football Club in the

AFL Women's AFL Women's (AFLW) is Australia's national semi-professional Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules football league for women's Australian rules football, female players. The 2017 AFL Women's season, first season of the league ...

competition.

Early life and state football

Thompson was born in Brisbane but was raised in

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region i ...

, New Zealand, from age 4, not returning to Brisbane with her family until age 11. She was a star in

touch rugby Touch rugby refers to games derived from rugby football in which players do not tackle each other but instead touch their opponents using their hands on any part of the body, clothing, or the ball. A formal, competitive variety, known as Tou ...

before suffering through a car crash; after that, she picked up Australian rules football. In 2015, after moving to Darwin, she started playing the game with the Wanderers Football Club in the local

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). From 2018, Thompson represented NT Thunder in the

VFL Women's VFL Women's (VFLW) is the major state-level women's Australian rules football league in Victoria. The league initially comprised the six premier division clubs and the top four division 1 clubs from the now-defunct Victorian Women's Football L ...

(VFLW), kicking 5 goals in 10 games for the club over two seasons.

AFL Women's career

Thompson was drafted by

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

with their fourteenth selection and 106th overall in the

2016 AFL Women's draft The 2016 AFL Women's draft consisted of the various periods when the eight clubs in the AFL Women's AFL Women's (AFLW) is Australia's national semi-professional Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules football league for w ...

. She made her debut in the 36-point win against Greater Western Sydney 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 between 192 ...

in the opening round of the 2017 season. She was a part of Adelaide's premiership side after the club defeated

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

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 th ...

in the AFL Women's Grand Final. She played every match in her debut season to finish with eight matches. At the end of 2017, Thompson represented the Allies in the AFLW State of Origin match. Adelaide signed Thompson for the 2018 season during the trade period in May 2017. After living and training in Darwin during her first season, Thompson relocated to Adelaide from the 2018 season. The 2019 season was very successful for Thompson. Following a switch from playing as a defender to playing as a forward, she was Adelaide's leading goalkicker and the league's leading goalkicker after kicking 13 goals in the regular season. She also kicked a goal for Adelaide as they claimed their second premiership, beating Carlton 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 le ...

in the 2019 Grand Final. After the season, Thompson was selected for the 2019 AFL Women's All-Australian team.

Personal life

Thompson grew up in

as part of a large family, with eight brothers and sisters, after her family moved from

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. Thompson lives with her partner Karlee and works as a teaching aid at Malak Re-Engagement Centre in Malak, Darwin.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Stevie-Lee 1992 births Living people Adelaide Football Club (AFLW) players Australian rules footballers from the Northern Territory Lesbian sportswomen Australian lesbians Australian LGBT sportspeople LGBT players of Australian rules football