Peta Searle (OAM) has been breaking ground ever since she played her first game of competitive footy as a nine-year-old.

And it will be no different in Season 2020, when the women’s trailblazer takes the reins as Senior Coach of St Kilda’s inaugural AFLW team.

After a 10-year playing career, Searle found enormous success as coach of Darebin Falcons, instigating a dramatic turnaround that would see the club win five premierships in six years. 

She went on to hold coaching positions at various clubs including the Western Jets, Port Melbourne and St Kevin’s before joining St Kilda as the AFL’s first ever female coach in 2014.

Since 2018, Searle has coached the VFLW Southern Saints, leading the red, white and black to a preliminary final berth in 2019.

That same year, the women’s pioneer was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for her services to football. 

It’s an almighty honour for an equally impressive achievement, with the reputation she’s has earned as a pioneer of women’s football an inspiration for the Saints she’ll lead in 2020.