Pigs, Sows, Pickers, Bombs? These players want the tough footy names

The club's netballers are the Bushsows.

So when their women's football team inaugurated in 2017, the question begged, would they be Pigs or Sows?

Since day one, the players had been firm, they're Bushpigs. Not Bushsows.

For the players, their team name should reflect the game they play, not their gender.

While they're in support of the netball continuing under the Bushsows name, they feel it's important their on-field contributions match with the naming conventions of other football teams within the club.

Committee member, Bushpig, and A grade Bushsow, Liesel Park said it was an easy decision for the club to make back in 2017.

"It has always been the thing that the footy girls want to be the Bushpigs and the netball is the Bushsows, and I suppose it helps keep that separation," Park said.

Historically, crests and emblems were adorned with animals or beings that looked tough, ferocious.

This eventually translated to sporting clubs and their mascots.

It's in this tradition of toughness that the Bushpigs chose their name.

"There's some players that do both [football and netball] and aren't fazed but we have tried to keep that emphasis in there and part of that is to respect the fact that if you're out there on the footy field you're a little bit more likely to get roughed up than you are on the netball court, it's a little more of of a contact sport," she said.

"Netball isn't all delicate or injury free, but having that association that you are Pigs, it's about having that little bit of a tougher name, bit of a tougher front for teams that we're the Bushpigs not the Sows."

Park said she can understand the temptation for clubs to change or add a prefix or suffix to their women's teams names as a way to ease confusion at the committee level.

Listening to their playing group however should be the priority.

"I think if girls are feeling like it does segregate them or make them feel less important, then that's not right," she said.

"For us, it's definitely whichever sport we're playing.

"Some of us play both so you just have to remember to change the chant you do."

Across in Group Nine, Young have kicked off their girls and women's tackle program for 2024, bestowing them the name Cherry Bombs.

While a far cry from their club's name, Cherrypickers, player Emily Richens said there is no real origin story to the women's team's name, it's simply a nickname that stuck.

"Someone just said Cherry Bombs and it stuck, and everyone liked it," Richens said.

Rather than feeling a separation from the men's football played within the club, Richen said the name is empowering.

It's carved out a place in the club's history books for their team, there can be no doubt when they began playing, because their name had never been etched before.

Similarly to the Bushpigs wanting to sound more ferocious, the Bombs are tougher than the Pickers.

"I don't think anyone would be upset if we were the Cherrypickers, but we call the leaguetag the Cherryettes sometimes, and the Cherry Bombs is a nice little something different," she said.

"And the 'bomb' works well in tackle.

"I think it's more tough, definitely."

The first year the club, and league, has ran a women's tackle competition, Richen said having their own name gives them something to hold onto as inaugural players.

"It's bigger than us, we're setting this up for all the young girls coming through," she said.

"We like having something just for the girls, not the boys.

"We still have the 'cherry' involved, but also have our own space within the Cherrypickers."

Ganmain-Grong Grong-Matong coach Luke Walsh said he had never considered calling his team by any name other than Lions.

Across social media outsiders to the club have often dubbed the the two-time premiership side the Lionessess.

The club however, across both their netball and football programs, has always referred to any playing member as a Lion.

Walsh said though he'd noticed clubs across the league had changed the names of their women's teams, he can't see the logic in it.

"I don't think I've ever referred to our girls as Lionesses, even though that's what a female lion would be," Walsh said.

"There were some names that stuck out to me that were trying to force a female version of what the club already is, and it didn't really sound right.

"I've had that thought since I got involved in women's footy but I've never voiced them.

"I figured clubs could do whatever they want, but I've never heard our girls talk about being Lionesses or wanting pink in their guernsey."

Walsh said during formative years for the women's competition he could see why clubs might have felt the adjusting of names or uniforms might bring in more players, but now believes there is no need for it.

Keeping names and team uniforms consistent helps keep a one club mentality, he said.

"Wouldn't you just want to be part of the club? And wear the normal club colours?" he said.

"I don't know if it's really necessary [to have pink uniforms], especially in this day and age.

"I don't think it's ever been a discussion, everyone just wants to be part of a club, this is what the club is and we've got women and men involved, we're just all one club."